Olympia Area Roller Derby Teams Share a Foxhole

In a move that has roller derby enthusiasts giddy, the JBLM Bettie Brigade and the M.I.A. Derby Girls have teamed up to procure a shared home arena.

The Bunker, as it is affectionately known by its roller crews, is located at 5700 Lacey Blvd. The building is an empty warehouse, partially refurbished with a flat track, a snack shack, and a popular beer garden for the derby events.

“This shared facility is a major development in the roller derby world,” said senior photographer on the roller derby circuit, Wyatt Wood.

Unlike other skating venues, The Bunker will be a derby only spot. According to those in the know, the single use building will eliminate the scheduling conflicts that are so common for teams who don’t have their own building. Those teams often have to schedule practices and bouts around skate nights, birthday parties, hockey practice, late night skates, etc., leading to conflict and inconvenience. For the Betties and M.I.A., those issues no longer exist, plus the shared facility cuts maintenance/rental costs for both teams.

Last year, M.I.A. made their home in Tumwater while the Betties have done all of their derby duties within the confines of JBLM since their inception three years ago. With M.I.A. on the hunt for new digs, and the JBLM team looking to branch out into the greater Olympia area, the move into The Bunker was more fortuitously timed than a lead jammer making a tip-toe move past the pack and around the corner while getting a centrifugal pull from her blocker.

Saturday, January 18, was the grand opening of The Bunker, with M.I.A. playing host to their foxhole co-inhabitants, the Bettie Brigade. The home team jumped out to a quick lead in the bout, taking a 15-0 lead in the first jam behind some snazzy, Jacky O Nastiest moves. Soon though, JBLM had scratched their way back into the game and by the end of the third jam, the Bettie Brigade had claimed their first lead of the night by a score of 23-16.

That is when M.I.A. unleashed their secret weapon, Bam Bam Tiffalo. Built like a blocker with the speed of a jammer, Bam Bam is a rare hybrid skater. Once she donned the jammer panties (which designate the point scoring jammer, and go on a skater’s helmet, not their rumps) M.I.A. began racking up points and Betties began hitting the deck with regularity. The Bam Bam sparked run helped M.I.A. to take a 104-95 lead into the intermission.

Sticking with their successful formula, M.I.A. dominated the early portion of the second half even though Jacky O and the Bettie Brigade’s lead jammer, YOLO, were locked in a series of nasty jamming duels. After ten minutes of play, M.I.A. had pushed their lead to 23 points and frustration was beginning to mount for the Betties. As a result, hard hits and flying elbows increased in both velocity and frequency.

Then, the fighting spirit seemed to take hold in the JBLM Brigade. YOLO once again found herself as lead jammer and sparked a 19-0 run for her quad. By the 12 minute mark of the 2nd half, the Bettie’s had whittled their deficit down to one point, at 142-141. The JBLM crew recaptured the lead shortly thereafter, at one point leading by as many as ten points.

After six minutes, it was time for Bam Bam Tiffalo to do her thing. With only five minutes remaining in the bout, Bam Bam went to work exactly as her name might suggest. Picking up speed down the straight stretches, she would catapult through the crowd or hip-check an opponent into the frenzy, creating a pile of splayed arms and legs on the floor while she collected points by the handful.

“Bam Bam! That’s my name, and I’ve got to live up to my name,” said Bam Bam Tiffalo after the bout. “Gotta give ‘em a show. They love it! I love it!”

JBLM, for all of their might, could not muster an answer for Bam Bam and their huge comeback effort appeared to have zapped their turbo reserves down the stretch. When the final bell tolled, M.I.A. had rolled to a 195-178 victory.

“I’m just so excited for this place,” said Bam Bam. “I didn’t even expect it to pull together this way, but it did.”

M.I.A. coach, RyRodshared shared in Bam Bam’s post bout approval, saying, “This is awesome! There’s never really been a facility like this.”

Coach RyRod, as he is known at the rink, explained that the shared facility will eliminate all of the aforementioned scheduling conflicts, as well as eliminating costly set up and tear down requirements at other facilities. He was also pleased with the packed house of roller derby fans.

Wyatt Wood, the roller derby photog-extraordinaire put the attendance into perspective, saying, “This is about as many people as I have ever seen at a Rat City Rollers bout. And they have the Key Arena!”

The next scheduled home bout for the JBLM Bettie Brigade is February 15 versus Grunge City, at The Bunker in Lacey. Meanwhile, M.I.A. will be hitting their home rink on February 8 versus the Northwest Derby Company, followed by a February 23 rivalry matchup against the Oly Rollers at Skateland! All bouts begin at 6 p.m. with doors open at 5 p.m.

NOTES:

The JBLM youth team, The Bettie Bratz, provided excellent halftime entertainment at The Bunker as their White (Bigs) and Black (Smalls) teams did battle. Youth ages 7-18 are eligible for the league, and participants do not have to have a military affiliation. For more information, contact: .

Olympia’s pride, joy, and USARS National Champions, the Oly Rollers have started their new season as well. On January 12, the Rollers annihilated the Jet City Hula Honeys by a score of 458-84. The Oly Rollers next bout is February 23 versus M.I.A.

There is one more roller derby team lingering in the greater Olympia area and they go by the name of Underground Derby. Staying true to their name, the Underground are a difficult squad to track down. Currently their team website is under construction and there is no apparent schedule available online. However, an inside source going by the assumed name, Hunter S. Thompson, has promised to provide OPaL Sports, and thereby roller derby enthusiasts worldwide, with the vital information. Check OlympiaPowerAndLight.com for updates.

To view or purchase professional quality photographs from the M.I.A./Bettie Brigade bout, please visit Wyatt Wood’s Facebook page at, . ◙

Tumwater Youth Baseball League Signups

The Tumwater Parks and Recreation department is accepting registrations for their youth baseball league until February 21. Both boys and girls in Kindergarten through third grade that reside within the Tumwater School District are eligible to play. The signup fee is $75 and includes a full team iniform. Registration can be completed at Tumwater City Hall, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call Tumwater Parks and Recreation at .

Roller Derby Scores

1/12/2014

At Skateland, Olympia

Oly Rollers – 458

Jet City Hula Honeys – 84

1/18/2014

At Brigade Bunker, Lacey

M.I.A. Derby Girls – 195

JBLM Bettie Brigade – 178