Orlando Roller Derby Rebrand Announcement – Part 1

You may have heard whispers. You might have heard more, but it’s time to make it official.

Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls has rebranded! That means a new name, new imagery, and an exciting new structure.

After 8 years as Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls, we are proud to announce that we will move forward into 2017 and beyond as Orlando Roller Derby.

2016 was a year of big changes for our league. We were accepted to and graduated from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) Apprenticeship Program. We grew in number of skaters and volunteers. With those changes, we wanted our name to be inclusive of all our league members regardless of gender. It’s a new year, and, as a new WFTDA member league, the time is right for us to change our name and logo to better reflect not only the inclusiveness of our sport and league but also the vibrant, sunny City Beautiful that we play for and love.

We are Orlando. We are Orlando Roller Derby.

New Travel Teams

In addition to our overall league rebrand, we’ve also restructured and rebranded our travel teams. That’s right TEAMS.

Where we used to have one travel team, made up of our all star skaters; we now have two travel teams. Our all star team, formerly known as the Straight Jackettes, will now be the Ozone Slayers. This team is comprised of Orlando’s top skaters. They are striving to put Orlando on the map by going head-to-head against other WFTDA teams.

Our new travel B team is the Sun Blockers. This second travel team is a place for skaters to take their skills to the next level, focusing on growth and improvement, while playing competitively against leagues across the state.

Things to Watch For

Home Teams – We know all of you are wondering about our home teams. All three teams also got new names and logos. That’s why this article is only Part 1. Stay tuned for our release of the home team branding.

Merchandise – With a new name and logo comes new merch. Be sure to check it all out at our first home team game of the season on May 21.

Website – Obviously there is still a lot of work to do to get Orlando Roller Derby updated and ready for action. Bear with us as we update our website to reflect all of our new branding.

We hope our fans can agree that this rebrand is a move in the right direction for us. We’re really excited for what the future of our league looks like and we can’t wait to show you all what we’ve got.

As we enter the new season, we aim to bring you the same exciting, hard-hitting, and highly-competitive roller derby that you’ve come to know from Orlando Roller Derby. We hope to see you at our home opener – our St. Patrick’s Day Scrimmage on Sunday, March 12!

We Are Orlando – fiveonfive magazine featured article

Orlando Roller Derby is honored to be featured in Quenby Sheree’s powerful, poignant article in this issue of fiveonfive magazine. While it’s hard to relive the events of that day, it reminds us of just how powerful our Orlando community can be when we stand strong together.

To purchase this issue, follow the link: Issue 33 – Fall 2016. You can also subscribe to get your own fiveonfive quarterly and support the publication dedicated to derby endeavors around the world.

View the PDF version of this article here: We Are Orlando PDF

March Newsletter

Hello, Orlando Roller Derby fans!
We could not have asked for a better season opener on Valentine’s Day! Crowds lined the rink at Semoran Skateway, keen to see what the Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls would bring for the first bout of 2016.Our double-header event kicked off with the Sunnyland Slammers facing the Serial Thrillers. The Thrillers took an early lead but things got exciting toward the end of the second half, when Mimi Monoxide capitalized on a key power jam to close the gap. Both teams entered the second half focused and ready, but ultimately the Serial Thrillers came out on top with a score of 114. to 73.Up next, a tired Serial Thrillers bench faced the fresh legs of the Arkham Assailants, the 2015 season champs. The Thrillers had a tough time getting points on the board during the first half, pushing hard against Arkham’s strong blocking defense but not making much headway. Arkham’s jamming game remained strong for the entire bout, and although the Thrillers make an 80-point jump to tighten the score during the second half, it was no match for Arkham’s consistency. They ultimately bested the Thrillers 205 – 103.

Now that the season opener is behind us, here’s a look at the rest of OPCDG’s 2016 Schedule:
3/13 Sunnyland Slammers vs. Serial Thrillers

3/26 Straight Jackettes vs. Sintral Florida Derby Demons – AWAY

4/3 Arkham Assailants vs. Sunnyland Slammers

5/14 Straight Jackettes vs. Thunder City – AWAY

5/22 Serial Thrillers vs. Arkham Assailants

6/5 Straight Jackettes vs. Palm Coast – AWAY

6/12 Straight Jackettes vs. Sintral Florida Derby Demons

7/2 Straight Jackettes vs. South Florida – AWAY

7/17 Sunnyland Slammers vs. Arkham Assailants

8/7 Serial Thrillers vs. Sunnyland Slammers

8/28 Straight Jackettes vs. Thunder City

9/25 Straight Jackettes vs. Palm Coast (this might be a double header with home teams)

10/16 Straight Jackettes vs. South Florida

11/13 SEASON CLOSER BOUT

Buy your tickets here!http://orlandorollerderby.com/

GAME 1 MVPS
Sunnyland Slammers:
Julius Scissors – Pivot
Rican Havoc – Blocker
OMG Bekhi – JammerSerial Thrillers:
Madame Deadite – Pivot
Bloody Mandy – Blocker
Kittie Claws – JammerGAME 2 MVPS
Serial Thrillers:
Madame Deadite – Pivot
Tiger Beatdown – Blocker
Kittie Claws – JammerArkham Assailants
Atom Smash-her – Pivot
Hart – Blocker
Artful Dodger – Jammer

February Volunteers:
Did you run in the Purple Pride 5K last Thursday? You might have run into an Orlando Roller Derby girl Volunteering! If you’re hosting an event and need volunteers reach out to our events director Luna Shovegood at Events@orlandoderbygirls.com

Before we leave you, can we talk about sponsorships? When you sponsor OPCDG, you not only get your name in front of an engaged, growing group of dedicated fans. You also align yourself with a group of women incredibly committed to their community, volunteerism and charity.
OPCDG arranges events where our skaters volunteer and each bout benefits a charity – the season opener doubled as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association and upcoming bouts will benefit Kids House, Autism Speaks and other great causes. Plus, sponsors are in great company: http://orlandorollerderby.com/sponsors/Would you like to join them? Email to sponsorship@orlandoderbygirls.com TODAY.

Fresh Meat Graduation

Lunachicks move into Psych Warden status.

Lunachicks Head to Warden Status

It seems like only yesterday the Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls were making the rounds at various Central Florida locations to recruit the newest class of Lunachicks. Lunachicks are Orlando’s fresh meat that go through a 3 month recruitment program that teaches all the skills to meet the minimum skills required for skaters in leagues under the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) rules set.

Requirements to become a full-fledged league member include early Sunday morning practices, lending a hand at all OPCDG bouts, attending OPCDG affiliated events, and taking a two-part test. After the information night, Lunas, as the league calls them, enter a three-month period of learning all of the skills to prepare them to move into Psych Warden status. Once in Psych Warden status, these ladies are integrated into the scrimmaging phase of roller derby.

With over 30 new recruits starting the recruitment phase, our league saw the highest number of new recruits move into Psych Wardens. Twenty Lunas graduated to the next stage in their roller derby careers on Wednesday September 2^nd, 2015. These ladies will begin practicing their scrimmage skills in small groups and eventually rotate amongst the three Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls home teams. The Psycho Sisters proudly congratulate every new Psych Warden and are excited to see what the future holds for these fierce contenders!

What’s in a Name

So, you decided you want to be a derby warrior: CONGRATS! You’ve just made one of the best decisions of your life.

Before you head over to an internet name generator (BOOOOORING!), remember that roller derby is an experience that changes your life forever. While you may have your name picked out before you start your first practice, think of your derby name as a tattoo. It’s going to stick around for a long time and changing it may not be as easy as it seems (you’re putting this moniker on legal documents, scrimmage shirts, helmets, jerseys, etcetera).

During the three months of recruitment, our Psych Wardens kept their lips sealed on what they would want to be called after testing. Their names were revealed when they moved into Psych Warden status. This class of Psych Wardens did not disappoint with their tributes to home states, literary characters, and entertainment industry personas.

Check out some of our top 5 picks from this class:

Rory Killmore

Miley Virus

Tikila Blockingbird

Nola Stomp

Shirley Temple of Doom

Little/Bigs:

Tikila Blockingbird/ Honey Badger:

Swampher Stomp’her/Kittie Claws:

Cherry Chernobyl/ Luna Shovegood:

Sicilian Silence’her/ Mykillangelo:

Nola Stomp/ Madame Deadite:

Miley Virus/Koo Velvet:

Junie B. Bones/ Shred Bundy:

Sickmind Freud/Little Hitaly:

Shirley Temple of Doom/Missy Misdemeanor:

The Artful Dodger/Foxy Bloxy:

For more tips about choosing a derby name, check out SVRG’s Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your Derby Name.

Bounty KillHer/Hart of War:

Rory Killmore/ Hickey Ricardo:

Rowdy Red Rousey/ Amina Acid:

Ex Machina/ Bowtie Bruiser :

Tiny Dancer/ Hillbilly Hoot’n Annie:

Myth Domination/ Sergeant Slaughter :

Veruk Assault/ Block Dahlia :

SlayAnne/ Shod N.Froyda:

Acu punch her/ Wrecks Manning :

Maven McFly/ OMG Bekhi:

Be Your Own Hero

Lunachicks gear up for their first night of recruitment.

Curious about what it takes to be a roller derby hero?

Throw those excuses out and join us at one of our recruitment information sessions to pique your interest.

Our recruitment coach, Awol, has an incredibly effective and well-laid out plan to prepare you for Psych Warden status.

For information about OPCDG’s next recruitment information session, email recruitment@orlandoderbygirls.com

Contributing Writer: Luna Shovegood

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Psycho Sisters

Straight Jackettes vs. Team Zebra Sunday November 9th

Come watch Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls travel team, the Straight Jackettes take on Team Zebra (A team composed entirely of Referees!) Doors at 4:30pm, first whistle at 5:00pm. It’ll all go down in our home rink, Semoran Skateway.

Food and BEER will be available at the snack bar.

We will have a 50/50 raffle, bring some cash!

Remember to bring your own chairs; chairs with rubber bottoms are allowed on the track, high heels are not.

And don’t forget, you can take home a piece of OPCDG with one of our league or team shirts, or even a one of a kind, derby girl made, necklaces, magnets, and more.

After party will be directly after the game, at Friendly Confines Winter Park.

Tickets are $10 in advance through BrownPaperTickets or $13 at the door.