LA Derby Dolls. Swarm 135 vs. Tough Cookies 134

Derby Dolls. So it was my first time at the roller derby since March.

And what greeted me? Probably the best roller derby match I've ever seen.

In the fourth period, the Tough Cookies found themselves down 40 and then made a dramatic comeback that just fell short. In fact, it came down to the second to last jam when Stefcon 1 just wasn't able to break clear of the Swarm's pack. There were a couple Dolls in the Swarm's pack that just blocked her from breaking through. So close. I'm not sure I've ever heard a derby doll crowd screaming so loudly for a jammer.

Tough Cookies were getting players ejected left and right throughout the match. Towards the end, the Swarm also saw their share of players getting ejected. I'm rather sure that I've never seen so many Dolls ejected from the game so I suppose that was a first as well. On the other hand, I wonder if that helped the Tough Cookies make their final run as the jammer rotation got narrowed down to just three -- helped with the rhythm, perhaps?

And another first for me, I'm pretty sure that I saw a jam where the Swarm switched jammers in the middle of the jam.

My favorite jammers were obviously there: Laguna Beyatch and Stefcon 1. Laguna Beyatch has to be the Derby Dolls version of the NFL's James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steelers). When she is doing the pack duties versus being a jammer, you aren't going to find it easy to get past her. She does so rather cleanly, because I haven't seen her ejected from a match (not that I've seen a lot of matches). I might be adding another possible favorite Doll to the mix: Jackie Nimble.

Half time show: The Shakers. Oh yes. Ink stamped myself.

There is a no camera policy at the roller derby . . . so sorry for the lack of photos.

Update:

As noted in the comments section from Stefcon 1 (thanks for the comment, by the way), here's the link to some official photos from the night.