Cincinnati Rollergirls

We have gone to the Rollergirls a few times. The festivities seem a little chaotic at times but $ 1 Hudi for happy hour and the badass girls of roller derby more than make up for it. Plus, the big screen at the Cincy Gardens makes everything look like it was filmed in 1976, which is awesome.

Always thought this would be a blast so went Saturday night we got there at 615 so maybe we missed them telling what was happening but we were very confused. We tried to go down to ask someone how the game went but were met with rudeness. Went to get a drink and asked for a strawberry mascoto and was given a sangria and was told it wAs the Same. It wasn’t but to be fair to the sangria company it was lukewarm in a can so through away 6 dollars on that. The team seems good but I thought it would be a bit more nonstop action and much more skating instead of apparently stopping it when I think you have enough points (like I said we couldn’t figure it all out. Was nice to say we went but will not go back :)

RollerGirls are great! It is too much fun. I hadn’t expected a lot but had a great time. The skaters are lots of fun and the audience is allowed to go on to the floor during the player introductions which makes for a more interactive sporting event.
I look forward to going to another bout.
If you haven’t gone to a bout, go now!

I always have to go to 1 game a year just to remember that I don’t like the Rollergirls. Sorry ladies but I just can’t get into it. I understand the rules and get the scoring but I just can’t do it for some reason.
Stuart T. has a fantastic review of the ladies and he mentions some of the things that I don’t like. 60 minute matches just seem to go on forever and there are dull moments. The last time I was there the action just stopped. All the girls were just stopped in the corner moving about ½ mile/hr…wow exciting.
I do like the $ 1 beers and there’s nothing like the nachos and cheese at the Garden. I’d like to support the roller girls more than once a year but again sorry ladies, I just can’t sit through the whole thing

Roller derby probably isn’t that high on the list of traditional American pastimes. That list is reserved for headier, classier stuff, like football or the hundredth superhero movie or getting piss drunk and saying things to that one friend’s spouse that you’ll regret later. Oh wait, no – turns out we spend our time doing stupid things. Which is great, because in the grand scheme of things, this one really isn’t that stupid. So let’s all just add it to the list together.
Welcome to The Show, roller girls.
So this is an incredibly complicated and occasionally brutal game played at the Cincinnati Gardens. Drinking is all but mandated with the 1 $ Hudy Delights (so you can knock out the awkward spouse thing while you’re here, if you like). The women dress about as provocatively as volleyball players, which is to say sort of, but don’t come expecting to drool over soft-​core porn or something. They’re mostly helmets and pads, really. Which is good, because they get rammed into concrete a lot.
If you’re not familiar with this game, it involves a lone girl from each team trying to skate laps around the herd, while opposing defenders try to stop her by just about any means necessary short of full-​out tackling or handguns. The intricacies of scoring make bowling look like soccer, so the game actually requires a little more care and attention than your average sport. Which, now that I think about it, doesn’t really jive with all that drinking. Oh well.
Unfortunately, the Gardens are incredibly loud and the acoustics are awful. It’s like it’s not just the floors that are poured from concrete, but the walls, seats, and other people, as well. The announcers are drowned out the whole time; you literally won’t hear anything they say, and hearing what the person next to you says will be a stretch, too. Some of the audience can be obnoxious when they get a few Delights in them, but if this bothers you, why are you here? Overall, a pretty good time, and a great story to tell your friends if you want a nice «You did WHAT?!»
Also, the fans on the floor always build pyramids with their beer cans. It’s like its own little side sport.

Wow — wow — wow! Amazing!
My parents were visiting from Belgium and I thought: What could we do that is American and that they have never seen before? The Rollergirls turned out to be the best answer ever.
It was also my first game. The first 5 minutes I was trying to figure out what exactly was happening but then I got totally caught up in the game. Our favorites were Hot slice in the first game and K Lethal in the second one. Honestly, my dad was even suggesting to get her autograph. Boys will be boys!!!
I felt kind of proud I went to a game as lots of my colleagues have never been!
I’ll definitely go back, trying to introduce more people to this game. It’s so much fun, even when you don’t care for $ 1 beers!

I went to a few of the 2011 Cincinnati Rollergirls games and had a blast! It’s a great, casual sport for fans. You can just show up and grab a seat, and the concessions are reasonable. Plus, the whole GRRL POWER atmosphere is pretty rockin’.
I took my family and friends here for my birthday party last year, and everyone from my mom to my 9-​year-​old nephew enjoyed it. Indianapolis was the opposing team, and my family is from Indianapolis, so we had fun screaming at each other. Unfortunately, Cincinnati lost.
Roller derby seems like one of those sports that’s great for all ages and interest-​levels (I’m not usually a fan of sports, so I speak with authority). I can’t wait for the 2012 season!

If you haven’t been to a Cincinnati Rollergirls yet, well what are you waiting for? There is not a live sporting event in this city that gives you more for your dollar, period. $ 10 in advance or $ 12 at the door for tickets for a double header of roller derby games that last around 3 hours. On top of that parking is free and $ 1 beers are available. The large sheep mascot helps to make it a fun event for the little ones and the bone crushing hits from the blockers will even have grandma cheering. So make sure you catch a game in 2012…
March 10: Black Sheep and Silent Lambs vs. Arch Rival Roller Girls (St. Louis, MO)
March 31: Black Sheep and Silent Lambs vs. Demolition City Roller Derby (Evansville, IN)
April 21: Black Sheep vs. Tampa Bay Derby Darlins (Tampa, FL); Silent Lambs vs. TBA
May 19: Black Sheep vs. DC Rollergirls (Washington, D.C.); Silent Lambs vs. TBA
June 9: TBA

When most people think of professional sports, they think of the big three: MLB, NBA & NFL. Those who didn’t grow up in major metro areas know that some of the most entertaining professional athletes are barely professional at all. Small groups of dedicated semi-​pros make great athletic competition accessible to all. The Cincinnati Rollergirls are just such a group.
The Cincinnati Rollergirls are the very definition of semi-​pro. They do make a bit of compensation for their effort, but it would never cover the amount of time, energy & blood they give to their sport. They’re all professionals in other assorted fields from white collar to blue.
A relatively new group, they are very competitive in their tier and always deliver a strong effort. They do travel as well as play in the Cincinnati Gardens in Norwood. The costs to see them are very low.
This is not a review of the facilities they skate in. That place is a dump and significantly harms the experience. As an organization, the Cincinnati Rollergirls are a great benefit to their community. Despite some odd criminal mischief a few years ago, they are great roll models for young ladies and a fun, no-​ego professional sports team. They deserve your support & encouragement.

Cincinnati Roller Girls is the best deal in town for a reasonably priced night of sports action. Sure it’s different than catching the Reds or the Bengals, but it’s certainly just as fun and often more competitive.
Part of the fun is showing up early and tailgating out in the parking lot. Grilling, cornhole, and drinking is prevalent and encouraged. A good crowd shows up well in advance and it is easy to make friends with the other tailgaters. The Cincinnati Roller Girls will often briefly stop out if you are there early enough, and you are sure to get a visit from the the team mascot, Wooly-​Bully.
One word of warning on a hot day-​there is NO air conditioning at the Cincinnati Gardens where the bouts happen. So dress for the weather, and stay hydrated. Also, the beer selections at the Garden’s are atrocious. There is much better stuff to be had at the tailgate party before a bout.
The bouts themselves are usually very competative and a lot of fun to watch. it make take you a couple of bouts before you begin picking up on the rules and scoring, but once you do, it is easy to follow. Seats in the Gardens give you good view of the bouts from almost every vantage point. They get a good crowd of zealous fans there, averaging attendance of about 4,000 a night. Watching these female athletes is amazing fun. Prepare for thrown elbows, cheap shots, bone-​crushing hits, names with wild double-​entendres and outgoing, outlandish personas to match. Don’t let the names and characters fool you-​the bouts are all real-​nothing is fixed or fake.
It’s good old American fun! So bring the whole family! And get them all drunk.

A bunch of hot girls in skimpy clothes beating the crap out of each other… Seriously what could be better?! Oh yeah $ 1 beer! thats right, DOLLAR BEER!!!
Even if you have no idea what Roller Derby is or have the slightest clue how its played, or you’ve attended every bout and think maybe you almost have it figured out, it doesn’t matter. You’ll never really learn the rules/​scoring till you play, but its still awesome to watch!
In a nutshell, the 2 players that start at the back of the pack (with stars on their helmets) need to get through said pack before the other team in order to score the most points. They get points for everyone they pass in the 2 minute round. The person who breaks through the pack first has the ability to stop the round though before 2 minutes if they feel like it. Normally if the other team is hot on her heels, or she finally just feels sorry for them and decides to cut them a break.
Its in the Gardens so it gets unbearably hot in the summer. Be forewarned. But the bonus is you can tailgate and grill out and drink in the parking lot before hand and then get inside for $ 1 beers til 7pm (only 2 at a time, so have a buddy to hand off to ;)) There are 2 games, basically like high school with the JV and the Varsity team. Floor seats are a bit more expensive, but not by more than a few dollars, and really get you in the action, and give you the ability to help with the DEElightamid, or the beer can pyramid thats set up every match on a corner, just waiting on someone to get knocked off the track and into it!
Seriously! If you haven’t gone yet… GO! Even if you don’t know much about the sport or what the heck is even going on, it doesn’t matter. They have fun, the awesome mascot throws out free shit and you get $ 1 beers and watch girls knock each other around… do you seriously need anymore reasons?!

Just went to my first Cincinnati Rollergirls match (games?), either way its called, it was still a good time. They play at the Cincinnati Gardens, one of my favorite places as a kid, brought back good memories. It took some time to understand what was going on since I’ve never watched it before, but once I did, it was great. Constant action, bodies flying everywhere (some girl got her nose broken and another one puked, it was pretty sweet), and happy hour just before it all started.
Tons of fun, truly diverse crowd too. And general admission seating too, so you and your friends can sit together pretty much wherever you want.
Few (minor) drawbacks: For one it happened to be like 95 degrees outside that day, and it felt that miserable inside too b/​c there was no ventilation (though I doubt that happens very often). Second, once inside, everything from soda, beer, hotdogs, food was all «Cash Only» and the only ATM I saw was out of order. So basically, plan ahead and bring cash.
Despite those minor setbacks, it was a fun evening and relatively inexpensive ($ 12 for adult general admission tix) event. I’d happily go back. And this time I’ll come prepared.

If you call yourself a sports fan, but have never watched flat track roller derby, you owe it to yourself and these women to check out a bout. Come early and tailgate or at least when doors open at 6pm for dollar beers. Walk around the lobby and say hello the rollergirls themselves who pass out free programs. Then find a seat and get ready for great Saturday night action. After game you can get your program signed by the rollergirls.
Next season, I would love to see them utilize the big screens to play a how-​to video that either they’ve made or get permission to use a certain popular derby how-​to video from youtube. I think it would help newbies feel comfortable with what they’re about to see and possibly turn them into repeat attendees.

I went to the roller derby for the first time last night and its a dang good time! Unfortunately we missed the $ 1 beer happy hour but the tickets are only $ 12.
Roller derby is back on the rise in America and of my friends were surprised to know it existed in Cincy. I’d been meaning to get to a game ever since I heard about it… And since i saw the movie Whip It (which, incidentally, is cute and I would recommend it). I like the girl-​power and energy.
The game is fun, the tickets are well priced, the music is good, the crowd is energizing and it’s great for all ages! Next time I plan to go and tailgate and get there earlier to have more central seats.

So where in Cincinnati can you go to find family-​wallet-​female friendly sports?
CRG!!! Tickets are #12 a piece and this is a very pro-​female sport with lots of action and lots of fun. Tailgating before the games is essential and necessary part of the experience and fans are exceptionally loyal and with darn good reason. The CRG are rated one of the best in their division.
The team is supported and owned by the skaters — so supporting ticket sales are vital to them and they are up close and friendly with their fans signing autographs and answering questions after matches. Merch can be purchased at the bouts or on the website.
Cincinnat Gardens isn’t the best arena but it is locally owned and operated which is exceedingly rare in the arena business and very hard to come by in Cincinnati.
The Gardens still sport free parking which is even more rare in the Cincinnati large event scene.
This should be a definite and perm fixture to the family calendar.

The Cincy Rollergirls is such a great time. Not only is it great for for families, it’s a cheap date night! The tickets are cheap, the drinks are cheap, even the food is cheap, but it’s still a lot of fun.
We went to our first rollergirl game last year and this years season opener had such a larger crowd. I can’t wait to see what the crowd will be like at the end of the year and word gets around that we actually have a roller derby team.
The rollergirls are very good at what they do. Not only do they usually win, they usually kill the other teams they play. Figuratively of course.
If you don’t know the rules, they explain the basics in the pamphlet you get and use the first match to figure out what exactly is going on. That way, when they black sheeps are out there, you can really root for them and know what’s going on.
If you haven’t gone to a match yet, I highly suggest going.

I was invited to a tailgating event at the opening game for the Cincinnati Rollergirls team, which is a sentence I never thought I’d say in my life. If you think having a rollergirl team in your city is obscure enough, the fans that go out in freezing weather to tailgate are meta-​obscure. There was a copious amount of beer, food, and other snacks that made the Café de Wheels truck sad with envy. By sad with envy, I mean «Look at all those ruffians standing in the cold. I will sit here with my tea and adjust my monocle. Harump harump!»
The seating is a free-​for-​all aside from the lower levels, and I swear I am not making this up, but I happened to sit next to the Indianapolis Rollergirl team. I introduced myself as Mike to their Captain, «J-​Roller». Since I didn’t know we were allowed to make up nicknames, I reintroduced myself as M-​Dawg. Five beers later, I had a very solid idea of how the game plays.
Both teams skate around in a circle at the same time. Each time has a «jammer» who starts behind everyone else, being «the pack». The jammers are girls who have stolen the leader of the pack’s boyfriend in a rollerskating tournament. Since all men are impressed by rollerskating, it’s a struggle to determine who’s the best skater and win his affections.
Of course, girls have cooties — especially girls from out of town. The jammers have to skate past the pack, the whole time saying «Ew, ew, ew!» and trying to avoid catching the cootie bug. The first jammer to do this and skate into the heart of the young man will be designated the lead. The ref is obliged to point at the jammer to say «I’m going to hook up with her later». The leader then has the ability to call off the jam by tapping her hips repeatedly. As the chicken dance is only allowed at weddings, a foul is called, and the round has to be reset. This goes until time runs out, and after a halftime break for delousing, they go at it again. There are two games, first with the B-​Team, then the A-​Team. The A-​Team is especially interesting, as they were a crack commando team sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit.
Overall, I enjoyed the rollergirls game. The beer’s cheap, the action plentiful, and you get to make up nicknames for yourself. If that’s not the definition of a good time, I don’t know what is.
M-​Dawg, signing off.

Roller Derby Rules For Rookies
by Quad Almighty
Roller Derby is a sport played by athletes on rollerskates racing around an oval track. Each game is broken down into individual «jams» that can last up to two minutes each. There are two teams. One Jammer and four Blockers from each team play in each jam.
Jammers are the players with a big star on their helmets, who race to score points. Jammers score points by passing opposing players.
Blockers play defense and offense at the same time. Blockers try to stop the opposing Jammer from passing them and scoring points by getting in her way and/​or hitting her. At the same time, Blockers try to help their own Jammer score points by knocking opposing Blockers out of her way.
Penalties can be incurred, for example, for hitting an opponent illegally or passing other players while you are out of bounds. Penalties can get players sent to the Penalty Box. While a player is in the Penalty Box, her team must skate short-​handed until she returns.
The Jammer who LEGALLY passes all the Blockers first is declared Lead Jammer. The Lead Jammer is a strategically important position, because she has the right to «call off» the jam at any point by tapping her hips. For instance, if she can score four points before the other Jammer has a chance to score, she can end the jam with the advantage right then and there.
Modern Roller Derby is not faked, rehearsed, or pre-​determined. The game is real, live, hotly contested, and exciting. Superior skill, strategy, agility and speed determine the outcome.
The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. That team is usually the Cincinnati Rollergirls.

People are still shocked when they find out we have a Rollergirl team here in Cincinnati, but there’s absolutely no reason for them to be. It’s fun, it’s violent, it’s full of cheap beer, it’s everything we love here in The Queen City!
Granted the Rollergirls are still kind of new. I believe last year was their third or fourth season. Still, they’ve been getting bigger (and better) every year and it really is an experience you don’t want to miss.
They play in the Cincinnati Gardens, which is this giant concrete domed structure that was a heyday of sports in the ‘70s and now is basically used for random events. I’ve been to a few there and none of them are as much fun or interesting as Rollergirls. Plus, there’s free parking there, so win to that.
I’ve you never been to a game before, go. You see girls skate, zoom by, knock each other down and basically get angry. It’s a blast! There are even $ 1 PBRs you can buy, which makes the game 8 million times more entertaining (and it’s pretty entertaining to begin with!) I’d also recommend you go with friends. Going alone would still be fun but going with a group is an experience. Just don’t ask where the ball is, like I did, and you’ll be fine.
Three are some issues. First of all, it’s monstrously hot in the unair-​conditioned Gardens, especially as the season goes on into the summer. Also, you have to make a tradeoff wherever you sit — if you’re on the ground on the track, the view is perfect but you can’t hear a word the announcer says, and if you’re in the stands, the view is a little worse but the announcers are crystal clear. And tickets are just a little too expensive. I think they’re $ 12, which is probably $ 2 or $ 3 more than they should be, but oh well. It’s still a ton of fun.
The season starts up in March and there are five or six home games a season. Seriously, friends, isn’t it time you experienced the joy of rollergirls?

The Cincinnati Rollergirls give one of the best deals on your entertainment in this are.
The team is amazing, they give you an amazing fan friendly experience. You can meet all the girl and have autographs signed for you and the kids after every single game for as long as you want.
They’re amazing in the community. They’re all amazing people. I know them all personally, and you can’t ask for a better group of people.
From the actual rollergirls, to the refs, to the coaches, to the stats keepers, to the team doctors, to the sweet sweet team DJ and let’s not forget the AMAZING play by play announcers… you can’t ask for a better group of people.
It’s a great bargain. It’s a great atmosphere…(Not to mention an amazing mascot ;) —
Go to the next Cincinnati Rollergirls bout at the Gardens… you’ll go in knowing nothing about roller derby, you’ll leave a fan for life. Trust me… I’m not only a reviewer, I’m also a convert!