Androscoggin Fallen Angels,”Myra Volt” Yocono and the Biohazard’s Megan “Mrs Robinson” Robinson, attempt to hit each other off the track as both jammers race back around the track to score points during a recent scrimmage in Cariou.
LEWISTON — The Androscoggin Fallen Angels will play the first bout in their history when they host the Four-Leaf Clobber roller derby doubleheader on Saturday at the Lewiston Armory.
“We’ve definitely been playing and practicing, but this … is really kind of our coming-out bout, as it were, our debut,” Fallen Angels member Liz Batsford, who goes by “Bat Outta Hell,” said.
The Fallen Angels’ showdown with Maine Roller Derby, a Portland team, opens the doubleheader at 5 p.m. Following that will be a men’s game between Portland’s Casco Bay Gentlemen’s Derby and the Capital District Trauma Authority of New York at 7:30 p.m.
The doors open at 4 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for ages 11-17, and kids younger than 10 get in free.
“It’s definitely a family-friendly atmosphere,” Batsford said.
The Fallen Angels are a member-owned and -run organization that was founded in 2015. The players, known as skaters, range in age from 19-53, and have gone through three levels of certification with the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association to be eligible for bouts.
“To get to the point where we’re ready to play a game safely and effectively is actually a pretty long training process,” Batsford said.
“I’m just so excited to actually do what we’ve been working toward for so long.”
Modern roller derby differs from the sport that was sometimes seen on TV near the end of the 20th century. Those bouts often fell under the umbrella of sports entertainment — in other words, parts of them were scripted.
The sport now is full-contact and fast-paced, and played on roller skates. Each team has five players on the court at the same time — four blockers and a jammer. Points are scored when a jammer laps the other team’s blockers.
At the same time as they work to help their jammer break through, blockers also try to prevent the opposing team’s jammer from scoring points.
“It’s a really exciting game to watch,” Batsford said.
A bout consists of two 30-minute halves, and each half is broken into a series of two-minute segments called jams.
While roller derby is a full-contact sport, players are penalized for hits to illegal target zones, such as the head, or for using elbows, forearms or their heads to make hits. Penalized players are sent to a penalty box, usually for 30 seconds.
Concessions and merchandise will be available at the Four-Leaf Clobber, and there is a variety of entertainment, some that include audience participation, for halftimes and in between the matches, and a 50-50 raffle.
Androscoggin Fallen Angels’ Jennifer “Beast” Gammon, races around the track as the jammer to score points in a recent scrimmage in Caribou.
Androscoggin Fallen Angels’ Rae “Razinkane” Kane works with teammate Liz “Batt Outta Hell” Batsford to block the Biohazards jammer from advancing down the track. On the left, Sabrina, “Myra Volt” Yocono hustles up for an assist at a recent scrimmage in Caribou.
Androscoggin Fallen Angels’ Liz “Bat Outta Hell” Batsford, left, braces against teammate Sabrina “Myra Volt” Yocono, and Melissa “Psycho Bad Bull” Mercay-Collins to create a wall of blacoker to keep the Biohazards, in purple, from getting thier jammer though the line during a recent scrimmage in Caribou.
Androscoggin Fallen Angels’ Melissa “Psycho Bad Bull” Mercay-Collins, left and Amanda “DeManda Ransom” Comeau work together to block the Biohazards Megan “Mrs Robinson” Robinson, wearing the jammer star, from getting through the line at a recent scrimmage in Caribou.
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