On Friday night, right after I spent the day up at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Mid-town, I met Lindsay, Jon and Toby for sushi. After we finished eating, Jon headed home and the rest of us headed to the Bronx to see the first Gotham Girls Roller Derby bout between the Manhattan Mayhem and the Brooklyn Bombshells.

(All images taken with a Pentax K1000. Images taken using Fuji NPS and then scanned with a Konica Minolta 5400 II Negative Scanner. Images can be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnail. Captions are below each image.)

A friend of ours, Anna, is a member of the Brooklyn Bombshells. Her REAL name is Leggs Luther (shown in the picture below). She’s amazing. Some of you might remember her from the very first Self-Portrait Day. I’m hoping I can get her to stop by today or tomorrow and correct everything I am wrong about regarding Roller Derby. In the meantime, here is a bit about the history of the game, etc.

When I arrived to the venue, I had no idea how roller derby worked. I’m still a little unsure about the scoring, but I’m working on it. I hope to have that bit figured out by their next bout on the 22nd of April. All I know is that many of these fine ladies were sporting the biggest bruises I have ever seen in person. And, holy crap, did the crowd ever laugh and cheer and holler and boo! I haven’t been that into a sporting event since my brother took me to see DC United.

Another thing I hope to have figured out by the next bout is how to take decent action shots under such low light. I know I will need some faster film. I also know that I might need a flash. Angry, fast-moving females on roller skates is perhaps the hardest subject matter I have ever tried to capture. Nevertheless, below are some of those pictures. (I think Toby’s will be better. If he scans his, I’ll post them as well.)

Ariel Assault gets ready to jam.

Here she is, right before the whistle blows. GO!

In between periods, the girls play these little games with one another. I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but the referees choose two of the girls (the ones who were “baddest” from each team) and they are forced to take on a half-time spectacle of sorts.

A heated game of Red Rover Red Rover…

which ended up in a wrestling match.

Take notice of the woman wearing pink. She’s coming in from the middle…. here she comes… here she comes…. here she comes.

OH BUSTED!

Lil Red Terror making faces at a Manhattan Mayhem team member.

Here is Lil Red Terror in full force during her jam.

We had the best time. Really, if you live in the area, this is one of the best things to do on a Friday night. We’re heading back that way on the 22nd. All interested parties, let me know.

Girls really do rule. I love women. We are by far the superior sex. haha!