BagelHot: RollerCon 2009 Day 1

Registration

Bleary eyed from last night's wedding shenanigans, the girls from Montreal and I get up early to go for food and to check out the registration line. There are two lines. One for registration and the other for insurance. The wait in each line average about 40 minutes each.

Still sleepy in the trapezoidal elevator ride to the forth floor

The registration volunteers of RollerCon 2009

This years RollerCon sponsor... "Whip It" the movie.

Happy to be going for food.

After going through the one registration line the girls decide to get food and then return to go back for the insurance. We end up at Chipotle and Panda Express. While eating a chicken burrito and going over the schedules, Tommy and I notice a guy pull down his pants right behind the girls.

He takes out napkins, wipes his butt, and carefully disposes the folded, used, napkins into the waste bin. None of the Montreal girls seem to notice and for some reason seeing this action did not deter me from finishing off the Chicken burrito.

Food and schedules

The fat chicken burrito

The guy post napkin usage

I waited until the guy pulled up his pants to take the photo. A photograph to remind me what went down so to speak while keeping the identity anonymous. One has to wonder if he resorted to using the outside garbage can because perhaps he wasn't allowed to use a washroom.

Nerd Rage in the insurance line

Back on the forth floor while photographing the line, the skaters, the volunteers, I bump into Nerd Rage in mid twitter (see NerdRage42 on Twitter).

A broken arm but a neat cast

Anita Martini waits for the elevator

Nerd Rage goes through luggage to get organized

From the Imperial Palace (our hotel) we take a shuttle bus to the sports center. This is a new venue that we didn't have access to last year. It's big. The vendors have been moved here from last year's Dynasty room. There's a large arena to skate and there's food.

Classic Joker at the Sports Center

The Sports Center derby floor

Nerd Rage in mid-twitter

After doing a quick survey of the sports center we make our way back to the Imperial Palace to catch another shuttle to Fremont street.

Man-O-Pause shows video to some of the other skaters

The Chicago roller girls

Diane on the upper level of the bus

Ducking the ceiling

Trash shows that the $1 water bottle has a place to write your name.

Look way up there...

...it's a ride that has you hanging over the side.

Need bail?

"Is that building over there supposed to be like that?"

Off the bus to the Fremont experience...

...and the derby challenges

Volunteers make the track using blue tape.

Moose Ondaluce of the Derby News Network

Star Trek VS Star Wars

Nerd Rage warms up

Over the next three days there are challenge bouts on Fremont. They have various themes and the teams are made up of skaters from all over. The first themed 30 minute bout on Fremont being Star Trek VS Star Wars. Geeky girls on skates equals sexy.

Team Star Wars won in the end and is it surprising? Team Star Trek were a bunch of red shirts after all.

Star Trek

Star Wars

Note: The Deathstar helmet

Nerd Rage skates through the Trek Pack

Strychnine, jammer, flys by another Star Wars skater

Nerd Rage (aka Andican Skyblock'her)

Using the Force

Red shirts defeated

Team Sexy VS Team Awesome

Justice Feelgood Marshall leads Team SeXY to the track

Justice Feelgood Marshall

"There's a ref on my feet"

Quadzilla of Team SeXY skates through the pack, inches in front of the Team Awesome jammer.

Justice breaks through the pack

More Arse than Class VS CHI or DIE

jammer VS Valerie of the Dolls (in white)

Queefer Sutherland, lead jammer

Cookie Cutter flies through the air

Queefer Sutherland jams against Isabelle Ringer

Cookie cutter gives a booty block

Moll E. Hatchet, jammer

Isabelle Ringer

The team photo

Grace Killy

Waiting for the bus

On the bus

RC09 Opening Reception and Banquet

Buying tickets for Tequila

By the time the fremont matches were over is was 7:00pm, the same time the opening reception started. By the time I got back to the hotel and dropped off my gear I had arrived at the reception with Tommy Toxic at 8:30pm. We bought tickets for the Tequila Mockingbird draw, a fund raiser for a downed Derby Doll (click to read more and to make a donation). It took me a good 20 minutes to fill in all the tickets with my name and phone number. Yeesh.

The TORD girls

The welcome banquet

By the time Tommy and I entered the room they started taking food away off one table to consolidate the food onto another. All the Montreal girls were gone by this point but we were invited by Joker to sit with the London, Ontario girls.

The London girls

my food

Eventually they left to go do some derby stuff leving Tommy and myself sitting at a table where our utensils and plates were being whisked away when we went to find water to get some other food. Eventually we were the only ones left and when looking behind us noticed all the other tables being rolled away.

While none of the workers told us to hurry up and finish eating one couldn't help but scarf down the food so people could clean up and go home. I inhaled by dessert cupcake thing, took a swig of water and left still a bit hungry.

the left overs

From the dinner I got on a bus to go to the Sports Center to see what was going on. It was during this bus trip that I found out a bit about wheels (thanks to Quadzilla). What treads do, and grippy VS not so grippy wheels.

Quadzilla on the way to the sports center

Gearing up on the bus to scrimmage at the sports center

Hambone and Ginger Snap "the boozer" (It was her first drink).

Anita Martini, Anya Face, Classic Joker

Dust Bunny

victim of a solid hit from Trish the Dish

The Elvis helmet (with Trish the Dish)

Then back to the hotel's second floor where Hurt Reynolds of the Derby News Network could be found on the Karaoke microphone singing to the derby girls.