Going into next month's national WFTDA Championships, Denver's oldest roller derby league is currently ranked No. 1 in the country by the Derby News Network, a website dedicated to all things derby -- and the only organization to publish national rankings.
According to the site, the Rollergirls' A-team, the 5280 Fight Club, is "an odds-on pick to be this year's WFTDA champions."
"Rocky's extremely impressive takedown of previously unbeaten Oly (Rollers of Olympia, Washington) showed they have both the physical talent and game strategy to defeat anybody," according to the Derby News Network.
DNN added that the Rollergirls had been helped by the recent additions of several players, including Urrk'n Jerk'n As Booty Blockya, a former speed skater who left the Fort Collins league to join the Rollergirls, and Amanda Jamitinya, a transfer from Duke City Derby in Albuquerque who recently moved to Denver.
Rollergirls spokeswoman, PJ "Dangerous Leigh A'Zon" Shields, says the new players turned heads earlier this month at the WFTDA Western Regional championships, where the Rollergirls beat reigning champs the Oly Rollers to win the tournament. "There were a lot of jaws on the floor when they saw her skate," Shields says of Urrk'n Jerk'n.
Expectations are high as the team trains for championships, which will begin November 5 in Chicago, but Shields says the team is ready. "Fight Club has been working ridiculously hard," she says. "They're just this fluid entity now."
"Athleticism and strategy has turned them into an extremely powerful team," she adds.
"The country is scared."
Coloradans can see the Rollergirls before they head to Chicago, where they will no doubt eat nails for breakfast and make grown men cry. On Saturday, the Fight Club will face Pittsburgh's Steel City Derby Demons in a bout at the Fillmore Auditorium.
What's in store? Check out a video of Urrk'n Jerk'n's skating skills in action:
More from our News archive: "Denver's Roller Derby Rivalry Could Start the Sport Rolling Across the Country."
