It's Roller Derby Time Again...So Get Ready To Rumble

Photos by Jay Lee / Click here for a slideshow

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Few fans were cheering louder than Shirley Rivera, mother of Baby Face Assassin, aka Rita Roxanne Rivera. Sitting on a fold-out chair only a few feet from the action, Rivera hollered every time her 27-year-old daughter took her turn on the rink. Rivera, who lives in Freeport, said she went to all her daughter's games last year -- her daughter's first season.

"She's always been as crazy as she is," Rivera laughed. When Hair Balls asked if she was afraid that her diminutive daughter might get injured, Rivera just said "Rita takes care of herself." ​After her second competition of the night, one of the league's spokes-skaters, Grrl Friday, aka Tiffany Hamilton, said the new recruits looked pretty good. Brand new to the league, Hamilton said she's looking forward to the first home game of the season March 20 at Kicks. (The indoor soccer arena has a capacity around 1,200, Hamilton said, and it's often filled for rollerderby games. Most games sell in excess of 1,000 tickets, according to league info).

Watching the new girls compete from the announcer's area, Scarlet O'Hurtya, aka Ciara Major, another league spokeswoman, said "It's nice to get that much new energy in." Major joined the league in 2007, although an earlier injury sidelined her for the 2010 season.

"When you sit on the sidelines, it sucks, and it makes you want it more," she said.

Last year's team played exceptionally well, competing with 11 other teams in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's national championships. ​For more badass pictures from the exhibition, check out our slideshow.