It’s safe to say that not many people in the Lowcountry knew what roller derby was just a few weeks ago. Hell, they probably didn’t even know what to expect at Sunday night’s bout. But folks at least knew enough to sell out the Lowcountry Highroller‘s first home bout: These are some hot, bad-ass girls. The group formed back in the spring of 2008 (we did a story on their early days) and since then they’ve been working hard and toughening up to compete in the rough-and-tumble world of women’s roller derby. In the last few weeks leading up to the bout, they’ve become media darlings, with numerous appearances in the news — the camera loves pink fishnets. And the cameras were out in full force at the Omar Shrine convention center Sunday night, along with hundreds of people crowding around the make-shift rink. The crowd roared as they took the rink to battle the Soul City Sirens from Augusta (a team that beat them by 100 points the week before). Dressed in an array of hot pink and black miniskirts, fishnets, booty-shorts, helmets, and makeup, the girls looked fierce in more ways than one. The rules of the game are hard to explain but quick to learn and fun to watch — basically the two teams race around the rink, while a player from each team tries to get in front of everyone else. Booty blocks and other body checks are used to block players. The result is an intense, addictive game that’s hard to look away from. Sadly, the Highrollers lost to the Sirens but with a significantly smaller margin — 91-64. After the game, we headed to Red’s and partied with the players. Ladies, we know you just had your first bout, but when you sell out 800 tickets, it’s time to find a larger venue.
Photos
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Video
The soundtrack for this video is from local punk veterans The 33’s, who generously allowed us to use a song off their new album “Never Say Die”. To hear more songs, check out their myspace page, their album kicks ass.
Roller Derby – Spring Equi-knocks from Charleston City Paper on Vimeo.
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