(image courtesy of kcrollerwarriors.com)
Returning Players:
Captain: Damsel of D’Tension
Co-Captain: Yvette Yerass
Ami Geddon (returning from retirement)
Blonde Force Trauma (formerly A Cute Attack)
Enigma
Extremely Frank
Jade Lightning
Jamalamadingdong
Kay C. Shuffle
Mash Hun
Matron Malice
Miss Ann Vinegar
Sassy B.
Tuff Noogies
* * *
Ami Geddon, though I barely knew ye, I have to say it will be good to have you back, if nothing else, for the chance to get to know you better. As you may know, I came into the roller derby fray relatively recently (2009), and I understand Ami was something of a mainstay with the Susans, so again, good to have her back.
Of course, I immediately scanned the roster for my two personal favorites, Extremely Frank and Kay C. Shuffle, and having seen their names still in print, we can move on, more at ease for the time being. :)
Jade Lightning, thankfully, returns for 2012 as the Susans’ star jammer (heh get it?), as well as veterans Enigma, Mash Hun, and Tuff Noogies, among others. Those ladies alone are enough to make you feel good about 2012.
Transfers:
Roxy Rotsalot (transfer from Red River, where she was a founding member)
Trauma (yes, that Trauma; transfer from Cincinnati)
* * *
Well isn’t this exciting — the amazing Trauma putting on the black and yellow for the 2012 season after shaking it Denver to the detriment of everyone she came up against. I was immediately impressed with this double threat, and I’m looking forward to meeting Roxy Rotsalot who, as a founding member of Red River, can’t exactly be a lightweight in the sport herself.
Rookies:
L Chupacabra
Warden Smitty
* * *
It has been said with some measure of wisdom — although it may not apply in every case — that you can determine a team’s mettle by how many rookies are on the roster. The more new faces, the more likely it is that the team is in a state of “rebuilding,” so to speak. And even though the Black Eye Susans have lost a handful of ladies to retirement (see below), a grand total of two rookies on the roster doesn’t exactly scream “panic” in terms of the upcoming season. And that’s good to know — with some of the obvious improvements the Knockouts have made for 2012, the Susans are going to need to rely on their experience, first and foremost, to maintain that competitive edge.
Apparently Retiring:
Dutch Shovin’
Penn Tupanga
Pixie Smash
Strawberry Cutthroat
Thorpedo
Whip R. Snapper
* * *
Bubonic Peg stressed to me that anyone not listed on this year’s roster had retired; there are no All-Star-only players in 2012. On the Susans’ end of it, I don’t remember seeing Strawberry Cutthroat after about the second game this year, so although I was sorry to hear it, her retirement didn’t take me by surprise. I think I’m most disappointed to lose Thorpedo; she showed an awful lot of promise this past season as a jammer, and the fact that 2011 was her rookie season makes her retirement even more poignant. Not knowing anything about it, I can only hope her decision to leave the sport so early wasn’t due to any injury or personal catastrophe.
Pixie Smash hasn’t been lost to the world of Kansas City roller derby — you can see her skating with Dead Girl Derby in 2012 as a member of the Shotgun Sheilas, and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing her skate in Riverside.
Thorpedo did suffer a foot fracture in the middle of the season, but it has since healed. Whether this influenced her decision to retire I’m not sure.
You missed me on the retired list :) I may be skating with another league, but I love and miss my BES! 2012: The Year of the Susans!
AUNTIE!! We miss you soooo much in KC! It was so good to see you at regionals. You will always be a Black Eye Susan in our hearts. :)
PS. Retired doesn’t really explain transferring to a different team (As in the case of Auntie Embolism and Penn Tupanga). Penn Tupanga transferred to Cincinnati Rollergirls. In fact, Penn Tupanga and Trauma are eachother’s “Bizzaro Jerry” since Penn Tupanga transferred to Cincinnati the same weekend Trauma transferred to KCRW. Trauma has a spot on the Susans and All-Stars- like Penn Tupanga did, and Penn Tupanga has a spot on the Black Sheep; the A-team for Cincinnati Rollergirls- like Trauma did. All events occurred by happenstance.
Penn, I personally don’t consider a transfer to have retired either. I’m not in the biz, I’m just a fan, but for my money, it just isn’t the same thing. Peg didn’t differentiate between the two, though; she sent me the rosters and said that anyone not on the lists had retired. She didn’t indicate that anyone had transferred out. I only knew Auntie had gone to Omaha because I’d already “liked” ORG on Facebook and had seen her in photos. Let me know if you’d like me to take your name off the list of retirees, and best of luck in Cincinnati! You will be missed, certainly.
Being on the retired list is better than falling off the derby face of the earth :)