Vicious Van GoGo and her Texecutioners will be playing the 2nd bout on Saturday, May 19th – starting at 7:30pm. Make sure you stay to see the all-stars from your Texas Rollergirls take on the all-stars from the Rose City Rollers of Portland, OR. And, if 2 bouts of roller derby in one night is too much for you (in other words you are a new fan and not quite addicted yet) then arrive around 7pm to see the last few minutes of the opening bout, grab a beer and get a seat to watch Vicious mix it up with Rose City!

VICIOUS VAN GOGO’S STORY
From the time Vicious Van GoGo joined the Texas Rollergirls, she has taken opposing skaters by surprise, leaving blockers flabbergasted and astonished as she jams through them with elegance, dexterity and a quick flash of a smile. Despite her jamming genius, Vicious Van GoGo is as admirable as a blocker, often catching her opponents off-balance as she ambushes them with a perfectly executed hip-check. Known for her alluring midriff and her coy grin, Vicious Van GoGo — a formidable artist in real life — has created an entirely new art in the form of her derby play. From her season skating with the Mad Rollin’ Dolls in Wisconsin and captaining the league’s Dairlyland Dolls all-star travel team, to her exultant return to the Texas Rollergirls during the 2011 season, Vicious Van GoGo continues to be a real work of derby art.

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT VICIOUS VAN GOGO
“At first glance, Vicious Van GoGo could be seen as the girl next door who everyone enjoys that quietly goes about her business with a pleasant smile. As much as that is true, there is so much more behind the Texas Rollergirl who has become infamous for her athletic flair, bandanna style and signature midriff. A
true triple threat on the track, she forces opposing teams to adjust. Off the track, her contributions greatly help the derby universe. No embellishment here, Vicious Van GoGo is simply skate of the art in every sense.”
– Texas Rollergirls Announcer Chip Queso

Q&A WITH VICIOUS VAN GOGO
Q: What is it about roller derby and the Texas Rollergirls that keeps you so dedicated?
A: I played sports growing up and love being on the track, field, court, etc. Practice time and game time always seemed like the one place I could escape to from the things going on in life for a while. Derby has the same feeling of escape but an added element of deep friendships that keep me coming back. Playing
derby makes me happy. I can’t help smiling when I’m skating because I have been and am privileged to skate with some of the best teammates against some of the best competitors.

Q: What are you most looking forward to with the 2012 home season and with the Texecutioners?
A: I’m looking forward to playing another great season with the Texecutioners, as well as with my home team. I think this season is going to be a strong competitive season. Last season with the Texecutioners was a dream season for me. I was very fortunate to be in the jammer rotation. I look forward to
collaborating, training and skating with the Texecutioners. There are some amazing games planned for this year, especially this summer! 

Q: What’s your ultimate derby goal?
A: I was able to reach one of my rookie goals this season by getting to be a go-to jammer for the Texecutioners. And I would be lying if I didn’t say a goal is to be victoriously holding the WFTDA Championship trophy (the Hydra) after a hard-fought weekend. Ultimately, I would like to have a few more years of skating with and against different skaters from different parts of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, Texas Rollergirls are proud to introduce our newest team, the Firing Squad. They’ve been training together for months and they’re now ready to step into the spotlight. Please make them welcome!

Think of it like junior varsity — you already know that our home teams are full of talent that deserves the opportunity to shine on a bigger-than-local stage, but we can only have 20 Texecutioners. Enter the Firing Squad: another 20 skaters with the drive, determination and skill to represent Texas Rollergirls against other leagues, both within our local region and further afield. The team will be making their debut against Portland at home on May 19, serving as a kind of opening act for the headline bout between your Texecutioners and Portland’s all-star Wheels of Justice, and we cannot wait to see all that potential come to fruition on the flat track!

Led by captain and veteran skater Kat A Killzem and coached by retired Texecutioner Shank, the Firing Squad is a squad of 20, of whom 14 will play any given game. For next week’s game against Portland, the following skaters will be suiting up:

Action Jackson	Acute Angel	Babyface Assassin	B-Money
Chasing Amy (co-captain)	Desi Cration	Flash Gorgeous	Headless Highness
Kat A Killzem (captain)	Maso Kiss	Notorious D.I.E	Peppermint Bratty
Sinnerfold	Vargas Grrl	Bad Influence (alt)	Me Shove You Long Time (alt)

You can find the full squad roster on the Firing Squad homepage.

Beck caught up with coach Shank to ask her about her role in the Firing Squad and her hopes for Saturday’s game.

Beck: So, what can we expect from the Firing Squad in their upcoming debut?
Shank:Really good roller derby! A lot of these women have never played against other leagues before, which is exciting for me as a coach because they don’t really know what to expect. I think this is going to be what really helps them improve and come together as a team.

Beck: Are there any skaters or plays we should especially look out for on game day? Just give us some tantalising teasers — we don’t want to tip off the opposition!
Shank: These women can HIT! Strategically speaking, in the last month or so, this team has improved in leaps and bounds. Every single one of the skaters on the Firing Squad is a threat. I think Texas Rollergirls fans will be pleasantly surprised.

Beck: And I think Rose City Rollers fans will be UNpleasantly surprised! So looking to the future, what are your hopes for the Firing Squad following this first game?
Shank: I want to continue to bring to the surface skaters who normally get overlooked or jumbled up in the background at our home team games. We have so much talent on this league that’s just completely untapped.

Beck: Finally, as a long-standing veteran skater who recently retired from ‘active derby’, what do you find most exciting about the creation of the Firing Squad?
Shank: Well, coaching is my next step in roller derby — it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I’m just super excited that the Squad picked me. But more importantly, I guess, we are building this thing together, from the ground up. Watching this team evolve has been amazing and an experience I’ve never had before.

Will you be trackside for this historic game, as the Texas Rollergirls’ Firing Squad roll out for the very first time? The undercard bout, Firing Squad vs Axles of Annihiliation, kicks off at 6pm, with the main event starting at 7.30pm when our Texecutioners take on Portland’s Wheels of Justice in a game that is not to be missed. Tickets are on sale now.

Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners to Host Portland’s Rose City All-Star Team in Hipster City Showdown.

(May 2012) Austin, TX — The pioneers of women’s flat track roller derby are preparing for their next bout, and they’re armed to massacre the competition. It’s all happening deep in the hurt of Texas as the Texas Rollergirls’ all-star travel team, the Texecutioners — currently ranked number three in the world — host the Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice in a special hipster city showdown derby event on Saturday night, May 19, at the Austin Convention Center.

Currently ranked fifth, the Wheels of Justice travel team from Portland, Ore., defeated the Texecutioners by 26 points during a well-fought battle last year in Portland. Since then, the Texecutioners have been plotting revenge, and when the Wheels of Justice roll into Austin, they will be welcomed by the relentless roar of chainsaws and a vengeful hometown crowd before the Texecutioners, clad in ominous black and blood splatter, dominate their opponents on the derby track. Considerably more amped up than a traditional Texas Rollergirls home bout, this momentous event, pitting two of the world’s most revered roller derby teams, promises to be a smashing spectacle of serious sport and serious fun, featuring lightening-fast skating, masterful derby strategy and debilitating hits.

A deep-seated rivalry that extends beyond roller derby, the cities of Austin and Portland have a long history of competing in the realms of coolness, both boasting stellar music and food scenes, and both laying claim as the hipster city. And though Travel + Leisure recently ranked Portland higher than Austin on its scale of America’s Best Cities for Hipsters, Portland’s attempt to compete with Austin’s weirdness by pilfering the beloved “Keep Austin Weird” slogan, rephrasing and claiming it as their own proved just how un-weird Portland really is. City pride and boasting aside, the Texecutioners are ready to settle the battle of the weird hipster cities once and for all, annihilating Rose City and dousing the Wheels of Justice in a Texas-style bloodbath.

Leading the Texecutioners to blood-splattered victory are two venerable, world-renowned derby powerhouses: Vicious Van GoGo (The Texecutioners’ most valuable player in 2011), a terrifying and unstoppable triple threat who catches opposing skaters off guard and racks up points with absolute ease in her bewitching style; and Bloody Mary, one of the founders of the Texas Rollergirls, an ambassador for the sport of roller derby worldwide, and a cut-throat jammer and blocker who instills utter terror in the minds and hearts of her opponents.

A longtime smashing, bashing success on the world derby stage, the Texecutioners won’t be the only Texas derby team obliterating their competition on bout night. May 19 also marks the long-awaited debut of the Firing Squad, Texas’ bloodcurdlingly formidable B Team, which will take on Rose City’s B Team, the Axles of Annihilation, in the opening bout of the night. Prepared to shoot Rose City down in a blaze of glory, the Firing Squad will bring the pain, Texas-style. Hey, Rose City, any last requests?

This epic battle, the hipster city showdown derby event, will take place Saturday night, May 19, at the Austin Convention Center at Fourth and Red River streets in downtown Austin. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., with opening ceremonies beginning at 5:45 p.m. The opening bout begins at 6 p.m., and the main event starts rolling at 7:30 p.m. Reduced-price tickets are available online at www.TexasRollergirls.org, and at Cheapo Records and Playland Skate Center. Tickets are also available at the door on bout day.

ABOUT THE TEXAS ROLLERGIRLS
The Texas Rollergirls is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit sports organization formed in 2003, and is widely recognized as the league that pioneered the modern incantation of flat track roller derby. Born and bred in Austin, roller derby is the fastest-growing sport in the world, with more than 1,000 leagues and growing. Flat track roller derby is a genuine athletic competition with well-defined rules, divisions, tournaments and a governing body: the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The Texas Rollergirls league is 100 percent skater-owned and managed. The league consists of four home teams: Hell Marys, Hotrod Honeys, Honky Tonk Heartbreakers and Hustlers, as well as the all-star Texecutioners travel team and the Texas B Team, the Firing Squad, both of which are comprised of members of the four home teams. The Texas Rollergirls league is dedicated to playing and promoting women’s flat track roller derby, a sport that began in Austin, Texas, and continues to take over the world. This is roller derby, and Texas is the reason.

For more information about the Texas Rollergirls and the upcoming hipster city showdown derby event on May 19, please call (512) 636-4899, or visit www.TexasRollergirls.org.
###

FOR MORE INFORMATION, INTERVIEWS OR GAME DAY PRESS ACCESS:
“Voodoo Doll” — media@texasrollergirls.org
Hi-res photos available on request.
www.texasrollergirls.org

Honky Tonk Heartbreakers’ Fundraiser – Friday, May 11
Come support the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers with their fundraiser at Cap City Comedy Club. Headlining Paul Varghese will have you in stitches starting at 8:00 p.m. Come early to bid on silent auction items. All the funds raised will go to help send the Heartbreakers to play The Philly Roller Girls and recoup 2012 expenses. Single tickets are $12 or take a friend and get 2 for $20 (2 drink minimum).

Red 7 Rock-n-Roll Party – Friday May 11
After the comedy show, come out to Red 7 for a free, all ages show with The Scary Mondelos, The Blue Flames, the Hotrod Hillbillies, and Gonzo City! This show will go until 2am — you don’t want to miss it!

Texecutioners vs. Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice – Saturday, May 19th
This is the game you don’t want to miss — our all-star Texecutioners are taking on the all-stars from Portland, OR and plan on showing them how we do it here in Texas. The game starts at 7:30pm. Arrive at the Convention Center early to see the debut game of our B-Team, the Firing Squad, vs. the B-Team from Portland’s Rose City. The doors open at 5:15pm, opening ceremonies are at 5:45pm! BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!

Viva La Streets Austin – Sunday, May 20th
Join us on Sunday, May 20th, for Viva Streets Austin – 6th Street (from Brazos to Robert Martinez) will be turned into a car-free, smoke-free playground for bikes, skates, skateboards and walking! We’ll be there around 10am — bring the family & come say hi!
http://www.vivastreetsaustin.org/

Hustlers’ Fundraiser – Sunday, May 20th
Come support the Hustlers during their fundraiser and enjoy mimosas, bloody marys, and brunch, and help your favorite 70s Derby stars make the trek to Vancouver!

There will be a silent auction with great items from Pro-Designed Pads, Johnson’s Backyard Gardens, Derby Girl, Thomas Bacon Photography, The Expedition School,  Derby Love, and many more!

Bring your friends along for the fun – and leave the kids with a babysitter!
The fundraiser is from 1-5pm at 709 Rio Grande Street. There is a suggested donation of $20 per person.

From the Austin Convention Center’s website:

In 2007, the City of Austin mandated that all city buildings adhere to LEED Silver or higher standards. The Austin Convention Center Convention Facilities Manager, David Thomas, took on the task of retrofitting 370,967 square feet of meeting space including five exhibit halls, seven ballrooms, and 54 meeting rooms. In October 2011, the Green Building Certification Institute Awarded the Austin Convention Center the LEED Gold Award, the highest recognition level.

---

The crown jewel in the Convention Center’s sustainability efforts is the waste mitigation program. Five years ago, the Austin Convention Center diverted 30 percent of its million pounds of annual waste from landfills. Today, the Center has reduced its overall waste to 750,000 pounds, with 67 percent of that waste recycled, composted, or repurposed.

You can read the full article here.

Come watch us skate at the Austin Convention Center this season – buy your tickets today!