With names like Bionic Babydoll, Absolutely Scabulous and Fightmaster Flash, Silicon Valley Roller Girls return to the rink February 16 with more campy fun and bone-crushing competition.
SVRG, composed of five teams at various levels of competition, will play five bouts in San Jose, with the A-level team, Dot.Kamikazes, traveling out of state for tournaments.
Skater Lexi Baldisseri, aka Absolutely Scabulous, says the home season opener at San Jose Skate should be an exciting match as the Visalia V-town Derby Dames look for redemption after a good beating last year.
“We beat them, but this time I think they’re out for blood because they really want to beat us and they’ve played three games already, so it should be a really exciting bout,” says Baldisseri, who has played roller derby for four years. “I just want to get the season started already.”
Baldisseri says the Dot.Kamikazes have a pretty challenging schedule this season with two tournaments—one in Tucson, Ariz., and another in Eugene, Ore.
“We’re really preparing for a big tournament in April, the Dust Devil tournament [in Tucson],” she says. “It’s going to be right smack dab in the middle of our season and we’re going to be playing some games that count a lot for ranking.”
Roller derby bouts include two teams of five skaters competing for two 30-minute halfs on a circular track. The jammers (offensive players on the teams) attempt to pass through the opposing team’s skaters to receive points. Every two minutes, new skaters are rotated into the lineup off the bench.
Baldisseri says she started taking an interest in roller derby when she moved to San Jose and didn’t know a lot of people. She wanted some female camaraderie and was tired of working out alone.
“I saw this group of women that valued the same thing I did and were doing something interesting as a team,” Baldisseri says. “As women, we don’t get to play a lot of team sports in our adult lives, so I started.”
She says it is a very physically demanding sport and she is now in the best shape of her life because of it.
Bri Mamuzich-Waddell,aka Bionic Babydoll the Dot. Kamikazes captain, says she enjoys the challenge of the sport.
“I like the fact that you can challenge yourself on what your body is capable of doing,” says Mamuzich-Waddell, who started playing the sport in 2007. “I love the speed and pushing myself to its limit. I’m completely hooked. I like the adrenaline.”
Although Mamuzich-Waddell started the sport in 2007 after moving to California from Montana, she had to take a year and a half break because of multiple back surgeries.
“I was told there was a chance I wouldn’t go back into a contact sport,” Mamuzich-Waddell says. “But I’m a stubborn person and wanted to prove them wrong, so I was more motivated to get better at what I do.”
Mamuzich-Waddell, whose original derby name was Broken Babydoll because she was tiny when she started out, was renamed Bionic Babydoll after her return in 2010. Her teammates and coaches didn’t want to call her broken anymore, and it made sense with metal screws and rods in her back.
“It hasn’t impaired my skating, if anything it’s forced me to work harder and push myself,” Mamuzich-Waddell says. “It made me realize anything can happen at any time so you should go full out and do the best you can. It’s only made me a better skater and player.”
She says it’s rewarding being a team captain because she likes to keep the team motivated and see them succeed at something they have been trying for a while.
“Winning is great, but you can’t really win unless all those other parts click,” Mamuzich-Waddell says.
Another big part of the game is their fans, according to Baldisseri, which offer friendly heckling and encouragement at bouts.
“I personally love a good heckling audience. Bring your signs; I want to hear you scream,” Baldisseri says. “We like having fans on both sides for and against us. It makes it more intense.”
Home Bouts
Saturday February 16th
Dots vs Visalia V-town Derby Dames
Killas vs San Fernando Valley Like OMG’s
Saturday May 11th
Killas vs Santa Cruz Harbor Hellcats
SVRG Derby 2.0 (Juniors) vs Santa Cruz Derby Groms
Saturday June 22nd
Dots vs Duke City The Munecas Muertas (WFTDA sanctioned)
Killas vs Undead Bettys
Saturday August 17th
Dots vs Central Coast Roller Derby-SK805 (WFTDA sanctioned)
Killas vs Monterey–Beasts of Eden
Saturday September 28th
Dots vs Humboldt – Redwood Rollers (WFTDA sanctioned)
Killas vs Shasta Roller Derby – Assassins
Away Bouts
Saturday May 18th
Killas vs Resurrection
Saturday September 14th
Dots vs Santa Cruz Boardwalk Bombshells (WFTDA sanctioned)
‘Red’ at the Stage in San Jose 
SAP Open Tournament in San Jose 
