Category Archives: BAD Skater of the Month

The B.A.D. Girl of the Month of May is one of our newer skaters, rolling out in the silver and pink of the Berkeley Resistance, Foxy Throwdown! #10 in your programs, #1 in your hearts, Foxy comes to us from colder and wetter Seattle, where she skated for Rat City. And what’s she done since she got here? Oh, only wrestled to the ground the vastly complex committee that is Bay Area Derby Girls PR. As someone said when she was nominated, Foxy is “THE BOSS. Killing it since jumping in to take over PR, flying by the seat of her pants and making awesome [stuff] happen. In addition to being very nice and a fantastic communicator.”

[Author’s note: the writer of the B.A.D. Girl of the Month posts is a member of the PR committee, and can agree wholeheartedly with those statements] But like all B.A.D. Girls, Foxy isn’t just about how she makes the league better off the track. There’s that pesky business of making her team better ON the track. She’s a fearsome presence on skates. As a teammate put it, “She’s extremely good at taking people down with her [butt]. Jammers try to hit her out of the way and basically bounce back off and end up on the ground.” She’s also “very into team camaraderie,” which is also evidenced in how well she’s fit in to the league at large. Congratulations to a warm and intelligent addition to the league, and this month’s Bad Girl of the Month, Foxy Throwdown!

We're currently catching up on a backlog of BAD Girl of the Month articles that are overdue! From April 2015 . . .

She is instrumental in keeping BAD running behind the scenes by volunteering to run league practices as well as B&W scrimmages. With her positive attitude and great listening skills, Gretchen helped bring home the Berkeley Resistance's first league championship in 2015. Read more about what keeps this Libra’s seven-year derby career ticking below.

Photo credit: Mark Nockleby

For September 2015, we recognize the 2015 Rookie of the Year, Dreadzilla. The Oakland Outlaws' newest addition and an indomitable jammer, Dreadzilla comes to us by way of the Peninsula Roller Girls. In her short time at BAD, Dreadz started an informal derby training program for beginning and returning derby players in Dolores Park and quickly made a name for herself as a regularly rostered jammer. During BAD's volunteer events, Dreadz can be seen sporting an extravagant outfit and a big smile while pouring you a cold one. Come see her at our next home team game of if you can’t wait that long, check out her design business, Facebook or on Instagram @serpentesdesigns.

Photo credit: IGP Photo

March’s BAD Skater of the Month, Red Card, is a perfect example of how Bay Area Derby strives to include their local community from step one and beyond as we continue to grow our organization from the ground up.  After seeing her very first derby bout at the Craneway Pavilion about two years ago, Red Card signed up for our intro program, the Reckless Rollers. She also began volunteering as an official. After learning the basics and drawing from her competitive athlete background, Red put in the hard work necessary to make the jump from newbie to league member and passed tryouts. It wasn’t long after that Red found her way on to the roster of the Oakland Outlaws. In March 2016, she skated in her first ever game with the Outlaws against the Santa Cruz Derby Girls.

Red Card’s admirable work ethic doesn’t just end on the track. In addition to continuing to serve as a non-skating official, Red also serves her league as a member of the facilities committee and the bar manager for our Events team. In essence, she keeps our house clean and safe, our thirsts properly indulged or hydrated, and she’s got our backs on the track. Red’s dedication on and off the track has made this homegrown hero an incredibly valued member of both her team and the league as a whole.

Photo Credit: Lucas Saugen

To be a successful teammate you need to exhibit hard work on the derby track, both at practice and on game day. To hold successful sporting events for thousands of fans you need a creative mind, strong organization and even more HARD WORK. Pomba is known by her team and league as on of the hardest of workers in her roles skating with the Berkeley Resistance and as Events Co-Manager and for that, we recognize her awesomeness and dedication from November 2015.

Photo cropped to feature Pomba. Original photo credit: Mark Nockleby

From July 2015, we'd like to recognize this BAD skater . . .

Mary Prankster is no joke when it comes to BAD finances. She’s been whipping the Finance Committee into to all-star shape by streamlining processes, compiling excellent reports so we can all see where the league is financially, and generally rocking things all around. Also, in her arsenal is an array of valuable architectural knowledge as BAD continues searching for a new practice space. From drawing up track dimensions and then helping us maintain our budget – BAD is lucky to have Pranks keeping us from too much mayhem.

Photo credit: Lucas Saugen

For many roller derby fans,  the spectacle of a tenacious jammer attacking a wall of defenders well represents the intensity of the modern flat track game. Out on the track, size doesn’t matter nearly as much as agility and craftiness; and Bay Area Derby Skater of the Month for January, Frightmare, is all the proof you need!

Transferring to BAD at the end of 2014, Fright was drafted to the Berkeley Resistance and quickly fell into their primary jammer rotation, playing a part in the team’s overall success and 2015 Championship victory. Additionally, she joined the Bay Area All-Stars in 2015 and put up points as a jammer all season, helping the team in their fight at WFTDA Playoffs and Championships. Fright’s dedication to roller derby is also evident off the track; she is the head of our PR Committee and has a wheel in a few other committees – all of which benefit from her amazing focus and thoroughness.

Photo credit: Ryan Quick || Quick ‘N’ Derby

Don’t mind us as we play catch-up and give recognition to our April BAD Skater of the Month!

Since transferring to BAD from Central California Area Derby in Fresno, KillA Beezy’s been a tremendous asset to BAD both on and off wheels. She’s always eager to learn, willing to help, and will take on just about any challenge put in front of her. A member of the Berkeley Resistance, Beezy’s dedication to growing her skills set and being a supportive teammate is apparent. She’s always got a smile on her face, is happy to do whatever her team needs in the moment and has no qualms about putting her head down and just doing WORK.

If you’re a follower on Bay Area Derby’s Facebook and Instagram pages, you can credit Beezy for the steady stream of info, pictures and derby fun. If that isn’t enough, she’s also been instrumental within our Merchandising Committee.

She’s smart, works hard and is very much a positive addition to the continued stream of skaters transferring into BAD. In fewer words: we’re glad you’re here, Beezy!

Photo credit: Into the Void Photography

May’s BAD Skater of the Month is an individual who has gone above and beyond since she joined the league.

Pomba #242 (the skater formerly known as Hakunama Pomba) could be BAD Skater of the Month every month of the year! Pomba is the epitome of a team player whose hard work on and off the track help keep BAD rolling strong. As a blocker/pivot for Berkeley and a 2016 travel team skater, she clocks in nearly as many hours as a full-time job with her Insurance Liaison and co-Events Manager positions — along with other league tasks she picks up throughout the month. Often one of the first skaters to arrive and last to leave when volunteering at BAD’s games and outreach events, you can give her a fist bump when she reps Berkeley’s hippies July 23rd at the Craneway Pavilion in their game against the San Francisco ShEvil Dead.

In 2015 New York City’s own Sweet Sherry Pie packed up her skates (and her family) to venture across the country with one mission — to skate with Bay Area Derby. Maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but in the year BAD welcomed Pie into our league she has become an outstanding addition to our skating community. Not only does she manage zombies on skates as this season’s co-coach of the ShEvil Dead, she also stepped up into league leadership as BAD’s Advertising and Marketing Manager.

When Pie isn’t skating or herding creative and marketing cats, you can find her at Dogtown Athletics boxing or sweating it out in a HIIT class.

Read on to hear more from February’s BAD Skater of the Month, Sweet Sherry Pie!

Photo credit: Juan Montalvo