My Experience at a Roller Derby Match

By: Taryn Kelly

On Thursday, February 27^th, I attended a Queen City Roller Derby (QCRD) match between the Devil Dollies and the Alley Katz. Overall, I had a great experience, I would rate it a 4.5 out of 5. The turnout of the audience was more than I expected, so it got loud when something exciting was happening.

In terms of pricing, I think most of the prices were fair. Before the match started, I purchased a winter hat for $26 and a T-shirt for $21. I think the price for the T-shirt was fair, however, I think the price for the winter hat was a little too expensive. For food, I got two drinks and a side of fries for a total of $11, which I believe was a perfect amount for the value of the food. Lastly, for the two general admission tickets, the total came to almost $40. Each general admission ticket cost $18 plus tax.

I believe the ticket prices were somewhat fair, but a tad bit on the expensive side, I think general admission tickets should be around $15-16 each. I say this because the QCRD seems more like a WNY league than a nationwide league, so I feel like if the prices were cheaper, more people may be interested in attending a match.

As for the game itself, I found myself really interested the whole time, especially since it was a very fast-paced game. The final score of the match was 216-130, with a Devil Dollies win. The players were aggressive, but the pushing and shoving didn’t really start until the end of the second half. I was really impressed with the announcers’ ability to announce the game while it was going on, especially since everything was happening so rapidly. The announcers helped understand the game more, however, it was hard to hear and comprehend them at some points.

Something that I think helped a lot is that they were handing out tiny booklets that consisted of the teams, players, rules, and about the league in general. Although the handouts were helpful, I still think it would have been nice if they had the rules on the screens while the game was going on.

I found that the first half felt a little longer than the second, and having multiple jams made the match go by faster. For each jam, the lineup changes and players rotate, that way the audience is not watching the same players and lineup throughout the match. I expected that the players would get subbed out from time to time, but I didn’t think that it would be as often as it was. However, I think having multiple jams with changes in the lineup each time made the game more interesting and refreshing, since you’re not watching the same people the whole time.

There were a few negative aspects about the event. Some other notable details include how the entrance to the event was unclear, this caused multiple people to walk into the wrong building. The bathrooms were not clearly labeled, as well, and the seating arrangement was confusing. The seating was confusing because it was difficult to tell which section was which. Something that I think can improve the seating arrangement is to coordinate the seats with the color wristbands we received after checking in.

Overall, I think it was a good experience, and I had a great time! There were a few downsides to the event, but in my opinion, there were mostly good things about it.