We had the privilege of chatting with some of the New Skids on the Block about their very successful Washington tour a few weeks back. But first some breaking news out of Boston! The New Skids defeat the Boston Massacre for the first time in their history with a 112-84 victory yesterday.

Montreal’s New Skids on the block traveled to the Boston Derby Dames’ home Shriner's Auditorium to take on the higher ranked WFTDA divisional rival Boston Massacre Saturday. The Skids had never defeated the Massacre. Montreal suffered defeats to Boston in last year’s “Derby in the Burbs” WFTDA East regional playoffs (147-85), in last year’s regular season (111-58), and also in their 2009 meeting with the Massacre (130-31). Could Montreal finally defeat Boston in the Massacres very own Beantown back yard?

Both sides were short some key players this time around, Montreal was without Ewan Wotarmy (Jammer) and Nameless Whorror (Blocker) while Bostson was without Maura Buse (Pivot/Jammer) and Killary Clinton (Jammer). Boston also had more players available on the bench than the visiting Skids.

[Pictured right: Georgia W. Tush gets a whip from her blocker]

After the Skids took an early 12-3 lead Boston came back with a vengeance starting with a powerjam for 20 unanswered points. After that powerjam the Massacre composed an onslaught of points peaking at a 44-21 lead before a spark occurred to ignite Montreal’s fire. Jammers Iron Wench, Georgia W. Tush, Lil Mama, and Mange for Montreal chipped away at Boston with the help of the Skids commanding pack control to capture a 47-46 halftime lead.

In the Second half Montreal poured on some early unanswered points forcing the Massacre to play catch up. Lil Paine and Claire D Way had great overall performances for the Massacre. Montreal never surrendered the lead and captured the majority of lead jam status solidiflying the victory. The final score was 112-84 for the New Skids which spoiled their rival’s home opener.

Boston is currently ranked 4th in the WFTDA East this quarter. Adding Montreal's Washington success a few weeks back with this huge win over Boston next quarter shall likely see the Skids improve on their current 7th WFTDA East rank, possibly catapulting above Boston.

Now the chat held with the Skids right after their successful Washington three bouts in three days road trip:

A few weeks ago, to play their first bouts of 2011, the New Skids on the Block traveled to Washington’s Puget Sound area to face three bouts in three days. The Skids are ranked 7th this quarter in the WFTDA East and it was of much interest to see how they would fair against some of the WFTDA West’s best seeds 7, 5, and 2.

[Pictured left: New Skids on the Block jammer Iron Wench has a huge 2011 1st quarter]

Not only was Montreal to do battle with three teams within three days but also travel about 3000 miles across the content to reach Washington’s Puget Sound area. This schedule with travel is a true test of a team’s conditioning and spirit. We had a chance to chat with Smack Daddy and Georgia W. Tush of the New Skids how the team paced itself for the demanding road trip.

Smack Daddy: “We trained really hard before hand. We practice 3 times a week on skates and do one sport specific off-skate training. Then we work-out on our won. We also make sure we're eating well and hanging out as a team the entire week-end."

Georgia W. Tush: “We are generally a pretty fit team and we have done 2+ game weekends before, so generally we can handle it. Injuries are tough however, when you already have a low roster. The good thing about a strong team is that you can take a break when needed. You need to be able to rely on your entire roster and not just a few key players. SHIT HAPPENS!”

Smack Daddy: “And most importantly we do our research... before trips we get together to watch games online, practice a lot of different strategies and learn how our opponents play so that once we are on the road we can relax enjoy our week-end knowing that well prepared to play the game that we love!”

First up for the Skids was the mighty Rat City All-Stars, ranked 5th in the West. The first half was muscled by Rat City as they claimed a 74-41 lead.

Smack Daddy: “Against Rat city we played our hearts out and just kept our cool, we were playing our first game of the season and we were testing out different strategies. When we realized something wasn't working we adjusted right away and made sure we were all on the same page. Our strength was communication and a strong pack, we held their jammers and helped ours when we could.”

However the second half was a different story as Iron Wench made a bold statement by opening the first jam of the second half with 19 unchallenged points. From there the Skids chipped away at Rat City’s lead.

Georgia W. Tush: “For me it was really exciting to play against Rat City. There are players on that team that I wanted to play against for years, like Kamikazee Kim, Wiley Peyote, and Carmen Getsome. This game was super fun because they are a tough team, and we brought it back to a victory after a 40 point deficit. We tried to focus on playing one jam at a time. That helps you not freak out when your down and also keeps you more level headed when you're up.”

With victory so close to be had and the comeback almost complete by the neon underdogs, Iron Wench took to the jammer line to capitalize on Juliette Bravo stranded in the Sin Bin. With Iron Wench and Skid blockers dominating the Rat City pack Juliette Bravo could do little after being released to stop the Skids from claiming the lead in the final seconds. Ewan Wotarmy took the final lead status burning off the last seconds of the game and called it quickly securing the victory.

Smack Daddy: “Beating Rat city was awesome, it was our first game since Regionals in September so we didn't put too much pressure on ourselves, we went into that game wanting to play solid and come out with our head's held high. Most of our players had just travels all day and night to get to the game, one player actually landed an hour before the beginning of the game! We didn't have any expectations which I think worked in our favour, we just had fun, played the game and stayed tight as a pack.”

Jet City were the next second opponents for the Skids. “We knew our game vs Jet would be a close match”, Georgia W. Tush commented. The neon warriors had to battle the superb Jet City players and their home track differences compared to Eastern travels. “Generally the games were faster out there, but they also had much grippier floors than out here. Therefore, it was harder to keep a slow game happening. That's what really affected us in the Jet game.”—Georgia W. Tush

Smack Daddy: “Against Jet City is was all about calm and teamwork. We know each other well and are able to support each other emotionally when we feel like a team is being dirty and beating up on us. They came in with a dirty game and it threw us off for a while, allowing them to take the lead but once we talked it over at halftime and realized what was going on we adjusted our gameplay and stuck together emotionally so that we stay calm and not engage but rather play our solid and clean game and creep back up on the scoreboard, which led to a victory!”

This was a second straight nail biter victory that the New Skids patiently earned. “One thing we often had issues with was winning very close games, and regaining our cool once it was lost on the bench.” Stated Georgia W. Tush. The Iron Wench once again hammered the nail in the opponents coffin earning the points in the last minute to pave the road to victory.

“Oly was one of the most fun games I have ever played. We went into that game with nothing to lose and LOTS to learn. They were such amazing skaters and so hard to knock down. The moment the broke through our walls their jammers were gone. Apparently they didn't score for against us for about 7 jams in the second period, which is kind of crazy!” – Georgia W. Tush

The Oly Rollers had the New Skids number in Montreal’s last bout of the challenging road trip. Oly is currently ranked 2nd in the west division of WFTDA and owners of WFTDA Win Streak Record (22-0), the 2009 National Championship, and nearly won the 2010 National Championship edged by one point to the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 147-146 in the finals. Cosa Nostra Donnas took a, most likely fatigued, New Skids team to derby school. With the Skids dedicated to improving it will be interesting to see a rematch if these two meet in the post season.

In closing the most important thing about sports is to have fun and take steps at fine tuning play. And being a fan and watching the Skids over the years, they are truly a family and dedicated to raising their level of play.

Smack Daddy: “The skids are truly a special and happy Neon family. We love each other and that allows us to take the track 3 times in a week-end and kick ass cause we have each other's backs. We take care of each other, we laugh a lot, we dance and we rest.”

Georgia W. Tush: “It's really important to learn from your wins and losses so you can bring those skills to your next game.”

[Pictured right: Smack Daddy makes a hole in order for Tush to leap through the pack]

Do we all have a case of neon excitement in 2011? Oh yes my friends, oh yes!

“Oh, and Iron Wench played amazing all week-end, she really is a fucking superstar!” – Smack Daddy