Mayor Leffingwell ushers in the Texas Rollergirls season opener

Mayor Leffingwell ushers in the Texas Rollergirls season opener

By Mary Tuma Monday, 01 March 2010

Nearly 1,000 Austinites cheered on the Texas Rollergirls during their first game of the 2010 season in a packed Playland Skate Center on Sunday night. As he promised after the Rollergirls won second place in Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) National Championship, Mayor Lee Leffingwell blew the opening whistle to welcome the inaugural bout.

The Hell Marys, Hotrod Honeys, Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, and Hustlers, the city’s four home teams, played each other in six mini-bouts. In their eighth season, the Austin-based athletes have attracted attention from City Council recently. In early February the Parks and Recreation Department opened its facilities for practice sessions, while Leffingwell declared Dec.18 the official Texas Rollergirls Day.

The only sports league of its kind, Texas Rollegirls Rock-n-Rollerderby pioneered today’s Flat Track Derby movement in 2003. Today, more than 300 of these teams exist worldwide. Fully skater-owned and managed the league competes against other Texas teams, including Houston and Dallas, for the coveted Governor’s Cup, a bronze-colored Armadillo on skates. The fifth team, the Texecutioners, is a made-up of all-star players from each of the four home teams. In 2006, they won the WFTDA first Flat Track National Tournament.

For the season schedule, times and additional information, visit: www.txrollergirls.com