Furies of the Future

Emerald City's little sisters, the Junior Gems, wrapped up their '09-10 regular season on Sunday with a hard-fought bout between the league's two teams--the Grease Monkeys and the Shipwrecked Sheilas. These young women (ages 10-18) are a sight to behold on the track! They play fast, hard, & aggressive roller derby despite broad age, size, and skill differences. During the regular season, the Gems play a limited-contact version of derby (positional blocking only, no big hits or body checks). The skaters work very hard at strategic team play, forced to use their brains instead of their brawn. While the Grease Monkeys executed some great offensive and defensive plays on Sunday, the Sheilas dominated the game and won with a score of 138-72.

Founded by our very own Fury, Vexine, in 2008, the Junior Gems personify the best things that derby offers -- fierce competition, every-body-type inclusion and athleticism, skill development, sportswomanship, sisterhood, positive conflict resolution, grassroots organizing, adult-to-teen/tween and peer-to-peer mentorship, and FUN! Vexine worked tirelessly to create a league that could offer these young women the same opportunities their older counterparts enjoyed. With a strong and dedicated volunteer corps of adult derby girls, refs, NSOs, parents, and friends-of-derby, the Gems have successfully hosted summer camps, twice-weekly practices, fundraising events, promotional appearances, and raucous bouts throughout their two 7-month seasons. Additionally, many of the stronger and more skilled Gems continue to play on the full-contact travel team, competing against other junior derby leagues around the Pacific Northwest in the late spring and summer.

Big plans are in play for next season as the Gems work out their growing pains by creating two divisions within their league. One division will welcome any young skater, regardless of derby knowledge or ability to develop their skills and learn the game from the ground up. The other division will feature more experienced junior derby girls who are interested in playing full-contact, full-time. If the last two seasons are any indication, the Emerald City Junior Gems will continue to produce some of the smartest, fastest, and most savvy derby girls the world has ever seen!

~Aphrofighty #19
15 March 2010