This is a big evening for women’s flat track roller derby in Northern Minnesota: The Iron Range Maidens are hosting their first home bout!
It’s today, Sat. May 21st, at the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapdis, MN. Doors open at 6:30p.
For the main event The Maidens will face off with Capital City Roller Girls of Bismark, ND – a league that also formed late last year. There will also be derby queens from Bemidji, Duluth, Fergus Falls, and Thunder Bay for the pre-bout mixer scrimmage of GI Janes vs Brutal Barbies.
Every derby bout benefits a cause, and today isn’t just the predicated date of the (failed) rapture, it’s also Armed Forces Day. The Maidens have been practicing at the National Guard Armory in Grand Rapids since October. Maiden Butterscotch Bitch wrote, “…More than the place, we wanted to support the National Guard men that have been supporting us all along the way. I doubt they even realize how their quiet support has given us so much confidence to get out on the floor and work hard as a team. At tonight’s bout we’ll have a color guard and also celebrate all the military and veterans in our audience. Part of our proceeds go to Operation Minnesota Nice – an organization that provides support and comfort to those serving in our armed forces.”
I even hear there will be t-shirts that say “Derby Old Man” – I’m going to have to get me one of those!
If you haven’t been to a bout, or you’re curious about the ladies out there knocking each other down in short skirts and fishnets, or if you don’t quite follow the action yet, check out my feature The Women of Roller Derby, featuring Bemidji’s Babe City Rollers and I Hulk of the Iron Range Maidens:
The Women of Roller Derby
Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby has exploded across northern MN, with the Babe City Rollers in Bemidji, and the Iron Range Maidens. Derby is a very physical sport, known for hard hits and short skirts. Producer Doug MacRostie wondered, ‘who are these derby girls, and what draws them to this sport?’, and it isn’t who he expected. Doug set out to find a dominatrix derby girl, and instead discovered The Women of Roller Derby.
Macedelic Studios 
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