Photo by Nichalos Dobbins Augusta’s Soul City Sirens took on the Rogue Rollergirls of Fayetteville, N.C., Oct. 25 at the Red Wing Rollerway Roller Skating Rink on Washington Road in Augusta. Skaters bump and jam their way around the rink during the bout. In the end Rollergirls defeated the Sirens, 80 to 77. The Siren’s last bout of the season is Nov. 21 in Columbia, S.C., against the Quad Squad at the Jamil Temple. Augusta’s own roller derby team, The Soul City Sirens took on the Rogue Rollergirls, Oct. 25 in a bout dubbed 28 Jams Later, Night of the Undead Roller Derby. To play on the theme, the venue Red Wing Rollerway Roller Skating Rink in Augusta was decorated with tomb stones which had the names of the Rogue Rollergirls on them and the Sirens wore zombie makeup. At half-time children from the audience came to the middle of the floor and played a mummy wrap relay race. They were in competition for zombie dolls handmade by the Sirens’ own Ethyl Agitate. The Rogue Rollergirls are from Fayetteville, N.C. Due to their proximity to Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg, many of the Rogue Rollergirls are either military members or military spouses. Three of their players are currently deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Sirens last took on Rogue Feb. 15 with Rogue taking the win for a final score of 128-168. Determined to show Rogue how much they have improved this season, the Sirens gave Rogue a run for their money Sunday night [Oct. 25]! The Sirens were leading in points for the first few jams of the bout, but by half time Rogue had pulled ahead with the score at 38-48. Rogue has some larger blockers whom they use to their advantage by building walls of two to three girls. The Sirens constantly had to work hard to break up these walls with solid shoulder hits and booty blocks. Domestic Disturbance, one of the Sirens’ hard hitters said that hitting Rogue’s Samoa Pain was like hitting a brick wall. In addition, Rogue’s star jammer and founder Bull Lee, likes to fight it with the other jammer around the track. She often knocked the Sirens’ jammer to the ground. The Sirens’ Damn Yankee held her own with Bull Lee by hitting her back as well as side stepping her and then out sprinting Bull Lee around the track. At one point Bull Lee knocked Princess Whackaho straight into the Rogue bench, but Princess jumped right back on her skates and flew around the unsuspecting Bull Lee.

The competition for the entire bout was fierce and the fans were often on their feet cheering the Sirens’ jammer on. With two minutes left on the clock and Rogue in a three point lead, Pollie Hatchett was the Sirens’ jammer for the last jam of the bout. She managed to match the Rogue jammer point for point and while that wasn’t enough to win the game, it kept the score difference the same. The final score was 77 to 80 with Rogue taking the win.

The audience chose Damn Yankee as the Most Valued Player for the Sirens and Bull Lee as Most Valued Player for Rogue.

While not taking the win, the fans and the Sirens felt like it was a very successful bout. Everybody present said it was the best bout of the season. It is also the last home bout of the 2009 Roller Derby Season. The Sirens’ last bout of the season will be Nov. 21 in Columbia, S.C., against the Quad Squad at the Jamil Temple. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the bout starts at 6 o’clock. The theme will be Cornucopia of Pain. For more information about the Siren’s upcoming events and 2010 season schedule, visit www.soulcitysirens.com.