Pink Panzer’s Top 5 Things Popular in the ’80s

Name: Pink Panzer

Hometown: Northampton, Mass.

Derby number: 88

Team: Quabbin Missile Crisis, WMDs

My top 5 things that were popular in the ’80s (in no particular order):

1. Hats (esp. berets – I had, like, 20 of them!) (And I was totally a valley girl – sort of.)
2. Milly Ringwald – Pretty much the reason why I started dying my hair…I mean, this is totally my natural color…
3. Perms  (Oh – it was bad in the ’80s – bangs and everything)
4. My denim jacket – it was acid washed, covered in pins and buttons and brooches, and I wore it off one shoulder.
5. Madonna – even though I didn’t really dress like her, she was everything that was popular in the ’80s.

My idea of a perfect derby day is: getting to play a fun and challenging bout – hard work is rewarding when you get to see it come together with your teammates!

My goals for the season are: to not get hurt – injuries suck! Nothing broken, no tears (as in muscles and tendons) and to be the best teammate I can for my ladies!

If the Hot Chocolate Run Finish Line was a Movie…

When they’re not perfecting their moves in practice or zooming around opponents in a bout, PVRD skaters look for opportunities to give back to the community.

For the past couple of years, the league has volunteered to hand out mugs to participants at the annual Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage, a benefit for a local shelter. This year, over 5,000 people—including some PVRDers—completed the 5K run and a 2 mile walk through downtown Northampton.

Skaters described the event as “a good cause” and “absolutely inspirational.” (See an interview of a couple of PVRDers on WWLP 22 and a gallery of photos from the day.)

What would the movie version of the volunteer effort look like? Take a look below to see one possible trailer option.

Meet the 2012 Board of Directors

In the annual changing of the guard, Pioneer Valley Roller Derby members elected a new board of directors on December 12.

The new board members range from skaters who’ve been with PVRD since the beginning to skaters with less than a season under their belts; from a head ref with a flair for pastries to a yarn-loving treasurer; from a critical care nurse captain to a social media manager.

So, just who are the league representatives this year?

Roller Derby World Cup: A French-American Derby Adventure

Router Girl for Team France

By Router Girl

It’s still hard for me to believe that in about a week I leave for Toronto to join Team France and play in the first ever Roller Derby World Cup!

In fact, Team France will be playing the opening game of the world cup against Team Canada on Thursday, December 1st. We then play against Brazil and Sweden on Friday. After that we’ll see what the rankings bring…

Check out the bout schedule, player profiles and other Team France links in this handy PDF.

Thirteen countries are represented at the world cup: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and the U.S.A.

There are many people to credit for how I found my way to Team France.

Pink Panzer #88 (millimeter)

Age: 35

Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas and Northampton, Mass.

PVRD teams: Co-Captain, WMDs, and Captain, Quabbin Missile Crisis

Isn’t it obvious what icon would best represent Pink Panzer? “Duh, a pink tank,” she says.

All Panzer’s fans want to know which came first, the hair or the name. (Panzer admits it’s the hair. It’s been pink more longer and more often than she’s been skating.)

Panzer says she should probably pick grenades or missiles or even Bazookas as her favorite weapon of destruction, but really her favorite weapons are her hips because “I’ve destroyed whole packs with them before.”

Panzer’s story of sports redemption goes a bit like this: She played soccer all of her life, but wasn’t into playing other sports…until she saw derby for the first time. Panzer decided that the sport looked awesome and decided to give it a shot herself. “And I loved it. Yeah!” she says

Find out where you can see Pink Panzer in a bout or give her a big hello on Facebook.