return to rochester, where it began.

This weekend the Oz Roller Girls play in Rochester, and I return to the place where roller derby first captured my heart: The Dome Arena, where Roc City’s B Sides will host Oz in the first half of Saturday’s Attack of the 50 ft. Jammer doubleheader.

We can thank my friend Colleen, aka Col Lision of Roc City’s 19th Wardens NSO crew for being there in the first place. A bunch of us higher ed web geek types were having a gathering in Rochester and Colleen put an intraleague bout between two of Roc City’s house teams — the 5-H8-5s and the Rotten Chesters — on the schedule.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew the sport was real, not like its sports-entertainment antecedent that cheesed up TV screens a few decades ago. But I had no idea the level of skill, athleticism and teamwork involved — to say nothing of the incredible fan experience — until that night.

And what a bout it was. Back and forth over and over, and I picked up a rooting interest in the 5-H8-5s that made it even more thrilling. Finally it came down to the final jam and it looked like the Rotten Chesters had it sewn up with a small lead and the 5-H5-5 jammer with time left in the penalty box. But one of the 5-H8-5 blockers put a huge hit on the Rotten Chester jammer, who ended up crawling off the track and appearing to throw up, while the 5-H8-5 jammer jumped out of the box and grabbed just enough points to win. I’d seen a lot of thrilling sports moments, but that one was so electric.

After meeting the Oz Roller Girls, volunteering and becoming very involved, I’ve seen my share of amazing finishes here. Like when Oz showed perfect teamwork to hold on for a last-second win against the Black River Rollers. Or when they won the inaugural Triple D Tournament with an amazing last-jam come-from-behind win over the Bluestockings in the championship game.

Even more interestingly, I return to Rochester as part of the announcing team for the B-Sides vs. Oz match, working with Roc City’s awesome production crew. Will more last-second magic take place when these two teams square off? Hard to say, but in this enchanting place I wouldn’t rule out anything.