Roxanna Hardplace, DDG Travel Team MVP

Posted on February 16, 2009

by Holly Hitsville

Roxanna Hardplace and Cookie Rumble take on ARRG.

Roxanna Hardplace #3cc plays for the D-Funk Allstars as well as the Detroit Derby Girls Travel Team (DDG). On January 31, she was voted MVP of the DDG vs. Arch Rival Roller Girls (ARRG) bout. This weekend she also played an important role in helping the D-Funk Allstars secure their first win of the season. You can catch Roxanna Hardplace and her team in action on March 14, when D-Funk Allstars take on the Detroit Pistoffs, at the Masonic Temple. I caught up with her a few weeks ago to talk some derby.

Tell us about your skating background before roller derby.

I started ice skating when I was three and have been skating in one form or another ever since. Although I have competed in pretty much every discipline of figure skating, I focused mainly on freestyle and synchronized skating, competing internationally in Europe in synchronized skating for several years.

How long have you been playing with the DDG and when did you start skating for the Travel Team?

I have been involved since July 2007 and have been on the Travel Team since April 2008.

Roxanna Hardplace and Vicious Vixen holding up ARRG.

The first three jams or so of the DDG vs. ARRG were a nail-bitter. ARRG actually had the lead and personally, I was a little worried. Then DDG came back hard. What happened there in the beginning of the bout? How did your team start playing differently?

Sometimes we tend to be kind of a slow-starting team. Once we have played in a few jams, we start to understand how the other team is playing and how we can adjust our game to counter theirs.

You were voted the MVP of the bout last Saturday. You could see the concentration on your face out there and you just looked tough. I spoke with you a few days after and you mentioned you had made a breakthrough on your skating during that bout. Can you elaborate on that statement?

Some days you just feel like everything clicks. That Saturday was one of those days for me. I was extremely focused, but I also felt that my timing for hits, leans, etc. was dead on. The DDG Travel Team is also made up of some amazing skaters. Everyone was doing their individual jobs wonderfully, which made it very easy to mesh well and play together as a team.

Roxanna Hardplace surrounded by Pistol Whippers

What kind of boots/wheels do you roll on?

My boots are Riedell 965 Minx and the wheels I am currently using are D-rods, although I also really like the Omegas.

There’s a fundraiser to support the DDG Travel Team this Tuesday Feb 17. Can you give us the details?

The DDG Travel Team needs support paying for cross-country trips for WFTDA bouts, tournaments, uniforms, lodgings, etc. The derby girls will act as guest grillers at the BD’s Mongolian BBQ in Royal Oak and part of the proceeds will be donated to the DDG Travel Team. It begins at 6pm. Tickets are $25 adults/$12 kids. Prices include one bowl of stir-fry, soup, salad, a non-alcoholic beverage, tip, and taxes! Come out and help us get on the road! Seatings are promptly at 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door. BD’s Mongolian BBQ is located at 430 S. Main Street, Royal Oak.

Photos provided by Colin Johnson.

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