Our primary location is the Sports & Fitness Edge 75 Farrell Street, South Burlington, Vermont 05403 where we skate on a rubberized sport floor. There is plenty of room to set up a track. For experienced skaters visiting us, the floor is very sticky and slow. Wear hard wheels! Around our track area is also an elevated running track which we some times skate on for endurance.

Occasionally we will also have practice at the Sports & Fitness Edge location in Essex Junction, Vermont. At this location we get to practice on their wood basketball floor.

All Burlington Bombers members have access to discounted group membership to the Sports & Fitness Edge. Having this opportunity is a great way for our members to develop as well rounded athletes. With pools, weight rooms, fitness studios, sport courts of all kinds and classes in many disciplines, our members have access to some of the best training facilities in New England.

Please check our calendar for times and locations, but our practices are generally Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

You can now help the Burlington bombers grow by donating via PayPal.

Thank you for your support!

Stay tuned as we will start collecting for a Christmas food drive soon.

Roller Derby is a sport the whole family will enjoy. Our skaters have “skater names” which can be racy, but are taken on to help us separate the very different person that is revealed when we play our sport from our professional lives living and working in this community.

If you’ll be attending a bout at the Essex Skating Facility, be prepared for a very fan-friendly, family-friendly, intimate experience! Not only will our fans be allowed and encouraged to sit trackside (and possibly find a roller girl or boy in the lap), we’re continuing to party with our teams at OnTap after the bouts!

So bring your comfy sports chair, buy a beverage at the snack bar, and get ready to witness some intense roller sports action!

What to bring

• Your friends, family, and kids
• Money for food, beverage and donations
• A derby team shirt (Don’t have one? Get one at the bout!)
• Cameras – still and video (for sharing with the team and posting on the web)
• Noise makers
• Signs supporting your favorite skater or group of skaters

How derby is Played

Each team consists of up to 14 skaters and can have up to five skaters on the track at a time:  a scoring skater called the Jammer, three Blockers, and a special blocker called the Pivot.

The blockers form a skating pack. The pack starts skating at the first whistle then the jammers (who start behind the pack) start sprinting at the second whistle. The jammers then skate through the pack to get in scoring position. The first one through the pack legally is called the lead jammer.

Both jammers continue to sprint around the pack a second time and get through the pack again. On their second and future trips, a point is scored for every opponent passed. The blockers work to stop the other team’s jammer from passing and help their team’s jammer get through. The Jam goes on for 2 minutes or until the Lead Jammer calls it off.

Blockers help their own jammer with assists known as whips and pushes. Teammates have no restriction in assisting each other and may touch, push, pull, and grab. Blocking opponents, however, comes with some restrictions – no tripping, blocking the back, hitting with elbows, forearms or hands, or hitting above the shoulders or below mid-thigh.

Skaters may not skate in a clockwise direction to hit and skating out of bounds or too far in front or behind the pack can also earn a penalty. Penalties send skaters to the penalty box for a minute and the team skates short those skaters until penalties are served.

A bout is usually made up of two 30-minute periods with 15 minutes in between each half.

After the bout, skaters love to meet with fans, sign t-shirts, programs, and fliers. So don’t be afraid to step up after the bout and visit with your favorite skaters. Both teams would love to talk with you, have their pictures taken with you, and talk derby.

That’s why we do it! We play derby because its fun. We hope when you come to one of our bouts you’ll find it contagious!

If you have a question we could answer in our FAQ, want to know more about our league, teams, sponsorship or derby in general, drop us a line: rollerderby@burlingtonbombers.com.

Download our Graphic Primer

Our primary location is the Sports & Fitness Edge 75 Farrell Street, South Burlington, Vermont 05403 where we skate on a rubberized sport floor. There is plenty of room to set up a track. For experienced skaters visiting us, the floor is very sticky and slow. Wear hard wheels! Around our track area is also an elevated running track which we some times skate on for endurance.

Occasionally we will also have practice at the Sports & Fitness Edge location in Essex Junction, Vermont. At this location we get to practice on their wood basketball floor.

All Burlington Bombers members have access to discounted group membership to the Sports & Fitness Edge. Having this opportunity is a great way for our members to develop as well rounded athletes. With pools, weight rooms, fitness studios, sport courts of all kinds and classes in many disciplines, our members have access to some of the best training facilities in New England.

Please check our calendar for times and locations, but our practices are generally Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Since the 1930s, men and women have played double headers of roller derby and now Vermont is home to its first co-ed flat track roller derby league.  Our men and women have been training hard and are ready to compete for you!

Up first, in alternating periods, the Burlington Bombers’ Bomb Quads take on the Mass Maelstrom of Central Mass Roller Derby, Worcester, Massachusetts. Experience the growing excitement for men’s flat track derby the rest of New England has known for years. Witness history with this first ever men’s bout in Vermont. The Maelstrom is a rising star in regional men’s derby. They play a short roster, but have experience playing much stronger teams. The Bomb Quads will be taking it to the track for the first time as a team.

The second period will introduce the newest women’s team to take the track in the region, the B-Town Bomb Shells as they compete against Keene, New Hampshire’s Elm City Derby Damez. The Damez are in their first season and have been competing around New York and New England.

It’s all derby all night as the third and fourth period finish the men’s and women’s bouts. Refreshments available all night as well as merchandise from all three leagues and four teams.

Our referee crew comes from all over New York and New England. Announcers Bootsy Killins (Pioneer Valley) and Juggernaut Bitch (Central Mass) rock the microphone and keep you in the know.

If you’ve been a roller derby fan and just can’t get enough, all our teams play by WFTDA rules. If you’re new to derby and have been looking for some fun for the whole family, join us at the Essex Skating Facility, 2 Education Drive, Essex Jct. Saturday August 21.

Doors open at 5pm. First whistle (Bomb Quads vs. Maelstrom) at 6pm. Ladies’ first whistle approximately 7pm.

For more information:

Email: rollerderby@burlingtonbombers.com
Website: http://burlingtonbombers.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bombersrollerderby

First time fan? Be sure to check out our primer on how to get the most out of a derby bout.

Love our artwork? Can you print out and hang our posters?

Burlington Bombers August 2010 Bout Poster – 11x 17

Burlington Bombers August 2010 Bout Poster – 8.5 x 11

Mr. Hendrickson has worked with commercial clients such as Asics America, Isis, Timberland and UPS and his work has been published in Runner’s World, Food Netowrk Magazine, LIFE, New York Times, Esquire, and Smithsonian to name a few.

The Bombers are honored to have his expertise behind the camera and in post production. If you have a moment, be sure to check out our new skater profile pictures. More will be arriving over the next few months as Corey works us into his busy schedule.

With hugs and shoves and lots of derby luv, the Bombers give a shout out to Corey Hendrickson.

Visit him online at http://coreyhendrickson.com, call him at 802-881-8371 or visit him at his Burlington, Vermont studio.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Essex Junction, Vermont – The Burlington Bombers Roller Derby League is pleased to announce it has found a new summer home in the Essex Skating Facility for practice, scrimmages and bouts. Located at 2 Educational Drive, Essex Junction, the Essex Skating Facility is a state-of-the-art community center used for recreational and regional events year round.

The Bombers, founded in January 2010 by experience roller derby skaters and referees in Vermont, have been on an exponential growth curve. Their first home was with the Odd Fellows on North Avenue in Burlington. Presently they are practicing in the gym at the Greater Burlington YMCA. That space has limitations based on the practice needs of the league as well as a restriction by the YMCA to only 20 skaters at a time.

The Bombers are Vermont’s first league which have both a men’s and a women’s team. Modeled after leagues like Pioneer Valley and Central Mass in Northampton and Lancaster, Massachusetts respectively, they have found a lot of interest in the family environment which comes with a co-ed league. With the focus on family, the league also welcomes skaters as young as 18 years of age to participate on the team.

Like most active sports, roller derby has a need for a large unobstructed space. The official track, including safety crash zones, is 73′ wide by 108′ long. “It doesn’t quite fit in the space of a standard basketball court,” says league founder Stacey “Bionichic” Chagnon of Burlington, Vermont. “With the tremendous growth of our team skaters, we’ve been looking tirelessly for a community space which can host our practices as well as future bouts and events. Like other amateur sports, we pay to play, and depend on the value a facility like the Essex Skating Facility affords our teams.”

“Summer time ice rinks are a staple of the flat track roller derby season here in the northeast,” says Amy “Bitches Bruze” Moore of Pownal, Vermont who currently skates with Pioneer Valley Roller Derby and has helped the Bombers with organization and training. “I’ve watched this league grow and recently attend the Men’s Derby Conference last month. It looks as though this rink has become available to them at just the right time. I think the Burlington area will be treated to it’s first double header men’s and women’s bouts before the ice goes back on in Essex.”

With its built in bleacher seating and the ability to add seating at track level, the rink, owned and operated by Chittenden Central Supervisory Union, has excellent public event potential for the league. Advertising opportunities around the rink are available directly from CCSU. With public use and awareness of the facility, the Bombers expect a lot of opportunity for interacting with the public.

“During our bouts, the rink allows us to operate the snack bar which will help us raise money for our training programs,” says Clint “Yofune Nushi” Wheeler of Huntington, Captain of the Bomb Quads, the Bomber’s men’s team. “We also hope to host some recruiting and derby-awareness time for the public where we introduce them to men’s and women’s derby. It is just such a family affair here at the Bombers, we’re hoping we can expand this to a junior league by next season.”

Once the ice returns to the rink in September, the Bombers will again be looking for a home that will host two full teams of skaters. The league has open and revolving recruitment and training which means adult skaters are welcome to contact Bionichic bionichic@burlingtonbombers.com and come check out a practice for free. Loaner gear is available.

For more information about the Burlington Bombers:

http://burlingtonbombers.com

For more information about the CCSU and the Essex Skating Facility:

http://www.ccsuvt.org/operations/skate/

Hello, Burlington! The Bombers had incredible growth in the month of March, not just in numbers, but also in experience and training.

We are busting at the seams at the Y which restricts us to a maximum of 20 skaters at practice. Look for an announcement soon of our new practice space which will allow us to set up a full size track and accommodate all our skaters and even bouts this year.

March 27th and 28th Yofune Nushi and Pope attended the 3rd Men’s Derby Conference which was held in Northampton, Massachusetts and hosted by Pioneer Valley Roller Derby. They participated in skating clinics and management seminars and got to scrimmage with other roller derby men from all around the United States. Skaters came from as far away as Arizona. Enchanted Tigress and Bionichic also attended some of the management seminars to get advice on recruiting and insurance.

Look for photos coming soon on our skaters’ page!

There will be no practice on March 19 and our practice will be at its regularly scheduled time on Sunday.

We are very grateful for the YMCA giving us an alternate time so we can keep accommodating our growing teams of skaters.