Borough resident and Jersey Shore Roller Girl Kim Hartman, aka "Bash N. Onya", is seen here in the red and blue about to give a shoulder block to the other team's blocker. Photo by Mike Black.

An Official Jersey Shore Roller Girls Press Release

Will compete in June 12th bout; donated items requested for local Habitat for Humanity projects

BEACHWOOD – Borough resident Kim Hartman is among the local women who make up the Jersey Shore Roller Girls, helping to resurrect a sport into the modern incarnation of women’s flat-track roller derby.

Asbury Park Convention Hall is welcoming the riveting Jersey Shore Roller Girls for the second time this season. The local women’s flat-track roller derby league has taken the shore by storm, turning many New Jersey women into “derby girls”, with derby personas and thousands of other locals into roller derby fans.

Ms. Hartman has been playing roller derby for the past two-and-a-half years, skating for the Jersey Shore Roller Girls as “Bash N. Onya.”

In addition to a rigorous skating schedule, “Bash” also serves as the assistant captain for one of JSRG’s three teams, the Right Coast Rollers, and is a member of the roller derby league’s board of directors and its second travel team.

After work, she treks to practices in Jackson several times a week to train for upcoming bouts played to a packed crowd in Asbury Park Convention Hall.

Bash’s next bout with the Right Coast Rollers is this Saturday, June 12.

“With a demanding career in the legal field, taking out my aggressions on the track is an awesome stress reliever,” she said. “[It's] way better than the gym in keeping in shape.”

The borough resident added that the experience has been a tremendous one for her.

“With the support of my family, I have gained a whole new derby family whom I would do anything for, and who I am sure would do anything for me,” she said.

The league is comprised of three intra-league teams, plus two travel teams. There’s also a large number of women training with the league to learn the sport, in hopes of continuing after having their skills assessed. The Jersey Shore Roller Girls is a three-year old league. The sport of women’s flat-track roller derby has grown to include hundreds of leagues throughout the nation and the world. JSRG has played teams from Montreal, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York and around the state, to name a few.

Shoulder blocks, hip checks, and booty blocks are all legal ways to take down your opponent in roller derby. These dedicated roller girls can do it all: hit, fall, skate, and get back up to do it again and again. With vigorous two hour practices three to four days a week, they sharpen and evolve their skills which always leave the crowd wanting more on bout night.

On Saturday, June 12 , Jersey Shore Roller Girls’ Anchor Assassins and Right Coast Rollers roller derby teams will battle it out for their first match-up in 2010.

At that bout, the Jersey Shore Roller Girls will be collecting new painting supplies as well as monetary donations to support their local Coastal Habitat for Humanity’s “A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) Program.

Items needed include paint brushes, rollers, paint trays, trash bags, gloves and other related items.

This program helps local residents with exterior home renovations assisting the elderly, disabled, or any homeowners who are ill and are unable to keep up with normal home maintenance. For more information, please visit www.coastalhabitat.org.

The 2009 bout between these two teams was a close, hard fought game, and the team captains said the June 12 bout will feature more of the roller derby excitement fans have come to expect from the Jersey Shore Roller Girls. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the whistle blows at 8 p.m. The bout is arranged into 30-minute halfs. Half-time will feature “Chuck a Duck,” a toss contest with prizes.

After the bout, ticket holders who are 21 and over are welcome to join the after party at Asbury’s Wonder Bar across the street; no cover charge for derby spectators.

Advance tickets are on sale now for $17 at www.jerseyshorerollergirls.net for the Saturday, June 12 bout. General admission tickets are $20 at the door, VIP tickets may be available for a premium. Children under 12 are $5, and patrons with a military ID are $15 at the door.

Doors open at 7 p.m., the whistle blows at 8 p.m. Adults 21 and over to drink.

For more information, please visit the Jersey Shore Roller Girls at www.jerseyshorerollergirls.net.