Bonnie Thunders

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Bonnie Thunders
2010-08-15 Portland (GGRD v RatCity)-5141.jpg
Bonnie Thunders (in red) jams against Rat City
Personal information
Birth nameNicole Williams
Nickname(s)Bonnie Thunders
NationalityAmerican
Born1983
Youngstown, OH
Sport
CountryUnited States
Sport Roller derby
Club WFTDA
Gotham Girls Roller Derby (2006-16)
Rose City Rollers (2017-present)
TeamGGRD All Stars (2006-16)
Wheels of Justice (2017-present)
Achievements and titles
World finals World Cup winner: 2011, 2014, 2018
Regional finals WFTDA East Region Playoffs winner: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs winner: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
National finals WFTDA Championships winner 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019

Nicole Williams (born 1983), known as Bonnie Thunders, is a roller derby skater. Widely considered to be one of the greatest players of modern roller derby, [1] Bonnie Thunders has been referred to by multiple writers as "the LeBron James of roller derby". [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life

Williams grew up in Rome, New York, where she was a four-year varsity soccer player at Rome Free Academy, [5] before studying conservation biology with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, linked to Syracuse University. She was a leading member of the college's synchronized skating squad, [6] the Syracuse Orange Experience, and also spent time playing soccer competitively. [7] [5]

Roller derby

After moving to New York City, Williams found roller derby and traded in her ice skates for roller skates. In 2006, Williams successfully tried out for the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, and was placed on their Bronx Gridlock team. [8] Taking the name "Bonnie Thunders", in her first season, she was named the league's Rookie of the Year. [5] She soon became part of Gotham's travel team (All Stars), and skated for them when they won the 2008 WFTDA Championships, at which she won the Most Valuable Player award. [9] Although she worked for several years at a conservation charity, [10] in 2010 she opened Five Stride Skate Shop, a roller skate shop in Brooklyn, NY. [9]

By 2009, Bonnie Thunders was the captain of the Gotham Girls All Stars, and was also a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's Tournaments Committee. [9] She currently[ when? ] holds the position of WFTDA Competition Manager. In 2012, Bonnie elected to retire from the Bronx Gridlock team in order to focus on playing with the All Stars.

Thunders won Gotham's Best Jammer award jointly in 2007 and in her own right in 2008, 2009, [7] 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. She also won the Derby News Network readers' Most Valuable Jammer award in 2010 [11] and again in 2011. [12] She is double jointed, which she believes helps her maneuver while jamming. [9]

At the end of 2016, Thunders moved to Portland, Oregon, and in January 2017 it was announced that she was officially joining the Rose City Rollers all-star team, the Wheels of Justice. [13]

International play

Bonnie Thunders has represented the United States in international play, having been selected for the Team USA roster for the Roller Derby World Cup in 2011, [14] 2014 [15] and 2018. [13]


Awards

In December 2016 at Gotham's end-of-year awards night, Bonnie Thunders' jersey was retired by the league. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller derby</span> Contact sport on roller skates

Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windy City Rollers</span> Roller derby league

Windy City Rollers is a women's flat-track roller derby league located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Juanna Rumbel and Sister Sledgehammer in 2004, Windy City is the first flat-track roller derby league established in Chicago, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Providence Roller Derby (PRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 2004 as the first all-female, flat-track roller derby league in New England, Providence is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose City Rollers</span> Roller derby league

The Rose City Rollers is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Portland, Oregon, operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Established in 2004, the Rose City Rollers consists of a recreational program, four adult local home teams, and two all-star travel teams that represent the league in competition with others as well as junior skaters on six home teams with a travel team for Rose Petals (7–12) and a travel team for Rosebuds (12–17). Rose City's all-star travel team "Wheels of Justice" won the WFTDA Championships in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Rollergirls</span> Roller derby league

Texas Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas. Founded in early 2003 and widely credited as the league that started the modern roller derby movement, the Texas Rollergirls were the first flat-track league in the nation to play a version of roller derby using new standardized rules and a track design based on the dimensions of the old banked tracks. As flat-track derby caught on in other American cities, the Texas Rollergirls' rulebook and track design eventually evolved into the specifications that were adopted and ratified upon formation of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in 2005, of which Texas is a founding member.

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Ohio Roller Derby (OHRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two mixed teams which compete against teams from other leagues. Ohio Roller Derby is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotham Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philly Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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References

  1. ↑ "A Roller Derby World Cup Roster Of Red, White And Bruise". espnW. ESPN. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Casey, Liam (1 December 2011). "Roller derby's race for respect | Toronto Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Frye, Andy (1 May 2013). "Meet ... the LeBron James of roller derby?". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Gerbasi, Thomas (23 June 2012). "Is Gotham Girl All-Star Bonnie Thunders the LeBron James of Roller Derby?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Star player for NYC roller derby team has connections to Rome". Rome Sentinel. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Glavin, Kristina (10 February 2004). "Synchronized skaters practice for perfection" (PDF). Syracuse. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2004. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Skater Profile: Bonnie Thunders of the Bronx Gridlock | Gotham Girls Roller Derby". Gotham Girls Roller Derby. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Scarff, Liz (May 2007). "Roller Girls: The Fact and the Furious". www.lizscarff.co.uk. Marie Claire. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "August 2010 Featured Skater:Bonnie Thunders - Featured Skaterof the Month - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Abby Luby, "Bronx Gridlock team skates in citywide women's derby league", New York Daily News , 14 March 2009
  11. ↑ "DNN Best of 2010 Reader Poll: Results", Derby News Network , 31 December 2010
  12. ↑ "DNN Best of 2011 Poll: Results", Derby News Network , 26 December 2011
  13. 1 2 Frye, Andy (18 January 2017). "Roller derby legend Bonnie Thunders, aka Nicole Williams, leaves Gotham for Rose City". espn.com. ESPN . Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Justice Feelgood Marshall, "Team USA Announces 28-Skater Roster", Derby News Network , 7 August 2011
  15. ↑ Talionis, Lex (15 October 2013). "2013-14 Team USA Roster Revealed". Derby News Network. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  16. ↑ Powell, Dylan (4 December 2016). "Bonnie Thunders, OMG WTF, Vicious Van Go Go and Flo It All Retire From Gotham". The Apex. The Derby Apex. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
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