2013: Some Thoughts

I never did follow up with my Champs blog, despite e fact that I now have an iPad Mini...perfect for blogging on the go! But I do have some thoughts for the impending new year.

Firstly, it's time to update my gear. And one of these days, I'll figure out what I want. I am on the 265 boot with the DynaPro plate. I need a new plate, for sure. I'm intrigued by the Antik Spyder skate (well mostly the boot). I kind of want Antiks. A lot. But what plate? New skate totally? Is it worth it? This is the argument that's happening in the back of my mind daily. Also I aim to try new wheels in 2013, since I always manage to come back to Poisons.

New rules! I'm thrilled that the new rules are out. And more than a little scared. Like a lot of derby girls (and boys), I've only played under the May 2010 set of rules. I've heard of the times when rule updates were yearly if not more often. I don't love No Minors, but have been behind single whistle since we beta tested it at a scrimmage last year. But it does mean new strategies. I've played a scrimmage under the new rules and look forward to playing with my team when we get back from break.

That's all I got for now, but let me know your thoughts on gear and rules!

What I've Been Up To

I'd like to do a sort of "Greatest Hits" post to sum up the last few months since my posts have been sparse and I've been up to a lot.

June:
I did post about our spectacular triumph over LCHR's Bruisin' Betties. That was amazing. Also happening were open practices with our Charter Team. ECDX brought some new things to our training. Which brings up to...

July:
In July, I made the Charlotte Roller Girls Charter Team. I also played with the B-Dazzlers against Star City, a team that had previously crushed us. Keeping up the rematch mojo, we swiftly defeated them at their venue. They hosted a wonderful afterparty for us that contained a LOT of karaoke. Our only home singleheader of the year took place the following weekend. I unfortunately did not make the roster, so I watched and cheered as the All-Stars played the Atlanta Rollergirls Denim Demons.

August:
August gave me two bouts to skate in. We hosted Blue Ridge for a home doubleheader and then drove down to Tallahassee, FL to play their Charter Team. We lost a lot. But we certainly learned some things. And Tally (who our All-Stars played in March) told us that they'd seen a lot of improvement in our game.

September:
The B-Dazzlers borrowed me as a jammer for their game against Classic City. It was a great game to play in. We lost, but there were lead changes galore. It was close. And they were a great group of ladies. I was awarded MVP Jammer which made me feel awesome. Then a few weeks later, we hosted the final game of the season, yet another doubleheader. All-Stars played first and we beat the Rocktown Rollers. But the real excitement was in the second game. The B-Dazzlers versus the Charlottesville Derby Dames. CLTRG and CDD met once before, but the game went undocumented. CLTRG lost, so were looking to win this time. CDD seemed like they were going to win for much of the game. But in the final jam, Thor Loser scored 24 jams allowing the B-Dazz to win. It was amazing. I laughed. I cried. I drank. Thor was on fire that night.

October:
This brings us to October. You've already read my adventures NYC and West/Central NY. That has quite a long blog post, so needs no more. I also skated with B-Dazz in a scrimmage against the Kannapolis Roller Girls. I had a lot of fun, and I know they did too. I hope we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

November:
That's right now. The roller derby that November brought me was CHAMPIONSHIPS! It was a weekend of the awesomest roller derby ever. I promise to devote at least two posts to how much it rocked my freaking socks off.

Coming Soon:
Why I Love the Denver Roller Dolls

The Longest Post Ever or 'Is Rita under that pile of unicorns?'

So...we did a thing.

We had a game against the Ithaca League of Women Rollers (how badass is that name?) this past Saturday. Most of our team traveled up by plane. However, three of us were nutty enough to drive up. Devlin Syder, Hitsteria, and myself rented a car and set out. (Really, we were too broke to fly.) So we decided to make a little vacation out of it and take a trip to NYC on the way there.

We left Thursday evening, with our eyes set on the destination. We had a little napsy in PA somewhere. (I napped rather longer as I was helming the backseat. We arrived in the NYC area around 10. Thanks to an expert tip from my friend Freddy, we parked in Jersey City and took the Path train to the World Trade Center. After some brief sightseeing (a scooter van, the new WTC building is nearly done, saw where Bane and his cronies broke into the NYSE in Dark Knight Rises), we set about figuring out the MTA and heading to Brooklyn. Multipass!

Hits, who spends much time on the internet, pointed us down Graham Ave and we made a beeline for Five Stride.

This dude was just chilling on the bench out front.

There were no Bont boots in her size (she is really interested in getting Bonts), but the expert OMG showed her an option that would suit her foot. We all made our purchases (a Five Stride shirt and toe caps for me!) and asked OMG for a good place to get pizza. She told us Carmine's was a popular option, so there we went.

This sign was over the back bathroom.

I had the white pizza which was exquisite. The bathroom was a closet and some sunglasses may have leapt for freedom.

Back onto the train (Multipass!) and we headed to meet my friend Freddy for coffee. We had our coffees by the Seaport, which offered views of tourists and acrobats alike. I took a photo of a couple performing the Argentine tango for my mom. We walked Freddy back to work and tooled around lower Manhattan for a bit. Here are the greatest hits in photo form.

The Wall St bull. It's apparently hip to take a photo fondling his testicles. There was someone doing so when I took the photo.

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Ventilation building or something. Also known as the MIB headquarters.

The side of the Statue of Liberty once the cruise ship had finished obscuring her.

That is a squirrel.

We then set off to meet Devlin's friend Daniel. Daniel is a straight fashion designer, in New York. He is an endangered species. We met him for drinks at the Heartland Brewery in Union Square. I had a house root beer and it was delicious. I also sampled the pumpkin beer which was less delicious.

We parted ways with Daniel and realized we all sort of had to pee. We set about finding a bathroom, which are uncommon in New York. The 3-story Whole Foods provided us no relief. I suggested we go visit the Panera and I'd buy something with my reward card, but we pressed on to Canal St to do some shopping. I did purchase some pashminas in Union Square for my mother and myself.

When we reached the Canal St stop, Devlin and I made haste toward the 3-story McDonald's (sense a theme here?) across the street to use the restroom. We may have abandoned Hits a bit, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Upon leaving McD's, we plunged into the sketchiness that is Canal St. I realized that most of our phones were dead and we were headed into a non-English speaking area. I grew uneasy, but my paranoia was for naught. We headed into Little Italy, which turns out to be a series of restaurants where men forcibly try to seat you for dinner and the shops are all run by the Asians of Chinatown. We made some small purchases (Hits found herself a fanny pack). But we elected to to move our party on up to Times Square.

When we escalated out of the station, it looked like daytime. Even the TGIF was covered in neon. Apparently cool thing to do is dress like a famous character and take pictures with people for tips. Devlin purchased herself a Swatch watch. We wandered past ads for Broadway shows.

We made our way to 30 Rockefeller Center where I got starstruck by a building. I love the show 30 Rock, so it was an honor to see where it is set and shot. We saw the Lego store where they had a miniature of the plaza area featuring all sorts of inappropriate Lego people. We visited the H&M on our way to Central Park.

Yes, Central Park. We went maybe 100 yards into the park. There was a bum asleep on a bench, an Asian couple making out, and very many rats. I ran up a giant rock before Devlin dragged us out fearing mugging, kidnapping, and other atrocities. After our Central Park adventure, we made our way back to the WTC to catch the Path train back to Jersey. By this time, I was so sleepy, I was delirious. I knew that I could not fall asleep in a train station then.

We made it back to our hotel in Parsippany, NJ and then a cheeseburger appeared in front of me and I ate it, Hasselhoff-style.

Ithaca

We left the next day for Ithaca. Hilarity ensued. Gaps are always funny, you guys.

I am not responsible for this.

But, of course, we were there to play roller derby. In a "semi-outdoor" facility. Speculation as to what that meant began some time ago.

It turned out to be a de-iced hockey rink. It was covered, but not totally walled in. The ILWR can only have home bouts when the rink is de-iced, from about May to early October. Of course, it was super cold Saturday. The temperature seemed to have dropped specifically for our visit. It was 80 in NYC the day before, and apparently warmER the day before in Ithaca. But when we arrived, it was a brisk 53, only getting colder as the sun disappeared.

The floor was also slick as butter. I wish I'd brought the outdoor wheels I have. Warm-ups were rough, but blocking wasn't so bad.

The game started well, the first several jams went back and forth with neither team gaining more than two points per jam. And then they got a powerjam and things swung in their favor. Though we've gotten better with penalties, Ithaca was better than us. We never got a powerjam on them and it showed. We did put forth a strong showing in the second half. And even more excitingly, I was called upon to jam when the rest of our jammers were either in penalty trouble, tired, or on the track. I jammed several times and managed to do some stuff.

Fast forward to the afterparty. It was a rousing event at the Chanticleer in downtown Ithaca. Upon arrival, they handed us glow sticks and drink tickets. We made the dancing. There were whiskey slaps. We took custody of some unicorns. There was an after-afterparty, which we also won. I was informed that we lasted longer than Montreal, so using the transitive property, we beat Montreal at afterpartying.

On the way back, we had a total of 6 unicorns in the car. Which is many. I napped in a pile of unicorns and I'm better for it.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

I'm sure you've all been speculating (all 4 of you) what I'm up to. The short answer is EVERYTHING. I have not had full-time access to a computer and blogging is kind of low on the priority list. I apologize for that.

I intend to do a sort of timeline blog, an update of what I've been up to since my last post (it was a month and a half ago). I will also be reviewing my new wheels, the Rollerbones Nylon Speed 86s!

Since my last post, I've skated in two bouts, participated in some events, and gone to countless practices. I hope to convey that to you all real soon.

How I Feel About Scrum Starts

So roller derby today involves a lot of scrum starts. They look sort of like rugby scrums (not that most of us have played rugby.) The top teams are all doing scrum starts. The strategy has funneled down to teams all over the world. I don't like scrum starts.

As a jammer, I don't like them because it seems to involve a lot of illegal contact. Watch Bonnie Thunders attack a wall in a scrum. The best jammers literally push with their thighs against the asses of the wall of blockers. This takes a lot of faith in your opponents. If they wobble, the jammer risks getting a backblock minor. If they fall, it can be a major. The fact that the jammer is initiating contact to the ass of the blocker is illegal. I was jamming in an invitational when I made incidental contact to the back of a blocker with my thigh. She didn't wobble, but I was still assessed a minor backblock. I don't want to risk fate any more than that.

As a blocker, scrums are chaotic. It's 10 people in like 2 square feet of space. The jammer seems to escape from my wall. So the jammer is escaping and the wall of blockers is almost at a standstill. You don't have the momentum to catch her.

If you ask me what I want when I'm jamming, I will not say a scrum. I want you guys to take off the line, so I have room to get some momentum and get my head in the right space. I know I'm part of a team, so if scrums are what we're gonna down, I'm gonna put my all into scrums. But I'm secretly praying the new ruleset kills them.

Practice Tonight

...was friggin rough. And since I feel that strife and pain make the best blogging AND I owe you guys a post, here we go.

So I had fondue with my dear aunt and granny this evening at the Melting Pot, but I did have to cut it short to open the Warehouse for Open Skate. I am severely low on sleep (I reckon I got 2 hours last night thanks to the heat) and had a ridiculous sort of day at work. I tried to nap but managed less than an hour of nappage. So I'd considered just opening up for Open Skate then going home, but of course, I got a ride there and was scooter-less.

So I skated through a practice that killed my toe (it's still recovering after its toenail problem) and twerked my bad foot. I stayed for the A-team portion of the evening which had me coming up the loser in a number of wheel locks. (I'm still getting used to skating with these individuals.) I took a nasty fall right onto my ass. The very same ass I broke all those years ago. Spasms of pain, tears in my eyes, totally winded...I needed a second to get back up. I think maybe my trucks are still too loose. My skates still felt squirrelly on my feet.

Anyway, my night was shit. I feel like hell. This was not an excellent start of a bout week. And I've got another 7 am shift tomorrow.

BUT: nobody smacked me right in my shoulder. I haven't broken any trucks in a few weeks. Tomorrow night's B-Dazz practice is being led by Fister. Moll Adjusted made the roster to play Star City (yay!). I dipped many delightful things into chocolate. I'm almost positive my ass is not re-broken. And my bed is calling me.

Thanks for staying through the bitching. Things will be better tomorrow.

Heat and Water

So I've mentioned that I live in Charlotte. And that I practice in an unairconditioned warehouse. It's really important to hydrate, but replenishing electrolytes is also important. I've studied the subject a little and I know that there's a lot of words I don't understand involved in the science, but I understand the principles.

Exercise takes a lot out of the human body. Drinking water is good, but it's not enough. If you're leaving sweat stains on the floor, you should probably replenish.

There's a lot of science to how much you need. You shouldn't try to over-replenish. Your body naturally refuels on its own. If you try to put too much in, your body will totally stop refueling.

When most people think electrolytes, they think Gatorade. But it's far from the only option. Coconut water is gaining notoriety these days, but I have a big problem with it. Coconut water tastes disgusting. Luckily they come in delightful flavors. I like O.N.E. Coconut Water's Pink Guava flavor. There's a flavor for everyone.

My other favorite option is a powder. I tried a couple different ones before I discovered Ultima. It's sold at the Healthy Home Market (I haven't found it anywhere else yet) and comes in several flavors. My favorite is grape. The different flavors do have different levels of electrolytes though. It's sweetened with stevia and natural flavors. Instructions say to add it to 8-12 oz of water, but that's a little strong for me. I add it to my 25 oz water bottle and go.

The difference between when I replenish electrolytes and when I don't is noticeable. It's the difference between feeling engaged and present in practice instead of feeling sluggish.

If you've found other ways to hydrate and replenish, let me know. I'm happy to try out other things!

Today, The Derby Happened

This was perhaps the best bout ever. (That almost became "boutiest," which is not even remotely a word.) Both CLTRG teams posted wins. The All-Stars won a sanctioned game and B-Dazz beat their rivals. I got an MVP award. I could not be more pleased or exhausted. I promise for this post to be fully written manana.

Update: Awake and refreshed this day.

I would now like to tell you about the day that was yesterday.

I did not feel on it all day. Setup was confusing. I had no clear plan of what I wanted for lunch. I did a sort of driveby past Lacey and Sassy teaching their pseudo-son Armando to use the atm. I had an interesting talk with a leaguemate I cried some. I thought about the last time we played Charleston. I wasn't even sure I wanted to play. I felt low.

Team warm-ups made it better. For the first time ever, our B-team bout was to be second. So we did our offskates warm-ups upstairs. It was clear we weren't exactly taking it seriously. So, we had a little dance party. I think that really got everybody pumped up. This may be a new tradition.

Our onskates warm-ups felt a little scattered. I don't think anybody was focused. I know I was contributing, but I couldn't get into a better head space. A teammate got some bad news that morning and was trying to get herself right.

The A-team bout started off well. They took a knee at the jammer line in the first jam, got lead and scored a quick 14 points. That was exciting. It's nice to see our All-Stars be rockstars. They continued to dominate the whole game. After the first half, I didn't want to get too involved in the game or tire myself from watching, so I went and chilled in the locker room and started to get geared up.

We decided to try a scrum start in the first jam to get lead fast, but that sort of backfired on us. However it became a powerjam or something. I think it was in that jam when our jammer, Hitstera, was charioting off me and I hit one of the blockers out of her way and opened up a whole and then swung across and hit another one of their blockers and cleared a wide path for her. That was one of my favorite moments from the evening. We posted 9 points or something on that jam.

I jammed a lot last night. Pretty successfully too. I didn't really get stuck in the pack for too long. I did go down a few times, but I absorbed more blocks than that. They were hitting me, but it just wasn't strong enough. We took an early and managed to increase it. We got up 50 points and really started making it happen. Charleston seemed to get a little desperate. There were a lot of jams I saw where they got lead, but didn't call it immediately and scored points but let us score too. There were a bunch of jams that were basically 1-0 for them, but after we'd gotten a significant lead.

My second favorite moment of the night was in the last jam. They called a timeout when there was something like 28.7 seconds on the period clock, so we got one more jam. Leah/Hits jammed and I was blocking. I think Alley Capone and Mustang Stella were out there. It turned into a powerjam. I kept telling them not to chase goats and just caboose instead. At one point, "NO PACK" was called and Ringo Stardust turns around and skates backwards in reforming. The game was won at this point. I just looked at her and smiled.

Great job to both teams. It was amazing to have two wins for a home crowd.

The afterparty was lackluster. We were promised karaoke but that did not happen. So we had dry chicken instead. And after all my hard work, I received an award. The "Unforeseen Threat" award. I suppose that's a Most Improved kind of thing from February to now. Also, we sort of stormed Jackalope's next door as they had karaoke and I got some free Rock of Ages swag, but the karaoke machine went down and would not come back before I could sing. I did get to hear O. Fine's rendition of "Baby Got Back" which is on the list of my favorite things in the world.

Here it is, a tiny skateboard.
Sorry it's sideways, I apparently can't rotate it here.
In case you were wondering, the trucks don't pivot.

So, that's the picture. Let me explain. I'm on the Bout Production committee. I've noticed that in the NFL, MVPs get like a Corvette as their award. I thought it would be clever if we did little toy cars, as in, 'Here's your free car." MVP Jammer got a little sports car. MVP Blocker got like a Hummer. The Unforeseen Threat award was an idea we kind of took from Charleston. Thanks, guys! And our head of BP, Tasty Murder, wanted to have it be like a white windowless "Creeper Van." But hey, the store doesn't sell them. So it's a skateboard instead. What's more unforeseen than a skateboard? And Hell Vetica Bold found this website that prints these little cards, hence the tag. On the reverse, it has the logos of both teams and the date.

I set this goal for myself, that I would consider moving up to the Charter when I received an MVP award, because it would then mean that my peers were also recognizing my growth. It might be time.

Roller Derby Saved My Soul

Hi, my name is Rita and I play roller derby. I joined the Charlotte Roller Girls almost two years ago and made my debut this past Feburary. I have given a lot to roller derby and my league, but they have given me just as much. I couldn't ask for a better group of women to skate circles with several nights a week. Sure, we have our disagreements, but we're doing this thing together and I respect that.

Roller derby lets me live a world outside the norm, and not just because of the shiny pants and fierce name. I'm a little bit neurotic, truly. I probably have OCD, and my rituals tend to interfere with my daily life. I'm also a bit of a germaphobe. That, coupled with the fact that I work in food service, means A LOT of hand washing. I always have several bottles of hand sanitizer with me.

But derby cancels that out. Our Warehouse is our home, but it's got its challenges. There's bugs that crawl across the track sometimes. There's bit of cobweb that float down from the rafters during practice. There's dust in the corners that we just can't clean. But when I'm at practice, I don't care. I left my mouthguard in the Warehouse (on the floor, of course) for more than a week and when I found it, I put it back in my mouth. Building up my immune system, you know?

I've come to terms with turning left most of the time, since I did so many right turns back when I danced. I figure my equilibrium is balanced enough now.

I have a little quirk about cracks. I won't go into it because it will only make me obsess about it more, but if I step on cracks, I freak out. Needless to say, there are cracks in the floor. I don't notice them. I don't get all obsessed and have to go even things up.

Roller derby has strengthened my muscles. It has increased my determination and drive. It is a hobby that has given me several other hobbies. It has given me a network of friends and family. And it has made my brain calm down. There's no room for neuroses when you have to kill the jammer.

An Open Letter to CLTRG

So we had a scrimmage tonight. I have reflected upon my own performance and have no more to say about it. Instead of a negative post, I've decided to write an open letter to my league.

My Fellow Charlotte Roller Girls,

We live in North Carolina, folks. Whether you married into it, you were born into it, work brought you here...you live in the South. And in the South, it gets hot. This is because we are nearer to the sun than our Northern friends.

We've just gotten through Memorial Day, which is the unofficial start of Summer. Sure, the Summer Solstice is weeks away, but kids are done with exams, pools are open, and grills are fired up.

More specifically, you chose to play roller derby down here. We practice in a dusty, old warehouse without any climate control. During the day, our bay of the warehouse sucks in heat and doesn't release it all that well. These are the facts of life.

So it's gonna get hot. The Warehouse is a temperamental beast. It will be so hot and humid in the coming months, you will consider playing derby naked. Hold onto these memories for when January rolls around and you can see your breath.

For those of you experiencing your first summer in the Warehouse, please remember to hydrate. Make sure you consume protein and keep your blood sugar up. If you start to feel faint, chill out. Go hang out by a fan and get some ice on your neck. Hydrate all day, every day because it's not just during physical activity that it counts. Do not drink too much water or you will feel sloshy and bleh. And for those of you experiencing a Warehouse Summer again, don't forget all these tips.

It is not wimpy or lame to sit out if you're overheated. It's what your body wants you to do. Do not let the heat get to your head and let your skating get sloppy. It's that much harder to keep yourself under control, but it's that much better for you.

I promise to keep these tips in mind so that I, too, will be at my full strength in the upcoming months. And just remember, if we can play derby in the hot and sticky, we can definitely deliver some whoop-ass when we play opponents in the ac.


A Concerned Teammate,
Rita M

Be Your Own Hero

Know what's amazing about derby? Well, everything. But largely, it's women following their dreams. We are a diverse group of women and men (only because the boys saw how much fun we were having) who come together united by a single purpose. Ask your leaguemates why they play derby sometime. Some of mine say it's the fitness or the camaraderie. Others say it's their Midlife Crisis. I just felt this draw to it.

So I started with the Charlotte Roller Girls in August of 2010. I was 18 at the time. I read the rules. I knew the minimum skill assessment items. I was excited and informed. I was all, "I wanna be a jammer!" And then I did my first 25 in 5 and saw the grannies skate and said, "I wanna be a blocker!" I had kind of a reality check. I thought, I'll pass assessments and get good at blocking, then maybe I'll get fast enough to jam.

So I pass assessments and flail through my first practices and scrimmages as a granny. I overwhelmingly have no idea what is going on in derby. Though I did have excellent awareness of not cutting the track.

Well I took some excellent advice from my dear derby wife once I passed assessments. She told me, "Always volunteer to jam during scrimmages." It was good advice. Most people will not take the star. They see themselves as blockers and hate jamming. Jamming helps you become a better blocker because you see the other side of things. It helps you with endurance. It helps you learn to fight through walls in high-pressure situations. Following this advice, I was sure to always hold my hand out for the panty.

And it has wound up with me being considered one of my team's jammers. But I'm not your average jammer build. I'm not a tall, thin jammer with mile-long legs who'll jump the apex. I'm not a small jammer who's so fast and tiny, anybody who manages to see her can't do anything. I'm actually a jammer who occasionally plays power blocker. I'm steadier on my feet than some. I can absorb blocks well. I do find myself hitting players out of my way (I'd like to develop that ability more). So now I've become somewhat of a valuable player to my team in that I can effectively block and then turn around and jam.

This story is just to remind you to follow your dreams. Some of us come to derby from an athletic background. That's great, grab some skates. Some of us are decidedly unathletic. You too, grab some skates. I haven't had much luck with sports in the past, I did some dance, I played disc golf...but I have put my all into derby and it has rewarded me. So now it's time for you to put on some skates and follow your dreams.

Puppy Satisfied

So I've been struggling with a lot of things in regards to my derby career recently. I am played equally as a jammer and blocker. I don't have a wall I go in with regularly or anything. It's caused me a lot of strife.

But today I went up and participated in the Scrimmage-A-Fun hosted by the Carolina Roller Girls. It was a morning of fun scrimmages for NC skaters (I think a few SC ladies snuck in too) including a couple of bouts where CRG skaters took on teams of NC skaters.

I was in the Coast v. Mountains, Bruce Lee v. Chuck Norris, and the Rookies scrimmages initially. The way CRG handled people dropping out was that if you wanted to play in a scrimmage, you sat all geared up, with both shirts, near the jammer line. I felt like 3 scrimmages (out of 6) was enough for me. I've had some problems with my feet lately (um, my metatarsals shifted?).

My teams lost the first two bouts, but I felt good about it. I skated with some of North Carolina's best skaters. And I made a bunch of friends.

So the Rookies bout rolls around. From the Charlotte Roller Girls, we had Hitsteria, Nita Beer, Devlin Syder, Unleasha Monster, MzBehavin Mama, and myself. It was nice to work with my teammates. I was hearing foreign terms all day, so when I said something like "Thirty-one," it was nice to know someone knew what I meant. I heard the CRG Rookies. They had a coach they knew and a cheer. I was intimidated. But we NC Rookies worked well together. We got an early lead, I think it was 53-28. We did wind up winning, but the CRG ladies didn't make it easy.

We had some of the NC B-teamers ask a few of us rookies to stay in white for the next bout, the Carolina Bootleggers vs. the NC Rookies.They asked Devlin, myself, Hits, and someone else to move up. We found ourselves facing the creme de la creme of Carolina's skaters. Their roster included Elektra Q. Tion, Sheeza Freak, Beth Row, Erna Beatin...it was a tough group. We worked together, we played smart, but it was tough. We fought for every point we posted and had some difficulties with penalties. I mean it was a long day and we were all tired. I went to the penalty box only once across my 4 scrimmages. But we did our best. I gotta say I love the floor at Skate Ranch. I got hit and I would wobble, BUT I never fell. I took blocks from some of their heavy hitters. I remember Q coming up on me and leaning on me and I was just determined, "I am NOT going down."

It was a great day. I only had a minor problem with anyone I skated with/against. And it made me feel better about what I've been doing in derby lately. Thanks CRG for hosting us AND for the excellent pork.

My Little PSA

Today I'd like to address a topic very near and dear to my face. High blocks.

Most high blocks go unseen. Please remember, the refs are processing everything that's happening on the track at once, so some things go missed. And even with a jam ref following a jammer, high blocks are hard to see. Most of the watching occurs below the neck. So when someone is hit to the face and goes down, the refs see the consequence (someone on the ground, holding their face), but they don't see the impact.

But high blocks suck. More than any other kind, I remember high blocks. And often who hit me. I skated in a co-ed invitational in February. It was a great experience except the time I was jamming and got hit in the face. It hurt like hell. I was dazed and disoriented and on the floor. My jam ref didn't see the impact, so it went uncalled. I was wronged, but nothing was going to happen. The only thing for it was for me to get back up and skate.

I've seen an increasing prevalence of high blocks at practice. It really effing sucks, guys. Sure, it doesn't get seen, but is it any way to play derby? Getting beat by loopholes sucks. I respect getting beaten by teams who use clean, legal hits. When you knock me down with your ass, great! When you knock me down with your elbow in my face, fuck you!

High blocks are unfair. They aren't in the spirit of the game. If you're realizing you get a lot of high block penalties, ask your coaches, trainers, and captains for feedback on how to curtail this. Please stop hitting people in the face.

It's Snuggle Time

So there's been a lot of derby lately. I've skated in two bouts and an invitational as well as numerous practices. And I'm not feeling so positive about my skating anymore.

For both bouts, I was in the jammer rotation for the first half and then blocked the second half. We lost both bouts and this past Saturday, relied on a two jammer rotation for the entire second half. It makes me doubt my ability as a jammer to be thrown in as a blocker when we're down in points. And during the invitational, I was perpetually stuck behind walls. It didn't help my confidence any. It's like I'm good enough to jam at scrimmage, but not in a bout. I'm curious about what I can do to be considered to jam more.

In the meantime, both bouts we lost, but we didn't give up. I felt that in App we started to counteract their strategies more than implementing our own, which means they're in our heads. But we stayed together and kept our heads in the game. We were a lot more erratic with Star City and I'm not sure why. Our team was a little different than we've been playing with, BUT all our skaters are talented and everybody works well together.

I almost had to sequester Tasty Murder to get her to stop being the Head of BP and focus on her skating. I told her to chill out and that I'd handle things.

The bout certainly drew a larger crowd this time. That was definitely a success.

Mustachioed Narwhals

So...it's been a while since I posted. Here's why. It was the final day of classes. Exams start tomorrow. It's bout week (it's always bout week). I haven't started registration for the fall. I've been busy to speak shortly.

Since my last post, I've bouted once more and am rostered for this Saturday (it just went out). After Saturday, I will have bouted 4 times, breaking me out of our definition of "New Granny." And on Sunday, after the bout, Race City is hosting an open scrimmage in which I'll be participating. After the AIDS Walk. After bouting. Oh yeah. It's happening.

My skating has come a long way lately. I'm a consistent jammer for my team, which is something both exciting and scary. I've also had a lot of triumphs with blocking lately. Last night on scrimmage, I was ALWAYS on the other jammer. We did A vs A and B vs B, so we skated against the same people over and over. I was frequently all over Sibel. I knocked her down time and time again. I was told by a coach that I'm reminiscent of one of our A-team players. A skater who is a personal idol of mine. He mentioned this because he feels I'm truly a double threat in that I can both jam and block effectively. I have been getting kind of sad when I don't jam, but maybe I should remember that blockers are just as important to the game.

I still need to work on not going to the outside as a jammer. As a blocker, I'm more comfortable there, so when I jam, it's where I go. Sometimes a jammer asks me to clear the inside and I look at them like, "What do you mean? I will give you the outside all day." But I do think that I do a good job staying on the track and upright. I usually do not get knocked out of bounds.

I think I am done with this post for now. Too tired.

Derby and Friends

Congratulations on becoming a roller girl! Or maybe you've been around a while. Still, this is an issue. Your friends (or sig os) ask you to hang out and you reply, "I"m sorry, I've got derby." They roll their eyes. You feel awful.

This is a common problem. Some have gone so far as to say that skaters are in a relationship with derby. In my limited time on the track, I've seen skaters retire because derby ate up too much of their time. Their friends never saw them anymore.

This doesn't have to be the case. You can have your friends and eat them...wait, that's not right. You can have your friends and your derby. That's better.

Remember that you will gain a whole new group of friends when you start playing roller derby. And that they DO NOT have to be friends with your non-derby friends. Rollergirls are a special sort. Not everyone is comfortable with sweaty ladies who burp and show off bruises in public. This is a generalization, but rollergirls are a different breed. So just because your friends don't want to hang out with your teammates does not mean you have to give them up.

Also, leagues typically host/attend events that are out in the community. My league has participated in Pride events, "blood wrestling," events at bars, charity work...so on and so forth. This might be a chance for your friends to meet your teammates in a less intimidating sort of environment. They might see the glimmer and y'all have and decide to strap on skates themselves or volunteer.

And of course, invite your friends to bouts. I have to sell tickets to our home bouts, and I'm always hitting up my friends. This seems to be easier when you first start because your friends are less sick of hearing about derby. You may even be able to ask your Bout Production head if you could watch a game instead of volunteering. I still have not taken advantage of this option, because I'm crazy busy on bout days.

And if your friends are unable to cope with the awesome superheroine you are becoming, it might be time to get new friends. If they can't support you, you should rethink the relationship.

But if your friends accept what you're doing, and respect derby, it is possible to keep them in your lives. They may still roll your eyes when you talk about it, but they'll have some idea what Ellen Page is talking about around 1:50 in the trailer. Because love of this sport is why we do it.

Sorry Guys

Sorry I haven't been posting as much. I have a couple of drafts that I haven't touched or posted. For that, I'm sorry.

I've been thinking some about my blog. I feel like it's grown kind of stagnant. I don't have the same struggles I did when I was trying to pass assessments. I don't know if it's as interesting anymore. I'm trying some new things, so please feel free to let me know what you think.

My first actual topic will be: accepting praise in derby.

6 months ago, I had just passed assessments. We were nearing the end of the season. The B*Dazzlers had just 2 more games. I could hit a little, but my hits were feather-light. I didn't know jack about strategery.

When you start at the bottom, you have a long way to go. From there, I've become one of the top skaters on my team. I'm a frequent jammer (go figure) and apparently a blocker who knows what's going on. I've gained a lot of speed. My 25 in 5 time dropped 30 seconds or so from June to September of last year.

So I've gotten a lot of positive feedback. It's sometimes difficult to deal with. We get critiqued all the time. A coworker tells you that you forgot something. A teacher tells you to be more in-depth with an answer. Your team's coach tells you to get lower, hit harder, and pay more attention. Critique happens daily. In the world of theatre, you say "Thank you" and fix it. Elsewhere, you nod or say "OK" and make a note to fix it.

Derby is not something that any of us grew up doing. About a decade ago, some women in Texas brought the game back to life. They learned mostly through trial-and-error. Since then we've formulated some ideas about how to train for and learn the game of derby. At first, you're always doing it wrong. Eventually, you don't cry or vomit as much, and get yelled at less.

But praise is something totally different. Even writing this blog I'm second-guessing some of the things I'm saying about myself. I had a long battle with self-esteem, so I'm better able to accept the positive things people say, but it's never easy. I just try to step back, say thank you and tuck it away. The same thing goes for when I'm in practice and doing some kind of drill and somebody says "Damn" (or something to that effect) when they have to try to get around me as a blocker or something.

I try to keep these things in mind for days when life gets me down. I keep these things for days when I'm jamming against the strongest blockers in the league. These little bursts of nice can really help out. When I get down and I think I suck, I think about the time I juked one of our most aware players. Or the time that I scored 20 points in a scrimmage and my team all high-fived me.

This is a tough sport, and you'll never get anywhere being down on yourself all the time. So cheer up, get lower, and thank someone trying to compliment you!

Tooting My Own Horn

I just thought I'd point out that I have written a book review of Down and Derby and it's on the Charlotte Roller Girls website:
http://charlotterollergirls.com/2012/03/cltrg-book-review-down-and-derby-the-insiders-guide-to-roller-derby/

I'd love for you to check it out!

Some Thoughts

A highlight of the was after a particularly exhausting jam, I collapsed on the floor in front of our bench and one of my teammates gave me the advice to dig in when I take big hits. She said I keep moving my feet sometimes. BUT this is huge progress because I've been working on moving my feet and not stopping skating when I hit the pack. So yay, I've managed to make my feet move, now I need to reign it in.

So I played some derby last Saturday. I was slightly more jittery for this bout but maybe that's due to my involvement. It was phenomenal to go to Charleston and not have to worry about whether or not there are tickets at willcall and whether people are trained in their various tasks. Not only did we have a bout, we skated in the St. Patty's Day Parade. It was a day full of derby.

The B*Dazzlers were playing the Triad's Camel City Thrashers. I enjoy the Thrashers. I recently skated in that co-ed Invitational with most of them. It was a lot of fun. They're a great bunch of ladies. And they skated their hearts out and were great sports about the score.

As a jammer, I was pretty useless. I was all over the floor. Seriously, in all the pictures, I am on the floor when I'm wearing the star. I took some good hits, but I was probably the least effective jammer. I'm much prouder of my blocking skills. I was often sitting on the jammer and holding her back. That's a good feeling. I worked with many of my teammates, and seldom was it the same ones. Alley Capone has a great sense of what speed to maintain when you're holding the jammer at the back of the pack to stay in play.

I had a really great time and I wore shiny pants. I apologize for being so late on this post. I started it Sunday, but it has been an open tab on my browser since then. So I also apologize for not having much to this post. Happy Friday!

Cleaning Wheels And Bearings

Disclaimer: This is how I clean MY wheels and bearings. This is not the only way, it's just what I do. If you do something different, you are not wrong.


With that out of the way, I'd like to talk about something really important for all skaters. When you maintain your equipment properly, it lasts a lot longer and improves your skating performance.

My magical elixir is simply Isopropyl Alcohol. Some girls prefer to use vinegar on their wheels because alcohol will break down the polyurethane. I personally believe that I will have worn out the wheels long enough any breakdown occurs.

I clean my wheels pretty regularly. I usually do not even remove them from my skates. I take a rag, soak a corner in alcohol, and rub until the dirt is gone. With light-colored wheels, it's easy to tell. I used to have black wheels and it was way harder to see the dirt globs.

Some people swear by cleaning wheels with soap and water. I just had the opportunity to do that. I had the water left over from washing my pads. I dunked the wheels, agitated, and then rinsed. Since the bearings were already out for cleaning, this was really helpful. It got the dust out of the hubs that I usually spend 20 minutes with a q-tip scrubbing. But this isn't something I'll do that often since it does require removing the bearings. And it didn't do much for the dirt on the skating surface of the wheels.

Now my bearings I do not clean as often. These bearings were purchased in December, so they're not super dirty, but I thought I'd give 'em a cleaning before the next bout. I skate on Mini Logos bearings. They have one plastic shield and the other side is sealed metal.

So the first step is removing the bearings from the wheel hubs. You can do this with a bearing tool or carefully using the axle of the skate. Once that's done, it's time to remove the plastic shield. I had a safety pin laying around, so I used that. All it takes is a gentle pry.

So now you've got 16 bearings and 16 shields. Some skaters throw away the shields, but that makes cleanings necessary more often and I'm too lazy for that, so I soak them in hot water, dry them, and put them back on the bearings. To clean the actual bearings, I put them in a tupperware container. I pour in some alcohol and agitate. I put the lid on the container and shake it, stir it, and otherwise encourage the dirt out. After a bit, I drain the alcohol, spin the excess liquid out of the bearings and leave them on a towel to dry. I put the shields onto a paper towel.

It's necessary to lubricate your bearings after cleaning. Just because they roll fine un-lubricated does not mean you should leave them that way. I use Tri-Flow brand lubricant. It was on sale for $3.97 at Dick's. Most any sort of lubricant will do, a lot of people recommend sewing machine oil. A couple drops will do. Then spin a few times to spread it. Replace the shields and you're good to go.

I promise to update this post with pictures when I next clean my bearings.

Firstly

Congrats to Bets On Bruises for passing assessments earlier this eve!

Secondly, I made roster and am out of my mind with excitement. But also one of my teammates will be moving soon. She will have the chance to skate with the Carolina Rollergirls, so that's excellent for her.

Practice was interesting. It always is when CalQ leads. The first thing she had us do was skate an enormous figure 8 on the track. That was awesome, because it forced us to transition from derby direction to non-derby direction in quick succession.

Also, let me mention that I was skating on different wheels. I finally decided to try out some harder wheels. I am comfortable with my Poisons, but apparently I started out on roughly a 95a durometer. So tonight, I skated on Rollerbones Snake wheels. They are a 96a. It was really interesting. They are the same width as Poisons, so it was less of a harrowing transition than the Speed Rays AND they are also plastic hubs. It was a bit like driving without shocks. I definitely felt more of the floor beneath my feet.

Back to the drills. I thought CalQ gave us a varied and interesting practice. There was skating in packs, which was unfamiliar to some of the newer skaters. They rose to the challenge well. There was a bit of endurance for the grannies. There were some skills and plenty of opportunity to work on awareness.

On a slightly less related note, I will have Antiks before the year is up. I found a customizer thing where you can see all the different colors. I desire them much!

And good luck to Tasty Murder on her redos!

A Compendium

So...I failed to post about scrimmage last night. It was largely underwhelming. I jammed a bit, and then we played against the A-team. I received a backblock penalty when I was hit into another skater. But alas. I stayed for endurance. Also, there were ref assessments. They all passed. Yay Zeebs!

Tonight was better. Our captains incorporated some of Bonnie's teachings. It was good to try to employ it again. We also split up into jammers and blockers and blockers worked on v-walls while jammers worked on shielding.

We did a lot of scrills tonight. We did some during the new granny clinic. We did some 4 corners. We did some five-on-five, it was all valuable. I had a really good moment where I juked someone. I noticed she was all over me, and I figured, "Ok, I been working on this, time to try it out." I don't remember if I faked in and went out or vice versa, but it worked. I got around one of our strong blockers who was giving me trouble.

I enjoyed practice and can't wait for Thursday. Also the roster comes out tonight, whoo!

Blech

Today was long. My manager kindly scheduled me at 1, so I was able to go to practice. I woke up and did not want to. But I knew that my derby wife would tell me to (even though she was asleep at that time, because it was like 5:30 where she was). So I got up and put on my leggings on.

Well then, I never got back to this blog post yesterday. Allow me to recall.

We did endurance practice, but it wasn't endurance like, "Ugh." It was endurance like, "This is endurance? Ok." K. Rye did it in a fun, self-guided way. The first drill we did was a sprint/core drill. We had whistles at every minute mark and we sprinted until the minute mark and then did either 10 push-ups or 20 sit-ups. This particular drill had my feet screaming. My arches were cramping so bad, I was nearly in tears. But I kept skating. After the drill, I was able to grab my insoles from my bag and that made all the difference. Some days, I need the insoles, some days I can't do it. Such is derby.

After that, we did the school bus/carpool drill. Thank you Rye for doing it in a fair way. She has the first person to get on the bus be the first person off. This means that the first person doesn't have to do all the laps. One of my dear teammates has been having a lot of leg pain, and has been getting treatments to help. They didn't seem to be helping her, so I tried to encourage her through the drill. It made me feel better about my own pain.

Then Rye had us stop, turn around, and do it non-derby direction. It took me a long time to adjust to crossovers with the 187 knee pads reverse-derby direction. In fact, that was the only thing that took any adjustment with them. I didn't know if I'd ever get the ability back. But I did, yay! Also I learned that I lace my left boot a little looser, which is fine for derby direction, but when that leg starts being the one picked up to cross over, it was a little wiggly.

Afterward Rye had us do 25 laps any way we wanted. The idea was clearly to sprint, but she opened up to us doing is backwards or reverse derby direction or whatever. Afterward, we were to do core and then go back out and do more laps. I did 25 staying as low as I could, like a jammer, but still keeping eyes forward so I could "map the pack." I collapsed for a second. Then after doing my core, I skated 25 laps backwards. After that, my poor newbie was leaving practice after a bad fall on her tush, so I went and hugged her. Hope your butt heals, Sonja!

I am glad I went to practice yesterday, but I hope that the next two nights of practice (scrimmage tonight) will not kill me. I think I will go foam roll and drink coffee.

TODAY!

I met Bonnie D. Stroir! Omigod!

More to come later. When I process it all.

Ok, so after several hours of obsessing over derby including:
1. Assessing my next gear purchase.
2. Getting excited about any wheel Atom has ever produced.
3. Shopping for skates I don't need.
4. Reading the blog of one of my new idols, Elektra-Q-Tion
and 5. Being upset that none of the blogs I follow have updated lately.

So, I've decided to stop being a jackass and post for all of you.

I will try to condense the amazingness that Bonnie shared with us. She has a lot of great metaphors, firstly. I love her sharks and seals theory. Basically the inside and outside lines are deep water where sharks (blockers) thrive. Seals (jammers) do best in shallow water, or the middle lane of the track.

She gave us a lot of good advice about energy too. There are a lot of personalities in derby and instead of trying to fit into the mold of what traditional strategy says we need to do, we should complement each other. If you're the anchor in a wall, it's your job to be the calm one.

She gave us lots of little strategies and then let us go on the track and play with them. In short bursts, we got to try them out. I felt like I had a lot of success implementing her ideas. I can't wait to put them into practice at scrimmage or in scrills.

Bonnie has a lot of ideas that are in direct contradiction with what we've all been taught. She maintains that being low has its time, but derby position is not always appropriate. She gave us a lot of help with juking which is totally awesome, because it's something I desire strongly to work on.

She also spent some time talking about the derby mental game. She talked us through the game From the Bench, On the Track, and From the Box. She had some great tips for calming down if it starts to get overwhelming. Her tips are to regulate your breathing and give yourself simple mental command.


After all this, I came home and read derby blogs and am now looking at gear. I found some used Antik MG-2s in my size. I am seriously considering Revenge plates. I would like to try the Atom Snap wheels.

Anyway, this is all a whole lot of derby and I've got practice in the morning, so I'm going to bed.

Good night, hope dreams of skates come to you!

Thursday Funday

Tonight's practice was fun. I always love Cal Q's practices because she likes to make up drills or alter existing drills. There's always interesting things. Like tonight she had the newbies hold onto yarn that she'd tied knots in to show them how far apart they should be in pacelines.

She also pulled a few of us to work on hitting with the newbies who are preparing for Day 2. I hadn't done any measured hitting in a while and it was good. I realized I'm a lot better at Johnny Crashes (Can-openers) than I thought I was, and should maybe employ them more often in scrimmages and whatnot. We also were doing this hitting on the track with newbies weaving nearby, so I'm impressed with our awareness of the paceline and our not crashing into them.

We did a lot of the Day 1 skills as well, since Day 1 is Sunday. I really like this approach. I felt like I didn't have much prep for Day 1 the first time I did it. In the practices leading up to, we did the usual sorts of drills rather than more of the assessment skills.

It's also good to get to know the newest newbies.

This was rather a shorter post than I anticipated, so here's out bout poster:

Please come see us kick ass on St. Patty's Day, both in the parade, and in our doubleheader season opener.

Tonight's B-Team Practice

Thank you to my loyal readers, first and foremost. Honestly. This self-reflection is good for me. And I was telling somebody earlier that I've never had much luck with journaling, but because I know I have a readership, I can't disappoint.

Since I'm thanking people, I'd like to thank my dear derby wife, Devlin Syder. I wasn't feeling all that great and didn't know if I could make it to practice, but I could hear Devlin's voice in my head telling me to go to practice.

So, in the spirit of being adventurous, I decided to try out my spare wheels. I have a set of mostly bald Speed Rays. The skates were sold to me with the wheels on 'em. I was told they are still great for sport court. I've skated on sport court now twice. Since we bout on it, but I've never skated on it, I thought I'd try these wheels out on our floor. I have 4 red and 4 blue. These are approximately 92a and 93a durometer. They're also wider (not drastically, but somewhat) and heavier (solid aluminum hubs).

It was an experiment, to be sure. I thought I might try them out at a Thursday practice, but then I thought that team practice is a good mixture of derby play and derby skills. And it was. I slipped all over the place. I still pushed myself and jammed and did everything I could. I wasn't able to dig in as deep with my sprints and crossovers, but I still tried.

I've been feeling that skating through mud sensation lately. But I still think I'd rather have to exert a little more effort if I have total grip in the turns.

So to my actual thoughts on practice...

I feel like the B-Dazzlers are clicking now more than ever. The most dedicated core is sticking together and working like one pack.

I also think everyone's getting better at the little things. We did banana peel in reverse derby direction, then turned around and did Sharkbait derby direction and we mostly did turning toe stops, without colliding with each other. Our hit timing could all still use work but I think even the best of the best say that. (Speaking of, did I tell you Elektra Q. Tion noticed my skating on Sunday? AAAAAAAH!)

It's really cool to work on something at practice and get the chance to put it into action. We're trying to go back to the basics, since B-Dazz is very much a new team these days. But it's tough to be reviewing the basic and still have to skate against people. When we get to employ these simple strategies, that's good. We are able to quickly see the result of our work.

My brain is no longer processing what's going on. I may update this post at a later time, but you know me, probably not.

Invitational

The Invitational is today. I'm strangely not nervous. But I wasn't nervous before the bout last weekend either. I thought I'd try to have team spirit with my boutfit. BUT I don't own any red leggings or shorts. How crazy is that? Oh well.

More to come later.

Ok, so I was a Drunk (right, yeah, put the 20-year old on the Drunks, haha!). Oh wait, did I mention this was a CoEd bout? It was. I had three boys on my team. Celtic Crusher, Sweet Meat, and the Professor were Drunks. And they were all extremely valuable. Sweet Meat as a jammer, wow. You hit him, he turns around and skates backwards, hit him again, and he turns back around. The man is a beast. Crusher was an excellent blocker, holding down the back of the pack. And the Professor did a wonderful job skating anywhere needed. And little Patty Valentine needed very little help as a jammer once he got moving.

We first played the Crunks. I played against teammate Nita Beer (pitting husband against wife). I blocked in a variety of positions. We played pretty well together, though naturally we had trouble playing as a team. We came together well and managed to hold back one of the Crunks' strongest players, MistHer, who was jamming. I am most proud of that bit of recycling and blocking and team work.

During halftime, I noticed my coaches working on some lineup changes. I told them I would happily jam if need be, since I was relatively fresh. I brought it up again later and they put me in to great success. I had a great crew of blockers, including Boot Scootin' Bully of Blue Ridge Roller Girls, lead jammer status, and a soon-to-be powerjam. I got 4 grandslams, scoring a total of 20 points before calling it off as the other jammer came back onto the track.

I did have some trouble after that whilst jamming when I was struck about the face. HARD. And somehow none of the refs managed to see it. Boy did it suck. I cried a little. And we had to call a timeout to page the medic just so he could tell me he didn't have any ice. Luckily my teammate Sour Bash Kid had ice and a plastic bag to spare. Thanks Bash!

That helped Team Drunks get back on top of the score. I had lots of people tell me I skated well. I was pretty proud of that. And also happy to get my second (and third) bouts under my belt. Congrats to ref/my ride up there OhCeeDee on kicking so much ass. And thanks to Derby City Skates for being present for me to drool over and purchase some items.

Also my shoulder(s) feel great, thanks for asking, considerate reader. Now I'm gonna fall into a derby/baconator coma.

Recap

I know I've neglected to post this week. I talked about the bout, but I've had scrimmage, team practice, and skills practice since then. Scrimmage hurt. Tuesday hurt. In fact, I felt way worse after each than I did after the bout. I've adjusted my skates, so I've been all over the place. I collided with Rosie during scrimmage. Also there seems have to been a lot of high blocks lately. I've been hit in the face a few times. And once in the ear. Not only are these hits illegal, but they suck. After getting hit in the ear, I had to sit out a few jams.

After my little PSA, I have a actual message for my readers. When I first started derby, I thought I wanted to be a jammer. You know, get the glory. But I'm neither a tall and skinny girl nor a small and sneaky one. And after the first time 25 in 5 kicked my ass, I thought, "Maybe I'm more suited for being a blocker." But I worked hard and continually improved. I got new skates and shaved more time off my 25 in 5. And now I'm one of the jammers for my team. One of my coaches told me I've gotten really fast. I managed to get lead jammer over and score on one of the A-team's strongest jammers. I was floored.

So I just want you to understand that whatever it is that gives you trouble, don't give up. Keep working and one day, you'll pass that 25 in 5, or execute a 180 knee-fall, or complete a turning toe stop. Derby is the greatest sport in the world because no matter what your background, you belong with us. If you played sports all your life, that's cool. But if you never played sports at all, that's cool too. From those who hold onto the walls to those who can crossover their first practice, derby accepts all. It's a wholly empowering sport. And I'm so happy to be a part of it.

Charleston

So I bet you've been looking forward to my debut, right? I certainly have. I skated with grace and poise in neon this past Saturday.

This multi-colored beast is Jammer-Rita!

We had a doubleheader down in Charleston. It was filled with all kinds of excitement (Bill Murray asked my boyfriend for directions). While, both Charlotte teams lost in points, the B-Dazzlers won the second half (scoring 80 points) and the All-Stars won the dancing portion of the evening.

I wasn't nervous. Oddly. I got nervous for like a second during some jam where I was blocking, but it passed. It was like skating at a scrimmage. It was like there was no crowd and no scoreboard. I skated hard. I jammed a few times, but mostly I hit people. Charleston people. I hit their jammers a lot.

Most of the bout is kind of a blur, but I remember bits of it. Mostly I remember encountering walls of pink. I tried to blend in with my pink tights, but they were not fooled.

It was not only my first bout, but it was my derby wife's (Devlin Syder) first bout back after her injury. We got to skate together occasionally.

Here we are on the pivot line!

I did get lead jammer at least once. Although when I tried to call it off, I received a penalty. I'm not so sure about that call. I think I was actually tripped, but que se ra se ra.

I can't think of any other highlights (sorry guys), and I've got to get ready for scrimmage. Thank you for reading!

Tuesdays Rock!

Seriously, the B*Dazzlers are an amazing team. We work together so well.

Tonight, we really showed that. We recycled well in drills, we maintained walls. I am just so happy that we've got such a great team and I can't wait until Saturday! You ready, Low Country? You ready to eat our dust?

Drumroll Please...

So I've got some great news. I've made the roster for Charleston. I'll be making my bouting debut in just over a week. I also just got the news that enough people have dropped out of the Guys and Girls Gone WILD Invitational that I've made it. I will be on the Drunks team. I will be skating with one of my teammates' husband (I'm confused by that grammer, but also too complacent to adjust it). I'm interested in seeing what it will be like to skate with guys. Maybe I'll learn something.

I have been taking it easy in practice. I even sat out scrimmage, and that was tough. But I've been pushing myself harder at practices lately. I feel like it's paying off. 

Our practices have had a lot of variety lately and I really love that.

I wish I had more to say, but I sincerely think that's all for me.

Can't wait to skate next weekend! And the following one!

Hey Rita, how's it going?

You might be wondering how I'm doing. At last report, I had an injured shoulder and was fixin' ta schedule an appointment with Dr. Tony. It's been a week since I posted. In that time, I HAVE been to Dr. Tony and also shook my groove thing at our end-of-year party.

Unfortunately I think I've wrecked all the work Dr. Tony did. He worked on trigger points (knots) and used this massage tool that made me feel like I was being run over by a jet ski.

I've been trying to pull myself out of hitting drills and do as much as I can with my hips. BUT derby is a coincidental sport. We do this drill, a sort of bait-and-switch, where we open up the inside line like we're not paying attention and then hit the jammer out of bounds and stay in bounds ourselves. I've ceased jamming during this drill, but just because I hit someone with my hips doesn't mean that that they don't hit my shoulder.

Last night I got hit in the other shoulder and now it's hurtin too. I hate it because I'm apparently a jammer and we're doing a lot of great drills for jammers. Drills that I can't participate in. On the one hand, I want to skate real bad, but on the other, I know I should rest and ice my shoulder as much as possible. I also got my thumb run over. I tucked my fingers when I fell, but my thumb still got run over. Also I've been having some issues with my right ankle. I just feel like every time I put on my skates, I wind up hurting myself further. We've got a bout upcoming, one that I hope to skate in. So I've got to heal. But I also need to show that I want it, as there are an absurd number of skaters on B-Dazz now.

So I guess I'm gonna work on taking it even easier.

Tuesdays for Teams!

Tonight was team (B-Dazz) practice. It was interesting and diverse. Our captains have worked super hard to come up with drills that challenge all of us, since many of us are at different levels. And I'd say they were successful.

We started out with some simple drills. We did banana peel and partner weaving.

At some point, they broke us off into jammers and blockers. Guess who's a jammer! Me? Me! Rita is a jammer. They told us that we are people who will probably end up jamming for B-Dazz at some point this season. Now I know it's not a final list, as only half of the team was present at practice. BUT STILL! I'm considered a jammer. I mean I do it at scrimmages thanks to some very wise advice from my derby wife. One Devlin Syder told me before I passed assessments, "Always volunteer to jam." It makes you seem reliable to teammates. It improves your endurance. And it makes you a better blocker. And hey, maybe you'll rock at it.

Enough incredulity. We worked on some jammer starts. We ran from the jammer line to the pivot. Aside from my shoulder killing me, I did my best. Although I did come down real hard on my toe stop once and it shook my leg. Snatch kept telling me to look up so I can map the pack, and I did, but she kept telling me to. I promise I was looking up.

We did Holly Wanna CrackYa's "Bait and Switch." I did a lot of turning toe stops and kept my agility going. I'm working on doing turning toe stops at higher speeds. I'm working up to a sprint, but I am not there yet. I busted every part of my body doing one recently.

We did a lot of skrills. We did something kind of like Pick a Chick. We even did some straight scrimmaging at the end of practice, which I respect and feel we need.

Unfortunately, some ballsy crap is going on with my shoulder. My chiropractor told me that my AC joint is slipping. Apparently I injured myself sleeping. That was the start of it. Last night, I got hit. HARD. And I tried to take it easy and ice it today, but I mucked it up again tonight. And since my chiropractor's out of town, I think I'm gonna put in a call to Dr. Peters.

Oh hey, who's that jamming?

Photo: Gene Lazo

Furthermooooore, we are working on setting personal goals for this year. I have come up with my 3 goals.

1. I wanted to be less afraid of the pivot panty, including being more knowledgeable in strategy and when to employ what strategy, HOWEVER it seems that I've gotten better, UNTIL I put the pivot panty on. I don't talk when I'm wearing the stripe. So I'd like to be a go-to chick. When the plan gets fucked, I wanna be the one who's coming up with a new strategy and employing it.

2. I'm a decent blocker, but I think when I jam, I don't make the most of it. I am not a tall thin jammer like some. You're not likely to see an apex jump outta me, but I can definitely hit my way through a pack also.

3. And finally, related to #2, I would like to be better at breaking through walls as a jammer. Well, as a blocker too. I spend a lot of time lagging behind a wall, assessing its weaknesses. I would like to get better at legally breaking through walls.

Scrimmaaaaaage

Scrimmage tonight was...interesting. We beta-tested a potential ruleset. There is consideration for rules involving a Rear Blocker Line as well as a pivot line. Blockers must line up in front of the rear line, but cannot block until they pass the pivot line. Also, the jammers are released at the same time as the blockers. It's an attempt to stop everyone's enemy, SLOW DERBY.

I was on a team with Snatch, one of my captains. And she gave us positive feedback. I felt effective. There were only a couple of times my pivot yelled "WTF Caitlin?" or something to that effect. I was recycling, I was being aware of jammers, I even jammed pretty effectively.

In the second half, we switched to some A vs. B jams. We were told recently that the B team should take advantage of these scrimmage times. The A team does not get the chance to play teams better than them in our warehouse facility. We, the B team, have that opportunity. I generally feel more positive about these times when I'm not getting my ass handed to me.

We formulated strategies, play with advance lineups, and rocked it. We held back some of the strongest A-team jammers. Our jammers got through and scored. I magically broke through a wall of Angel, Bo, and Drew, some of our strongest blockers. However Drew also hit in my bad shoulder real hard. That took me out of most of the second half, but I did still stay for endurance practice.

I'm hoping to schedule an appointment with league chiropractor Dr. Tony, as my chiropractor is leaving town this week. My shoulder feels awful. I've got team practice tomorrow, let's hope I feel up to skating!

Easyriders Demos

Whoo. Today was brutal. Almost 3 hours of derby spread out all day.

Sin sent out an email this morning about the floor. She told us it was polished concrete, but slicker than our warehouse and to bring our grippiest wheels. HO-LY crap. It was like ice skating.

And our demos were up against lingerie fashion shows, so while we drew crowds, it was difficult to keep them.

I actually did not have as much of a problem with the floor as some. Some of us were all over the floor. During the first demo, I stayed upright mostly. But when I went down, I went down HARD. My first fall had me sprawled out on the floor, and both elbows still hurt. A fall in the second round had me landing on the top of my shoulder.

As the day went on, I got more tired, but more used to the floor. There was a corps of skaters who were there for all 3 demos. I pushed myself. Past my breaking point. I jammed when I didn't feel up to it. I jammed in all 3 demos, I'm pretty sure. I kept my feet moving. I made smart calls and mostly executed good blocks.

I only went to the penalty box twice in the three demos. And both were as I was getting tired. The first was at the very end of the second demo. I think it was a backblock. And sometime in the third demo, I went to the box on a cut major. That was strictly because I was tired. Psy*Ren hit me out around Turn 3 and when I tried to come back in, I thought she was with the pack, I didn't even see her waiting for me.

Later one of the refs told me that it was actually a cut minor and he apologized for calling it a major. I was also told there was a jam where it was reported I scored 0 points, when I'd actually scored 5. I forgot what it's like to play derby in a warm environment. I was sweating. I couldn't see straight at times.

I tried to take hits to the best of my ability, I broke up walls whenever possible, and I found reserves of strength in me to get through the pack. Many times I saw holes and just ran for it. I'm pretty proud of what I did today and only hope I can apply that in the coming weeks.

Easyriders

Today is a big day for me. We are doing some demo scrimmages at a motorcycle show. The Easyrider folks have asked us to put on 3 separate demos throughout the day.

So this will be my first chance to play roller derby in front of the public. Got my uniform all ready, my spandex nearby, and hopefully I won't fall on my face. More to come later!

I Haven't Been Posting...

...And I apologize. I've been to like 16 practices in the last week (obvious hyperbole), and haven't blogged. Our practices are getting harder, I'm pushing myself more and when I come home from practice, I usually pass out for an hour on the couch, wake up, take a shower, and go to bed. We've had some really good practices lately. We (the bodacious B*Dazzlers) set our goals for 2012. That was a pretty empowering little session.

We've also been doing a lot of great drills lately. I'm seeing a lot of improvements in my skating, even just from a month ago. My turning toe stops are improving too! Still working on doing them from a sprint speed, but I can successfully pull one off in a drill. I'm also actively working on breaking through walls. That will help me not only with jamming, but with being goated. The other teams often try to goat me. While I'm not a strong fighter to be able to bust through these walls, I have made some strides blocking back there. I remember one scrimmage in particular, the other team attempted to goat me virtually every time I was on the track. Instead of fighting, I just hit their jammer. I remember hitting CalQ out once and my jammer was able to call off the jam before CalQ scored any points.

I'm working on my pivot skills. The other night, at team practice, I noticed that the other team had lead jammer and also the track advantage, so I hollered for my team to get to the front. Unfortunately, either they did not hear me or were unable to get through the pack. So I just sat on the jammer instead.

Also I have a new mouthguard, so I'm more able to communicate!

I had something else to mention about one of my goals. But I forgot. So instead, I'll tell you about how Devlin Syder hit me really hard last night. My dear derby wife was in kind of a crappy mood last night. She said she was gonna hit someone really hard if we did any hitting. We did the drill that Rye calls Sharkbait, but some called Great Wall of Gina. You have a prom date, you're skating in a double paceline. When the whistle blows, the pair at the back takes action. The outside partner takes a knee and then sprints on the outside of the track. The inside partner waits and when the moment is right, skates on the diagonal to land a big hit on her partner. I partnered with Devlin because I knew she was feeling off. So I let her hit me. And she about hit me into the wall of the warehouse. Twice. The other pairs applauded and cheered for us. So naturally, when it came time for me to hit her, I did my damnedest.

That's all I got for now. Please be looking for my next post soon: Why Roller Derby is Better Than a Gang!