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!

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!

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.