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.