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.

Roller Girl Gift Guide

Since we're still on break from practice, here is a break from my usual posting. It's a little after the holidays, but still works for birthdays, derbyversaries, Cinco de Mayo...

This is by no means a comprehensive guide, this is based on my own personal experience and what I've observed from the roller girls around me. Also, this is mostly for Significant Others of Roller Girls (SORGs), but it applies to other relations as well.

If you really love her, two words, Rollercon tickets. Has she got those? Plane tickets to Vegas would be a great companion gift. But, if your lady can't get the time off work or whatever, here are some other ideas.


Wheels make a great gift, but there are as many kinds of wheels as they are roller girls. So what do you get her? Do you know what she skates on? If not, I know this is counter-intuitive, but open the gear bag. Can you see the skates? Can you get them out or are they tetris'd in there so tight that only she can get them out? If you can get them out, look at the wheels. Can you read the manufacturer on the wheel? It could on the outside of the wheel, or the inside near the truck. Has it worn off? Well, at least remember what color they are.

Ask the derby wife. She's a valuable resource. Do you know who her derby wife is? If you can look in her phone contacts, it'll be someone with a name like, "boom," "slam," "block," "beat"... and maybe a heart next to it. If not, look on Facebook. On whose page does she post videos of derby and new gear and rules updates? Who is the girl in the league shirt hugging your woman in all her pictures?

Ask the derby wife what kind of wheels your girl has/wants. Chances are good she's said to this individual either:
-"I love my ______, but they're going bald."
OR -"Have you heard about the ________, I'd love to try them."

"But Rita, I just bought her new wheels for Flag Day, now she needs something for her birthday/I can't read these bald-ass things and her derby wife has no clue."
If you answered number one, congrats on being the best SORG ever. If you answered number two, that's ok. If you managed to look at the skate, does she need new toe guards/duct tape? Stocking stuffer! Team colors, please.

OR there's the world of bearings. They're tricky, but every girl could use an extra set. If you girl talks about how fast her bearings are, be prepared to shell out some bucks. She's probably got ceramic. If she talks about how cheap her bearings are, or how quickly she goes through them, get her a set of Mini Logos or Bones Reds for between $20-$30. (It is important to get her 16 bearings, because they are usually sold in sets of 8, for skateboards.)

Again, did you see the skates? How do the toe stops look? They wear quickly, especially if your girl jams or does a lot of turning toe stops. The occasional roller girl skates with just a set of jam plugs. These are fairly inexpensive and she'd probably love to have a spare. If you know what kind of toe stops she has or wants (here's where the derby wife comes in), you could get her a set. But if you don't know if she's got Powerdynes or Gumballs, you might have to do a little research.

Interlude: Be sure to check with the derby wife. It would really suck for you to both buy your skater the same gift.

And what about her safety equipment? If she's doing this any length of time, she probably needs new wrist guards. Next time she washes the pads, look at the brand. Pro-Tec and Triple 8 are common types. A regular set of skate wristguards run about $15. Now if she's got something fancy -- spoon-shaped brace, only one splint, gloved guards...lay off replacing it unless she's specifically asked for something. If she's still skating with her starter elbow pads, spend the $20 to get her a new set. If the derby wife tells you that your girl girl wants the new Atom elbow pads or some 187s, go for it!

Skate tools are important! If your girl has the little silver one that came with her skates, she'd probably like an upgrade. If she doesn't have one at all, she definitely needs one. Powerdyne sells a great combination axle, kingpin, and toestop wrench and it's kind of triangular. If your girl is a little handier, the Reflex Utilitool includes a bearing tool, axle rethreader, pop-out allen wrench...hell, she could take the plates off her boots with this thing. It's like a handheld fairy godmother. (I got one of these for Christmas, I love it!) If she already has the Powerdyne or is happy with her tool, Powerdyne also has a bearing tool that would make a great addition to her skate bag.

Now if you've gotten this far and are either a) so baffled it hurts or b) so awesome you've already bought all this stuff for her -- look at her derby wardrobe. A roller girl can never have enough tights. Double points if they're league colors. Buy her booty shorts, leggings, fishnets, practice tanks, tutus, sports bras... Hell maybe even get her name (in at least 2-inch characters) and number (in at least 4-inch characters) printed on a black and white shirt. Note, if you buy her lingerie, she'll wear it on the outside of her clothing and show all her teammates.

Just remember, the best gift you can give her is your support. Anything more is just bonus. So buy tickets (and sell them to everyone you know), make signs, and cheer your own personal superhero on at the next bout!

Sunday

Well I was gonna write a nice piece about derby and how it makes me feel, but I'm blogging in bed, so I'll save that for another day. Meanwhile, I did manage to attend Sunday practice.

Wow, I had a lot more motivation earlier. I promise to finish this post tonight, y'all. For now, I need a nap before work.

Thursday Party-Time

So Day 2 Assessments were taking place during practice, so things were a little hectic last night. It was a pretty small practice, and it was Mary H's first Thursday night practice. She's had a class all semester, so she hasn't been able to come Thursdays.

Our Trainer was Rosie, but she was divided between time with us and time with the assessments. So we were kind of independent studying, as it were.

Last night was the first time I really felt like a granny. Sure, I've scrimmaged, been a rostered alternate, and even have a mentee. But helping newbies at practice last night really made me feel like I'd passed assessments.

I know I still have things to work on myself, but it felt nice to share my knowledge! Oh yeah, and I'll have my one-on-ones with a TC member sometime soon, so I'll really find out how I'm doing.

Scrimmage

Scrimmage Monday was rough. There were 15 of us. 7 on black, 8 on white. But it was a real learning experience. I thank team (Team no Brakes) for helping me out, and hey, I felt effective. I jammed a couple of times.

Other than the last of my bearings breaking and my having to switch out, I did stuff. And we never had a time where we went out with too few players. 2 on the bench, the rest on the track. We made effective walls, we recycled so well, and we were up at the half.

The other team kept trying to goat me, so I decided to hit their jammer. She came up on me and I hit her out of bounds. I would've stayed on her, but my jammer called off the jam at that time.

Day 1...again

I know what you're thinking..."Didn't she like just take Day 1?" In fact, I did, just 3 short months ago. Several of us did. And we have been awaiting the TC verdict on whether we'd have to retake since we ran out the 60 days. The TC finally told us that since we're now WFTDA (yay!) and we'll have to re-assess yearly, they'd like everyone to assess around the same time, August/September. Having taken Day 1 in June, we would have gone too long without assessing.

They told us this toward the end of August. If we'd known before then, most of us would've re-done Day 1 when they offered it August 7th.

Alas.

So now I'm an expert at assessing.

I passed once more. This time without any redos. Not quite sure how I managed that. My t-stops are still shaky, but passable. Damn those t-stops. I hate them so. Rye said, "You've been here a year. We need to get a better t-stop." I had a bit of a problem with pacing. One of my slows sort of veered off course and I fell once.

My 25 in 5 is not where I'd like it to be. I got down to 4:18 once. Today it was 4:39. But I haven't skated in a week, so I'm not too hard on myself. All in all, I'm pleased.

Ready to take on Day 2 Thursday.