So I'm still super psyched that the Charlotte Roller Girls got in in the lottery to skate at ECDX this year. We've never skated on the big stage there. We went and played in two serious challenge bouts in 2011, but haven't been back as a team since. I went as a skater last year and I made new friends, reconnected with old friends and had a great time. I'd like to share some of my experiences/tips.
ECDX is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...that happens every year.
1. Watch some derby. I got to see my favorite team (Montreal) skate, in person, finally last year. I also witnessed the mind-blowing Windy vs Philly game, that was won by one point in overtime. These games help determine tournament seeding and they're really exciting. Some teams are invited, some get in through the lottery, all are ready to play derby. This year, a couple of teams from Sweden will be making the journey to Feasterville to compete and I can't wait to meet them.
2. Skate some scrimmages. The eastcoastextravaganza Yahoo Group is a great resource. Someone winds up posting a list of all the colors that teams use in their scrimmages. I made like 4 scrimmage shirts last year and wound up playing in a bunch of scrimmages just by being nearby and having the right color shirt. Also, on. Sunday morning, there is a black vs white scrimmage at some ungodly hour. I think it's 8 am. It's '5 and slide' style. You can switch teams if the numbers get uneven. I skated with people and had no idea where they came from. I just learned that I skated with a DC All-Star last year.
It's a really powerful feeling to skate in the same facilities as your derby idols.
3. The pool looks like so much fun. I didn't make it last year, but I vow to this time around. I will be bringing plenty of sunscreen and being sure to hydrate, but that can't stop me from having a good time.
4. Vendor Bingo: it's at at the big derby events. Get a stamp from each vendor, enter to win an amazing basket of derby stuff. Take advantage of the vendors also. There's vendors from all over the country with brand new shiny stuff and lots of expertise to share.
5. Speaking of vendors, when is the next chance you'll have to buy a t-shirt from Helsinki Roller Derby without international shipping costs? Maybe never. Teams get to set up and sell merch during their games. So keep your schedule handy and have your money ready. PS Not everyone has a card reader, so you will need cash occasionally. It's a good idea to keep some cash on hand. There is an ATM on site, but we all know it's better to make plans ahead of time.
6. Bathrooms. The lines are long and priority really ought to go to the skaters. The rink where the challenge bouts take place has fewer people in it most of the time, so the line is shorter.
That's all I've got for now, expect a new post after this year. My plan is to master ECDX before I attempt Rollercon, since it's a much bigger endeavor.
See you on the track in just over 7 weeks!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Gear Review: 187 Wrist Guards
Type of Gear: Wrist Guards
Brand: 187
Price: $19
I went through several sets of Pro-Tec wrist guards before realizing just how terrible they are. I loved the neoprene and how the middle, wraparound strap was the elastic one. But I bought a pair and the first time I feel on them, the seam between the leather and the neoprene ripped. On a brand new pair!
Eventually I decided to shop around and get a new brand. I was interested in the new Triple 8 Wristsavers with the spoon-shaped splint. I tried them on at ECDX and the small was too tight and the medium too big. I also did not like the single strap since I tend to fall on my wrists a lot. AND $30 is a bit steep.
I found the 187s while I was shopping. I already loved my 187 knee pads (and now I have the elbow pads too), and didn't mind the $19 price tag (I was paying $16 for Pro-Tecs). They fit and seemed to be made well.
They've held up to a number of falls and the tough nylon hasn't yet shown any wear (I purchased them in June). I will definitely be purchasing these again.
Cons: None of the straps are elastic. I was initially upset about it, but then I got over it. Material is thicker, so stank lingers. Wash them frequently.
Rita Recommendation: Yes, I'd absolutely recommend these. Durable, comfortable, and protective.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Wheel Review: Radar Bullets
Time to try something new. I'm going to start reviewing gear occasionally on my blog. Up first, Radar Bullet wheels.
Manufacturer: Radar
Wheel: Bullet
Sizes Available: 59mm x 38mm
Hardnesses Available: 88a, 91a, 93a, 95a, 97a
I purchased a set of the 88s initially because my local pro shop had blems for half price ($40 rather than $80. I had been wanting to try a 59mm wheel, so I bought them on a whim. I have since added the 91s and 93s to my collection.
Love the wheels. I used the 88s on our painted, polished concrete Warehouse floor during the warmer months, and even used them some on our sport court bouting floor. The wheels need to be broken in before you try them on sport court though, when I first tried it they still had plenty of grooves and I busted my ass six ways from Sunday. I have skated less on the 91s and 93s, but definitely look forward to doing so this season.
The "Shark" hub design is one of Radar's newest. They released the Radar Villain with it first (a wheel on my 'To Try' list), and then followed up with the Bullet. It's very rigid (and I was switching from Bullets to Diamonds for a period of time).
Cons: The bearings do not sit flush with the edge of the hub on either side, they're kind of sunken in. It's not a great big deal, but I found that if I didn't have it seated properly, it would seat during skating and suddenly my axle nut is loose (that's a confusing thing to explain). Otherwise, no complaints to speak of.
Rita Recommendation: I'd absolutely recommend them for someone looking for a solid wheel in a 59mm height. They come in a wide range of hardnesses and they're useful on many floors.
Manufacturer: Radar
Wheel: Bullet
Sizes Available: 59mm x 38mm
Hardnesses Available: 88a, 91a, 93a, 95a, 97a
I purchased a set of the 88s initially because my local pro shop had blems for half price ($40 rather than $80. I had been wanting to try a 59mm wheel, so I bought them on a whim. I have since added the 91s and 93s to my collection.
Love the wheels. I used the 88s on our painted, polished concrete Warehouse floor during the warmer months, and even used them some on our sport court bouting floor. The wheels need to be broken in before you try them on sport court though, when I first tried it they still had plenty of grooves and I busted my ass six ways from Sunday. I have skated less on the 91s and 93s, but definitely look forward to doing so this season.
The "Shark" hub design is one of Radar's newest. They released the Radar Villain with it first (a wheel on my 'To Try' list), and then followed up with the Bullet. It's very rigid (and I was switching from Bullets to Diamonds for a period of time).
Cons: The bearings do not sit flush with the edge of the hub on either side, they're kind of sunken in. It's not a great big deal, but I found that if I didn't have it seated properly, it would seat during skating and suddenly my axle nut is loose (that's a confusing thing to explain). Otherwise, no complaints to speak of.
Rita Recommendation: I'd absolutely recommend them for someone looking for a solid wheel in a 59mm height. They come in a wide range of hardnesses and they're useful on many floors.
Monday, January 6, 2014
A Fond Farewell
Next week, our Warehouse is scheduled for demolition.
This place has been our home as long as I've been a part of the Charlotte Roller Girls. Unlike many of teammates, I came after the days where we practiced at Kate's. I had already decided I wanted to join when I saw that the Charlotte Roller Girls were moving to NoDa. That really settled it for me. Not only did I want to do this sport, but now they were in my backyard.
I have only ever known the Warehouse. It was dusty, dirty, possibly moldy, dark, and dank. The stairs to the bathroom were rickety and terrifying. The door was heavy and quirky. The neighborhood is not great, and we had some sketchy experiences. I'll never forget the night I was first slated to take my Day 2 assessments and the lights went out. We spent the rest of the practice doing an offskates workout...in the dark.
But the space was ours. We had access to it 24/7. I went to as many practices as I could and cherished the hell out of our space. We settled in over the past 3 years, made it our home. We decorated it and stored our stuff there. I kept my gear and skates in my locker for a while.
In the name of progress, the city is expanding their lightrail project. It's going north. We've known about this, but were told they wouldn't need to demolish our nearly historic facility. Suddenly, we heard otherwise. In mid-November, they let us know that we would be expected to vacate by December 31st. We did so, and the building is on the demo list for January 12th.
This place means so much to me and my teammates. It's where I honed my skating skills. It's where I learned to play roller derby. It's where I learned to play with a team. It's where I've practiced weekly since beginning my journey in 2010.
I have a lot of sadness about losing our home, but I know this is an opportunity for us. This is an opportunity for us to grow our league in new ways. The year starts off with a bang and a crash and can only go up from here. I'm excited to see what 2014 will hold for us. Check out the Charlotte Roller Girls this year. All home bouts will still be at Grady Cole!
This place has been our home as long as I've been a part of the Charlotte Roller Girls. Unlike many of teammates, I came after the days where we practiced at Kate's. I had already decided I wanted to join when I saw that the Charlotte Roller Girls were moving to NoDa. That really settled it for me. Not only did I want to do this sport, but now they were in my backyard.
I have only ever known the Warehouse. It was dusty, dirty, possibly moldy, dark, and dank. The stairs to the bathroom were rickety and terrifying. The door was heavy and quirky. The neighborhood is not great, and we had some sketchy experiences. I'll never forget the night I was first slated to take my Day 2 assessments and the lights went out. We spent the rest of the practice doing an offskates workout...in the dark.
But the space was ours. We had access to it 24/7. I went to as many practices as I could and cherished the hell out of our space. We settled in over the past 3 years, made it our home. We decorated it and stored our stuff there. I kept my gear and skates in my locker for a while.
In the name of progress, the city is expanding their lightrail project. It's going north. We've known about this, but were told they wouldn't need to demolish our nearly historic facility. Suddenly, we heard otherwise. In mid-November, they let us know that we would be expected to vacate by December 31st. We did so, and the building is on the demo list for January 12th.
This place means so much to me and my teammates. It's where I honed my skating skills. It's where I learned to play roller derby. It's where I learned to play with a team. It's where I've practiced weekly since beginning my journey in 2010.
I have a lot of sadness about losing our home, but I know this is an opportunity for us. This is an opportunity for us to grow our league in new ways. The year starts off with a bang and a crash and can only go up from here. I'm excited to see what 2014 will hold for us. Check out the Charlotte Roller Girls this year. All home bouts will still be at Grady Cole!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Ok, I'm Young. Enough.
Disclaimer: These are my opinions. If you're offended, I don't care.
I am one the youngest skaters in my league. And I have been for a while. I joined shortly after turning 19 (the required age at the time). I was the youngest for some time until a high school classmate of mine joined recently.
So I get a lot of those, "Are you even old enough to drink?" kind of jokes. (For the record, I am.) And they get under my skin a little bit. It undermines my achievements when people belittle me because of my age. Not only am I one of the youngest skaters in the league, I am also the youngest member of the Board of Directors, the youngest member of the Training Committee, and the youngest member of the All-Stars Charter.. My youth has never been something that stopped me from succeeding.
Without getting too philosophical, young skaters are the future. A lot of leagues spend time and energy training Juniors to feed into the adult team and help take over when the trainers start retiring. There's plenty of youth in this sport and young skaters will keep coming as long as roller derby keeps being awesome.
I'm young, sure, but I'm making a difference. I have no power over when I was born. And I'm pretty tired of the jibes. I will respect you if you respect me. Thanks.
I am one the youngest skaters in my league. And I have been for a while. I joined shortly after turning 19 (the required age at the time). I was the youngest for some time until a high school classmate of mine joined recently.
So I get a lot of those, "Are you even old enough to drink?" kind of jokes. (For the record, I am.) And they get under my skin a little bit. It undermines my achievements when people belittle me because of my age. Not only am I one of the youngest skaters in the league, I am also the youngest member of the Board of Directors, the youngest member of the Training Committee, and the youngest member of the All-Stars Charter.. My youth has never been something that stopped me from succeeding.
Without getting too philosophical, young skaters are the future. A lot of leagues spend time and energy training Juniors to feed into the adult team and help take over when the trainers start retiring. There's plenty of youth in this sport and young skaters will keep coming as long as roller derby keeps being awesome.
I'm young, sure, but I'm making a difference. I have no power over when I was born. And I'm pretty tired of the jibes. I will respect you if you respect me. Thanks.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Ref Love
I'd like to talk about refs.
I've recently started reffing on the side. Our head ref was loaning his skills and asked if I'd be available to ref a men's bout. I am a skater who is reffing. I am a skater who happens to know the rules pretty well and has a whistle. As a trainer, I'm used to looking for penalties during practice.
Refs are volunteers, just like the rest of us. If they're lucky, they get a travel stipend to go to an away bout, but often not. They don't get all the glory that skaters do. They keep reffing to make sure that we skaters are safe.
So when skaters yell at refs, it de-values what they're doing. I know that there's a higher percentage of men's skaters who are refs, but please refrain from calling penalties while on the track. We spent a long time at our practices stressing that even when we don't have a lot of refs, we on the track need to not be calling the penalties ourselves.
When skaters yell at me, it makes me not want to ref that team again. Our refs are extremely valuable, let's do everything we can to retain them. Before you start to yell something at a ref, I urge you to remember, that they are watching the feet, forearms, heads, chests, directions...etc of up to 10 skaters on the track while skating in close proximity to other refs and often avoiding skaters going out of bounds. It's a lot to think about and I ASSURE you that yelling at them doesn't help.
Please thank your refs. Buy them beers at the afterparties. Include them in your league functions. Thank them and thank them again. Make sure that your refs know that you appreciate their efforts and couldn't do it without them.
Signing off,
Reffin' Rita
I've recently started reffing on the side. Our head ref was loaning his skills and asked if I'd be available to ref a men's bout. I am a skater who is reffing. I am a skater who happens to know the rules pretty well and has a whistle. As a trainer, I'm used to looking for penalties during practice.
Refs are volunteers, just like the rest of us. If they're lucky, they get a travel stipend to go to an away bout, but often not. They don't get all the glory that skaters do. They keep reffing to make sure that we skaters are safe.
So when skaters yell at refs, it de-values what they're doing. I know that there's a higher percentage of men's skaters who are refs, but please refrain from calling penalties while on the track. We spent a long time at our practices stressing that even when we don't have a lot of refs, we on the track need to not be calling the penalties ourselves.
When skaters yell at me, it makes me not want to ref that team again. Our refs are extremely valuable, let's do everything we can to retain them. Before you start to yell something at a ref, I urge you to remember, that they are watching the feet, forearms, heads, chests, directions...etc of up to 10 skaters on the track while skating in close proximity to other refs and often avoiding skaters going out of bounds. It's a lot to think about and I ASSURE you that yelling at them doesn't help.
Please thank your refs. Buy them beers at the afterparties. Include them in your league functions. Thank them and thank them again. Make sure that your refs know that you appreciate their efforts and couldn't do it without them.
Signing off,
Reffin' Rita
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Monday Syndrome
Mondays, after a weekend of derby, are some of the toughest days I ever fight through.
Here's my thinking: I've spent the weekend kicking ass and taking names. I laid the floor that I skated on. I shut down the jammer and allowed my jammer to get lead. I hit people with my butt. I afterpartied hard with the people who had just been my enemies. Then maybe we had a hangover scrimmage or endurance practice the next day. I'm applying things I've learned and revelling in the derby that happened.
And then Monday rolls around. I go to work where people yell at me because I'm not a mind reader. I'm sorry there wasn't enough chicken on your salad. That was the amount of chicken you paid for. Totally out of my control.
Anybody else have the Monday Syndrome? What do you do to cope (besides go to scrimmage)?
Here's my thinking: I've spent the weekend kicking ass and taking names. I laid the floor that I skated on. I shut down the jammer and allowed my jammer to get lead. I hit people with my butt. I afterpartied hard with the people who had just been my enemies. Then maybe we had a hangover scrimmage or endurance practice the next day. I'm applying things I've learned and revelling in the derby that happened.
And then Monday rolls around. I go to work where people yell at me because I'm not a mind reader. I'm sorry there wasn't enough chicken on your salad. That was the amount of chicken you paid for. Totally out of my control.
Anybody else have the Monday Syndrome? What do you do to cope (besides go to scrimmage)?
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