5 posts tagged “roller derby”
So I did get to play at Saturday's roller derby bout. Not for long, but long enough to really like the adrenaline, and appreciate all the practicing I've done up until this point. Lucy Crabapple was indeed, in the house (rather, on the track) for a brief moment in time.
I just learned this evening that I'll be on the roster for tomorrow's (final) home bout for the Tahoe Derby Dames. I'm stoked, but also a wee bit scared, given that I've not skated a whole bunch in the past few weeks, and as such, my skating, hitting and blocking skillz aren't quite where I'd like them to be.
However, it's my last chance of the season to play, so despite my confidence issues, I figure if I channel all my anger about the ignorance and stupidity surrounding this health care debate (don't get me started on the death panels thing and the retarded men who feel they need to carry friggin GUNS to these town halls) I should be able to take down a few roller girls.
That's my secret weapon - hating stupidity. I figure it can easily fuel my adrenaline for a few 2 minute jams. 'Cause that's the only option I've got right now.
So excited about seeing this movie. Even if it is banked track roller derby.
Last weekend we attended the local roller derby team's first home bout. It was a great opportunity for me to see the rules of play in action, since I had seen and read about the game, but not seen it live. Before the bout began the announcer and teams ran through a demo 'jam' to show spectators what the game is about. I got it on film, with my shaky camera hand and all. A better video is the one that was put together by a local website, Tahoeticker. They had music and interviewed Sister Slayer, the president of the team. It's a good group of women who have really welcomed this (tattoo-less) noob, and I'm looking forward to actually playing a bout sometime soon.
A few weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to play roller derby by a guy who's in the swim class I coach. While I first thought it was because I have big shoulders (good for shoving?) it was more because I play sports. Apparently the team is always looking for more players with athletic backgrounds. His wife is on the team, and he figured that since I have bleached hair and silver Dr. Marten boots, I'd maybe be more interested in it than some of the more jam-band loving hippie types that tend to populate mountain towns, who might not find appeal in derby.
I got on skates for the first time in 20+ years on Tuesday, and was surprised by how quickly it came back and how much damn fun it was. Today's practice was only my second, but instead of being relegated to wobbling around the perimeter of the track I was invited to try to keep up with the Tahoe Derby Dames as they practiced for their upcoming bout next Saturday. This involved skating fast around the track as they scrimmaged, pushed and occasionally fell. I skated relatively fast, but avoided the whole pushing and falling thing, as that's a bit beyond my comfort zone.
To be honest I'm more scared of the tiny shorts that comprise the team uniform than the actually contact sport part of it. I fall skiing and mountain biking, but I don't tend to embrace tight things on my bottom half. Heck, even my speedo swimsuit is baggy. So that will my mental hurdle to overcome.
