muddy river rollers - moncton roller derby

I have written three posts in the last little while that I had to shelf because they were either a touch too personal, or there was a chance they would be misunderstood. People all think that derby girls are tough. The real truth is that while we're strong, we all have feelings, and those feelings can get bruised as easily as our asses. 

Winning our first double-header of the season last weekend has put us on one edge of a double-edged sword. When I say "us" I mean the Daughters of Anarchy, and the Lumbersmacks, because I play for neither. I am using "us" as a league reference, because it just makes relaying the information easier. I play for the Reines of Terror, making me the outsider looking in. Confused yet? Welcome to Derby. I was an NSO, doing a fantastic job according to some, and poor according to others. But, either way I watched our teams win both bouts, against challenging opponents from St John. 

I keep bragging about how amazing Muddy River Rollers are, and despite that being narcissistic (since I am a MRR), I really believe that there is something unique about this league. At the same time, after reading other derby blogs, and hearing dozens upon dozens of skaters, there is a chance that I've got it all wrong. 

Screech…needle off the record time…What? The MRR are not one of a kind? 
There are so many new derby teams joining leagues all over Canada and the rest of the globe. PR spins everywhere use phrase in the media like "the Wheel Deal" when writing about this incomparable sport (and don't think it was an accident that I used the word "spin"). It's as if they are trying to be as clever as the team or player names that creative women come up with for themselves. Everybody wants to be aligned with the mystery that is the gumball toe-stop skate world. It's like the newest bar in town that everyone wants to be seen at!

Derby is new to the Maritimes, and every league here is busy learning the ins and outs to a sport that is part business, part entertainment and part sport. There is so much more to being a derby girl than slapping a pair of Scabs™ on your knees and lacing up some Reidell's®. You can't really just skate. You become part of something more. When an event comes to town you will have to learn that a big "X" on a whiteboard means 'crossing the track', or that 4 whistles mean the jam is over. Still confused? That's what makes it a sport!

Nobody has all the answers. No one person can run a league. The person that knows that best is usually the one in charge. At the end of the day, in my mind it should just come down to one single question to every person who laced up, wore a t-shirt to support, carpooled to cheer on, or bought drinks at the afterparty. That question is: did you have fun? The answer is always unanimously "YES"! Because, despite any of the real complaints, "NO" is the one I have yet to hear!

There's something about the end of practice that has me looking back at how much fun I had.  I can be a tad cynical sounding in practice, because I voice my opinion, even if it's not popular.   But, roller derby is exhilarating, as much for the personal interaction as the sport itself.   Imagine, the kind of women that are drawn to derby are not the kind you would think of as shy, or quiet.  We all think a little outside the box, and we find out super-fast that we need to have a thick skin.  If I'm a blocker during a bout, my job is to push you off the track and stop you from getting in the way of my jammer.  That means that I really can't be worried about your feelings.  I will do that off-track.  I'm not even allowed to argue with the referee.  Just skate hard, get points for the team, and take a whip so that it's both helpful to me, but exciting to watch!

Nobody who knows me well will be surprised that my co-captain tonight said to me "eyes on the track and shut it" while gesturing a nice lock and key motion in front of her mouth.  In any other context I probably would have felt badly; but I'm not going to be a better player if someone has to worry about my feelings.  Shut it I did, and focused on what I should have been focusing on in the first place.  She did say sorry, and I thought that she had nothing to be sorry for at all.  I will not learn anything if I don't listen to all the players, giving both good and bad feedback.  

A lot of us come into this sport for a variety of reasons: it's cool, it's fun, you get to wear awesome gear, it is a fantastic physical workout, and as Willy Wonka said, "if God had meant us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates".  I'll tell you though, when you take an elbow to the face, or your own blocker knocks you down when you're jamming, the first words out of your mouth are not "thank you very much".  I am inspired by women who can come off the track and share their feelings with one another to the betterment of the team, and be met with understanding and a positive outcome.  We are building amazing teams in this league. 

Muddy River Rollers is a strong group of women.  They are going to be worth watching at the first bout at the Red Ball Centre on May 14th.  It's a double header with The Daughters of Anarchy, and The Lumbersmacks competing, and everyone is working super hard to make sure that not only will it be a huge success, it will be super entertaining for the audience.   Every league member is excited, so we'd like to share that.  In case you want tickets, they can be purchased at both Spin It, and Cut Throat Pizza locations in Moncton.  You can also purchase them online.

A bunch of the league was out last night after practice for "Team Beer", and one of the members mentioned that her husband says we have a name for everything, like when we go out for drinks it's "Team Beer", or if we have a meeting and are going over the rules it's our "Ref Round Table". And it's true; we do have a name for everything. It simplifies things.  After all, even though only about 30% of the ladies drink beer at Team Beer, it certainly is easier than "Team Beer, one with tomato juice on the side, a few vodka and soda, a large cold water, red wine with ice, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and a house red."  Because really, there are so many details in derby, that's what it would be like if we didn't give everything a name.

Derby is a complex sport, and we're being all too clearly reminded of that as we all prepare for our first bout of the season on May 14th at the Red Ball Internet Centre.  For starters, each team has 14 members, but only a maximum of 5 of them are on the track during each Jam. So, with two teams, there are a maximum of 10 ladies, tearing up the track to mad cheers from the audience. Pay attention to the 2 with the stars on their helmets.  They are the Jammers, and they are the only ones on the team who can score points.  Then there's the Pivot (but that's a complexity whose explanation I'll save for another day).  She's a blocker, and it's up to her and 3 other Blockers to get their teams Jammer through the pack and to block the other team's Jammer from getting through the pack.  Each Jam lasts for two minutes. Unless there is a Lead Jammer, and then she can call it off.  To start the Jam, the whistle blows and the pack starts and once they have all crossed the start line, a second whistle blows and the Jammers start. See, "Team Beer" is starting to make a lot of sense right about now.

But, if you think the game itself is complex then there's still a huge part of it which I actually see as the unsung heros of the sport. Those are the officials. The are actually 8 refs at a bout that are on skates. Then there are another 13 that are called Non-Skating Officials (NSO's). The thing is, when there are 10 helmets and 80 wheels spinning around a track, all of them trying to serge one another out, it really takes a lot of eyes to follow the action.  There are 29 hand signals for penalties alone, and both players, refs and NSO's need to know them all. Minor penalties need to be tracked, because if a player gets 4 of them then she's in the penalty box. The rules of derby are extensive and the refs need to know them even better than the players themselves, and they have to call them the second they see them.  There is no second guessing, and no instant replay. So, you can imagine that the players aren't thanking them for sending them off the track!

The fun part as an audience though is that you don't need to understand all for the little details to enjoy watching a bout.  It is fun, and exciting and the crowd always gets into it.  I can't wait!  Hope to see you there!

I was asked by a few to blog about my derby experience and as of yet, I haven't.    But, I will write a bit as a note, just for fun.  I came to roller derby (Women's Flat Track Derby Association, or WFTDA for short) in a very round-about way.  For starters, the year I turned 4o marked a wonderful decision that every year I wanted to try something new.  There was only one condition: it had to scare the $h!t out of me.  So, at 41, I put on a pair of roller skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, a helmet and a mouth guard.  I wish I could pretend that within moments I knew I had found "my sport".  But, I didn't.  It was hard, and I was bad at it, and I fall like a building detonated for implosion.  Only, when I do there are calls of "are you okay?" and when I am anything but positive there is someone steering me back in the direction of support!  So, for all the times I've landed on my tailbone, and all the hits I've taken that fly me right off the flat track, I can say that the most amazing thing about WFTDA is the women themselves.
 
I really had no concept of what I was getting into when I finally accepted the invitation by the ladies who run the Moncton league to come and try derby.  My ignorance was only dimmed slightly by a viewing years back of "Whip It".  My first practice left me breathless, and the ladies who do this sport are tough.  Super tough.  They laugh during painful drills.  They joke during endless squats.  They smile while doing burpees.  I wish I was making this up!  Because all of that is so very hard for me.   And as hard as it is, it's the amazing personalities that make it fun.
 
Women in derby are not at all what you imagine.  There are mothers, and business women, midwives and artists.   Usually when I join a group of women I am among a small percentage of creative women.  I am pleasantly surprised to be surrounded by talent and creativity.  It's really exciting to see the energy that is exuded by this group of women.  Unfortunately, I am not able to express myself in words the way I am when I write, so I feel as though I don't let these women know how amazingly powerful I believe them to be.  They teach me so much...about derby and about life!  
 
I am forever changed by this group of dynamic ladies.  Muddy River Rollers is an incredible league of women. Daughters of Anarchy make me wish I was on their team. Reines of Terror makes me feel at home!  Honestly, I've never had this much fun with my clothes on!