fiveonfive | issue 13 | Fall 2011

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK DERBY ASSOCIATION (WFTDA) ISSUE 13, FALL 2011

fiveonfivemag.com

fiveonfive contents 34-35

4-5 advice

ask ms d’fiant and suzy hotrod!

WFTDA Each year over Memorial Day Weekend, WFTDA representatives from leagues across the country, and even the world, come together for the annual meeting.

Lois Slain gives us an inside look at this year's meeting.

6-9 business press releases try this at home

10-16 health and fitness who needs a doctor? exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB) derby specific training

44-46

18-29 games and coaching

tiny team, big aspirations

region playoffs preview intraleague bouting

The Port Authorities of Maine struggle through an ever-diminishing roster with determination and positivity. Punchy O' Guts tells us how.

28-33 gear 38-39 junior derby 18 or 21?

Scott Lovejoy

45 degree kingpins when will I find my glass slipper?

50-51 RollerCon recap

40-43 rookie american history and the art of roller derby dos and don’ts of stripes

52-53 international derby 56-62 art and media 63 classifieds 68 horoscopes

The world’s largest roller derby convention in the world tops even itself this year, cramming all of the fun under one roof. Find out what organizers learned and what you can expect next year.

editor miss jane redrum fort wayne derby girls copy editor vera n. sayne rocky mountain rollergirls content manager annsanity rocky mountain rollergirls art director assaultin’ pepa rocky mountain rollergirls

from the editor Welcome to the 13th issue of fiveonfive magazine!

How many of you remember the exact moment you REALLY caught the derby bug; the moment the fire in your belly erupted and you knew roller derby was

contributing writers ms d’fiant angel city derby girls

going to be more than a hobby? For me, that moment happened on a fall

suzy hotrod gotham girls roller derby

weekend in 2007 at WFTDA’s Eastern Regional – Heartland Havoc, hosted by the

todd sturgis marysville, ca

Ohio Roller Girls. (Remember when we had only two regions?) I remember

b-train orange county roller girls

watching Racer McChaser from Detroit and Bonnie Thunders from Gotham, both

iceman steel city derby demons

rookies at the time, sailing around the track faster than anyone I had ever seen.

papa doc windy city rollers

I remember being so inspired by the smart and deliberate play of Carolina

frida beater rocky mountain rollergirls

Rollergirls and the tenacity of Ohio Roller Girls who fought to the very end in their

catholic cruel girl rocky mountain rollergirls

bout against Providence. I also remember the palpable excitement in the stands

justice feelgood marshall derby news network

as the Windy City Rollers systematically disarmed the higher ranked Mad Rollin’

danny “jay pegg” bourne southern discomfort roller derby coach pauly e-ville roller derby ivanna s. pankin’ socal derby bonnie thunders gotham girls roller derby lois slain wftda public relations betty ford galaxy seattle derby brats quama sutra hub city derby dames mildred fierce santa cruz derby girls punchy o’guts maine roller derby kali katt san diego derby dolls grace smelly gent go-go roller girls mercy less derbylife.com kylie of backlash detour derby cover photo Shutterpunk, LCHR Photographer shutterpunk35mmphotography.tumblr.com fiveonfive magazine info@fiveonfivemag.com facebook.com/fiveonfive fiveonfivemag.com

Dolls, a bout that marked WCR’s meteoric rise to Midwest dominance. And, even though I’ve been to dozens of tournaments since Heartland Havoc, it remains the most memorable for me because it was then that I realized there was more to derby than what was happening in my hometown. Yes, I had fallen in love with roller derby in late 2005, but I caught the derby bug full on that weekend and it changed my life.

It’s hard to believe that another tournament season is upon us. And, what an exciting tournament season it’s going to be – full of moments to light our passions on fire. For a full preview of what to expect, check out the article written

by Derby News Network’s Justice Feelgood Marshall on page 18.

Representatives from fiveonfive will be at a few of WFTDA’s Big 5 tourneys this year. Please make sure you stop by our table to pick up some stickers and say hi. I will be at Monumental Mayhem, WFTDA’s North Central Regionals in Indianapolis, behind the fiveonfive table. I’d love to see you.

Miss Jane Redrum Fort Wayne Derby Girls Fort Wayne, IN editor@fiveonfivemag.com

contributors

Many thanks to our contributors who come from all over the roller derby community and share their knowledge based on their countless hours of dedication to this sport!

Check out additional contributors at fiveonfivemag.com.

Punchy O’Guts Punchy O’Guts skates for Maine Roller Derby’s charter team, the Port Authorities. She joined the league in 2006 and served as the head of bout production for three years, and the head of marketing for two. She serves as a WFTDA rep, a member of the training committee and a team captain. She has a 13 year-old daughter, completes her MFA in creative writing this January, and has several writing projects in the works (all about derby, of course).

Coach Pauly

Nicholas Charest

Coach Pauly is an Internationally recognized roller derby coach and former head referee.

With over 7 years of derby coaching and referee experience that includes working with 80+ leagues worldwide, Coach Pauly helped bring AZRD’s Tent City Terrors to a national ranking of #3 in 2006 and most recently lead E-ville Dead (E-ville Roller Derby) to a 1st place trophy at at the 2011 CWRDA Western Regional Tournament. Coach Pauly has shared his knowledge with countless leagues at a number of training seminars and camps.

Bonnie Thunders

Jules Doyle

Bonnie Thunders is a lifelong ice figure skater who competed nationally in synchronized figure skating during college. After moving to NYC in 2005, Bonnie found Gotham Girls Roller Derby and traded in her ice skates for roller skates.

Bonnie is active in all aspects of derby as a skater, coach, owner of Five Stride Skate Shop, and WFTDA Game Play Manager.

Véronique L'heureux

Grace Smelly

Frida Beater Steve Stearns, visual-meme.com

In 2009, Grace Smelly founded the Gent Go-Go Roller Girls, Belgium’s first roller derby league, despite having no derby experience – or because of it.

Ecstatic about the whirlwind evolution of the sport in Europe, she’s excited to be the league’s WFTDA apprentice liaison as well as represent Belgium for the European Roller Derby Organizational Conference two years running. Initially head of PR and then Interleague, she is now a trainer and is enjoying this particular role the most as they prepare for their second bouting season.

Go Go Gent!

Frida Beater is the head of Training for the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls and helped lead RMRG to the 2010 National Championship title as the co-captain of RMRG’s travel team. Frida was recently selected as a member of Team USA. Frida has been called a “robot” by some and is known for her incredible level of fitness.

advice

Suzy Hotrod

Ms D’Fiant

Gotham Girls Roller Derby New York, NY

Angel City Derby Girls Los Angeles, CA

DEAR BLOCKER AND JAMMER, I am not on a travel team with my league and I want to be extra supportive during tournament season. What can I do to help my teammates who are on the travel team do to prepare and be relaxed during tournament time?

-SUPPORTIVE SISTER

DEAR SUPPORTIVE SISTER, What a question! Normally, people ask me how to keep a league together due to separation and alienation between non travel team skaters and travel team skaters. First, if you are an aspiring travel team skater, remember that you are the team’s future, so you need to attend practice and work hard.

I don’t know your league’s travel team schedule, but in my league we are still training with the whole league in addition to extra practices for the travel team. It’s important that you keep up your attendance at regular open league practices leading up to tournament season, which is typically when non travel team skaters are tempted to relax. Travel team skaters play a lot more games in a weekend than home team skaters, so high-intensity practices are crucial. Take it upon yourself to hold nothing back when you share track time and let a travel team skater have it! Maybe your skills are not as refined as theirs, but as any travel team skater will tell you, a strong distracting hit still holds its own on the national stage.

Help train your travel team league mates mentally by picking on them. If you get to scrimmage against one, stick on them obsessively. They need to strengthen their mental game and be able to play “their game” while being constantly annoyed by you. In regular game play, you would have many tasks at hand, but in this case, just gun for that travel team skater for the whole two minutes. Help her try to do her job in less than ideal situations.

If your travel team does not train with the rest of the league, there is still a lot you can do to help off the track.

Ask the travel team’s captains and managers first to make sure your help is used in a productive way. Here are a few small but important things that need to get done: obtaining skater signatures on waivers, researching hotel accommodations and healthy places to eat, putting together a Google Map with important locations, offering to help sew or ordering helmet covers, researching cheap flights, and finally, (this is a Hotrod favorite) researching fun stuff. Sometimes skaters take a few extra days to enjoy a city after a tournament but have little time to do any research before they get there.

Pregame Time. Offer your services as the designated runner. Often, travel team skaters are in a lot of meetings. Sometimes we need someone to run and get a Gatorade, go back to the hotel to get a left behind mouth guard, loan us a cell phone charger, locate ice packs, check the bench after the bout to make sure we didn’t leave anything, etc.

At the event. Offer to help with merch shifts. Your league needs to make money, and selling merch is an important part of that. Show your support by staffing the table for a few shifts. Offer to hand out stickers for your league to help promote them. Wear your team colors. Make homemade signs. Seeing funny signage is really important to travel team skaters and reminds us of the bond we have with our league mates. Everyone loves a Suzy Hotrod Stole My Halloween Candy sign.

After the bouting is over, offer to be a 50’s housewife. Stay at the same hotel the team does. Offer to collect the uniforms from everyone and wash them. This sounds a little like hazing, but I’ve done it for my teammates before.

No sense in everyone doing it separately. Offer to cook dinner for one of the hotel rooms while the skaters take time to cleanup and relax. Figure out how to hook your laptop to the TV so you all can watch the Miracle DVD. There are just a few DON’Ts. Don’t bring us any presents. Many of us are afraid to check bags when traveling and have absolutely zero space in our luggage. Trust me, we’re experts at packing and never forget anything, so even extra bandanas or Band Aids are not necessary. Finally, don’t give us candy. It’s cruel, but no athlete should be consuming junk food on their quest to national glory.

The most important DO: have fun at the event! One rewarding part of skating in National play is seeing your league mates there cheering you on many miles from home. I want to see you partying and going bonkers, because you’re spending your precious vacation money and time to see our travel team play.

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DEAR SUPPORTIVE SISTER, It’s so nice to read that you don’t hate your travel team yet. Well, just to warn you, the time may come when you find them bossy (in charge), cocky (confident) and reckless (knocked the wind out of you last scrimmage). At that precise moment I want you to search back through your collection of fiveonfive’s that you’ve meticulously filed away like your Dad’s National Geographic’s (boobies!) and re-read my advice. And this is just to you, everyone else can skip ahead.

Sister, those girls on the travel team :::looks both ways::: they’ve got YOUR spot. They’ve been playing roller derby for too long. They’re old! It’s time for them to “get out da way” and it is your time to shine. Earlier this season, one of my favorite skaters and relative travel team newbie with the best name ever, Breakfast, told me to watch my ass “because Breakfast is coming up!” Breakfast may have been drunk, and that night there was only PBR coming up, but she wasn’t wrong. Travel team skaters are ten percent skill, twenty percent endurance and the other seventy percent is abandoned drive, dedication and hunger. Breakfast did come up and so will you when the time is right.

But for now if you’re not ready (or if maybe just aren’t ready to surrender your life to roller derby training) there’s plenty of ways to support your travel team. One of the nicest tournament gestures I’ve personally experienced was a surprise care package at our hotel the first day of the tournament. It was filled with the usual tournament goodies: energy shot drinks, energy bars, icy-hot and the basics like hair bands. How many times are you in the locker room and somebody needs an elastic?

Another great gesture is to help with the fundraising. Many teams stress about tournament travel as it can be an unwelcome financial burden. In my team, we usually have no shortage of participants that will attend a fundraising function. It just takes an enterprising young soul to put together the logistics.

Lastly, my supportive friend, don’t feel that the team only needs help during tournament season. Plenty of teams could use help at practices, maybe someone to time drills? Or they could use help with the logistics: someone to help with uniform orders or research travel arrangements. Travel Team skaters are often league veterans who wear so many hats, it can help to take a small task off of the collective team plate.

Thanks for this question and thanks to all our supportive sisters and brothers who selflessly help with these tasks and others that support all leagues. They are the unsung heroes of roller derby.

Nicholas Charest

DEAR BALANCING ACT, Aha! I just said in my first answer, this is the more common question involving league dynamics and travel teams. Roller Derby is a growing sport, and a sport with not much skill division in leagues right now. You've got six season veterans hoping for a national championship skating with girls who just started on skates and wanted to seek a new fun hobby. Very few leagues have a separate travel team only or a recreational league. Everyone is all together, at least for now.

And that subject is a whole other giant debate that more and more leagues are discussing.

The truth is, I don't exactly have an answer. Honestly, this feeling of division is naturally going to happen. The travel team spends more time practicing and bonding together. Also when they get together to train it’s a unique time where they're in an environment where the skill level is consistent and high. It’s a whole new level of training for them. Many travel team skaters are lobbying for their leagues to consider having travel team only options.

I am stuck on this question. Mostly because it’s a giant future question. What path will our sport go if more teams have travel team only and what path will it go if leagues continue to stay integrated? Can leagues and our entire sport survive financially with home team play and travel team being separate? Will home team play and overall skating skill be affected by the absence of travel team skaters? Will mentoring new skaters fall? Will Mr. Dumptruck Full of Money come by and purchase the top 100 skaters in the country and throw us on a banked track for the fanfare of it all one day? I don't have answers.

There are so many questions, but the one answer I can tell you is I need to be skating constantly and keep learning new things personally. But aside from personal goals, it’s my obligation to our sport's existence to teach new people how to do it! Mentoring and teaching is a responsibility and duty of all veteran skaters. This thing is just too new and will die without proper teaching to help it grow in athleticism and knowledge. Teaching is key. Bridge that gap between your travel team and home teams by making sure that nothing is hidden or reserved for "travel team only." We practice very advanced stuff on travel teams, but I always make sure I give my home team skaters a chance to try it all out too.

My league is hyper competitive. That fosters a great environment where everyone is serious about wanting more chances to bout; more teams to play on. We work really hard every year to raise a presence, commitment, and respect to our B team. Our B team is an important outlet for competitive skaters who are hungry to be on a travel team. We communicate with our B team to make sure they get the practice time they need. Every league is different about if they mix travel team and B team training. So that's a whole other thing to play around with.

What's that you say? Your league is small and there is no travel team B? Here are a few tips on how to keep everyone happy. Don't ever give the travel team special treatment. I hear that some leagues bend rules for star skaters on travel teams to miss practices, pay dues late, or slack on committee work. UNACCEPTABLE! Remember, to be the best that shit doesn't fly. It’s a poison to our sport.

Attendance. Make sure your travel team skaters are making it consistently to open league practice. My league has a required set amount of league practices a travel team skater must make in addition to their travel team practices.

Best of luck! I'll be around for many more years and hope you'll be there with me to see the answers to these questions unfold. And if you see Mr. Dumptruck Full of Money, send him my way.

DEAR BLOCKER AND JAMMER, Our all-star team is important to our league, but sometimes it causes separation. How do we bring everyone together so that the travel team isn't the only focus, while still keeping it one of our priorities? -BALANCING ACT

DEAR BALANCING ACT, Great question. It’s a tricky tango for so many leagues. I wish there were a magic formula that would make a perfect derby world for all, but it’s just not possible. If there’s anything roller derby has taught me, it’s that you have to experiment and find whatever works best for your league.

This particular problem affects leagues large and small. My league is not quite big enough to create home teams, but we’re a smidge larger than just an A and B team. Other leagues are so large, they have members who only skate on the travel team and not on any of their wellestablished home teams. And there’s every variation possible in between.

So, while I can’t speak to your specific situation, there are some basic tenets I can share.

It’s obvious, I know, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to let skaters slide because they’re talented. This is one of the most damaging things a league can allow. It creates an exclusive class for travel team skaters and causes anger and frustration at all levels. Keep your travel team accountable for the league’s minimum standards. Attendance, dues and committee work should be the same for every member of the league.

Though, I have heard of leagues that successfully trade these items, ie: the team has to make a higher attendance standard but perhaps a lower committee requirement. That’s okay. What’s not okay is missing the mark, wherever your league sets it. It might hurt for one game but it will hurt so much worse if you fail to follow the principles your league sets. When the consequences are the same for all levels of skaters, there is much less room for bitterness.

Encourage the travel team to work on the training team. It benefits the trainers to review the basics and bond with newer league members and, of course, benefits the skater receiving the lesson. Often this happens naturally because veteran skaters enjoy skating and teaching. And while you’re at it, scrimmage together! There is no greater common denominator for all roller derby players than strapping on those skates and playing roller derby. It’s what we love to do and it brings out the best in most of us.

As a league, make sure you budget for all teams to travel. Provide everyone with a travel allowance and set a league-wide fundraising goal.

This levels the playing field so it’s not just one team’s responsibility to raise money, nor is it only one team that reaps the benefits. Then there’s the added benefit of having fundraisers as a league, which leads me to my last suggestion – have fun together!

Sometimes we get so caught up in the business, the training, the fundraising, the marketing, etc. that we forget to do something fun for ourselves. Look at your calendar and try to set a date that’s not during an intense period of your season so you can all get together in any setting – it really doesn’t matter where – and have some fun together.

need advice? email advice@fiveonfivemag.com fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 5

business

press releases TO D D S T U R G I S , M A RY S V I L L E , C A

So you were volunteered to help with your derby team’s promotions – or you have a knack for promotions and you want to use your keen marketing skills to help sell out your team’s events. That is why when everyone else is skimming through the magazine looking at the cool action shots, reading the awesome play by play articles, checking out the new rad gear, and laughing at hip derby t-shirts; you are reading the boring article about how to write a press release. It sucks. I know because I was you just a couple of months ago. Why can’t people like us be in charge of the after party?

People like us have never been in charge of the after party. We sit quietly at our computers getting things done. We do research (you can’t deny it, by reading this article you are doing it now). Busted!

We may not be the life of the party, but

on the bright side, pictures of us never end up on those “OWNED!” websites.

Shortly after my wife got involved in derby, we went to Cruz Skate shop in Sacramento. While checking out the gear we saw a couple of issues of fiveonfive magazine hanging on the wall. Wanting to get as much information about derby as we could, we bought two issues. They were issues number 9 and number 7.

In issue number 9 there was a great article about writing press releases titled “writing a press release” by El Efino from Quad City Rollers. Talk about a simple title that lets your readers know what to expect from the article. I’m not a professional writer, but I have written press releases for friends and different organizations that I have been involved with. El Efino’s article

100 Pound Academic Finds Her Hidden Tough Guy No size, no sports background of any kind? No problem! When Ashley Marquez began playing roller derby just few short months ago, she couldn’t skate more than a couple of feet without falling. Now she routinely finishes the drills before everyone else on the team. She will be making her bout roller derby début on March 5th.

On her first day of tryouts, in October, Cal Skate was packed with a new group of wannabe derby girls. Some of the girls grew-up on skates and figured they had the ability to play the sport. Others were just athletic and felt that with the right training, they could master this sport like they had mastered many others. If you weren’t born with skates on your feet or you didn’t come from a family with a gene pool filled with professional athletes; you might get by if you had some size to you. Ashley didn’t have any of this going for her. She was however, determined that roller derby was going to be her sport.

“After I saw the movie Whip It, I guess I just made up my mind that I was going to become a rollergirl.” Ashley’s friends

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was one of the best “how to” articles I have ever read.

Instead of re-telling you how to write a press release, I’m going to share the press release I wrote after reading El Efino’s article.

I went to the first day of tryouts with my wife. When I was there, I noticed a young college girl who didn’t appear to weigh more than ninety pounds and she couldn’t skate far without falling.

I thought to myself, “She will not last.”

Fast forward two months, I saw her finishing drills before anyone else. The drills were a combination of skating sprints and calisthenics. Her skating had greatly improved and she used her ability to knock out push-ups and sit-ups at record speed to finish the drills before the rest of the team. I found my story.

Below is the press release I wrote.

and family were quite surprised with her sport of choice. Most of the people around her thought she was bluffing. “She saw the movie Whip It quite a long time before she moved to Chico.

I thought by the time she moved up to Chico, she would have changed her mind,” her mother said. ”Ashley always got hurt easily as a child, I guess you could say I was a little shocked and worried when I found out she was going through with it.”

Ashley’s rapid improvement on the rink wasn’t a surprise to her coach Miss Appropriations. “She definitely fell down a lot, probably more than any of the other newbies, but she came to every practice, did everything she was asked to do and gave it her all the entire time,” said Miss Appropriations. “I could see her advancing past many of the other girls and I let them know it was because of her work ethic and determination.”

The first home game of the 2011 Nor Cal Roller Girls season will be on March 5th, at Cal Skate in Chico. Doors open at 7:00 pm, game starts at 8:00 pm. Even though she hasn’t played a game yet, she has definitely already inspired her teammates, friends and family.

I followed the press release with a list of contacts which included: Ashley, Miss Appropriations, Ashley’s mother and myself. When you give out other people’s contact information, make sure they know someone might be calling.

I kept to El Efino’s press release break down as best I could. “Your first paragraph should include, the who, what, where and when.” Ashley is the who, her major improvement is the what and the when is March 5th. I didn’t include the where until the last paragraph.

The middle of the press release is where you tell your story and where you bring in secondary characters that can be quoted. This is also laid out in El Efino’s article. El Efino pointed out that,

“Your last paragraph should give wrap up info and include a ‘Call to Action’ – What do you want people do (buy tickets, enter a contest, call for more information on recruiting).” The press release I wrote was about an individual and there is no overt call to action.

My press release is meant to do three things: let people know about an interesting story playing out on the derby team, it is being strategically released at the same time the team is having its season opening bout and it is letting perspective recruits know that anyone who gives it their all can make it in derby.

The local media may have already covered some derby events so an event press release may be passed over

because they feel they have already covered the topic. If it is an event for profit, they want you to buy advertising!

Ashley is a student at Chico State University. The school’s newspaper, The Orion, did an article on Ashley’s quest to become a roller derby girl. It was titled: “Derby girl rolls onto derby scene, size no issue.” Go to theorion.com to read the article. Remember the press release was meant to do three things: tell a great story that would get people interested in Ashley’s life, which would get them interested in following the team, get people to attend the opening bout and to help recruit girls who might think they couldn’t do derby because they aren’t expert skaters.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 7

business

try this at home!

B-TRAIN, ORANGE COUNTY ROLLER GIRLS

Many leagues are making their own scrimmage and uniform tops in-house and that rules! It’s an easy way to save money and can also be a great way to make extra money for your league on game days.

If you’re thinking about making this happen for your own league, here are a few suggestions from Wicked Skatewear! research brands Strychnine and I always joke about how she wants to blow up the office. A few years ago, we bought an unknown and cheap heat press on craigslist, turned it on and walked away. :POP: Smoke fills the office. Thankfully – we unplugged it in time and there wasn’t a full-blown fire. Roland cutters, Thermoflex vinyls and Hotronix heat presses have been fantastic for us over the past three years. Between the reliability of the product itself, the support from the manufacturers and watching how it wears over the years, we are loyal to these brands. test print We’ve scorched and melted plenty of garments. If you’re unsure whether the vinyl will stick or the garment will burst into flames, test a little piece on a corner. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super hilarious when something melts all over the place. At the same time, you should test garments before promises are made!

pricing: be reasonable At local bouts, we’ll charge $10 per name/number. If it’s a neon or bling color, we’ll add on a couple bucks because those vinyls are more expensive. $15 is reasonable at a major event or tournament. $20 is too much when iron-ons can be purchased at a craft store or online. training For this venture to be successful, it needs reliable people who can pay attention to details. At each step in the process, there are different sets of specifications. Double check everything and even if you’re comfortable with the process, double check again. If numbers aren’t four inches tall, you could be like Jet City at the 2010 Western Regional Tournament. There is no spell or grammar check, so reread what you type before cutting.

If you don’t stretch a ribbed tank before pressing the name/number, it will get super wonky once a girl puts it on.

Mistakes will happen and it’s okay. Simply be prepared and do not have an anxiety attack if a name gets printed backwards.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact strych9@wickedskatewear.com!

have extra everything There will be times when a name/number goes on the wrong garment. If you’re like many other roller derby leagues, you’re making the uniforms the night before the game. Have extras of each size for the whoops moments!

We bought our Heat Press starter kit from Wicked Skatewear and it has been such an amazing investment! The cutter software is easy to use and the heat press itself is a no-brainer. You can get really creative (and stylish!) with all the billions of free fonts available online and you can design, draw and import graphics easily. As if that weren’t enough to tickle your artistic fancy, there are tons of varieties of vinyl out there: from shiny prism to hot pink zebra stripes. Whether you just want a name/number on your back so the refs can easily assess the penalties you deserve or you want to give your jersey as many tattoos as you have, the heat press is the way to go. Never again will I pay $15 at the craft store to buy cheap and shoddy letters and numbers only to have them fall off in the wash! Viva Las Vinyl Squashers!

– BATass, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls

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Photo: Michael Nig

www•WICKEDSKATEWEAR•com

htmare; Hair/Make Up: Lady Iodine

Want your own set up? for $1199.00 (includes free shipping) you get: STIKA SV-8 REFURBISHED Roland STIKA vinyl cutters produce colorful POP displays, labels and ironons. Creating custom vinyl graphics has never been faster or more affordable. Bundled CutStudio software allows users to tile up to 64 designs and contour cut printed images.

HOTRONIX MAXX HEAT PRESS The Max Clam Heat Press is portable with a wide opening for easy layout. Patented over the center pressure adjustment. 3/16” HRPO laser quality steel framework for seamless technology.

Auto reset timer and LED readout.

THERMOFLEX PLUS VINYL ThermoFlex Plus is a heat applied vinyl designed to be used with a vinyl cutter and heat press for decorating apparel.

ThermoFlex Plus is our most popular heat transfer films because it is easy to apply and very durable. contact info@wickedskatewear.com or call 714-84SKATE fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 9

health and fitness

who needs a doctor?

ICEMAN, STEEL CITY DERBY DEMONS

I’ve come to a few conclusions during my “career” as an EMT for a roller derby league: 1. Players take the sport as seriously (if not more so) as high-paid athletes.

2. It’s easier to pull a tooth out of a rabid lion than pull a girl off of the track for any injury, and because of that; 3. A majority of “minor” injuries do not get reported to me or even looked at by a medical professional until the next day or even weeks later.

This should have been glaringly obvious to me at my very first bout when I literally had to carry a skater off the track because of an ankle injury. She had used a few choice words expressing pain and frustration between the tears, not from the already swollen and splinted ankle mind you, but from the fact that she couldn’t go back out and skate the rest of the bout. Thankfully it turned out to be only a severe sprain and nothing worse, but you can never tell in a situation like that until either my partner and me or a medical professional makes an educated assessment. Subsequent bouts had further proven my developing theory.

Let me explain why your friendly neighborhood EMT may suggest or push to bench you for ten or twenty minutes, or in some cases an entire match, and why you should seriously consider heeding the warnings.

I don’t care what city a team is from, when they come to Pittsburgh to play, all of the girls are my patients. I even refer to all of Steel City Derby Demons as “my girls”, whether I have treated the same skater three times or not at all. My initial

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duty is the immediate treatment of the injury of the moment, be it ice, a bandage or a quick assessment of a chief complaint of pain. I consider it my primary duty to keep my girls from longterm injury that could end their careers or impact their daily lives. Granted, I can’t save the world, but if I notice a pattern, for example a skater is favoring her right knee as she skates, protecting a possibly injured site, I may suggest that she sit out for ten minutes or so to give me an opportunity to assess the site or at the very least, ice it down. The operative word being “suggest”. Seriously, even out in the field all we EMT’s can do is suggest. It’s totally in the patient’s control to ride with us on the truck to the hospital or brush it off and say “thanks but no thanks”. No different here. Rejections come as quick for treatment as they did for dates in high school! The first reason is pretty obvious the second, not so much.

The main reason for refusal of ice treatment or anything further for that matter is simple, adrenaline. The fast paced action and the excitement of the game has adrenaline cranked, having various effects on the body. It initiates the “flight or fight” response, heart rate and breathing increase, it paves the way for sugars and fats to be broken down and used for energy by initiating other chemicals in the body to be released, and acts in some ways as a pain buffer.

It’s the last effect that “tricks” the skater into thinking that an injury is either mild or nonexistent because there’s no pain, or very little to speak of. At a recent

match, a skater from the visiting team had an apparent knee injury; I gave her an ice pack and offered to wrap the knee with an ACE bandage to stabilize it from further injury. “Nope, I’m fine, it was injured once before I just need to rest it a minute,” was her answer. As I walked back to my post, my first thought is, “I’ll catch you after the game once the adrenaline wears off.” The fact was, she skated in three more jams and each time she went off the track holding her knee, all three times I had offered to stabilize the injury and all three times I was rejected for an ice pack.

The second reason is partially caused by the first: very little perception of pain married with the competition of the sport.

Just like any sport, getting caught up in the game, striving for success, contributing to the team, makes for some hasty decisions when it comes to individual health. It’s almost understandable that a skater refuses care in the middle of the bout, but post game can be just as bad. I always visit the locker rooms at halftime and post game, to check if any skaters “discover” an injury and need care. Most of the time it plays out like this; “Hey ICEman, can I have a cold pack or ibuprofen?”

“Not a problem, do you want me to check it out before you go home?”

“I think I’m OK, just a bruise, see you at the after party!”

“OK, see you there.”

Do you know how many “just a bruise” turned into a sprain, strain, and in two cases that I know of for sure, a torn ACL?

Joe Rollerfan

Well, to answer that question; I don’t sit at my newly purchased laptop, compelled to write an article for an isolated incident. Recently one of “my girls” had injured her hand and I wasn’t told about it until after the match was over. Thankfully she decided to let me splint it. It turned out another skater had injured her hand in the same way the prior year, and had she not braced it then, she would have needed surgery.

She also took my and the safety committee member’s advice to seek medical advice concerning the injury the next day. The follow up information I had received was good news – she had just bruised the wrist. A fortunate outcome to be sure, however, more often than not, the “just a bruise” can take a bad turn

quickly. One injury common in contact sports, such as roller derby, that initially presents itself as minor but has major and, in rare cases, deadly consequences if left undiagnosed and untreated is a concussion! A concussion happens when the head either hits or is hit by an object hard enough to cause bleeding under the skull or into the brain. Symptoms of mild concussions may be headaches, confusion, brief loss of consciousness, or nausea. In severe concussions a person may lose consciousness for a few minutes, begin vomiting, experience short term memory loss concerning the event leading up to or immediately following the injury, suffer blurred vision or experience what is called perseverating (repeating the same

statement over again). Both cases should be taken seriously and followed up with a doctor or ER visit. Our league has put a mandatory concussion testing system in place. That system has made it much easier for me to convince a skater to allow me to bench them until an injury ruling can be made. Lately, a few articles have surfaced concerning sports related deaths. While the majority are rare or even freak accidents, they serve to illustrate some of the points I’ve made here. Remember to think twice before brushing off an injury. I’d rather have you for one game, than watching you cheer with a brace an entire season.

Be safe ladies!

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 11

health and fitness

exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB) PA PA D O C , W I N DY C I T Y R O L L E R S

What is wrong? I exercise for awhile and, though I am in good condition physically and practice regularly, I feel out of breath and can’t keep up.

It is possible you suffer from exercise induced bronchospasm, a fairly common airway condition in athletes.

What is EIB? EIB is a respiratory condition in which excessive narrowing of the bronchial tubes occurs during exercise due to abnormal constriction of the muscles encircling the bronchial tubes. Although often called “exercise induced asthma,” this name is technically incorrect, since it happens in people who do not have asthma (an inflammatory reaction in the lungs). EIB is not an allergic response itself, but it occurs more often in a skater with allergies, a past history of allergies, or a family history of allergies.

Why does it occur?

A cold and/or dry air (not sufficiently warmed and humidified by the nasal membranes) entering the lower respiratory tract (bronchial tubes and lungs), causes a chemical reaction of incompletely-defined nature that results in constriction of the muscles that encircle the bronchial tubes. There are two theories of causation: cold air changes bronchial temperature or dry air changes lung humidity. Either cause leads to changes in blood flow to the bronchial tubes. The chemical reaction occurs and causes the encircling muscles to contract excessively and narrow the airways. Actually, these muscles normally slightly constrict the airways during exercise to speed the air flow through them, but in EIB, the constriction is excessive and impedes the air flow.

Although EIB does occur in 80-90% of people with asthma, it also occurs in 20-30% of athletes without asthma. EIB is more common in people with allergies even if they don’t have asthma.

Because it can occur in people without asthma or with undiagnosed allergies, EIB is probably under-diagnosed. The condition is most frequent in aerobic sports, such as roller derby, because of the need to mouth breathe, which bypasses nasal warming and humidification.

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Aggravating factors which make EIB more likely to occur are: uncontrolled nasal allergies, poorly controlled actual asthma, inhaled allergens, dust, strong fumes, respiratory infections (especially viral ones), and abnormalities in the upper respiratory tract, which limit nasal breathing like a deviated septum. The respiratory tree is one system from the nose to the lungs. Nasal obstruction makes it more likely you will mouth-breathe. Further, irritations in the upper tract (nose and throat) increase the irritability in the tissues of the lower tract.

EIB can occur as an immediate or delayed response. EIB occurs within 5-10 minutes of beginning exercise and usually resolves in 15-30 minutes after stopping exercise (the immediate response).

However, especially in people with a strong allergic history and/or asthma, the reaction may become self-perpetuating and last for several days, becoming gradually worse (delayed response).

What symptoms are you looking for?

Symptoms do not usually start until 5-10 minutes of exercise.

If symptoms occur earlier than 5 minutes, consider a different diagnosis.

• Fatigue – out of proportion to the training level of the skater • Cough – and if the person has allergies or underlying asthma, the cough may occur in between times of exercise • A feeling of shortness of breath or tightness in chest (chest pain is rare) • Wheezing • Upset stomach or stomach ache • Sore throat How is EIB diagnosed?

1. With good history of symptoms occurring with exercise, a therapeutic (good response to treatment) trial with a short-acting bronchodilator 10-15 minutes before starting exercise is often enough.

2. Measurements of respiratory function, such as a peak flow measurement, may be needed if the diagnosis is in doubt or if the response to a therapeutic trial is not good.

3. Allergies are best managed through your own doctor or an allergist.

Nicholas Charest

treatment 1. Proper management of any nasal allergies or asthma will help reduce the likelihood of EIB occurring.

2. An exercise regimen taking advantage of the “refractory period” may work for some skaters. The “refractory period” is the time period after the bronchial constriction stops with rest and during which the constriction may not reoccur for minutes to hours.

A warm up for 15-20 minutes followed by short bursts (2-5 minutes) of intense exercise – such as wind sprints repeated several times – may induce the refractory period long enough to compete effectively in the bout.

3. Covering the nose and mouth with a scarf or mask (to warm and moisten air) reduces the likelihood of EIB, but is generally impractical for roller derby.

4. Short-acting bronchodilators (medicines that relax the encircling bronchial muscles) are the most effective and commonly used treatment. Albuterol and similar drugs are given by inhalation 10-15 minutes before starting exercise and usually last 4 hours.

They prevent the bronchial muscles from contracting excessively.

These medicines are be used before each exercise period involving aerobic activity and are likely to be needed as long as

the athlete is in sports. The side effects – shakiness, increased heart beat, dizziness – are mild and short lived (15-20 minutes) and generally are not dangerous, just troublesome, if they occur.

5. A group of medicines called controller medications are more likely to be used if the person has major allergies, especially asthma. These do not eliminate the need for the short acting medicines but make them more effective. This group includes inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting bronchodilators, cromolyn sodium, Singulair, and ipatropium.

6. Maintaining adequate hydration (haven’t we heard that many times before?!) will reduce the occurrence to some degree. prognosis Since EIB is not always diagnosed, the prognosis depends on making the diagnosis. Once this is done, the treatments are usually very effective. Many high level athletes who have EIB compete successfully.

Whether or not you are in tip-top shape, if you are having the symptoms described above, seek help from your medical personnel. Your skating stamina may be better than you think!

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 13

health and fitness

derby specific training F R I DA B E AT E R , R O C K Y M O U N TA I N R O L L E R G I R L S

Hello roller derby enthusiasts! My name is Frida Beater and I am the head of training for the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. I am going to occasionally share some insights and tips about roller derby-specific fitness training for fiveonfive magazine.

Each article will focus on a different aspect of roller derby fitness and will help you craft a workout program that prepares you for the complex physical demands of our sport.

Roller derby is a unique sport that requires a combination of strength, explosive speed, endurance, and balance. In order to excel at roller derby, skaters must structure their training around sport-specific workouts. While overall fitness cannot hurt a skater’s performance, it is not enough to rely on for roller derby.

For example, long distance running will produce endurance that can withstand long and slow periods of exertion that have great health benefits. But we don’t need long and slow periods of exertion in roller derby.

Our sport requires bursts of speed for up to two minutes with short periods of rest in between those bursts. The secret to cardio training for derby is intervals.

What are intervals? Intervals are periods of intense exertion separated by periods of rest. During an interval session, your muscles are deprived of oxygen and lactic acid levels rise to a level that is impossible

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to sustain for a long period of time. Lactic acid builds up during exercise and causes muscle failure. Periods of extreme stress increase lactic acid tolerance and cause the body to adapt to future rigorous demands. The short rest periods are

essential because they allow the muscles to drain lactic acid. By training muscles to build, tolerate, and then drain lactic acid quickly, the body learns to cycle the lactic acid more efficiently.

Interval training has been proven to provide several health benefits. Studies have shown that interval training stimulates more fat burning than prolonged exercise at a consistent tempo. A study at the University of Guelph in Ontario showed that fat burn increased by 36 percent after doing interval training. The study also

showed that the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen to working muscles improved by 13 percent. Perhaps even more surprisingly, interval training has been linked to Human Growth Hormone (HGH) production. Among other things, HGH helps facilitate muscle growth and overall increases in strength.

Intervals can be done with any cardio exercise, but biking and running are the best interval exercises for roller derby. Biking is actually the best cross training exercise for skating because the two sports engage most of the same muscles. Stationary bikes that allow for tension adjustments are the most convenient way to interval train on a bike. Because stationary bikes are not always easily accessible, I also advocate running intervals, which can be done anywhere outside, but are easiest on a track.

TWO SAMPLE INTERVAL WORKOUTS: running One of my favorite interval workouts is the Sprint 8. After a two minute warm-up jog, sprint 30 seconds with 100% intensity. To recover, walk or jog 90 seconds. Repeat this eight times. The workout is very short, but you’ll be exhausted after you complete it if you are really pushing during the sprinting portions.

0-2:00 minutes: Jog 2:00-2:30: Sprint 2:30-4:00: Jog 4:00-4:30: Sprint 4:30-6: Jog 6:00-6:30: Sprint 6:30-9:00: Jog 9:00-9:30: Sprint 9:30-11:00: Jog 11:00-11:30: Sprint 11:30-13:00: Jog 13:00-13:30: Sprint 13:30-15:00: Jog 15:30:16:00: Sprint 16:30-18:00: Jog 18:00-18:30: Sprint 18:30-20:00: Jog

biking On the bike my typical interval workout takes about 30 minutes. I warm-up for five minutes, and then I do sprints that range from 30 seconds to two minutes with a rest period of 30 seconds to two minutes. The sprints should be at the maximum resistance that you can pedal. Finish with a five minute cool down.

0-5:00 Minutes: Light pedal 5:00-5:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 5:30-7:00: Light pedal 7:00-7:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 7:30-9:00: Light pedal 9:00-9:45: Sprint at maximum resistance

9:45-11:00: Light pedal 11:00-12:00: Sprint at maximum resistance 12:00-13:30: Light pedal 13:30-14:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 14:30-16:00: Light pedal 16:00-17:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 17:30-19:00: Light pedal 19:00-20:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 20:30-21:30: Light pedal 21:30-23:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 23:30-24:00: Light pedal 24:00-25:30: Sprint at maximum resistance 25:30-30:00: Light pedal

If you want to kick your off-skates training into high gear, you shouldn’t overlook interval training. Not only has it been proven to have numerous health benefits, but it takes less time than traditional cardio exercises, which is always nice for the over-committed athlete.

health and fitness

Trail Mix and Energy Bites Catholic Cruel Girl, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls photos Jean Schwarzwalder

Mt. Bierstadt Trail Mix This is a great mix to bring in your carry-on while traveling and to have on hand during tournaments. Brazil nuts are high in Selenium, the fruit and chocolate satisfy your sweet tooth and the rest is super good for ya. I created this mix last year when our team hiked Mt. Bierstadt and it was a huge hit! ingredients: 2½ cup raw almonds 2½ cup raw Brazil nuts 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds 1 cup raw sunflower seeds 1 cup dried cherries

¾ cup dried strawberries ¾ cup dried blueberries ¾ cup dried coconut flakes ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine ingredients in large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Add to yogurt, oatmeal or enjoy on its own.

RAW-some Energy Bites ingredients: 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds 3 tablespoons filtered water ½ cup raw sunflower seeds ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons hemp seeds 2 tablespoons shredded coconut

½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon cardamom 1 small pinch cayenne pepper 1/3 cup walnuts 1/3 cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup dried pitted dates

1. Combine ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a food processor combine sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and cayenne. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium sized bowl and add shredded coconut. Mix until coconut is incorporated. Set aside 3-4 tablespoons of this mixture for coating.

3. Add flax mixture (step 1), walnuts, cranberries and dates to food.

16 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

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games and coaching

2011 region playoffs preview J U S T I C E F E E L G O O D M A R S H A L L , D E R B Y N E W S N E T WO R K

This September, the fourth WFTDA regional tournament cycle kicks off in Baltimore, MD, starting four weekends of consecutive tournament action that will determine the 12 teams that qualify for November's WFTDA championships in Denver, CO. As in 2009 and 2010, ten teams from each region participate in their respective tournaments and the top three from each region advance.

East September 16-18, Baltimore, MD 1 Gotham 2 Philly 3 Charm City 4 Steel City 5 Montreal 6 Boston 7 Carolina 8 Dutchland 9 Maine 10 London With the exception of Boston having a bumpy year that’s dropped them from #3 going into last year’s tournament to #6 going into this one, the ordering of the Eastern top seven is identical to last year’s. That said, though, the balance of power seems to have dramatically tightened among those top seven, and things are noticeably changed in the bottom. Dutchland looks like a much bigger threat at #8 than they did as an eventually winless #9 seed last year, and Maine and London make WFTDA tourney debuts at #9 and #10, respectively.

It’ll be #7 Carolina giving London their first taste of stateside WFTDA sanctioned play in the opening round, along with Dutchland and Maine going at it in the other one.

The higher seeds are definitely favored in both these matches, but upsets seem possible in both. An upset doesn’t seem very possible for the winner of Dutchland / Maine – their reward is a date with a Gotham team that’s been crushing top-ten competition left and right. The winner of Carolina / London, though, has an uphill battle but could conceivably stun #2 Philly, whose results have been all over the map this year.

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Quarterfinals will see #3 Charm City taking on #6 Boston; traditionally, this regional rivalry has always been very close, but this year, Charm City seems to have the upper hand. The other quarterfinal between #4 Steel City and #5 Montreal should be quite closely contested, as Steel City won a close 144-121 bout in London in April.

The final four will have Gotham facing either Steel City or Montreal – with Gotham having pounded each team by over 200 points each earlier this year, it seems a near certainty that Steel or Montreal ends up in the third-place game. The other one is much harder to call, though – with Philly, Carolina or London facing (probably) Charm City.

Charm and Philly played to an eight point Philly win earlier this year. If Philly has an off weekend, this tournament could produce a third-place finisher that almost nobody would have predicted at the beginning of the season.

West September 23-25, Portland, OR 1 Oly 2 Rocky Mountain 3 Denver 4 Rose City 5 Bay Area 6 Rat City 7 Sacred City 8 Jet City 9 Tucson 10 Angel City Although the top four spots in the West have shuffled a bit over the course of the last year, the ordering is now exactly the same as it was going into the 2010 tournament: Oly, Rocky Mountain, Denver and Rose City. The five spot has

Ziv Kruger, SoundCounsel@yahoo.com

Jules Doyle Steve Stearns, visual-meme.com

Jeff Sevier

Holly E. Clark

flipped between current #5 Bay Area and current #6 Rat City. #7 through #10 seeds have it the worst of any region here, as to advance past their opening game they’ll have to beat either 2010 WFTDA champs Rocky Mountain or 2010 runners-up Oly. The #4 vs. #5 quarterfinal matchup looks set to be a corker as Rose City faces one of their most tenacious rivals in Bay Area. For the last couple of years, Rose City has built a reputation as the best WFTDA team to never actually make it to the championship tournament, getting knocked out one game short by BAD in both 2008 and 2010, along with a first game knockout by Rocky Mountain in 2009. With Rose

City on their home turf and Bay Area certain to bring a boisterous fan section, this one is likely to be a highly emotional match that leaves one team sorely disappointed.

The other quarterfinal between #3 Denver and #6 Rat City favors Denver on paper, but Rat City did drop a stunner of a narrow upset on Denver in the consolation rounds of the 2010 Westerns, so it’s highly unlikely that Denver will look past them.

That all sets up a final four that looks to be Oly vs. the winner of Rose City / Bay Area and Rocky Mountain vs. the winner of Denver / Rat City.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 19

games and coaching South Central September 30-October 2, Kansas City, MO 1 Kansas City 2 Texas 3 Nashville 4 Atlanta 5 Houston 6 Tampa Bay 7 No Coast 8 Green Country 9 Gold Coast 10 Omaha

North Central October 7-9, Indianapolis, IN 1 Windy City 2 Detroit 3 Minnesota 4 Naptown 5 Cincinnati 6 Madison 7 Brewcity 8 Arch Rival 9 Chicago Outfit 10 Ohio

The South Central is a much changed region this year. For the first time, Texas isn’t the top seed going into the tournament; Kansas City has held onto that seat since upsetting Texas in the finale of the 2010 SC tournament. #8 Green Country and #9 Gold Coast make their first WFTDA regionals’ appearances.

The invites are rounded out by #10 Omaha, who are in the South Central for the first time since moving from North Central following the 2010 season.

Like in most other regions, the opening round winners will hit major walls when they advance; the winner of No Coast / Omaha gets Texas and the winner of Green County / Gold Coast faces Kansas City. Upsets look very possible in the other two quarterfinal matchups, though – #3 Nashville vs. #6 Tampa Bay and #4 Atlanta vs. #5 Houston. Both of the lower seeds have had strong recent performances against the East region’s Boston.

The final four likely pits Kansas City vs. the winner of Atlanta / Houston and Texas vs. the winner of Nashville / Tampa Bay. While it seems unlikely that the SC final will be anything but Kansas City / Texas, the critical third-place slot looks to be wide open for any one of the 3-6 seeds this year.

With perennial regional powerhouse Madison having some trouble this year and last year’s also-ran Naptown making some serious noise, the NC landscape could be in for some big changes this weekend. It’s already changed a bit on the aforementioned Naptown improvement, along with a debut from #9 Chicago Outfit and a return to tournament play for #10 Ohio, not seen in a regional since hosting Eastern Regionals in 2007. #7 Brewcity welcomes Ohio back in an opening round game that favors Brewcity on paper, who have had a much tougher schedule than Ohio. It’s pretty much a coin flip on the other opening round game between Arch Rival and the Chicago Outfit, though – they’ve split their series 1-1 this year, with each team winning by near identical margins.

The winner of Chicago Outfit / Arch Rival will go on to have their hands full with #1 Windy City, who have notoriously never lost to another team from the region. Should it be the Outfit reaching that game, it’ll mark the first time the WFTDA’s two Chicago based teams have ever met on the track. Meanwhile, Brewcity or Ohio will face off against #2 Detroit, who have advanced from Regionals on two out of four tries.

In the other quarterfinals, #6 Madison must have a major turnaround to stop #3 Minnesota, Minnesota steamrolled Madison by 122 points earlier in the year. #5 Cincinnati’s chances against #4 Naptown look a little better, but Cincy will need to have made some adjustments after suffering a surprisingly lopsided 73 point loss to Naptown in April.

If neither Madison nor Cincinnati can reverse their fortunes from earlier in the year and there are no 2010 Minnesota style shockers lurking in the 7-10 slots, the final four in this region will be just as the seeding implies – Windy City vs. Naptown and Detroit vs. Minnesota, both teams meeting for the first time this year in what could be a very dramatic last sequence. Detroit vs. Minnesota would be a rematch of Minnesota’s huge upset from last year, while Windy City vs. Naptown would be a classic entrenched-vs-upstart battle with the upstarts having a famously fired up crowd at their backs.

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games and coaching

intraleague bouting DA N N Y J AY P E G G B O U R N E , S O U T H E R N D I S C O M F O RT R O L L E R D E R B Y

As leagues develop, mature and evolve, so do their structures. I spoke to three eastern region teams, to hear their thoughts on the sometimes thorny subject of intraleague teams. Three successful teams and three different set ups.

For those that don’t know – and if you don’t you must live under a rock or something – Gotham has five well-established intraleague teams: Bronx Gridlock, Brooklyn Bombshells, Manhattan Mayhem, Queens of Pain and Wall St. Traitors. In comparison, Pittsburgh’s Steel City has no intraleague teams, but has three travel teams – an A team in Steel Hurtin’ and two B teams (B-Unit and Blitzburgh Bombers).

And then there is Montreal, which has a travel team – The New Skids on the Block, which is completely separate from its four league teams (La Racaille, Les Sexpos, Les Filles du Roi and Contrabanditas).

Three different systems, but they all have advantages.

For Montreal, having a dedicated travel team separate from the intraleague maximizes all of their teams’ togetherness, camaraderie and cohesion. With Steel Hurtin’, their interleague only set up has, in the words of The Crippler, “improved league unity and developed better-rounded derby players.” Additionally she states, “I feel that not making it onto the A team when there are interleague B teams to play on is an easier pill to swallow than not making the A team and being stuck on a home team.” As for Gotham, the intraleague system is a great method of recruiting. According to Ginger Snap, “the demand for participation here among the city’s athletic women gives us the ability to field four strong home teams. Aspiring skaters come to our bouts and then try out because they want to test their mettle on the track against the best in the city, not just against fellow rookies.”

Ginger Snap also explains why intraleagues are vital for probably the majority of roller derby leagues. “Our league couldn’t survive without home teams. Strictly financially, Gotham needs its home teams to pay the bills. Historically, we

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haven’t been able to host more than one or two interleague bouts per year, and that won’t pay the (significant) rent. We also have a difficult time securing venues more than a few months in advance... so it’s imperative that we plan to fill those dates with our own teams rather than crossing our fingers and hoping to book an interleague at the last minute.”

This is a problem for most leagues. Without sponsors or endorsements, roller derby leagues lead, for the most part, a fairly hand to mouth existence and need regular intraleague games to build up finances for their travel team’s away matches which can eat up an inordinate amount of money.

I say most leagues, but not all. Steel City dismantled their intraleague system in April 2009. “I think the change to interleague-only has been good for our fans,” The Crippler explains. “Our ticket sales have improved immensely since the change. We generally sell out, especially when Hurtin’ plays a geographically close team such as Cincinnati or Philly.

It is much easier for our fans to get excited about a game of Pittsburgh versus Cleveland than ‘robot-themed team’ versus ‘voodoo-themed team’. We’re a blue collar town and that creative costume-y home team stuff was a little too avant-garde for our fans.”

One oft-heard complaint is that non-travel team players can end up playing second fiddle to All-Star skaters in intraleague games. Montreal’s Ewan Wotarmy points out that “our home games are very competitive and, as it turned out, the Skids players tended to dominate the track time for the home games, which meant that many of the non-travel team players were not getting a great deal of game experience (despite practicing a lot). This isn’t ideal for the sustainability of the league or for the competitiveness of the Skids.” It was this that guided Montreal’s decision to have their top fourteen roster become unaligned to any league team (although their six alternates are still intraleague team members). Obviously, this is not a problem for Steel City as their A team and two B teams are all travel teams. “Overall, our skaters are performing at a much higher level,” The Crippler explains. “Partly due to the improved conditions for training and strategy sharing, but also because all of our skaters are exposed to different styles and levels of play by competing against other leagues.”

Nicholas Charest

It is interesting to note that, come ‘training and strategy sharing’, what some leagues see as a potential problem, Gotham views as a positive advantage. “From a competitive perspective,” says Ginger Snap, “without All-Stars on home teams beating the crap out of each other every week, how is the league as a whole going to get better? Where is the next generation of All-Stars going to come from if they are deprived of beatings from Suzy Hotrod, Bonnie Thunders, Fisti Cuffs and Sexy Slaydie? Our All-Stars push our home skaters to be better, and that ups everyone’s game.”

One of the main concerns about league teams is the potential for divisiveness. As The Crippler bluntly comments, “When we first formed our intraleague team, The Steel Hurtin’, we found that it took quite a while for us to skate cohesively together. We were each accustomed to skating on home teams against one another and were apprehensive about sharing our home team’s plays and drills, fearing they would be used against us in the next intraleague season. In terms of league unity, the interleague format has been very successful.”

Ewan Wotarmy echoes these sentiments. “By having the Skids play together rather than against one another we figured it would help the team dynamic, which I’d have to say is true.”

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way: all three teams are hugely successful at running their leagues their way and it has to be remembered that what works for one league simply may not work for another. One thing all three leagues are united in, however, is that intraleague or no, everything is done for the best interests of the league AS A WHOLE. Says The Crippler: “We work really hard to make it clear that we’re a sports league and, as much as we value all of our members, we want to be competitive on the international derby scene.”

Ginger Snap sums this attitude up perfectly: “When the All Stars win, it’s more than just a victory for the 20-skater charter. It’s a win for all 60+ league members at home who helped them get there.

That’s the thing about derby that gives me the chills.”

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 25

games and coaching

coach’s corner by coach pauly

know your roll

part 13: coaching on the road

say the least, and each of us brought different perspectives and concepts to the camp. As I was covering blocking and assist, questions started to flood us from a majority of the skaters about multiplayer blocking and blocking while skating backwards on the track. Neither of these concepts are new, but for some reason, they are points that almost crippled the ability to have an open mind to grasp these skills and use them.

Luckily for us, Endless Justin (former chair of the WFTDA rules committee) happened to be at the camp for the Team USA tryouts. He was able to clarify any questions the local refs and skaters had and was able to validate the classes we just taught.

I suppose the best way to start is with the rules first. Section 6.7 defines what “Multiplayer blocking” is: 6.7 MULTIPLE-PLAYER BLOCKS 6.7.1 Skaters may not grab and hold each other’s uniform or equipment in a multi-player block.

6.7.2 Skaters may not use their hands, arms, or legs in any grabbing, holding, linking, or joining fashion in a multi-player block.

6.7.3 Touching and assisting teammates that does not create a wall to impede an opponent or prevent receiving a block from an opponent is not a multi-player block.

6.7.4. The multi-player link must be that which is blocking or impeding an opponent for the action to be illegal.

No impact/No penalty 6.7.5 Temporarily grabbing a teammate’s clothing, equipment, or body part to push or pull, thereby adjusting the skater’s speed or the teammate’s speed.

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6.7.6 Touching, but not grabbing and/or holding, a teammate while blocking.

6.7.7 Holding a teammate in a front-back direction while blocking or to stabilize from a block, as long as the point of contact is not impeding opposing skaters.

Minor Penalty 6.7.8 Maintaining a multi-player block to impede or block an opponent or prevent receiving a block from an opponent for less than three (3) seconds but NOT causing her to fall or lose her relative position.

Major Penalty 6.7.9 Maintaining a multi-player block to impede or block an opponent, causing her to fall or lose her relative position.

6.7.10 Maintaining a multi-player block to impede or block an opponent or prevent receiving a block from an opponent for more than three (3) seconds but not necessarily causing her to fall or lose her relative position.

If you read through the definition you will notice the word “impede”, which is clearly the one definitive verb that either makes you guilty of multiplayer blocking. But what does this have to do with coaching blocking assist classes? If you are engaged by an opponent that is linked to her teammate and you are not impeded by their link, it is a legal block; however, if you have the presence of mind to attack the link, you will force those skaters into an illegal multiplayer block. By using this knowledge and adding it to your game you multiply your capabilities both in your offense, as well as you defense.

Please take a look at the diagram below. In Figure 1 you have three skaters engaging one opponent. If the skater that is behind

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In the last issue, I started a series on training but I have to step away from that to get some new information on paper before I lose it. This past week I found myself in Waterloo, Iowa, coaching at a training camp with so many new faces, both on the training staff and in the crowd. More and more I have skaters come to me and say, “We don’t practice that way because our head ref says it is an illegal move or action.” It is quite frustrating considering how much time it takes to come up with new skills, strategies and perspectives. This weekend was no exception to the aforementioned experience.

I was coaching with Shenita Stretcher from Philly Roller Girls, Pia Mess formally of Rat City Rollergirls, and Catholic Cruel Girl from Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. A great group of coaches, to

FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3

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teammates. You use your teammates to get a better blocking angle on a target, which ultimately helps you re-form walls and communicate. It makes speed changes to your pack seamless without allowing any holes in your defense.

So now that we have discussed blocking while connected, let’s take it back to its roots, which to me starts with whips and assists. I have experienced jammers using whips and assists to impede opposing blockers, which should immediately make a ref shake hands with himself over his head. However, more often than not, it is deemed clean and no call is made, but by rule definition should be called.

FIGURE 4 In the above diagram Figure 4 player x is trying to get her teammate forward in the pack (I say teammate because in my view whips and assists are applied by all blocker to blocker and jammer to blocker not just one dimensional to help jammers) so she reaches across the opposing player and pulls her past the opposition and uses the whip as a way to engage and slow the other skater’s re-engagement. As she gets her teammate through they set up a two wall in front of the black wall.

Everything is for advantage so no matter who your teammate is, use her and gain position.

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FIGURE 6

FIGURE 5 In Figure 5 the red blocker is holding the line and doesn’t want to move and she notices her jammer coming up fast, so she puts her right arm behind her back forming a chicken wing.

She turns and reaches across her body and past her opponent with her left hand and “shakes hands” with her jammers left hand. In two moves she pulls the jammer forward and then pushes the jammer out of the pack with her right hand. As the exchange of energy is made the blocker traps the opposing blocker and sets her up for a shrug block or booty to the belly “pop it like it’s hot”. The power is in the push assist not the pull through so focus your energy there. We call this the “howdy” whip but it looks like a street fighter move “Haduken”. As you read further into this article you will be able to add this whip to backwards blocking and make up even more effective combinations.

Jammers, have you ever found yourself stuck on the inside line because your own blockers are holding it so tight that you can’t get by? Well in Figure 6 you use the same basic idea except this time you flip the script and get right hand to right hand and use the left as your pushing hand.

In Figure 7 the jammer is stuffed and she wants relief so she turns and reverse whips her blocker forward helping her slow the pack by turning her skate toward the inside line while she whips the jammer out of the pack. This is all legal, but by definition if you are trying to get by two opposing blockers and they are linked and your progress is impeded by their actions there should be a call made.

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link between the two black skaters. As she fights to get through, they continue to stay linked and the ref calls a multiplayer block.

If she attacks the link and they let go, it’s just blocking. Please imagine that the skaters are holding onto their teammates.

Some call this “tractor trailer” blocking. I call it trailer blocking. No matter what you call it, it is very effective. Using this blocking method allows you to stay close to your

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the two wall hits player x into the infield while connected to her teammates and immediately stops, pulls those skaters back with her to force player x to come in behind her (as shown in Figure 2), this is completely legal because she didn’t impede player x with her connection to her teammates while she blocked her out. In Figure 3, player x takes a different route and goes for the

FIGURE 7

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games and coaching

FIGURE 8 I have heard many leagues believe that jammers whipping blockers doesn’t work and this could be true, but it’s the last thing opposition will think of when executed this way. In Figure 8, x jammer is stuffed behind the black wall and she knows she has a blocker near; she turns and faces her teammate to facilitate a reverse whip. As red jammer makes contact with her teammate and whips her blocker forward, it puts her blocker in a position to help the blocker engage the wall and leverage to whip her around the wall and free her. In this last whip, if the red blocker is on the ball and points her feet at a 45 degree angle to the inside line, she will stop the pack and put herself into position to engage any opposing blockers that try to re-engage her jammer. Now any time the opposition attacks the link the red team makes, this should cause a call to happen.

All in all you can see how touching, pulling and grabbing facilitates communication and tighter packs no matter how.

If you don’t know what the rules mean or how they should be called, please get in contact with your ref crew and have a healthy discussion to come to a clear understanding for refs and players alike. If you come to an impasse locally, get in contact with the people that can clear it up for you (WFTDA).

Another hot topic that emerged this weekend was skating backwards and backwards blocks. I remember years ago, it was a sin to skate in the reverse direction of normal gameplay even though the rule never said that entirely. Once that was clarified, it changed our game and now you have skaters running backwards to force people behind. It made 30 point and higher jams possible, thus changing how we play the game. With this change we also had a new clarification for blocking while skating backwards, and let me tell you, the skaters that have this skill dialed in are devastating, much like my new friend Shenita Stretcher. She is amazing in this regard.

I started contemplating the backwards blocking concept while working with bank track skaters and have worked with skaters in my home league.

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6.9 DIRECTION OF GAMEPLAY PENALTIES 6.9.1 Skaters must be skating and/or stepping in the counterclockwise direction when executing a block. Skaters may not skate in the opposite direction of normal counterclockwise game play when executing a block. In other words, skaters may not skate clockwise when executing a block. Skaters may not block while stopped on the track.

These illegal blocking techniques include positional blocking.

Clockwise movement is measured by the skates moving past a line perpendicular to the track boundaries.

6.9.2 Skaters must be skating and/or stepping in the counterclockwise direction when giving an assist. Skaters may not skate in the opposite direction of normal counter-clockwise game play (clockwise) when giving or receiving an assist.

Skaters may not give assists to skating teammates while stopped on the track. The initiator of the assist is responsible for the legality of the assist. Clockwise movement is measured by the skates moving past a line perpendicular to the track boundaries.

If you read the rule, two things pop out: skating or stepping in the counter clockwise direction and how this is measured.

One thing that is not so clear is that you can be on your toe stops gliding in the proper direction of game play by using the opposition skater’s forward momentum to push you along. To help give a point of reference, I have recommended that skaters draw lines on their wheels so that the roll is clear and visible to the refs. The more you can make things clear and visible the better.

Now imagine using this concept to force people out of bounds or stop a pack or goading someone. It brings an added dimension to your game experience. This weekend was the first time that I have found the concepts that I have been trying to perfect and met with skaters that had the skills to make them reality. I just wish I had more time to experiment.

While I was there I was able to pair my ideas with the skills of my fellow coaches and after a bit of explanation of my design, the Hook-Her whip was born. If I had named it after the skaters that helped prove the concept, it would have been called the shepiacru or maybe the Catholic Shepia.

In Figure 9 x jammer is stuffed behind the black wall and she knows she has a blocker near; she turns and faces her teammate to facilitate a reverse whip. As red jammer makes contact with her teammate and whips her blocker forward, it puts her blocker in a position to engage the wall backwards. She is hip to hip with her opponent rolling on one skate and slowing

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FIGURE 9 with the toe stop on the other as she glides into the wall at a 45 degree toward the inside line. Arms extended past the black blocker staying firmly connected to her teammate. As she makes contact with the opposition, she wraps her body around that individual and isolates or traps her. Using the trapped blocker’s momentum to keep you moving in the direction of game play, you pull your jammer through, launching her out of the pack. In this last whip, the red blocker is on the ball and points her feet at a 45 degree angle to the inside line. By doing this she will

slow the pack and put herself into position to engage any opposing blockers that try to re-engage her jammer, as well as becoming a human shield. This brings your blocker forward to help you, and you use the natural power of the reverse whip to get your jammer by and it has you skating backwards already so why not stay in the position while you engage the other team.

Now will this work all the time? No, much like most things in derby, it is just another tool in your toolbox that you can use when the occasion calls for it.

At the end of the day, I believe Darwin would have loved derby. It’s beauty is in its evolution and fast-paced growth, so anytime you get a chance to move an idea along or add to it, go for it.

‘Til next time, see you on the track…

If you have any questions, comments or feedback please email me at derbywhisperer@gmail.com.

DRILL drill: endless jammer

2-4 white blockers and 2-4 black blockers line up on the track.

Take the remainder of the skaters and line them up about 20 ft from the pack, in a line, one behind the other. These will be the “jammers” for this drill. The pack will begin skating at regular pack speed. The line of jammers will skate behind, maintaining their distance. At the whistle, the first in the line of jammers will make her way to the pack and attempt to get through. The pack needs to either help or block the jammer, depending on which color she is. Once the jammer gets by, is knocked down, or out of bounds, immediately blow the whistle and the next skater in the line of jammers will make her way through the pack. The idea is to not give the pack time to rest by constantly sending jammer after jammer into the pack. Once a jammer is knocked out of bounds, knocked down, or actually gets through the pack, she will return to the end of the jammer line and prepare to go in again. Let all the jammers try and make their way through at least twice before calling the drill and changing out the pack and jammer line.

Amanda Rieker/Wicked Shamrock Photography

purpose: to offer a pack of blockers a challenge that forces them to transition quickly, communicate and gain pack awareness while also building endurance

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gear

45 degree kingpins I VA N N A S . PA N K I N ’ , S O C A L D E R B Y

My Two Cents on 45 degree kingpins...

We’ve gotten a lot of questions about 45 degree angle kingpins lately. People ask us to debate the opinions they’re reading on message boards or hearing from other shops, which is hard because I have never had the chance to discuss kingpins directly with anyone who does love the 45 degree angles. But I will tell you what I know. I can save you a lot of time reading this article by telling you this: just try them yourself. As with anything, you can gather up all of the opinions in the world, but those people AREN’T YOU. They probably don’t skate like you or have your experience or style or body type. So what they (or I) think is nothing compared to trying it out and developing your own opinion based on your experience. But I have tried them – several times, and I loan out a pair of skates with 45 degree angle kingpins to skaters on our league, so I can tell you what conclusions we’ve arrived at from those experiences.

My guess is that a lot of the skaters who are evangelical about 45 degree kingpins probably skated on 45 degree kingpins before they played roller derby, and that probably informs their opinions.

I skated on standard 10 degree kingpins first, so that informs mine. If you’re interested in gathering opinions about 45 degree angle kingpins, you most likely fall into that latter category (or you’d already know if you like them!). Most skaters who start on 10 degree hate 45 – especially when they’re switching from really lightweight nylon plates to the much heavier cast aluminum plates that are offered with 45 degree kingpins. So

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that’s something to keep in mind.

But, let’s start from the beginning with the 10 / 45 degree thing. Forgive me if you already know this, but what I mean by that terminology is the angle of the kingpin. The kingpin is the bolt that comes out of the plate that the trucks are mounted on. Here’s a diagram that shows you the names of the parts, if you’re not sure which bolts are the kingpins:

angle is sturdier – the closer it is to perpendicular, the less stress is on that little kingpin bolt. When it’s angled more, your weight and all the force you put on it is hitting that bolt on an angle, more likely to break it. So that’s one thing to keep in mind. I’m told that former speed skaters especially like 45 degree action. From what I understand about competitive quad speed skating, though, the demands of the sport are different. Athletes don’t constantly have to make the kind of quick, jumping laterals and fast movements we do; speed skaters go fast in long loops and then occasionally make lateral movements (as small as possible) to get around a competitor. That’s important – because a derby player has to cover a 14+ foot width of track (or find space through a pack that can be that wide) – and speed skaters would lose races if they went that wide, ever. So just another thing to keep in mind when weighing opinions, I think.

Above are pictures of a 10-degree angle kingpin on the Reactor Plates and another on the PowerDyne DynaPro Aluminum Plates. See how the bolts that the trucks are on are angled just slightly off perpendicular from the plate? That’s the 10 degree angle. That is standard for plates these days because a 10 degree

Above is a photo of a 45 degree kingpin on the SGI XK-4 DA45 Plates.

See how the kingpin is angled significantly more toward the front and back of the skates? That’s what the number refers to. What I found as a skater that *learned* on a 10 degree plate (though I wear my plates with a short axle to axle measurement and really like fast action, so I’m just the sort

Laura Amos

of skater who *should* like 45 degree kingpins) – is that I didn’t like it because the angle of the kingpin put the pivot point almost under my toes. And as a derby player, I pivot off the ball of my foot to make fast movements. So having the pivot point in a different place made me feel like I was wearing skates that were too big – clown shoes – and I couldn’t recover from fast movements as easily (to make the next one), if that makes sense.

I wasn’t sure the mount was exactly right on the first pair of skates I tried with 45 degree angle kingpins (and the first pair was single action, which was a hot topic a few years ago), and I’m a more experienced skater now, which I thought might also be a factor. So we recently got another pair of skates with the message board recommending a short forward mount of a DA45. I had a similar experience – which is to say it was absolutely awful. I’m aware that trying something really different can feel terrible when you’re getting used to it, so I tried to give it enough time to grow accustomed to it. But I still hated it. Trish the Dish had a similar experience. We

know that different backgrounds, experience, and skating styles can make a difference, so we loan out those skates to skaters on our league who are interested in 45 degree – and so far every one of them has hated them.

Maxxi, another skater that works at Sin City, said they made skating backwards a lot easier, but that they were an absolute curse on her (forwards) jamming.

So then Riedell sent me new skates with Revenge Plates. And I wore them for a few laps and then switched back to my old skates (with 10-degree Reactor plates) because the boot was hurting my foot. Compared to the Revenge-mounted skates, my Reactor plates felt like DOGS! So I kept switching back and forth and found that, to my surprise, the Revenge plates were 100% more agile and I absolutely loved them. And then I found out that the Revenge plates have a 15 degree kingpin angle (and that Probe nylon plates do, as well). I found THAT angle was enough to make them feel a lot more responsive – but not so much that it throws off your whole game trying

to control them. The Revenge plates are also lighter than all of the 45 degree angle plates I know of, and have the added bonus of having mostly easy-toget, inexpensive standard sized replacement parts – and can be adjusted and fixed with standard skate tools. I get really frustrated with specialized (expensive) parts and components with weird thread pitches or odd fiber washers and bolts that need special tools and stuff. That sort of inconvenience and expense can mean a ride on the bench when your stuff breaks during a game (and that’s really the only time anything ever breaks, isn’t it?). So – anyway, that’s how and why I arrived at my opinion. If you call our shop, you might get another opinion, depending on who you ask.

So – after testing all of them, my conclusion is that people should test drive 45 degree angle kingpins before they spend a ton of money on them. We get at least one skater a day asking about them and that’s my advice: TRY THEM FIRST. You will never know how YOU will feel about them until you give them a try for yourself.

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gear

when will I find my glass slipper?

B O N N I E T H U N D E R S , F I V E S T R I D E S K AT E S H O P

Half way through practice my feet go numb. Every time I play in a bout my calves cramp up. I can’t possibly tie my skates any tighter or my feet will turn blue. These boots fit perfectly when I first bought them and now they are stretched out and my feet slide all over the place.

How many of you think these same thoughts three to four times a week? That was me three years ago until I went on a mission to learn everything I could about skate boot fit in order to find the perfect boot for my foot shape.

My background is ice figure skating and in that world, your coach provides you with the name of her skate guy and he is the only person you ever seek advice from. You show up to his little workshop, he takes a few measurements of your feet, mounts your blades ever so precisely, and voilá! You pick up your skates six weeks later and they are perfect. If only buying derby skates was so easy.

In order to understand boot fit, you must understand the basics of building a boot – the last. What? You mean last place? No, silly, the last is a 360 degree model of the foot used to create a boot’s heel width, boot length, and toe box width and height. The size and shape of the last will dictate the size and shape of the boot.

Just like every shoe brand fits a little bit differently, every boot brand will fit differently because each company has developed their own proprietary lasts. Even within one brand there may be more than one last to choose from. Lasts are generally built on a letter sizing scale with AAA or AA being the narrowest and E being on the wider end of the scale.

While boot length is critical to a perfect fit, boot width is just as important but often overlooked. Even if your toes are snugly placed at the front of the boot and your foot does not fill out the width of the boot, it is going to slide around once the boot is broken in. This movement creates a lot of extra pressure under the ball of your foot, especially on the right pusher foot. If you have the typical “derby” callous under the ball of your pusher foot, something many of us have a nickname for, this is a good indication that your boot is too wide.

Stock boots are usually built on a D width last. This is a fit made for an average man’s foot. But wait, I don’t have man feet, why aren’t these skates made for my slender, beautiful, womanly

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feet (side note: feet are no longer beautiful after 20 years of skating). As women we have the added challenge of finding boots in a man’s world. For all of you who have complained about having man feet for years, you are in luck! Although many boot manufacturers have started stocking split last boots “made for women,” that simply translates to mean the boot has a narrower heel and a wider toe box which is similar to the shape of a woman’s foot. Most split last boots are still made D/B with a B width in the heel and a D width in the toe box – the standard man’s width. Some lasts are also made with a taller toe box to give added space at the front of the boot making it feel wider.

Now I will move on to some specifics about a few of the higher end boot lasts currently on the market: Riedell, Bont, Antik, and Vanilla.

Vanilla Derby boots are made on a D/B last: the B-width in the heel cups your heel and the D-width in the toe box gives your toes a little wiggle room. The Vanilla Derby boots are also made with a higher toe box giving it a wider feel.

Antik boots are also made on a D/B last – remember, different brand, different fit. The higher toe box affords more room at the front of the boot for a wider fit. Antiks can be made in custom widths for an extra fee and about a four to six week wait.

Bont does things a little different in the world of boot making.

They don’t use off-the-shelf lasts and instead they’ve crafted their own lasts. They started with 20,000 laser foot scans to find the measurements of a typical foot and then made modifications based on Inze Bont’s thirty-five years of custom boot making.

They lowered the arch so that skaters with flat feet can wear them and added to areas where skaters have pressure, such as the bump on the outside of the heel commonly referred to as 'skaters bump', and on the inside of the foot near the big toe.

The other big difference with Bont boots is that they are fully heat moldable. While the Bont last has an overall narrower fit than other lasts on the market, it is much easier to stretch the

boot out using their heat mold technology than to compress a wide boot in to make it narrower.

For an extra fee and a two to three week wait, Bont boots are also available in a semi-custom fit that takes a standard boot and makes a few changes to fit an individual’s foot. Common problems that a semi-custom boot can fix includes skinny ankles, narrow or wide feet, and slightly abnormal shaped feet such as those with a bunion. Bont addresses these foot variations by modifying their existing lasts.

For example, to make a wide boot they build up the last to make it wider. For a narrow foot they use a smaller size last and make it longer to fit the length of your foot.

Riedell is the most complex with regards to their lasts because they have multiple lasts that all create a different fit. The 248D last is Riedell’s original speed boot last. It was designed

by Riedell’s founder, Paul Riedell, and was first used around the late 1940s. When Paul was creating the shape of the last, he borrowed model foot bones from doctors to study the pressure points of the human foot. He spent 15 years studying the shape of the foot before finalizing the 248D last, which is still used today. In the 1980s there was a need for a last with a raised toe box so the 395D last was created by building up the 248D last in the toe box area. Over the past five years Riedell has developed two new lasts: the D/B “derby” last and a brand new B/AA last made with an average woman’s foot in mind. The D/B last was created from the 395 last (with a raised toe box) but has a narrow heel. The B/AA last was just released this summer and was created from the D/B last but is narrower all around.

Riedell can also create custom width boots for an extra fee and a four to six week wait. Their 348B last fits a truly narrow foot and is made to order. It is a modified 248D last that uses a B width with the toe box of a figure boot to create a narrower toe.

Reidell can also make a C width boot if your feet are somewhere between the standard D width boot and a narrow B width boot.

Have I lost you yet? Let me summarize Riedell’s many options by reviewing what boots are made on what last: • The 248D last is a standard D width last used to make the 195, 595, 695, and 125 boots.

• The 395D last is similar to the 248D last but with a raised toe box. It is used for the 395, 811, 911, and 951 boots.

• The D/B last was created from the 395 last (with the raised toe box) but has a narrow heel. It is used for the 122, 126, 265, 495, 965, and 1065 boots.

• The B/AA last was created from the D/B last but is narrower all around and is used for the new 495 boot.

• All Riedell boots that are stock in the D/B last are also made to order on the B/AA at no extra charge (except the 495 boot which is available stock in both lasts).

Now that you have some insight into boot last, it’s important to remember that there are other factors affecting Jules Doyle boot fit. Is the boot fabric lined or leather lined? Is there any padding in the boot that will break down and create space in the boot? Are there hardened counters in the boot to help the boot keep its shape? Finding the perfect boot can be a daunting task but as an educated consumer you’re one stride ahead.

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wftda

2011 WFTDA meeting L O I S S L A I N , W F T DA P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S

Along with tournament season in the fall, the WFTDA annual meeting each Memorial Day weekend is one of the two most important times of the year for the organization. Most of the staff and volunteers who keep WFTDA ticking interact only online most of the year, so we value the thoughtful discussions, bursts of creativity and fun times that come from meeting face-to-face.

The Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls hosted this year's meeting, nicknamed “FabCon,” at the Riviera in Las Vegas, Nevada. They helped provide a welcoming environment for more than 400 skaters and officials representing their leagues at the conference. the world of derby The unofficial theme of the 2011 conference was “what next?”

WFTDA has undergone structural and organizational changes over the last two years; hiring an executive director and other paid staff and launching the very successful Apprentice Program – which has led to sustained, steady growth in WFTDA membership in North America and around the world.

(A representative from the London Rollergirls, the first European league to join WFTDA, attended the conference for the first time this year!)

With the sport continuing to grow at an exponential rate, much of FabCon focused on where WFTDA fits into the great big derby world. Today, there are over 950 roller derby leagues, about 90% of which are women’s leagues playing on a flat track. Men's and junior roller derby leagues are growing in popularity and prevalence. USARS is starting to talk about getting roller derby into the Olympics.

Discussions throughout the conference began the process of reviewing WFTDA’s long-term vision and goals for growth and our relationship to other elements of the derby universe.

We are looking at how we grow and develop the sport while maintaining the values and mission that got WFTDA where it sits today.

In line with these big picture discussions, member league representatives also examined the organization’s confidentiality policies and considered ways to improve both internal and external communication, particularly when dealing with sensitive issues like grievances. WFTDA has been working 34 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

toward more open communication with fans and others in the derby community who aren’t directly involved in the organization.

As the number of leagues is growing, so is the size of many WFTDA member leagues. FabCon also provided a forum for leagues to share tips and best practices for successfully dealing with bulging skater membership. how we compete Brainstorming about how to improve competition level at WFTDA tournaments and in sanctioned play began at the 2010 annual meeting and continued with more concrete proposals this year. The WFTDA membership is considering major changes to the competitive structure of the organization with the goal of increasing the number of close, exciting matches in general, but especially at tournaments.

These proposals – which will not become official until the membership votes on them – include skills-based game play divisions, to replace the current geographical model, and a new system for ranking teams. WFTDA representatives got a chance to explore these concepts in depth during the conference, so they could take the information back to their leagues. new faces Shortly before FabCon, WFTDA hired three new staff members, and the league WFTDA reps at the meeting got a chance to interact with the new members of the WFTDA team in person.

They are Tournament Director Janis Kelley, Referee Training and Certification Coordinator Sarah Hipel and Membership Data Manager Niki Hammond. Welcoming these new employees doubles the size of the WFTDA professional staff and represents another major milestone for the organization.

Niki gave a preview of the new membership database, which will provide important support to the organization and member leagues. Janis talked with potential 2012 tournament hosts about how hosting one of the WFTDA “Big 5” tournaments will work now that there is a professional who can dedicate her time to planning and organizing these events. Sarah was able to network and talk with officials about their training needs and possible improvements to the WFTDA Referee Certification program.

The meeting also allows league representatives a chance to chat in person with people running for the WFTDA Board of Directors and other key elected positions. Traditionally, Board and Officer elections are scheduled during the annual meeting.

This year, Loco Chanel, of the Rat City Rollergirls, was reelected as Treasurer and Lorna Boom, also of the Rat City Rollergirls, was elected Vice President. Both will serve two-year terms. Ms. D'Fiant, of the Angel City Derby Girls, was re-elected as Games Officer, also for a two-year term.

Other elections filled out new roles on the restructured Compliance Panel and Games Review Panel, replacing the prior grievance committee structure. education, networking and fun, oh my!

In addition to discussing the big picture of WFTDA's future, the conference also affords the opportunity for WFTDA representatives, rookies and veterans alike, to gather useful information to take home with them.

As in 2010, a number of sessions were aimed at sharing best practices for running a roller derby league as stronger local leagues make WFTDA as a whole even better. League reps got tips for growing their sponsorship sales and using online tools to better market their league and learned about best financial management practices. An impromptu session brought together leagues with successful junior derby programs with those hoping to launch junior derby in their hometown.

While plenty of business and hard work took place at FabCon, there was also plenty of time to catch up with derby friends from all over. While Vegas may be open all night, the pool at the Riviera closes too early for derby folk! Fortunately, there was a photo scavenger hunt and adventures on the Strip to keep everyone entertained. (What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!) The popular regional roundtable sessions also gave each geographic region a chance to talk about game scheduling, tournaments and their general superiority over the other regions.

officials’ corner With plenty of hard work put into standardizing practices in the recent past and no major rules updates to discuss, it was a quieter year for the men and women of the WFTDA Ref Committee than at past meetings. They reviewed standard procedures and hand signals and invested a good chunk of time in going through the on-skates and classroom curriculum for the 2011 WFTDA Officiating Clinics, prior to the clinic kickoff earlier this year. The scrimmage, while offering a fun diversion for skater representatives, also serves as a valuable training ground for newer officials attending the annual meeting, as they get a chance to work one-on-one with more experienced mentors. keep on rollin’ The most important thing to come out of each WFTDA annual meeting is the inspiration and motivation to keep the organization rolling full speed ahead for the next year. Past President Crackerjack, one of the few who has been at every WFTDA conference, sent everyone home inspired with her reflections during the closing ceremony about the roots of WFTDA and what makes our organization special.

“When we go home after this weekend and we’re back with our leagues, there’s some stuff that we really we owe to our leagues that we’re taking away from this that I think sometimes we take for granted. ...When we talk about what it means so that we have control of our rules, it’s bigger than that, right? Because like I said it’s our culture. It’s our thought leadership. We are the genesis of this sport, and that’s very, very, very precious. And it can go away really quickly – like that – before anybody cares.

“We need to protect our mark. We need to protect our brand.

We need to be solid in our relationships with each other and remember that this is like a big family. We carved out this niche together and we owe it to each other to give a goddamn, every day, about the future of the WFTDA. Not just the future of Rat City, not just the future of Wasatch, not just the future of Mad Rollin’ Dolls. But ROLLER DERBY IS OURS!”

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 35

Respect your elders.

Cast from a vintage skate key.

CityStreetGems.com Debra@CityStreetGems.com 419/946 8506 Team discounts available.

DFB City Street Gems

junior derby

18 or 21?

B E T T Y F O R D G A L A X Y, S E AT T L E D E R B Y B R AT S

On the age-old question about age – should your league be 18 years and older 21 years and older?

This very question has sparked some hot debate, so we know there is a lot of passion behind the subject and a lot of really good arguments for both sides of the issue. To start, I started junior roller derby five years ago and I feel it should be eighteen and over. That being said, I do stay on one that is twenty-one and over, which puts me in an awkward position sometimes.

To research this article I posted a question to the Yahoo roller girl group hoping to reach the broadest audience I could. I actually got quite a few responses and it seems the leagues that are eighteen and over are more passionate about this than the leagues that are twenty-one and over, at least when it came to responding.

For leagues that are twenty-one and over it all boils down to alcohol. The main reason anyone could give me for leagues being twenty-one and over is their after parties are at bars. They’re concerned the younger girl won’t have a place to go after the bout and would feel left out. They worry about the lack of team bonding when girls can go for drinks after practice and they also worry about the legalities of somebody twentyone and over on their league purchasing alcohol for someone underage.

Some leagues are worried that the league dynamics and how bringing

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younger women into this mix are going to affect the overall atmosphere of the league. There are concerns that for older potential skaters joining roller derby it’s scary enough and somehow when you’re in your late thirties and the look of the league is twenty-one plus, it seems more like something you could do. But if the league is eighteen plus, you say to yourself, “I’m a grown woman and I don’t want to play with kids.”

Some leagues have started at twenty-one and over and have since changed their age minimum to eighteen.

The Chicago Outfit lowered its age to eighteen plus when someone underage approached them to try out. They have had a few skaters under twenty-one and that has been successful for them. They have since gone on to start a junior division called the Chicago Riots. Rose City Rollers were twenty-one plus and started a junior league, the Rosebuds.

When the first skater from the Rosebuds got close to eighteen they had to rework their age policy and it now allows girls who were in junior derby to try out at eighteen.

More and more leagues are creating junior divisions, almost as a farm league for future talent, and as a way to give back to their local community. Just as much as roller derby for adult women boosts their self-confidence and selfesteem, the same is true for junior derby and the adult leagues want to give back.

There are also junior leagues that are self-affiliated and not part of an adult league. For example, the Seattle Derby Brats that I founded in 2006 is completely separate from the local adult

leagues that surround it, but it could not run without the support of the local leagues for coaching, reffing and fundraisers.

There have been skaters who have already transitioned from a junior league to an adult league. I would like to highlight the case of Mutch Mayhem #8.

Mutch Mayhem started with the Kitsap Derby Brats in November of 2007 at the age of fourteen-and-a-half. Under the experienced coaching of Brawlyanna and Jenocidal, Mutch Mayhem learned to play roller derby with WFTDA rules.

There, she trained hard, participated in fundraisers and experienced the hectic life of a roller girl who had to prioritize school, work and roller derby. Mutch turned eighteen on Mother’s Day and went to her first practice with the Slaughter County Roller Vixens that very day. Per SCRV protocol, Mutch had a two-month new skater period where she had to prove to SCRV that she was going to work hard, volunteer, fundraise and pay dues. On her two-month anniversary she was drafted to the home team, the Terrormedixxx. At the next practice she was handed the Saints of Slaughter jersey, the SCRV travel team. She recently played her first WFTDA sanctioned bout against Emerald City’s Andromedolls. Not only did her team land 135-132 but Mutch Mayhem jammed six times, was lead 100 percent of those and scored twenty-six points.

She was also given the MVP award from the Andromedolls.

It is not an uncommon story. It’s happening more and more as skaters

Nicholas Charest

who played junior derby for three, four and sometimes as much as five years are aging out at eighteen and joining local adult leagues. Leagues that are eighteen and over recognize roller derby as a sport where you get to play as an adult when you become an adult, which is eighteen. They see a fresh young group of skaters who have talent and they don’t want to miss out on that talent for their league. Most leagues that are eighteen and over play special requirements on the girls who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty. Often times they also require previous roller derby experience and coach’s recommendation for the girl to be considered eligible to try out for the league. Once a girl eighteen to twenty is on a league, they also have special restrictions about being caught with alcohol. For example one league removes a skater on her first offense from the league until her twenty-first birthday when she would have to try out again.

The NHL (National Hockey League) requires hockey skaters to be eighteen to play, but can be drafted at seventeen their first year as long as they are eighteen by the time they play in their first game. The NHL has many farm leagues. The NFL (National Football

Joe Rollerfan

League) doesn’t have an age minimum but requires a certain number of years between high school and being drafted.

They want players to attend college and play college football. The NFL does not have farm leagues as other sports and in my opinion uses college ball as their farm leagues. In MLB (Major League Baseball) you can sign a contract at the age of sixteen. They also have many farm leagues, camps and scouts. (One day, will we have roller derby scouts?

I think I may already be one...) The NBA (National Basketball Association) age minimum is nineteen. The NBA is looking to change the age to twenty at the end of the 2011 season to encourage players to attend college and play college basketball. Others sports such as gymnastics, tennis, figure skating and others have a much lower age minimum and for those you can play/compete as a pro at the age of fifteen. (All this info is the most current I can find on the internet, it may be a little off and if so I apologize.) It appears most athletes indeed do turn pro before they are twenty-one. For the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) the requirement is four years out of high school, so roughly twenty-two. They want to encourage women to go to college where they can get an education

Masonite Burn

and play college level basketball. As much as I want to encourage roller girls to go to college, as of yet there are not college roller derby programs. Maybe one day girls can look forward to a roller derby scholarship but until then they go to an adult team, rec leagues or move.

I don’t know anyone who would just wait three years. I also know many roller girls who do attend college and organize their time well. Ima Handful from the Rat City Rollergirls, for example, finished her teaching degree while on Rat City and being a Seattle Derby Brats coach.

As roller derby moves into the mainstream we as skaters and leagues want more and more to be recognized as a sport. We are looking to bring our audiences quality athletes, a game of strategy and an amazing live sporting experience and we’re really going to have to take a look at the reasons not all leagues are eighteen and over, especially WFTDA leagues. It is hard to argue on one hand that you are a legitimate sport who deserves to be recognized as a sport in the media and on the other hand not let someone under the age of twenty-one a chance to play on your league because you are afraid they can’t go to an after party and get drunk or that they might make you feel “old”.

THE FUTURE OF DERBY IS NOW!

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 39

rookie

american history and the art of roller derby Q UA M A S U T R A , H U B C I T Y D E R B Y DA M E S

So, you are interested in playing roller derby and are looking for a team in your area. Your odds of finding one are vastly different depending on location. In the derby world, the western region of the U.S. has more teams per capita while areas in the south have the fewest. In the entire state of Mississippi, there are only five active roller derby teams, out of which two have only recently become WFTDA apprentice leagues. In contrast, in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, there are five full WFTDA teams within roughly an hour radius. What could be the cause of such a difference? While population is a definite factor, there is another that is rather interesting: the traditional views that each region has pertaining to the roles of women. So yes, several hundred years of American histor y can actually raise or lower your chances of playing roller derby... how about that. You might be wondering how such a thing could possibly be: how American history and roller derby could ever really be that connected. But it is the history of each area of the country that has shaped its views on women and the roles they are meant to play in society.

In the southern regions of the United States where roller derby is just starting to catch up with the other regions of the country, the traditionally “southern” views of women are a contributing factor to this lapse. In the majority of the south, it has taken a long time for the role of women to change from what they were pre-Civil War. Women are still viewed as being the ones to stay home and raise kids, support their husbands, and be seen more than heard. Then there’s roller derby: women on roller skates, dressed in hot pants and fishnets, moving at high speeds, knocking each other down and other such violent behavior and try to sell that as a sport. In most areas in the South, it’s rarely seen as anything more than professional wrestling, and while it is okay to watch, it’s certainly not something that young southern ladies should be doing, and it is this view that is holding back derby in the south. This is why some teams have had trouble finding practice and bouting facilities. Teams have even tried to get larger venues through charity events and been approved, only to have that approval revoked upon the mention of the words “roller derby”. Through the tireless effort of the individual local teams, this has slowly started to change. Through charity events, 40 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

public appearances, and demonstrations they are gaining popularity within the community and are earning back a reputation that should have never been tarnished in the first place. So in the south, things are improving.

More and more teams are starting to show up in towns regardless of the size of the population, and those established WFTDA teams in the south central region are starting to step up and take their places in national tournaments. So if the traditional “southern” view of women has slowed the progress of derby in the south, then how might the entirely dissimilar “western” views have affected things differently?

Now, “western” in this case is a very broad region reaching from Texas, the Midwest, and stretching on out to the west coast.

While this is a huge area, it does contain the areas with the highest concentration of derby teams, and some of the best derby leagues in the WFTDA. This area is also marked by the United States western expansion of the late 1800s. This led to a drastically different view of women based solely on necessity.

Moving west, leaving established society to travel to the unsettled areas of the country to build a home, women had to be at least as tough as men. While the men tended fields or cattle, the women had to defend their homes from everything from animals to Indians, which led to a respect of the rights of women much sooner than other regions of the country. In fact, some areas of the Midwest were the first to grant women the right to vote as early as 1869. So this view of a strong woman with a granting of equality at an early stage and then you give them roller derby, you end up with an acceptance that is completely

different than that of the south. While the south clings to the view of the demure, domestic type of woman, the western reception of the strong, independent woman made a perfect recipe for roller derby and for its revival in Austin, Texas.

Last but not least of these regions is the Eastern region with focus on the New York area because, as it’s said, New York City is the capitol of the world. While it is not only home to some of the best derby teams in the country, it is also the jumping off point for the women’s suffrage movement. In fact, the fight for the equality of women began in Waterloo, NY, and soon after to the NY Convention at Seneca Falls.

This mixed with the melting pot that is New York City: people coming from all over for an opportunity to be more than they were yesterday, and you ha ve the perfect recipe for derby greatness.

So there it is. Hundreds of years of women fighting for equality have led to where you are now, and while this doesn’t pertain just to derby, it is an interesting corollary.

Different regions of the United States with vastly different historical views on the roles of women spurred by generations of preconceptions have all taken to the sport of roller derby differently. While some leagues are fighting for every minute of practice, every minute of good press, and every paying customer; others are thriving with the full support of their respective cities and the people in them. Roller Derby is the fastest growing sport on the planet, and it will continue to grow in the face of whatever prejudices, regional or otherwise, lay in its path.

Viva la Roller Derby.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 41

rookie

dos and don’ts of stripes M I L D R E D F I E R C E , S A N TA C R U Z D E R B Y G I R L S

A roller derby referee follows a fine line between enjoyment and insanity. Through months and years of practice, we dive headfirst into a sleuth of adrenaline crazed women, looking for a big hit and a win. That’s a very difficult thing to do; considering our job is to make sure they don’t send a skate to a face or get too out of control. Being a roller derby referee is a respected position and it takes a special set of skills and talents to become one that is recognized for their knowledge and ability. Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran, WFTDA or not, here are five guidelines to becoming a respected and knowledgeable referee. let them play Roller Derby is a high rolling physical sport and the fact is, elbows and forearms happen. Focus on what is important, which is impact. Impact is something you must train your mind and body to react to as it has a direct implication on the game. Remember, some illegal blocks may affect one type of skater, while they may not affect the other. Determine if an illegal block is the cause of the loss of position or has affected the game or if the skater’s lack of skill caused her own demise. Remember, let them play and enforce the rules fairly and with an open mind. master your skating This is a must. All too many times I have seen a variety of referees who are amazing rules lawyers and could probably sweep me under my feet any day with their knowledge, yet fail to learn how to stop and accelerate quickly and effectively. There is no hiding the fact that amazing skating ability will catapult you through the hierarchy of roller derby referees. Being able to skate backwards while watching a pack, being able to hurl yourself in the air to avoid a fallen skater and the ability to weave and dodge your own referees as you chase your jammer down, is vital to becoming a referee. Don’t think that just because you can quote newest rule set that that in itself makes you a good referee. Take some time to have fun with your skating and advance yourself. grab a mentor No matter where you are in your rules and skating skill, always find someone who is better than you. Trust me, they’re out there.

As a referee, you will inevitably build a host of partnerships with

42 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

leagues and other referees. Use this time to network and grow as a person and a referee. A lot of the people you meet come from fairly interesting life paths and those paths have made them the referees they are today. Humble yourself and open yourself to new ideas and concepts. Forget what you know and go to your mentor or soon-to-be mentor and admit to them you don’t know everything and you’d like their help. It’ll go a long way and your mind will be much more open to concepts and ideas if you do so. open your eyes and ears Always seek to improve. Every practice and game should be a learning experience. Focus on one thing at a time and as your skill improves, focus on another and then revisit the old ones. As you grow as a referee, you will learn that learning new things should not mean the sacrifice of old knowledge. This game changes faster than the stock market and, frankly, so does the mentality and strategy. Even after years of experience, referees may forget something as simple as cutting the foremost opposing blockers and call it as a minor, even though track cutting is most likely the first penalty they learned to call. Do they miss it because they don’t recognize or know the rules? Absolutely not, but when the game changes to pack destruction and their eyes are wider than a semi trying to define a pack, the track cut may not be on their mind at the time. Remember to always visit old rules and focus on ways to improve those skill sets. Fiddle around with ideas on how to remember minors on certain blockers or your jammer, doing so will improve your memory and also your ability to call effectively.

When you open your eyes and ears, you open yourself to creativity and creativity is the lifeblood of improvement. Take some time in the next week or even month to refocus on something you believe you have mastered. You’ll probably realize and learn a lot of things your eyes and ears missed a few months before.

NSOs yeses and nos There are only three required skating officials in a roller derby bout, but have you ever considered how many NSOs are required to run an effective bout? Consider the tasks involved in being a non-skating official and how vital those tasks are to your effectively refereeing. NSOs should be respected and shown appreciation, just as you expect to be respected and appreciated.

Nicholas Charest

NSOs are the government to our zebra police force. If their documentation or times are ever off, the game suffers. Always remember they are part of your officiating family. Show them the same respect as you do another zebra. A referee who bends over backwards for his NSOs will soon learn that his NSOs will see that and will give you everything they’ve got.

Remember, the Dos and Don’ts of Refereeing isn’t a set guideline or set of rules, just merely a set of suggestions. This will

change as our sport matures and grows. As a roller derby referee, you’re part of an elite family of men and women who, in my eyes, are the framework of our game. Always remember though, you’re there to officiate and keep the women who play safe. Always remember to keep the game safe and fair, and if you focus on those two things, your career will know no bounds and know no limits. Good luck zebras!

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 43

feature

tiny team, big aspirations PUNCHY O'GUTS, MAINE ROLLER DERBY

The Port Authorities are tiny in number, but their determination and passion fill those gaping holes in the roster.

Charm City cleaned us out (156-52), followed by a full-on ass whooping from Philly (144-17). With these big losses, came the disappointing realization that, yes, we had a lot to learn about the game of roller derby, but without a full team (or at least

I play for and captain a tiny, tiny roller derby team. Yeah, half of them are midgets (standing 5’2” or shorter), but we are tiny because there are just nine of us. The most players we’ve ever had were twelve and that was three years ago.

My team, the Port Authorities, is from Maine and was first sanctioned by WFTDA in 2008. When I emailed our first charter, WFTDA asked if there had been a mistake: “There are only eleven skaters here. Don’t you want to fill the charter?”

“We don’t have skaters to fill the slots,” I wrote back.

“We only have eleven.”

During our first and only winning season, we recruited just one more skater to the team and headed into our second season with a twelve-skater roster and a little too much ambition.

Thinking we were hot shit, we scheduled bouts against the best teams in the East. Boston creamed us (128-24). The next month,

a league with a larger pool of skaters to draw from), we hadn’t a prayer of competing at the level of the highest ranked teams.

I know, I know. It’s not very positive of me. Truth is, we thought we could compete at that level if we trained hard and kept at it. But in four seasons, it’s become painfully evident that we don’t have enough players to compete with the big girls.

Though it’s not very optimistic, the thought is realistic.

So what does the number of players have to do with success? Everything.

Challenge #1: Team practices. With nine players, we don’t even have enough skaters to play one another in a scrimmage.

If we play one down, everyone still has to play every jam against the same skaters. If one to several teammates can’t make practice, it’s impossible to scrimmage without inviting b-teamers to fill in the spots.

Scott Lovejoy

44 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

photos by Scott Lovejoy

Challenge #2: Playing with a team of mixed skill levels. Lining up for a jam and knowing you can’t count on some of your teammates to pull their weight is not exactly comforting. Higherskilled players must overcompensate to make up for those who aren’t up to par. Some strategies or plays have to be dumbed down so everyone can understand and execute them properly.

It takes awareness and a wealth of patience to play and excel under these circumstances.

Challenge #3: Bout lineups. With a team of mixed skill levels, there are two options when writing lineups: write lineups to win or write lineups to give all nine skaters equal playing time.

Because the team wants to win, we write aggressive lineups, which means the best skaters are played as often as possible (60-75% of jams). Blockers play two jams in a row and rest one.

Weaker teammates are sprinkled into jams when the higherskilled skaters are resting with the caveat that no jam will have more than one lesser-skilled skater.

Challenge #4: Away bouts. Many an opportunity is declined because too few skaters are able to travel. If more than two skaters can’t commit to travelling then neither can the team.

Lost opportunities equal less experience, knowledge, and skill.

Challenge #5: We don’t have a coach. We don’t always have a manager (someone to read lineups), either. The burden of self-coaching is on the captains and the team.

Challenge #6: Injuries. The other challenges are manageable until a teammate is injured. Because our best skaters are playing a high percentage of jams in bouts, they are more susceptible to injury. It’s difficult enough writing lineups with so few skaters, let alone writing lineups missing a player. Last April, the Port Authorities played the Boston Massacre without two of our best teammates – one had a broken arm and one was so sick she couldn’t breathe. In that bout, I was on a rotation of playing four jams in a row and our timeouts were scheduled around giving rest to skaters who had t o jam and block back-to-back.

Currently, more than half the team is injured – but not seriously. If the injured skaters rested, and they should, we’d have a team of four. So they don’t take the time off to heal and push through pain for the good of the team. At best, that results in injuries taking much longer to heal. At worst, the injured skater gets seriously hurt, so much so that she is forced to s top skating.

Challenge #7: Retirement. This is the worst one. Having injured teammates is awful, but at least they are still part of the team. When a teammate retires, it’s heartbreaking. It’s like your sister or new best friend moved far away just after you figured out how to make your relationship work. And, from a captain’s standpoint, there’s a gaping hole that needs filled. When several teammates retire, it’s devastating.

At the end of the 2009 season half of the Port Authorities retired. The team was forced to decline our first and only invite to compete at Eastern Regionals because we couldn’t play with only six skaters.

In October of 2009, we lost another teammate to a concussion so severe she couldn’t function in her non-derby life. With just five all-stars, big changes were imperative. There was no choice but to aggressively train the best of our league skaters in hopes they would be ready to compete at the all-star level in March 2010 when we were scheduled to bout Steel City.

With six all-stars, three alternates, two B-teamers and two fresh meat skaters bouting for the first time, we did not have the skill to stand up against Steel City. What we lacked in skill, we made up for in positivity. The five experienced players took pains to make our teammates feel connected. We played games before the bout. We gave inspirational speeches. When we lined up on the track, we told them exactly what to do. They tried their best, but more often than not, they were unable to execute the skills needed. None of the veteran Port Authorities were frustrated with their lack of experience or skill. We lost by 124 points, but went home proud of our team connectedness.

And then we lost another teammate to a concussion. And another one retired right before ECDX 2010. I wanted more than anything to compete there, and I didn’t care if I had to play with four seasoned all-stars and a handful of semi-skilled to fresh meat skaters. I wanted the challenge and experience of playing two bouts in one weekend, win or lose.

With a heaping dose of positivity, the 2010 Port Authorities headed to Philadelphia with hope of winning, but more so with hope of team connectivity and growth. We scored a victory against Dominion (233-50) and held our own against Naptown (losing by four points), which was huge for us. It had taken a full year, but the Port Authorities began to recover from losing half fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 45

feature the team. We were on our way to greatness!

Then our two best jammers retired after ECDX ’10. I was the only original member of the team left and Itsy Bitsy Fighter, who joined the Port Authorities late in 2008, was the only one with more than a season of bouting at the all-star level.

Three of our teammates played in only a fistful of sanctioned bouts and the other three had just skated the wobbles out of their stride. I felt grim about the 2011 season.

The whole dynamic of the team changed and the skill level dropped significantly. Fighter and I could not build on the team’s progress in the last season. The momentum of our individual training halted with the need to spend team practices grooming new teammates. Because the team’s performance was questionable, we had no clue how to schedule the season.

Do we play only new or lower-skilled

with. We’ve played more bouts than ever, and the experience has helped the team improve like never before. We’ve moved up in ranking, from 11 to 9, and were recognized in DNN’s power rankings – momentous accomplishments for us.

And Regionals. We are finally competing! Preparation is bittersweet, as the team, once again, feels the heartbreak of losing three of our best skaters. Polly and Ambush were upfront about their time with us, so we knew they were moving away in July.

Lois Blow’s retirement, though suddenly announced, wasn’t surprising. She was burnt out from the Scott Lovejoy heavy schedule. The departure of these three skaters pangs old wounds.

Teammates have an intensely intimate relationship. Losing that – and losing it repeatedly – never gets easier.

I question if it’s worth all this one-stepforward-two-steps-back, but, after almost five years of playing derby, I finally understand how we, a tiny team - Andrew Carnegie

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

teams? Which opponents would be a good challenge and which would be a blowout?

For the first time, my enthusiasm for the sport dwindled. It felt like my derby career would be a revolving door of teammates with my individual skills progressing at a sluggish pace, and the Port Authorities viewed as an inconsistency of the East. Was it worth it?

Fuck, yes. It’s a disappointing realization that my individual, and the team’s, progress depends on how many skaters we have and how healthy they are, but it doesn’t make me love roller derby any less. The Port Authorities might be riding the short bus, but we can surprise you, too. And good things happen when you need it most.

Along came Polly Gone and Barbara Ambush, transfers from Gotham. I’m sure any team would be ecstatic to receive them, but we couldn’t have needed their skill and experience more.

Fighter and I were rebuilding the team for the 2011 season and we were given two big building blocks of roller derby awesomeness.

The 2011 season has easily been the most rewarding of my career. This collection of Port Authorities have been the most competitive, dedicated athletes I’ve ever had the honor of playing

46 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

from Maine, can remain competitive with the odds stacked against us. It’s simple, really. We must apply all those hard lessons learned as a fresh meat skater: • Never give up • Don’t let your emotions overtake your game • Stay positive and optimistic • Visualize great things • Continue to make goals and strive to complete them • Never stop learning • Be realistic about your skill level • Have patience. If you wait a second, a hole might open up • Trust your teammates As a captain of this undersized, evolving team, I’ve found that patience, positivity, and sometimes a little luck keeps me lacing up the skates when it’s time to rebuild. Like any relationship worth keeping, you have to work hard through both the good and the bad. Learn from the mistakes and take pride in every small success along the way.

Maybe the Port Authorities will never rank in the East’s top five, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying.

Respect your elders.

Cast from a vintage skate key.

CityStreetGems.com Debra@CityStreetGems.com 419/946 8506 Team discounts available.

DFB City Street Gems

feature

rollercon 2011 recap K A L I K AT T, S A N D I E G O D E R B Y D O L L S

What had over 3,000 roller derby skaters, five days, four tracks, three syllables, two genders, one hotel – and probably somewhere a partridge in a pear tree? Duh, RollerCon 2011!

Making history in 2005 as the first gathering of skaters from multiple leagues in modern roller derby, RollerCon continued to make history July 27-31, 2011 in Las Vegas as the world’s largest annual gathering of roller derby skaters. Skaters, refs, announcers and groupies came to skate, train and play in roller derby heaven for five days with the only other people on this planet who truly understand them – other roller derby fanatics.

Somewhere along the way roller derby, and hence RollerCon, went International and continues to attract a plethora of skaters and leagues, not only from all over the United States, but also from Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia. This year there was also a large representation of men skaters, both in the training classes and in the challenge bouts.

For the first time in RollerCon’s history everything was under one roof – or on the roof – at the Riviera. This meant no more famous public Fremont Street bouts. The sacrifice was probably worth it, however, to not have to take the shuttle around Las Vegas in 100 plus degree heat, dragging your skates and your gear, as you go from your hotel room to the Sports Center for registration, then to Fremont Street for your challenge bout, and then back to your hotel room because you forgot your mouth guard on the night stand cluttered with your, and three other skaters’, crap. Back down to wait for the shuttle to return, back to Fremont Street and... you just missed your challenge bout.

Not only was it safer to not have skaters and volunteers strewn all over the desert and the strip, but the proximity of everything allowed attendees to cram in more activities throughout the day. It was perfectly doable to start your day with a 10:30 or 11:00 am class or seminar, watch (or skate in) the full-length lunchtime bout at 12:00, take another class or

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seminar at 1:30 or 2:00, ref (or skate in) a 30 minute challenge bout at 3:00, take another class or seminar at 4:00 or 5:00, and announce (or skate in) the dinnertime bout at 7:00. After that you could stay sweaty and hit another class or seminar at 9:00, or the open black and white scrimmage, until 11:00. By this point rinsing off in the 24 hour pool is quicker than

Masonite Burn

Jules Doyle

the hotel room, where there probably aren’t any clean towels left anyway considering you have three other roommates. Then it’s off to the Queen Victoria pub for late night karaoke, or one of RollerCons’ parties, or to somewhere else on the Las Vegas strip. And then do it all over again the next day. For five days. Now that’s winning.

Last year’s RollerCon boasted three tracks, two mini tracks overlaid on one main track.

This year there was FOUR separate tracks – 3 minis and one main. Each track was named after a living legend of old and modern roller derby; the Lil Iodine and Frankie Macedo tracks representing old school roller derby, and the

Jackie Daniels and Death by Chocolate track representing modern roller derby.

RollerCon Kingpin Ivanna S. Pankin’ explained that Lil Iodine was the inspiration for dedicating the tracks because “She’s been so supportive of our sport. Then when I got to thinking about it, I realized there are a lot of skaters that are still playing that don’t get the kind of credit I’d like to see them get for the hard work they’ve done to build this sport.”

All the typical and historical RollerCon events took place this year. Many rivalries had an opportunity to re-match in the colorful, slightly obscenely named, challenge bouts, including the much anticipated Team Awesome vs. Team Sexy, and Team Vagine Regime vs.

Team Caulksuckers. There were also the quality training classes and seminar sessions, led by all-star skaters and stand out roller derby community members. This year both the announcers and referees ran mentor/mentee programs giving newbies guided, hands on, opportunities to practice their new skill. Skaters could also once again get experience with outside skate parks at the annual RollerCon officially, unofficial vert skate park tour.

Many of the social RollerCon traditions continued this year as well, including The Black and Blue Ball pool party, the derby wedding, and the Vagine Regime scavenger hunt and Pants off Dance off party. The Riedell Pajama Party and the Boones Farm Society party are quickly creeping into this traditional territory as well.

The highlight of RollerCon 2011 was the Sin City Skates presented WFTDA sanctioned bout between the Denver Roller Dolls Mile High Club and the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls All Stars. It was a treat from the derby gods to be a spectator, with skaters from around the world, to some of the best roller derby RollerCon has seen. The derby community crowd was loud, vocal, encouraging and unforgiving as they watched

the showdown. This was a crowd of derby fanatics just like you, and no – in no way in hell was there anywhere else in the world you would rather be (except, of course, on the track).

Adding a little spice to the traditional activities of RollerCon, The Gramercy Refs, a coed team of current and former referees, threw a door decorating contest. It is also suspected they were behind the new Refs 2 U services advertised on baseball sized cards being handed out around the convention. Refs 2 U’s website claims they have “the hottest refs in the dirtiest stripes and they can make any call you want any time you want, all in the privacy of your own hotel room.” A quick payment of $4.99 for the first call, or $.99 for each additional call, gets you the ref of your choice in your room in a short 20 minutes. They claim to call bank, flat and even renegade, and say they have no problem issuing minors. Sounds like fun.

Another first for RollerCon was a tattoo parlor inside the hotel, right at the bottom of the elevator to the hotel rooms, in fact. So basically every time you were coming or going from your room, or stumbling out of the 24 hour pool party – oops – there’s the tattoo parlor again. 3 Lions Tattoo Shop was on hand all weekend to service skaters getting tatted with everything from tiny mustaches on their fingers, to full back pieces of their derby names. Inside the shop, Sin City Rollergirls were selling t-shirts and donating $5 from every shirt sold to the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls, who recently suffered a robbery at gun point. You gotta love the roller derby community and how we pull together to help each other out!

The vendor area was a roller derby skater’s dream with vendors such as Sin City Skates, Riedell, Rude Chix, Wicked, Iron Doll Clothing, Cornish Pixie Crafts, and Fast Skates offering everything from screen printing on your t-shirts to jammer star headbands to sweat suckers that take the stink out of your pads. Basically all the skates, gear, wheels, clothes, radio fanny packs and other roller derby schwag that you see being passed around and showed off on Facebook all the time, were available for purchase.

Derby News Network and Derby Life were also hanging out in the vendor area, kicking back and playing video games in their living

room set up. Aside from their normal streaming of the larger interest games, such as the B.A.D. vs. Denver Roller Dolls game, DNN was also doing an audio-less video webcast of the training on the Frankie Marcedo track, and an

Jules Doyle

Masonite Burn

Amanda Rieker/Wicked Shamrock Photography

Amanda Rieker/Wicked Shamrock Photography

audio-less video webcast with text casting of the training on the Jackie Daniels track.

Did you know last year there were three reported assaults on RollerCon attendees, according to SkateSafe 2011’s website? Well SkateSafe was not going to let that happen

again. Born under the need of safety, they were handing out survival kits including literature, EmergenC packets, caffeine gum, condoms and lube so everyone could play hard, but party smart. SkateSafe was available to help skaters with anything they might need to stay safe throughout the week.

RollerCon 2012 is scheduled for July 25-29 at the Riviera. The planning staff is already working to make next year better than this past year. They have approval from the hotel to extend the Black and Blue ball and to keep the pool open Sunday night. Space has already been reserved for 7-8 tracks. And yes, they are going to work on cutting down the daily tweets, with better ways to communicate raffle prize winners and class changes. But hey it’s your responsibility not to cram so many skaters in one elevator that it breaks down and causes some of the claustrophobic and/or drunk skaters in there to puke on everyone and the hotel has to call the fire department. That did not happen.

The RollerCon track committee also learned that if you are going to lay down sport court on top of sub-floor on top of carpet, you had better screw the sub-floor to the concrete beneath.

Otherwise four hours into the event the subfloor will start coming apart around turn two and turn three. And then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night your track crew will have to work until 2 or 3AM each night re-tearing up the track, then get up early each morning to make a Home Depot run for more supplies, and then rebuild the track each morning before the 10 am action starts; all while patiently waiting for the hotel engineers to respond to the cries for help and screw the sub-floor to the concrete, which finally took place Saturday morning.

Don’t worry, that did not happen, either.

According to Ivanna, it was the track manager, Great Dame, and the other members of the track crew, who are “the unsung heroes of the whole convention!” Ivanna admits that screwing the track down from the beginning is the most important improvement they have identified for next year, but she also made clear that “we’ve got a thousand improvements planned.”

If it gets any better skaters may begin to refuse to return home. Can we just create a RollerCon Commune?

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 51

international

derby in europe C O U RT N E Y DAV I S A K A G R A C E S M E L LY, G E N T G O - G O R O L L E R G I R L S

For most derby players in the U.S. and around the globe, we’ve experienced a consistent level of growth in our leagues as the sport gains credibility and popularity. From the quality of play to the number of skaters trying out each season, the interest in this sport continually surpasses expectations. Every quarter, when new leagues are added to the WFTDA Apprentice Program list, they now come with a flag to indicate which corner of the world they’re from. One only has to look to Europe to see the meteoric rise in teams to know that roller derby is a sport that appeals to the masses.

When I arrived in Belgium from the U.S. in 2007, finding derby was nearly impossible. London and Stuttgart, Germany had just begun forming their leagues the year before but most people had never heard of, let alone seen, the sport of roller derby.

Bette Noir, one of the founding members of LA’s Angel City Derby Girls, as well as the London Rollergirls, is equally impressed. “I have been surprised a bit by just how fast it has taken off over here,” she says. “I can’t believe the number of teams that have sprung up in the past two years. Of course I really shouldn’t be surprised – because why should it be any different here than in the USA?” Today, there are ten European Apprentice Leagues from Paris to Helsinki, with London being the first full-fledged WFTDA member.

Belgium alone went from zero to nine leagues in the past two years and other countries: Holland, France, Germany, and Spain are quickly following suit.

But while the love of the sport is the same, it is the small differences between each country, from language to culture, that raises a potential minefield of issues as each league works to adopt an American sport outside of the country of its origination. Noir does acknowledge some variety between UK and U.S. players. “Girls in the UK are more polite on the track, tend to say ‘sorry’ a lot and do a lot less trash talking.” This minor difference between the playing and derby style of Americans and those across the pond is one of many.

“There are many subtle differences between German and American teams,” adds Risky Biscuit, U.S. soldier and former North Carolina Rogue Rollergirls skater recently relocated to Stuttgart, Germany. “I can tell you about the first thing that stuck out to me was my first day at training (they call it training, not practice); everyone showed up in their regular street clothes and went into a dressing room to change for training. I thought this was so strange!

In the States, we would just show up in our practice clothes, booty shorts, ripped up hose, mismatched socks, and get to work. My girls here just seem to be a little more refined and not so keen on running around town looking like a hot mess. I still do it though!”

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Kay Dee

Most expat skaters in Europe will recognize this anecdote, myself included. Founder of the Gent Go-Go Roller Girls, I’ve learned so much about Flemish culture through my interactions and relationships on the team. We all know the bond of being teammates but combining American and Flemish (or Spanish, Swedish or Swiss) players sometimes has unexpected results. The differences can be minor, like changing at practice, but occasionally a much bigger culture clash can present itself in unexpected ways, such as how people communicate.

Fellow teammate Sandra Buttblock understands and says, “We have a few American players on our team and there is definitely a difference in approach. Flemish people are a bit more reserved.

To us, the over-the-top cheering and empowerment is something we’re not used to. Also, when somebody is explaining something and you have a valid point to add, it is very likely that a Flemish person won’t share it immediately. More common is for this teammate to mention it to the trainer to allow her to explain it to the team. So when the Americans interrupt an explanation with a point that is obvious or not that strong, it’s like ‘yeah ok, so you need to have a little attention now?’

On the other hand, the cultural differences are also very enriching. When you have the tendency to be too modest, you never reach your full potential. So it is very nice to have some people around who push you to be more outgoing and fight for your position in the group. I think it makes us better as a team!”

Learning about and acknowledging these differences are vital for a league to be successful. For most skaters, these minor differences in personality are endearing. Biscuit is happy to report, “I’m told it’s an American thing that I’m too nice, always smiling and so damn positive.” Meanwhile, on my league, I got voted Most Feared at our annual awards ceremony. It can be hard to differentiate between personality and cultural differences sometimes, but either it is this variety that is often enlightening and makes each league unique.

Less unique is a scenario I’ve heard repeated in leagues across the whole of Europe. It began with a strong resistance to our attendance policy. At first I couldn’t understand this. Like many Americans, I played sports growing up. Beginning with t-ball as a toddler and running track in middle school, I continued in high school with lacrosse, volleyball and cheerleading. Imagine my

surprise when I learned that most girls on our team have never played a single sport in their entire lives. The initial dislike of being required to attend practice came from the simple fact that most had never had mandatory practice for any sport, ever. This lack of athletic background reveals itself in a multitude of unexpected ways.

Polly Purgatory, founder of the Stuttgart Valley Rollergirls in Germany says, “A lot of Americans seem to be more competitive.

That is something we do not have as much here. I think it has something to do with the way that they are raised. It starts from day one in school. We do not have debating class or high school sports on a competitive level. Kids in Germany that want to do a sport, do it in their free time.

Noir experienced the same with her league, “Beginner derby girls in the UK often have a bigger hump to get over when it comes to being comfortable with the controlled aggression that derby requires.

I think this is because in the USA girls are more used to playing all sorts of contact sports and having more equality in the sporting world while they grow up.”

Another issue is space and bureaucracy. Amelia Scareheart, a Dirty South Derby Girls transplant now skating and coaching the Paris Rollergirls explains, “The hardest thing to get used to is the lack of training facilities in Paris. We generally have to practice outdoors. I was spoiled in Atlanta with a skating rink about 25 minutes in any direction.”

Her teammate and Paris Rollergirls founding member Psychobillie Holiday adds, “It took a year after we became an official sports association to have access to private indoor space. Even though there’s a gigantic roller skating culture here, there aren’t any roller rinks in France, and they’re rare in Europe. Because of population density and to protect large spaces from being divided up into smaller ones, the government owns the large gymnasiums here in France. PRG has been on the waiting list for these gyms for almost two years now. Other roller sports in Paris have been waiting for four or more.”

Scareheart also acknowledges bureaucracy as a burden in Europe, “It’s a lot harder to get things done here. Just basic things, like opening a league bank account, are much more difficult here than in the U.S. Things take a lot longer and you have to jump through a lot of hoops to make things happen.”

Purgatory has experienced similar headaches, “German

bureaucracy is a pain in the ass. First you have to become a legal and official sports club or you won’t receive practice hours at a public hall. And in Stuttgart, no city owned sports hall allows quad skates. Only privately owned venues would take us and they are expensive. It took us almost three years until we were able to pay a hall. When it comes to founding a sports club or league in Germany, there are guidelines for the legal structure, which can make you go crazy. It took more than two years and many visits to a notary’s office before we received an official registration.”

Despite these variables, there is an overarching respect for the sport and its history. The appeal of derby certainly transcends language and country. Biscuit states, “Derby easily transcends all borders. Of course we have the rules, which stay the same, but there are also derby wives, duct tape, the feeling of giving a sick whip – these are exactly the same no matter where you are. There are still horrible endurance drills that make me want to puke, the fans that love us, and most of us hate slow derby too! I always like to say, ‘derby funk smells the same no matter where you are!’”

It’s not just the good bits that are comparable, as Noir explains, “I love how derby girls always think they are the first ones to ever experience derby drama, or league growing pains, or training techniques. Trust me, another league somewhere Véronique L’heureux else has also experienced that. There is no difference.” She continues, “That’s it. There isn’t a different way we play or do derby at the competitive levels. The game is the game, in the USA or the UK.” Scareheart mirrors this sentiment, “Really, there are more similarities than differences. I feel we are going through many of the same ‘growing pains’ and great first experiences that Atlanta went through when we first started. The goal to raise the awareness of roller derby as a serious sport is the same here in France as in the U.S.” Teammate Holiday confirms what most European derby girls know, “Everyone’s goal is to increase the number of bouts and the level of game play.”

While most European leagues are bemoaning the difficulties of starting leagues and the associated hassles of bureaucracy, venues and occasional cultural clashes, as they strap on their skates, a common vision also unites them. From the south of Spain to the north of Scandinavia, leagues all want to get bigger, better, faster and they’re gunning for you, America.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 53

art and media

“rolling on: a roller derby league survival guide” M E R C Y L E S S , H AV E D E R B Y W I L L T R AV E L / D E R B Y N E W S N E T WO R K / D E R B Y L I F E . C O M

Disclaimer: What separates me from many print book reviewers is that I take no joy in writing a “bad” review. In our fledgling derby community, it is not my intention to step on anyone’s dreams and aspirations. However, I do believe strongly in honesty, especially where a consumer’s hard-earned dollars are concerned.

Full disclosure: I am a partner in a consulting business that consults with roller derby leagues; as well as small and micro businesses on business, organizational structure, games, training, marketing, PR and more. The author of this book contacted me for advice on starting her own derby consulting business in 2009. I expressed my opinion that she had not yet gained enough experience in the sport to sell consulting as a service for pay, and further explained that our business does our best to only charge clients when it is a necessity, instead largely providing clients with free resources to accomplish their goals.

Derby has grown at such an astronomically expansive rate in the last few years that quite a few people are creating a cottage industry in consulting and training newer leagues.

As a consultant, my message to you is “buyer beware.” Always check a person’s credentials and résumé before purchasing services for your league. There are many talented and experienced coaches, trainers and consultants in the market, as well as others who are enthusiastic about the sport, but perhaps not as experienced as they could be.

The book “Rolling On: A Roller Derby League Survival Guide” intends to be a comprehensive guide to establishing and growing a roller derby league. In many cases, it falls short.

At first glance, what makes this book a difficult read is the lack of editing. In business, in order to be perceived as a professional, grammar and spelling are important. I understand that in the digital age I am a bit of a Grandma for expecting good grammar and spelling at all times, but it is especially important when I am reading a book that intends to counsel me on business matters.

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The author’s personal derby experience consists of ten months as a fresh meat skater on a startup Canadian league from June 2009 – March 2010, when she left. She then parlayed her experience into counseling other startup leagues and volunteering to assist CWRDA with new leagues, after giving them a packet of startup information she designed.

Some of the advice is useful to the uninitiated, but experienced derby folks will find little in this book of any use.

Some of the information stated as fact is incorrect, or open to debate. For instance, the description of the role of the pivot and parts of the description of how a game is played.

More dangerous, though, are some of the business recommendations. One of the likely reasons organizations such as the WFTDA have not published guidelines for league

business, is that every league is unique and must serve the needs of its members. To suggest committee structure or form of business for any league is to ignore the possible differences in laws and regulations in different cities, states and countries, not to mention the leagues’ individual goals.

The methods suggested are one way of doing things, but over the last decade, many useful business models and organizational structures have developed for derby leagues.

In many leagues, the era of committees is long gone and has been replaced by more elegant and efficient models that leagues have adapted to their workflow.

The same holds for Flaming Mo’s recommendations on finance and organizing referees – the suggestions are a bit out of date, and are only one way of handling these important league functions. No mention of WFTDA Certification and Training for officials or any other body’s methods of organizing and training referees and officials is made.

League documents is a brief and vague section of the book that doesn’t invent the wheel, but again suggests only one way of doing business. After years of holding leadership positions in two WFTDA leagues as well as the WFTDA Board of Directors, this section doesn’t emphasize seeking legal advice nearly as strongly as it should for my taste.

While the book does refer the reader to one useful resource – the WFTDA website, there is little to no reference to other experienced opinions and online resources for information on basic drills, finding a practice space, or developing league policy (and again, no reference to consulting a lawyer to check the legality of your policies against local or national laws and regulations). No information is included on track dimensions, resources or rules if your league aspires to be anything other than a WFTDA rules, flat-track, women’s roller derby league.

The recommendations for creating teams are dated at best, and again suggest a WFTDA rules mentality. Specifically, this assertion begs the question of safety to anyone who has experience with the comprehensive training of skaters on a new league, “Make sure each team has advanced players, as well as newer ones, so that things come out even.”

Any experienced league will tell you that this mentality during seasons one or two of their league was the cause of several fresh meat and veteran skaters sustaining injury in scrimmage and bouts. It can be a costly mistake that ends derby careers prematurely. There is no substitute for a well thought out training plan for coaching new skaters into readiness for scrimmage and play.

The suggestions for recruiting and fundraising are limited but not terrible. The insistence that recruiting in bars is to be avoided is short-sighted and should be read as one person’s opinion. Without bar recruiting, this sport would not exist. The birth of the first modern roller derby league in Austin, Texas took place in local bars; as did much of its early recruiting, fundraising and organizing.

That the book did not suggest that bouts are a major fundraising source for leagues is a glaring oversight. There are many more creative ways to fundraise beyond the standard little league bake sales, car washes and raffles. In my humble opinion (and watch the film Hell on Wheels on Hulu if you don’t believe me), calendars as a fundraising source should be eliminated from the sport.

The section on bout production is sparse but includes some useful basics. More up-to-date and detailed information can be found by simply Googling “roller derby bout production checklist” or by joining the Roller Derby Productioneers Yahoo! Group.

The book ends with quotes from some veteran and not so veteran derby volunteers and skaters, notably mis-crediting Wonderpance as a skater from Pikes Peak in Seattle, Washington. No other derby resources are given as an appendix to the book.

In summary, my detailed analysis of the contents of this book is intended to warn you to do things the derby way – be resourceful and seek guidance from many sources. Consider where the information comes from and who is providing it. In a DIY culture I hope that derby leagues will conduct their own search for answers before accepting that any one source is one-stop shopping. Especially before spending the very little disposable income that a derby person has on advice.

The methods suggested are one way of doing things, but over the last decade, many useful business models and organizational structures have developed for derby leagues.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 57

art and media

running of the bulls PA S T Ó R DY L A N A K A “ E L C O N S E J E R O ” , P H OTO S B Y J A R E D H OW E RTO N

Have you ever run with the bulls? How about the RollerBulls?

San Fermin in Nueva Orleans, an annual festival in July, is a unique twist on the famed bull runs of Pamplona, substituting the bulls with roller girls wielding plastic bats.

This year, the fifth annual run saw close to 15,000 participants, including over 400 RollerBulls from 27 different leagues across the country and Canada in hot pursuit!

The organizers of the festival, all New Orleans natives and known affectionately as the Pastores, created the inaugural event in 2007. With 14 RollerBulls participating from New Orleans' own Big Easy Roller Girls league, they didn't know if anyone would show up at 8:00 am to run. They had no permit, no website, not even a Facebook page.

But by 7:30 am there were close to 200 people crowded in and outside of a bar in the famed French Quarter neighborhood.

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They were all decked out in the traditional Pamplonese attire: white clothes with red about the neck and waist, quaffing down sangria and beer, and anxiously awaiting a potential "goring" from a RollerBull. Shortly before 8:00 am a brief prayer to St. Fermin was offered, and the runners took off. At precisely 8:00 am a horn was sounded, 14 RollerBulls took off in pursuit, and a new tradition was born.

Since that fateful year, the festival has grown into a four-day celebration of roller derby, sangria, Spain, Pamplona, New Orleans and more. It now features a Spanish wine dinner, a Pre-party on Friday night (El Txupinazo), the bull run (Encierro), a Pants Party (La Fiesta de Pantalones), and concludes with a tapas brunch and Hemingway contest on Sunday (El Pobre de Mí).

For more info: nolabulls.com.

Lindsay Pierce, Denver Post

Lindsay Pierce, Denver Post

Lindsay Pierce, Denver Post

Stephen Cummings

New Orleans wasn’t the only place to have fun. This year, Denver had their first annual Running of the Bulls to benefit the Tennyson Center for Children.

Nearly 200 people showed up in red and white for a 1K run. They tried to escape the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, who skated down the street to hit runners with foam bats.

While the numbers were no comparison to New Orleans, the turnout was perfect for a first year event. highlandbulls.com

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 59

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fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2011 | 63

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horoscopes P R OV I D E D B Y Y O U R D E R B Y P S Y C H I C , K Y L I E O F BA C K L A S H , D E TO U R D E R B Y

LEO

AQUARIUS

July 23-August 22

January 20-February 19

How exciting to find yourself on a new path in life!

Despite your nervousness you are ready for the challenges that will come up. Trust in yourself and in the skills you bring to the table. Keep your mind open to the teachings of others. It’s always helpful to get a new perspective even if it’s not the way you prefer to do things.

Call it an overabundance of energy; call it hyperactivity – all you know is the desire to get involved with every aspect of the league is very strong. There are so many projects you know you could complete if only they’d let you take over! Your heart is in the right place; it’s your focus that is missing. Pick one thing you know you are good at – the tasks involved will offer many opportunities to show off your cleverness.

VIRGO August 23-September 22

Even though you thrive when bringing order to everything around you, not everyone wants their problems solved for them. When friends come to you for advice, set aside your emotions and listen with an open and clear mind. Your support is more important to them than any solution or judgment you could offer.

LIBRA September 23-October 23

You have let a few people plant doubt in your mind about your plans for the future. Stop listening to their condescending comments and stop making excuses for your failures. You know in your heart what you want to do. You also know what needs to be done to get there.

Now go do it.

SCORPIO October 24-November 22

PISCES February 20-March 20

The change of seasons has helped clear the cobwebs from your mind. For the first time in a long time you feel in control of your life and future. There has never been a better time to step up and lead. Your peers trust your insights and know you are devoted to the best interests of the league.

ARIES March 21-April 19

Your inner warrior keeps rising to the surface.

Aggression may come easy to you, but it’s the wise warrior that knows, some days, it is best to err on the side of stillness and observation rather than action without thought.

TA U R U S

You’ve been involved with this awesome sport for a long time. Your family and friends thought you’d outgrow it, but honestly, true love lasts forever! No matter what life hands you, it’s made that much better because of roller derby. You need this wild and wonderful tribe as much as they need you. Don’t forget to enjoy and appreciate this amazing time in your life.

You’ve done a lot in the past few months. Pushing yourself too hard and too long both physically and mentally has caused your spirit to weaken. It’s time to take a break. Your first priority right now is you. Take care of your basic needs and feel no guilt for telling those demanding more of your time, “no.”

S A G I T TA R I U S

GEMINI

November 23-December 21

The chaos around you has become deafening. Resist the urge to get involved. With emotions running this high you’ll say things you don’t really mean. Stop, take a breath, and detach yourself from the noise. The respite will bring new insights for options you never considered before.

CAPRICORN

April 20-May 20

May 21-June 20

So much talk going on around you and not much action. While Gemini has never been known to be the most forceful or the quickest decision maker, it’s time for you to make a choice. By keeping the facts of the problem in the forefront of your mind and leaving emotions out of the equation you’ll have a decision made in no time.

December 22-January 19

CANCER

Being underappreciated never feels good, especially when you’ve put in a lot of time and energy to help the league move forward. Back off and let others step up and do some work. While you still need to fulfill your obligations to the league and team, now is the time to push yourself and get past that skating proficiency plateau that has been frustrating you for months.

June 21-July 22

68 | Fall 2011 | fiveonfivemag.com

You should be commended for your never-ending positive attitude. It is helping to keep the team on track even when major differences threaten group harmony.

Your work and encouragement in keeping the lines of communication open between everyone is beneficial to all.

Torch With the all-new Riedell Torch we believe more is better. More perfect fits through an all-new Model 495 boot that is stocked in two different widths. More comfort through a premium leather lining treated for moisture-resistance and our Ankle Closure System (ACS) that secures your foot in place. More weight-reduction through the use of a PowerDyne Revenge plate constructed from extruded aluminum and Radar Tile Biter wheels featuring a Cavity Back™ hub.

Most importantly, the Torch offers more performance through an efficient skate design meant to keep you focused on the track.

BOOT: 495 Black PLATE: PowerDyne Revenge Aluminum WHEELS: Radar Tile Biter 37mm Orange BEARINGS: KwiK Swiss Nitride TOE STOP: PD Round Black SIZE: 4-13 Full & Half – B/AA + D/B

Model 495 • Stocked and available in our “Gamma” D/B last and our new, narrower “Delta” B/AA last. Only quad speed boot stocked in multiple widths.

• Premium Chinook full grain leather lining is specially treated for moisture resistance to the salts and acids in sweat.

• New Ankle Closure System (ACS) comfortably and securely wraps around your ankle to reduce heel-slippage.

• Charged 1/2” genuine Shearling tongue lining backed with sponge padding offers premium comfort and protection from lace bite.

• Riedell HF-5 heat moldable reinforcements located in the outside quarter of the right boot offer long-lasting support.

• Hand-rolled collar provides a soft and gentle surface where boot meets foot.

• U-shaped tongue design contours to the natural shape of the foot.

Riedell Skates is proud to be the official skate of the WFTDA.

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