fiveonfive | issue 30 | Winter 2015

WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK ROLLER DERBY MAGAZINE ISSUE 30, WINTER 2015

proud partner of the WFTDA

fiveonfivemag.com

fiveonfive contents 34-35

4-5 advice ask ms d’fiant and suzy hotrod!

WFTDA After years of planning, the WFTDA and JFTDA form an official relationship to help foster the sport at all levels.

6-9 business bylaws: how to begin the process selecting a merchandise vendor

10-15 16-26

Joe Mac

health and fitness high tech fitness shoulder injury/rehab

games and coaching 2015 WFTDA championships recap the three c’s of feedback how to use the cup matrix

42-43 why officiate?

Standard Steviation reaches out to roller derby officials from around the globe to find out what motivates them to don the stripes.

30-33 gear tools, part two

38-39

junior derby how to start a junior league

48-49 team structure

40-41 rookie 42-45

officiating why officiate? transitioning from skater to official

54-57 international derby 58-59 art and media

Brangwyn “GI Jones” Photography

focus on fresh meat

Leagues across the country and around the world embrace various structures – home teams, A/B teams, and combinations of the two. There are many factors to consider before you determine which team structure is right for your league.

editor miss jane redrum fort wayne derby girls copy editor and content manager vera n. sayne rocky mountain rollergirls art director assaultin’ pepa rocky mountain rollergirls contributing writers ms d’fiant angel city derby girls

from the editor Welcome to the 30th issue of fiveonfive!

Another action-packed WFTDA tournament season has come and gone, but this time we have something we haven’t had in many years... a NEW world champion, The Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice. What an amazing final bout to this year’s season. As the final seconds counted

suzy hotrod gotham girls roller derby

down, I was literally holding my breath as I watched history in the making.

sarge john (jack) culhane cajun roller girls

Congratulations to both teams for a phenomenal competition. Once again,

bob noxious mad rollin’ dolls brown paper tickets

I was stuck at home and couldn’t attend the Championship Tournament,

fiona grapple rocky mountain rollergirls

forward for our sport. Hats off to WFTDA and all of its member leagues for

catholic cruel girl rocky mountain rollergirls

continually pushing the game forward. I think this tournament season was

dr. bob LA derby dolls justice feelgood marshall windy city rollers punchy o’guts resurgam roller derby

but wow, was that ESPN3 stream nice or what? What an amazing step

the best to date, featuring some of the most intense bouts I’ve ever seen.

For a full recap of Champs, check out Justice Feelgood Marshall’s recap beginning on page 16.

Though I am no longer skating, my heart will always remain with this

old xchool north coast roller derby

sport, and I cannot wait to see how it continues to evolve in the years to

jennifer savaglio aka la petite mort fast girl skates

come. The sport came into my life exactly ten years ago and has given me

kosher assault wftda junior committee betty ford galaxy rainier roller girls

so much. Five years ago, I hung up my skates, but continued to remain connected through my role at fiveonfive, and for that, I cannot thank Assaultin’ Pepa and the team here enough for the opportunity. With that

smash tank daytona, florida

said, I am expecting my first child this spring, so it’s time for me to put

standard steviation lansing derby vixens

away my pen to embark on the next great adventure, parenthood.

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The spring issue will be my last as editor of this fine publication.

That means we are looking for a new editor. Could it be you? Do you love

andi struction vancouver, BC

roller derby? Are you a fan of the red pen? Do you consider yourself

sinead garry leeds roller dolls

a grammar nerd? Send us an email at editor@fiveonfivemag.com.

teqkillia windy city rollers

In the meantime, is there a topic you want us to cover? Do you want to

cover photo nicolas charest nicolascharest.com fiveonfive magazine info@fiveonfivemag.com facebook.com/fiveonfive fiveonfivemag.com The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributing writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of fiveonfive magazine.

become a contributing writer? Email us at content@fiveonfivemag.com.

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.

Sarge John (Jack) Culhane Sarge (John Culhane, Cajun Roller Girls) is a transplanted Yankee from New York, finally settling in Cajun Country (Houma, LA). He has been actively involved in derby since 2008 either as a fan or ref.

Starting as a derby referee at the age of 50 proved the saying, “you are never too old to start something new.” Sarge is semi-retired as a ref, with the thought of return always on his mind. Never say never. He continues to be one of CRG’s biggest fans, always looking forward to that next game.

Bob Noxious Bob is a “doer” for Brown Paper Tickets, and he has a business blog series that can be found at community.brownpapertickets.com/wp/category/roller-derby Bob has also developed a series of classroom sessions dedicated to the business of roller derby.

He’s presented them at conventions and conferences in the U.S. and Europe. If you have an event where better business practice interest you, contact Bob at bob@brownpapertickets.com for topics or topics you’d like developed.

Jim Dier

Justice Feelgood Marshall

Standard Steviation

Tracy Williams (“Justice Feelgood Marshall”) has been involved in roller derby since 2005 as a referee, player, coach, announcer and writer.

From 2007 to 2012, he served as the founding editor of DerbyNewsNetwork.com. In 2007, he also founded one of the first modern men’s teams in Baltimore’s Harm City Homicide and helped launch the Men’s Roller Derby Association. Currently he lives in Chicago, Illinois, and serves as a bench coach for the Windy City Rollers All-Stars and WCR home team Manic Attackers.

Standard Steviation is the Head Ref for the Lansing Derby Vixens, Lansing, Michigan. He has now been an official three years and is learning more every day.

Trouble in Karadise Trouble in Karadise has been officiating for four out of her five years in derby. A Hoosier by heart, she currently resides in Nebraska (Go Huskers!). She has a keen interest in the study of leadership, which is why she dove into the time-vacuum of pursuing a Ph.D. on the subject while working full time in higher education.

She fills her copious free time with all things roller derby alongside her favorite skater, 911.

Suzy Hotrod

Ms D’Fiant

Gotham Girls Roller Derby New York, NY

Angel City Derby Girls Los Angeles, CA

dear blocker and jammer, I have hit a plateau. My skating abilities seem to have been stagnant for the past six months or so. I go to two to three practices a week and am getting discouraged because I feel like I am not getting any better. Is there anything I can do to get out of this funk, or do I just have to realize that I am going to be a mediocre derby skater?

-PATTY PLATEAU

dear pp, Every athlete goes through different waves of progress. Getting in a funk is frustrating but it is going to happen. Progressing past a plateau requires self discipline and determination. You need to be your own coach and not be satisfied with where you are. You need to gauge yourself against yourself. What is it that you are not improving? It is important to study other players that are stronger than you at a skill and practice to develop that skill. Then you must gauge yourself against yourself in how well you improve in learning that skill. It has nothing to do with being like the other skater who jams so great, it’s about seeing what skills that jammer uses and then trying to practice those things and make a stronger version of you.

Have you honestly watched yourself playing roller derby? I am amazed at how many people do not actually watch footage of themselves, and it is really important to understand how you play the game, by stepping outside of the moment and watching from another angle. Watching footage has always helped me immediately identify what it is I do that is not successful. It is a challenge to undo those ways. I’ve never really been successful at changing them. But I do find myself at practice slowing down enough to remember to tell myself, “Stop doing that thing you always do in the footage!”

Off skates you can set and achieve physical fitness goals.

Those are quantifiable. You train yourself to increase reps or weight. You become fitter. I’m not a roller derby rocket scientist, but everyone benefits on the track from excellent fitness off the track.

Roller derby progress is difficult to measure. There are so many factors that contribute to one jam. I recommend focusing on skill development. Each skill is in there contributing to a successful jam. Don’t ever be satisfied with yourself. There is always something that can be improved. If you ever get to a point that you believe you cannot get any better at anything in roller derby, it’s not your skating that has plateaued it’s your drive and ambition.

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dear pp, Never accept mediocrity! There are a number of things you can do to break through a plateau. Most of these don’t actually have to do with skating but re-evaluating your lifestyle and perspective.

But, of course, first: Skate, Skate, Skate – Go to skate camps, skate with other leagues, get out into the wild. Go to RollerCon and don’t drink.

In my personal journey, a big turning point for my development as a skater had to do with going outside my league. Of course, this does require the finances, but be smart about it. Look for camps where you want to visit friends/relatives. There are a ton of choices out there.

Also, don’t skate – Make sure your off-skates time is as consistent and strong as your on-skates time. Go to the gym, lift weights, buy one of those agility ladders and work on quick feet at home. Your body needs to be strong, specifically in fast-twitch training (though you need the slow-twitch too), so I’d recommend doing some research and make sure your gym time is put to good use.

EAT, like a lot – One of the biggest surprises I still find are roller girls that don’t eat enough. New transfers to our league find themselves fatigued very quickly given our intense cross-training regimen. You are asking a lot of your body, fuel it. I’m not going to make specific nutrition recommendations, you can find them online, but basically, eat all day. Snack often on good, high quality food. On any given day I have a few hard-boiled eggs, almond packets, and protein bars in my backpack.

Sleep as much as possible! Recent studies are showing that sleep is extremely valuable to our mental and physical performance. The National Institute of Health recommends 7-8 hours of sleep a night for adults. Make that a goal.

Drink all the water. Enough said.

And lastly, take it easy on yourself. There’s more to life than being the best player on the track. Enjoy the journey, be a good teammate, take care of your body and worry less about your skill level. It’ll all come together naturally.

dear blocker and jammer, Any ideas on how to show appreciation to each other when everyone feels underappreciated?

-CHEERING SQUAD

dear cs, Yes after countless hours of beating the crap out of each other, morale can be a little low when everyone starts feeling like punching bags. Now I am the first to admit, I have poked fun at “forced fun” because it’s hard to get hyper competitive people off the track and doing something social.

Once you’ve done all that practicing, you just really want to not see those people for a while! But that stuff really does work. It’s important for the team to get together socially to build a strong base to avoid under appreciation in general. You can watch footage, have a team dinner, or have a picnic. Make sure to plan it very clearly in advance so that everyone can make it. Poor attendance at those events can take morale down lower. Many of the home teams in Gotham have team dinners the night before all of our games. Make it a tradition. Each home team in my league has their own thing when it comes to bonding events. That makes it special and your own.

Physical writing! I have received little note cards from my teammates where everyone wrote down something encouraging to me. It’s simple and it means a lot. Same thing as the get-togethers, make sure there’s enough time to do the cards. We’ve scrambled a bit to do them in the locker room minutes before games start and that’s cutting it a little close to take a nice moment to think about the strengths of your teammate to write down. Plan it in advance and have enough pens on hand so everyone can be writing. Written words are special because they are tangible in your hand without looking at a computer or phone. Verbal things can be forgotten, but written words have staying power and a nostalgic factor. When traveling with the All Stars, the captains write out these cards for the skaters and slip them under our doors at night.

When your teammate does something great, actually take the time to tell them it was great. The best time to say it and have it stick is after the practice is over, when you can have a moment with your teammate away from the action and remind her of what she did that day that was so great. It sticks better than a compliment in the heat of the moment. Those are so quickly lost.

If you’re on a travel team competing for roster spots, it’s hard to give those compliments because you’re in constant competition, but you need to get over that dark competitive feeling and remember to support your teammates. If you’re on a home team where every skater is getting a roster spot, the more experienced skaters need to make sure to say encouraging things to the newer skaters.

A lot of this is more team bonding ideas, but a good team bond helps promote a culture where each member feels appreciated. Aside from those ideas, the best advice I can give is to just verbally communicate.

Make sure to actually tell people you appreciate them. A lot of times we think it’s obvious or understood that we appreciate our teammates, but when was the last time we verbally told them that?

dear cs, Here’s a class answer for you. Solve this problem like any other we encounter in roller derby – Make a committee!

Okay, that sounds like a joke, but I’m being completely serious. That’s exactly what Octane Jane did at Angel City Derby Girls. I wouldn’t say morale was a problem in the league at the time, (been there and never want to go back) but there wasn’t an extended sense of excitement about being a part of the league.

Fact is, with our real jobs, practice, league volunteer hours, events, etc. we all start to get a little burned out. Our initial excitement about how awesome roller derby is and our rad community starts to fade after one, two, ten (!!!) years. So rather than expect the people running your league to maintain the positive morale and appreciation, actually turn around and make it someone’s job.

At ACDG, we call them the Angel Ambassadors. Octane Jane noticed at her job that they make a concerted effort to make their workplace an awesome place to be and she decided to make a committee in the same vein at ACDG. Unbridled enthusiasm about being a member of a great league, member recognition and taking the time to do cool things that don’t necessarily involve skates – that’s what this committee does.

Quick story – for years, ACDG management would have a working weekend, and every year, we promised this would be the year we have Officials Appreciation Day. Spoiler alert, it never happened. Until there were Angel Ambassadors, that is.

Rather than expecting our existing overburdened management to try and put together the event, the Ambassadors took it and made it way better than imagined. There’s a fun, very officials positive scrimmage where you might hear, “great call, ref” as a skater heads to the penalty box, followed by skaters washing the Officiating staff’s cars while they drink beers. It’s a great bonding moment for skaters and officials in the league.

Other example events have been: organizing karaoke, trampoline park excursion, hikes, etc. Aside from Events, there’s also member recognition every month. The Ambassadors reach out to the league to get nominations for who went above and beyond recently and posts about them on a billboard at our practice space.

Roller derby is fun and people in roller derby are also fun, but that doesn’t by default make a great positive space.

Creating the environment that people enjoy and feel appreciated takes effort and direction. Find the people enthusiastic to do this work and make it their job.

need advice? email advice@fiveonfivemag.com fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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bylaws: how to begin the process SARGE JOHN (JACK) CULHANE, CAJUN ROLLER GIRLS

Not long after a new derby league is organized, a term may pop up that is unfamiliar to the leaders of the new team – and that word is bylaws. This can be an intimidating term for those who have never run into it before. But writing your organization’s bylaws can be very easy if you follow a few guidelines to get started. what to take into account before writing your bylaws Organizations of all sizes create bylaws as a way to put into print the guidelines that the group is going to follow throughout its existence. organize first...

In most cases, the founding group of an organization is the people that come together to form the bylaws.

After a leader is chosen or the role is assumed, usually known as the president of the organization, the first order of business should be to organize a meeting to create bylaws. This can be done with a bylaw committee. The starting group should discuss what they wish to accomplish as an organization and write down their goals and the rules they want to follow to assure smooth operation of the organization. where do I even start?

The organization needs to figure out who the main players are.

At a minimum, the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary

Winter 2015 | fiveonfivemag.com

and Treasurer should be created.

As the organization grows and needs are identified, additional positions can be created as needed, usually in the form of additional officers, such as 2nd Vice President or Board Members.

Once the positions are assigned, the group should decide how often they will meet and what kinds of rules they will follow at meetings. Then your group may start creating your committees to get things done.

The starting group should discuss what they wish to accomplish as an organization and write down their goals and the rules they want to follow to assure smooth operation of the organization.

I know nothing about bylaws The first thing to investigate is if anyone in your organization has been involved in a group that has utilized bylaws before. This could be anything from a business to a PTA organization to a volunteer fire department.

Somebody who has been a president of an organization is a good start.

Or somebody who has worked in a legal office for an attorney as an example. If nobody from your group has this type of experience, find somebody from a similar type organization. Most people will be glad to help you if you just ask them. Start with a nearby derby league or consult with your liaison derby team. It would be best to seek a derby league that has similar membership and demographic details.

For example, a small city group would not necessarily look at a Houston Derby’s bylaws to begin, although it might help to see where you might be down the road.

Another possibility is looking at a Parliamentarian site.

Parliamentarians are people

who study the rules of order of organizations and know the ins and outs of proper conduct, including bylaws. You may hire a professional person to help you construct your bylaws, especially if the word “bylaw” is foreign to everyone in your organization. Parliamentarians can be found at these sites – National Association of Parliamentarians parliamentarians.org or The American Institute of Parliamentarians aipparl.org If you have no people resources to utilize at this point, or if you need further guidance, your group can consult Roberts Rules of Order (Revised Edition), which is available at most book outlets. There is a section in the book that is dedicated to bylaws.

Your beginning bylaws do not need to be complicated, but should include: Your purpose for existence, your

structure of officers, such as President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, mentioned above, and perhaps Board Members to supplement with the discussions and activities your group will encounter. You may also decide to collect dues or participate in fund raisers to raise money for your group.

Any of these startup issues can be included in your first set of bylaws.

You may also want to include rules in your bylaws at this time to ensure the organization is run fairly.

WFTDA is one organization that requires a league to be run in a democratic way. Bylaws set these guidelines. This encourages equal participation in the organization.

These rules ensure that an opinion in the minority view will be allowed.

This is mainly to prevent one small group from controlling the whole organization.

The other thing to remember about bylaws is that they can and should be amended from time to time. As an organization grows, situations change and the bylaws may need to be adjusted to facilitate these changes.

Bylaws help define what your organization does and what rules you will follow to keep order and structure at the meetings you will inevitably have to keep your league moving forward. Remember to keep it simple when you first start. Too many restrictions can hinder your organization in the future. The goal of a good set of bylaws is to create a foundation of rules that the team must legally adhere to and yet be flexible enough to guide the organization when grey areas pop up. Experience is the key here. Just remember help is easy to find and you and your team will be on the way to succeed.H

Your beginning bylaws do not need to be complicated, but should include: Your purpose for existence, your structure of officers, such as President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, and perhaps Board Members to supplement with the discussions and activities your group will encounter. fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

selecting a merchandise vendor B O B N O X I O U S, M A D R O L L I N D O L L S, B R O W N P A P E R T I C K E T S

Whenever someone tells me that there’s no money in merchandise, I want to scream.

Merchandise programs can become your league’s greatest return on investment, especially once your merchandise program is established. there is money in merchandise Two examples that speak to the value of merchandise sales: • Bands make their name on the road. Most will tell you it is merchandise sales, not a cut of the door sales, that support their ramen-noodle habit and van.

• My son loved watching the monster truck TV series, “Monster Jam.” One episode, Dennis Anderson, owner of the iconic Grave Digger, made a prolific statement about merchandise sales. In his early years, he ran the truck until it was wrecked, “to get the most out of merchandise sales.”

That’s right, he traveled the country destroying expensive trucks to boost merch sales.

Roller derby merch has the same potential.

Though there are many types of merchandise you can sell, clothing will draw your greatest sales and profit. T-shirts are critical to any merch program. They are relatively inexpensive to make and can generate a strong profit.

Your relationship with your clothing producer is a critical one that’s reliant on trust, so be choosy when it comes to your vendor. choose vendors wisely The three factors to be aware of when choosing a vendor are reliability, the cost of goods, and the quality of their work. Too often, leagues have merch problems from making a poor choice of vendors. Many leagues are offered great deals from startup print shops, a leaguemate’s friend, or even someone within the league.

What could possibly go wrong? reliability You get a great deal. At first, your orders may not have time sensitivity. Especially if it’s off-season or the league is in early stages. But when you need inventory by a certain date and it doesn’t show up, it’s a big problem.

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If you are out of sizes or styles, those are lost sales. How could this happen? More than likely, they’ve offered this same killer deal (undercutting the price of other printers) to a number of others. The print shop is looking to build its clientele. The general concept of creating printed t-shirts is not difficult, but bulk printing is. Problems arise when the printer takes on more work than they have staff, equipment or time. For some shops, it isn’t a full-time business; it’s a hobby. how to sniff out an unreliable vendor Ask to tour their shop prior to committing your business.

If they keep stalling, they don’t have a shop. They have limited equipment (potentially homemade) in a corner of a basement or garage. One or two screen presses won’t keep you stocked, especially once there are other customers.

If they made their own screen printers (fairly easy), the turnaround time on each piece will be a killer. If a tour of the shop shows you professional equipment for creating screens, printing bulk shirts, advanced drying equipment, heat presses, CAD cutters (printers that cut a vinyl material) and the like, you’re working with professionals.

Don’t be afraid to look into larger companies. When I had my own t-shirt company, all of my screen printing was done by a large facility contracted by the likes of Nike and Reebok. Yes, my orders were squeezed between large corporate ones, but done with consistent quality, available as promised and often less expensive than if done in smaller shops.

Remember, league money needs to be held tightly. Spend it cautiously, especially early on and know that every dollar spent needs to earn more dollars. Choosing the right shirt printer is a vital first step.

Remember, league money needs to be held tightly. Spend it cautiously, especially early on and know that every dollar spent needs to earn more dollars. Choosing the right shirt printer is a vital first step. what’s a “good” deal?

There are two ways to maximize the contributions of your merch program – find the right selling price and keep costs low. Your goal is to make quality merch at the lowest price possible. Clothing printers will provide you with shirts and do the printing.

They buy the t-shirts at wholesale prices and mark the price up. If you’re told blank t-shirts are $4, work on driving that price down. Let me arm you with reality. A quality, men’s black tee, at wholesale price, is no more than $2.50. It’s also not uncommon for wholesalers to run specials for under $2.

My goal was to create a final product for $6 maximum and sell at $15, which is an acceptable price for fans. For my own company, however, I bought shirts at wholesale and either applied the print myself or sent them to my screen printer to use. Some printers will not allow this, some will – they have to make money too.

But if your single color tees are running $8 to make, force them to bargain or walk away.

You hold the cards in this decision. Don’t let them pressure you into a cost that is too high.

hand clearly through the cotton, don’t use them. It indicates poor quality. The shirt will shrink drastically and the print will chip in a short period of time.

As you will learn, start easy with safe bets on merch and slowly build as the demand rises. Begin with t-shirts only; one or two styles with a decent stock of sizes.

Upcoming blog posts will explain building an inventory plan, projecting merch needs and the kinds of merchandise that are risky or not worth the return.H See more of Bob’s business blog series at community.brownpapertickets.com/wp/category/roller-derby.

how to test merchandise quality T-shirts don’t have to be anything special, but they should be quality. Gildan is just one example, but a very popular choice for good reason. Gildan is popular because it’s a reasonable product for the quality. They make a sturdy 5.1 oz. cotton tee and provide them in men’s, women’s, and children sizes.

When choosing a t-shirt vendor, ask for a sample. Put your hand inside the shirt. If you can see your

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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high tech fitness F I O N A G R A P P L E , R O C K Y M O U N TA I N R O L L E R G I R L S

Derby fitness has come a long way since the days of strapping on your skates and just going to practice. Many skaters cross-train extensively; lifting weights, doing interval training, swimming, running and more. While it’s great to just get the time at the gym in, there are lots of good products on the market to help monitor your fitness and make sure you’re performing to your peak ability. (Or give you a little motivation to get there!)

I tested three different types of fitness monitors. From the very advanced FitBit to the Polar heart rate monitor and the Omron watch.

Each of these had features I liked and didn’t like, and this article will touch on that. There are MANY different types of monitors that can be purchased, and these represent a small portion of those. With a little bit of research any skater can find one to meet their needs and budget.

Polar FT4 Watch and Heart Rate Monitor Cost: Between $49.99-$79.99 This watch and heart rate band come in a variety of colors. There are three parts: The watch itself, the chest strap, and the heart rate monitor that snaps on to the strap.

The Polar FT4 has a large display that allows you to toggle through the time, date, heart rate and calories burned. Prior to using the watch, there is an initial setup where the user enters their age, height and weight so the watch can calculate calories burned during a workout. When you are beginning a workout, you simply press the corresponding buttons on the side of the watch to begin monitoring your heart rate. The watch can be worn alone at all times, and the strap can be used during exercise.

The Good: This is my go-to item when I’m training. It provides a quick, accurate reading of my heart rate at the click of a button. The chest strap is very comfortable and doesn’t slip or slide during a hard workout. The monitor itself is super-durable and sustained hits while I was skating with no damage.

The Not-So-Good: My biggest complaint is the battery life. I only had this a few months and the battery in the watch AND the monitor both died. When skating there still wasn’t a great place to put it (not the watch’s fault, we don’t normally have pockets when we play derby) and I finally settled on clipping it to my tank top strap and kind of tucking it in my shirt. Honestly I only used it when skating a few times just to get an idea of where my heart rate was during practice and scrimmage.

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FitBit Flex Wireless Activity Wristband Cost: Between $75.00-$99.00 This is by far one of the most popular items on the market. The Flex allows you to track sleep, steps, distance walked, calories and activity level. It’s a small rubber wristband with a removable tracker (for charging) that comes in a variety of colors and patterns. It’s water resistant and is designed to be worn all day and night. The Flex communicates with an app that is downloaded to your phone. It has four blinking lights on the band that come on one by one as you progress through your day. Once you hit your goal (established when you are setting up the app) of 10,000 steps or more, all four lights come on and it vibrates.

Progress can be quickly checked throughout the day by tapping the band to see how many lights come on, or you can click the app to update your information. The application also communicates with many different Smartphone applications such as My Fitness Pal (an online food tracker). The FitBit app syncs with these other phone apps and will take into account your calories and fitness level. This is helpful if you’re trying to gain, lose or just maintain weight.

The Good: I love this thing. I liked how it provided an ongoing, progressive stream of information.

It definitely motivated me to get more activity in if I saw that my steps were low for a particular day. It was comfortable to wear and after a day or two I forgot I had it on. The battery life was great, taking 4-5 days before it needed a charge. I track my food and the fact that it syncs with other apps made it easy to see if I was burning more or less calories as opposed to what I was eating.

You can log your workouts and it allows you to set goals, challenge friends and view graphs that can help determine specific patterns of behavior.

The Not-So-Good: I had a hard time getting the Flex to stay on when I was actually playing derby. It was uncomfortable under my wrist guard, and if I moved it up my arm it wasn’t as accurately tracking my activity AND it got ripped off pretty easily. Eventually I just settled on being a little uncomfortable for the sake of accuracy. Also, the Flex does not display your heart rate. It tracks it, but you are not able to click on something and see what your rate is at that time. For aerobic and anaerobic training, I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t glance down and see what my heart rate was. FitBit makes other bands that do monitor heart rate but they are more expensive.

Omron HR210 Heart Rate Watch Monitor Cost: Between $25.99-$29.99 The Omron HR210 is a very basic watch-only heart rate monitor. It has a large digital display and toggles to change modes. To begin a workout, you press a button on the side of the watch and it will begin heart rate monitoring mode. Heart rate can be checked by resting two fingers on the metal plates on the top and bottom of the watch face.

The Good: This is a good choice if you are looking for a budget-conscious monitor.

There is minimal setup and only one piece of equipment (the watch itself).

The Not-So-Good: Although it will consistently monitor your heart rate, you actually need to touch the metal plates to see a reading. I found this to be inconvenient when I needed to do a quick check in the middle of a workout. I also had a hard time getting it to read the rate when I was really sweaty (which is pretty much my whole workout!).

In summary, there are options for everyone at every price. Do your research to pick the right one for you.H

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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Mexican Pudding with C

C AT H O L I C C R U E L G I R L , R O C

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Coconut Whipped Cream

C K Y M O U N TA I N R O L L E R G I R L S

ingredients

1 large, ripe avocado 8 medjool dates 4 Tbs cacao powder 1½ tsp cinnamon healthy pinch of cayenne pepper ½ cup water 1 Tbs plus 1 tsp cacao nibs 8 raspberries for garnish 1 15oz. can coconut milk refrigerated for 5 hours minimum 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbs honey Pit avocado and dates. In a blender or food processor, blend avocado, dates, cacao powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper. With machine on low, slowly add the water until very smooth and creamy (add more water very slowly if necessary).

Place pudding in a large bowl. Sprinkle 1 Tbs cacao nibs and stir with spoon to combine.

Spoon pudding into serving glasses or dishes. Top with a dollop of coconut whipped cream (see recipe below). Sprinkle with reaming cacao nibs and top with raspberries.

Coconut Whipped Cream Open can of coconut milk. Scoop out top layer of the thickened coconut cream (you can save the remaining liquid for other recipes. Great in a smoothie!)

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream slowly moving from high to low speed. Be sure to lift the mixer up and down in order to infuse the cream with air.

Add vanilla and honey. Mix until incorporated.

Serve right away or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 days.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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shoulder injury/rehab D R . B O B, L A D E R B Y D O L L S

Though not one of the more common injuries in roller derby, shoulders do see their share of abuse. Whips, blocks and impacts on the track provide a special breed of injuries to this part of the body.

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vel.word press.c om

Here is a breakdown of some basic shoulder injuries.

Contusion – A few broken blood vessels. The shoulder may be a little black and blue with a little swelling and is tender to the touch. Range of motion is usually full with maybe some stiffness. You’ll be fine. Get back in there, but ice after.

Strain – Some muscle fibers are stretched and even torn. Again, the shoulder may show some bruising and there may be a little more swelling and more tenderness to the touch. Range of motion is usually full with some possible stiffness.

The treatment is some rest and ice.

Sprain – Now you have stretched and possibly torn muscles and may have torn some of the ligaments. The shoulder may be black and blue, but it is definitely swollen and very tender. Range of motion is going to be limited and painful. You need to see your team athletic trainer or doctor and have this assessed. Usually you can skate with these first three injuries. No contact until you have full range of motion. emedtr a

Let’s start with some basic anatomy. The arm, the humerus, rests in a shallow cup, the fossa, which is part of the shoulder blade, the scapulae. The collar bone, clavicle, and a part of the scapulae called the acromion, join to form the A/C joint. They form a ledge above the humerus and help protect it. The head of the humerus fits into a ring of cartilage called the labrum. Unlike most joints, which are held together predominantly by ligaments, one of the shoulder’s main source of support is muscle.

Ligaments are like filament strapping tape, incredibly strong, but not very elastic. Muscles, on the other hand, have the ability to contract and relax.

This allows the shoulder to have a larger more sweeping range of motion than most any other joint. This does come at a cost.

The shoulder is not as structurally strong and is more vulnerable to injury.

So what does this mean to you? Most shoulder injuries are due to overuse or trauma. Overuse injuries result from sports/activities that require a lot of use of the arm at or above the level of the shoulder, such as volleyball, racquet sports, and swimming. In derby, trauma is usually caused by a launding on the shoulder.

Labral Tear – The labrum is a cup shaped cartilage that helps hold the humerus in place. Tears in the labrum can come from impact trauma and over use. If you feel popping, clicking or grinding in the shoulder or have a sense of instability, rest it, ice it, and do not skate until it has been checked out.

Dislocation – OUCH! Now you have ripped through the muscle, the ligament and the labrum. Usually the arm will dislocate forward and down. The most common mechanism of injury is when the humerus is 90° to the side of the body, elbow bent to 90° with the hand up. This is the most vulnerable position for the arm. If you are hit from behind or land on the shoulder/arm when it is in this position the humerus can dislocate. If this happens, call for paramedics or get the skater to a doctor ASAP. In the interim, it is best to immobilize the arm where it is with gauze or some elastic wrap and start icing. The skater may find it is more comfortable if you place a pillow between the arm and the side of the body. Some skaters with chronic/recurrent dislocations can actually reduce the dislocation themselves.

If they can do that, great. Still, they are done for the night and done until they are cleared to return.

So, let’s say you have torn the labrum, sprained or even dislocated your shoulder, what now? Once you have been cleared by your doctor or trainer, you can start working on strengthening. As we noted earlier, the shoulder is held together predominantly by muscle, so strengthening the rotator cuff and biceps are key to rehabbing most shoulder injuries. Internal and external rotation exercises can be performed with free weights, cable weights and elastic bands.

Here are the basics. Start with a weight or resistance that you can do with slight effort and move up from there.

Internal rotation is about twice as strong as external rotation, so adjust the weight/resistance accordingly. When doing external rotation exercises, be sure to keep the elbow tucked against the side of the body. Also, do bicep curls as shown with the arm coming up from the front of the stomach up to the front of the chest.

The motion of a whip, with the arm out to the side, reaching back and externally rotated (palm up) places the shoulder in a vulnerable position to dislocate again. If you have experienced a sprain, a labral tear or a dislocation, have your doctor/trainer assess if the shoulder is strong and stable enough to handle this move.

The last injury we will cover is the A/C joint sprain. The acromion and the clavicle join to form the ledge over the humerus and protects the arm from the top. If you land hard on the shoulder and do not fracture the clavicle, the ligaments that hold these bones together may tear. A/C tears are graded 1, 2 and 3, with 1 being a slight tear with little or no movement in the joint, and 3 being a complete rupture.

So, what do you do for an A/C joint tear? Given that there are no muscles to strengthen to help support this joint, many doctors say ice it and rest and beyond that nothing. Surgery may be indicated in rare cases. In the case of fracture, you may see a deformity in the clavicle. What kind of deformity?

Look at both clavicles, if it is fractured and displaced it should be pretty obvious. Wrap it or put the arm in a sling, ice it and get the skater off to the doctor.

Entire books and practices are devoted to diagnosis and treatment of the shoulder. I hope this was an informative overview that encourages you to learn a little more about these injuries and their care. Derby is a family and I welcome this family to contact me at drbobbob@aol.com with questions about this and other injuries.H

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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2015 championships recap JUSTICE FEELGOOD MARSHALL, WINDY CITY ROLLERS PHOTOS BY BRANGWYN “GI JONES” PHOTOGRAPHY

On the weekend of November 5th, WFTDA’s yearly championship tournament made port in St. Paul, Minnesota, featuring the top 12 teams as determined by the results of four playoff tournaments. Two teams – Jacksonville and Arch Rival – made their WFTDA Champs debut, while Rat City returned after missing the 2014 edition. The remaining nine teams – Gotham, Rose City, London, Victorian, Angel City, Bay Area, Denver, Texas and Minnesota – were all returning from 2014’s Nashville Champs.

There was no shortage of hot storylines going into this one. Gotham, undefeated since 2010, was gunning for their fifth Hydra in a row and sixth total after a significant series of retirements. Rose City, who had come within three points of upsetting Gotham in the 2014 final, was riding an intense wave of emotion with the passing of their longtime coach Rob Lobster, who had succumbed to a long fight with cancer at 35. Both of the overseas teams, London and Victorian, were undefeated in 2015, with London holding a win over 2014 runners-up Rose City. And as a cherry on top, Sunday also marked the beginning of a partnership between the WFTDA and ESPN3, giving online viewers the most polished video production flat-track had yet seen.

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For many different reasons – not least of which was the cozy confines of Minnesota’s intimate Roy Wilkins Auditorium – the weekend had the potential to be the sport’s finest moment to date. And it delivered in spades.

Friday For a tournament that ended with such high drama, there weren’t many surprises to be had in the weekend’s opening rounds. In Friday’s action, which randomly set the second-place finishers from each of the four WFTDA Playoffs up against the third-place finishers, all of the higher seeds won their games.

First eliminated was Seattle’s Rat City, who earned their way to St. Paul with a surprising upset win over Philly

in their third-place game of the Dallas Playoffs. Their first-round opponent, Los Angeles’ Angel City, played a hard-hitting game from the start; Angel City took a 13-11 lead on the first jam and never trailed in the game. Angel came out even harder in the second and dominated the final 30 minutes 86-31 to win the game 169-101.

The second matchup was between 2 seed Bay Area and 3 seed Denver, a combination with a lot of postseason history; the teams had faced each other during every WFTDA postseason since 2010 and at Champs in both 2013 and 2014. This year, both teams had lost a few key players since the previous years’ clash, but Bay Area made it three Champs wins in a row over their rivals with a 179-148 victory.

There was a lot more drama – but still no upsets – in the final two games on Friday. In a battle between two teams making debut appearances at Champs, 2 seed Jacksonville landed the final blow in a back-and-forth game with 3 seed Arch Rival. The first half saw six lead changes and two ties before a big half-ending 14-0 from Arch Rival’s Bricktator gave her team a 80-57 lead going into the break; that 23-point lead was the largest either team had held throughout the game to that point.

Though ARRG could not build on that lead during the second half, it looked like it might still be enough to survive the game.

The Arch Rival advantage fluctuated between seven and 23 points and sat at 135-114 with just about 3:30 left to play, where Jacksonville finally made their move.

Jax blocker Stephanie Gentz baited ace Arch jammer Brickyard into a key track cut, opening the floor for Jax’s Krispy Kreme-Her to go 15-0 and make it 135-129; Erin Jackson completed the comeback with 12-0 on the other side of the powerjam, and Jacksonville took the lead for the first time in the half, 141-135, with just 46 seconds left to

play. After a double timeout from Jacksonville to rest Jackson, she went right back out to take lead on the final jam and win it 8-6, giving Jacksonville a thriller of a victory at 149-141.

Friday’s final game between host league Minnesota and perennial contenders Texas – along with Gotham, one of only two teams to have qualified for every WFTDA championship tournament going back

to 2007– also ended in nail-biting fashion, but not exactly for the same reasons. The hometown heroines were significant underdogs against the Texans, but came out of the gate playing like overwhelming favorites, winning the first six jams of the game, igniting a delirious crowd, and

establishing a remarkable 63-26 lead after 15 minutes.

Texas began to get things back under control there, showing their veteran resilience by stringing together 10 lead jammer calls in a row. That halftime-spanning sequence went 89-39 Texas and ended with Texas jammer Fifi Nomenon putting Texas in the lead for the first time, 112-108, on the second jam of the second half. The second half saw seven ties or lead changes before Texas took the lead for the last time at 138-137 with about 13 minutes to play.

Minnesota was still it in till the end but botched a chance to manufacture a late comeback, letting the clock run between jams while still holding two timeouts; that failure to force an extra minute of play came back to bite them severely on the last jam.

MNRG jammer Shiver Me Kimbers needed to make up a 25point deficit and got half of it with a 17-4 run, but failed to extend the period clock for one more jam, calling off the jam – and the game – while Minnesota still had a minute of jam time left. Texas deflated the crowd with a narrow 12-point escape, 185-173.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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Saturday For the third straight year since the WFTDA switched away from a regional-playoff structure in 2013, Saturday’s quarterfinal rounds saw the top four seeds eliminate the remaining contenders. London had the toughest time with a determined Angel City, who trailed for the majority of the game but stayed within striking distance for the whole running time.

ACDG held two short-lived leads in each half and it was a tossup at 109108 London with 12 minutes to play, but a critical 19-0 power jam for London’s Rogue Runner helped LRG pull away in the final stretch to emerge victorious, 158-126.

The rest of the games weren’t anywhere near as close, as defending champions Gotham trampled upstart Jacksonville 299-114 in the biggest blowout of the weekend, Victorian resoundingly ejected Texas 181-85, and Portland’s Rose City defeated Bay Area 191-145.

Things were more dramatic in the semifinals as Rose City went up against London and Gotham faced Victorian. Rose City stopped London in a 166-154 contest, though the finale wasn’t quite as close as the margin implied; Rose City led from first jam to last and London spent the overwhelming majority of the game

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battling from about 20 to 50 points down.

The Gotham / Victorian clash, though, was an instant classic between two teams that hadn’t lost a game in 2015. Victorian’s slow, methodical box defense gave Gotham’s ace Bonnie Thunders a lot of trouble and held her to her lowest point total in years at just 68 points; with Bonnie taking the star for Gotham on 20 of the game’s 38 jams, it was almost enough for the win.

Victorian shocked the crowd by narrowly leading Gotham for the first 55 minutes of the game. That lead peaked at 25 points, 132-107, with about 10 minutes to play, but Gotham owned a dramatic final sequence; the defending champs took lead jammer status on the last six jams of the game and shut out Victorian for the first five of those to take a 143-132 lead with 1:34 to play.

In the game’s thrilling final jam, Thunders – jamming for the third frame in a row – took lead but was almost immediately reabsorbed into the pack with about 50 seconds to play by timely jammer offense from opponent Mary Fagdalene. Though the VRDL defense did not allow Bonnie to begin a scoring pass and Fagdalene racked 9-0 in the remaining time, Gotham’s control of lead allowed them

to run out the clock and call the jam before Victorian could come around for the fatal third scoring pass, and Gotham squeaked out a nailbiter, 143-141.

Sunday Scoringwise, the third-place international battle between London and Victoria wasn’t that dissimilar from the Victoria / Gotham semifinal.

With the exception of a short six-jam sequence in the very early going, Victoria massaged a lead that ranged from about 15 to 30 points all game long, but felt a bit larger due to the stifling defense on both sides.

Victorian came in to the half with a 66-47 advantage and the second half of play only saw a single jam in which either jammer was able to pick up a double-digit score – and even that one was a relatively thin margin at 14-4 for Victorian’s Christy Demons.

Victorian’s lead peaked at 32 points, 99-67, with about 18 minutes to play; London was unable to get closer than 109-94 with about five minutes to play, and Victorian eventually took third place with a 122-99 win. It was the second year in a row London had ended their season with a loss in the third-place game of WFTDA Champs, following a 238-148 loss to Bay Area in 2014.

In the grand finale, the rematch between a Gotham team undefeated since 2010 and a Rose City team that had come within a jam of dethroning them at 2014’s WFTDA Champs, the Roy Wilkins crowd seemed eager to see Rose City get revenge a year in the making.

As befitting the prizefight feel, both teams threw enormous crowd-pleasing haymakers in the very early going – a physically dominant 20-0 run for Rose City’s Scald Eagle on the second jam was more than answered by the slippery Bonnie Thunders running up 29-0 on the third jam.

The scoring settled down for a bit there, though it looked like Gotham was getting the better of the contest after 10 jams, sitting on a growing lead of 70-34.

Fortunately for the challengers, Gotham committed jammer penalties on consecutive frames, helping Rose City to go on a much-needed 27-1 run and

narrow the gap to 10 points at 71-61.

That was as close as it would be during the first half, with Gotham eventually stretching the advantage to 114-81 at intermission.

But Rose City wasted no time getting the crowd back into it as the second half began, with the overpowering Scald Eagle matching the highest-scoring jam of the game with 29 points against an uncharacteristically stymied Bonnie Thunders held to 4; two jams after that, it was tied at 118. That kicked off a flurry of six lead changes over 10 minutes that finally ended with Gotham up 149-147 with about 15 minutes to play.

Gotham was able to hang on to the lead almost until the very end, up 179170 going into what proved to be the second-to-last jam with about three minutes left in the game. Once again, Rose City’s Scald Eagle stepped up with a critical clutch jam, running to 28-8 over Bonnie Thunders. Just as critically, Bonnie passed the star to Gotham pivot Fisher Twice in an attempt to narrow the margin, but

Fisher was boxed with the star late in the jam.

That left Gotham at an enormous disadvantage to start the game’s final jam – down by 11 at 198-187 with just 14 seconds left, Rose City’s Loren Mutch unopposed on the jammer line and Fisher Twice, who had not started with the jammer star once in the whole tournament, stuck in the penalty box as Gotham jammer. Gotham sent out Bonnie Thunders as pivot, clearly hoping to get the star back to her; they managed to give themselves one last prayer by holding Loren Mutch long enough for Fisher to get lead out of the box, but when Bonnie was boxed as Gotham pivot before she could get the star from Fisher, Rose City’s advantage was too great to overcome. The jam went in the books as an 8-8 full-length jam, but in the stands and on the sidelines it was deafening hysteria as it slowly became clear to the assembled that after five years, Gotham’s number was finally up.

Rose City took the win 206-195, becoming the first non-Gotham team since 2010’s Rocky Mountain to hold the Hydra, and Scald Eagle – who put up a game-leading 133 points in the final – was named the Champs MVP.H

the three c’s of feedback P U N C H Y O ' G U T S, R E S U R G A M R O L L E R D E R B Y

Feedback should challenge and inspire. Having good intentions – wanting to help someone does not guarantee that your feedback will be helpful. Heartfelt feedback can still come off as insulting or condescending. If your goal is to challenge and inspire skaters, your feedback should be constructive, compassionate, and consistent. It takes careful, proactive thoughtfulness to deliver the Three C’s of Feedback.

Constructive feedback has two components: diagnosis and solution. For example, you have a skater who cannot stay with her teammates when playing defense. She doesn’t leave the wall, necessarily, but she doesn’t always stay with the wall. Before you approach the skater to say “you need to stay with your teammates,” consider a more thorough analysis. Why can’t the skater stay in the wall? What, exactly, is going on?

Observe the skater to figure this out.

Let’s say, after careful observation, you notice she is always with her teammates until the wall stops or changes direction.

In order to figure out why, you watch her during stopping and direction change drills and notice the problem isn’t a lack of technical skill in these areas. She lacks a sense of urgency and needs to develop it in order to stay with her teammates when the pack speed and direction changes.

You could tell her she needs to improve her sense of urgency, but if she doesn’t know how to do that, she won’t.

You must teach her how to do it. Offer specific drills and exercises.

Constructive feedback for this skater would be something like “In order to stay with your teammates when the

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pack speed or direction changes, you need to develop a sense of urgency with your stops and forward/backward agility.

Here’s a list of drills and exercises that, completed 2-3 times a week, will help you improve.”

This kind of feedback gives skaters the tools required to improve, but the stiff delivery could turn off some skaters or make them feel defensive. You want skaters to be open and willing to learn.

Offering compassionate feedback creates a feeling of encouragement and positivity, which can mean the world to those who struggle with confidence.

Compassionate feedback communicates unwanted behavior in a positive light.

Instead of referring to what a skater did wrong, explain what you want them to do. Avoid words like no, not, don’t, can’t,

Don’t just look for unwanted behavior.

Look for what people are doing right!

Give positive reinforcement when they are succeeding.

shouldn’t, etc. Instead of saying “you’re not staying with your teammates,” you should say “I can see you are trying to be with your teammates during scrimmage and reaching for them, but sometimes they are just out of reach. I need you to be glued to them! The way to get there is to improve your sense of urgency with stops and direction changes. I have some ideas for how you can do that and would like to meet with you to discuss it.” This feedback is both constructive and compassionate.

Don’t just look for unwanted behavior, though. Look for what people are doing right! Give positive reinforcement when they are succeeding. Diagnose success with the same specificity you use to diagnose a problem. Instead of “great job, Suzy Skater,” consider “that’s exactly what I want to see, Suzy. You are using that sense of urgency to stay with your teammates.” Offering praise in front of everyone reinforces expectations and creates an encouraging environment, so skaters share in each other’s successes.

Delivering compassionate feedback also requires self-awareness on your part. If you are having a shitty day, you probably won’t be able to communicate

Brangwyn “GI Jones” Photography

compassionately. If you have negative feelings about another skater, you are at risk for allowing anger or resentment to color your perception. Recognize when you are not at your best, and reach out to someone who is. If there isn’t anyone else, dig out your best professional self and push through. Be honest. Let the skaters know that you are not having the best day, and you are trying to keep that from impacting your coaching. It’s okay to expect compassion in return.

While you’re working hard to make your feedback constructive and compassionate, there’s one more “C” to consider: consistency. In order for your communication to be effective, feedback must be consistent. All coaches should be on the same page about how skills are executed, so they aren’t giving contradictory feedback. For example, there are several ways to grasp hands when executing an assist/whip. Choose

one way to grasp hands and inform all coaches of how to teach the assist.

This way, skaters will receive the same information and will be given consistent feedback.

In addition to creating a consistent front with your coaches, consider offering consistent written feedback at least once a year. This can be done after an assessment or tryout. Compile the feedback in easily accessible, digital form like Google docs, so the skater can view it at any time. The feedback serves as a record of achievement or lack thereof. When giving feedback, you can refer to the document and say, “Two months ago you were struggling with your sense of urgency, and your hard work has paid off.” Hopefully, you won’t have to use the document to point out the negative, but sometimes you have to get real and say, “Two months ago you were given specific exercises to help

improve your sense of urgency. Have you been doing those exercises?”

The Three C’s of Feedback – constructive, compassionate, and consistent – takes a lot of time and practice. Once you take this approach to delivering feedback, you will find that you sharpen your observation skills, diagnose problems and solutions much quicker, and learn how to communicate compassionately and consistently. You’ll also find that you are creating a positive learning environment that challenges and inspires skaters. You create coachable skaters and make your job so much easier.

For more information about feedback (how skaters receive feedback and the importance of following up) and other coaching topics, check out my book, Developing an Efficient Training Committee, at punchyoguts.com.H

The Three C’s of Feedback – constructive, compassionate, and consistent – takes a lot of time and practice. Once you take this approach to delivering feedback, you will find that you sharpen your observation skills, diagnose problems and solutions much quicker, and learn how to communicate compassionately and consistently. fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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how to use the CUP matrix OLD XCHOOL, NORTH COAST ROLLER DERBY

As I coach, spectate, or review a video of a roller derby game, I maintain a CUP matrix similar to the figure below. I always have a separate CUP matrix for each period (1 and 2). The Home team CUP section is always on the left and the Visitor section is always on the right. (This keeps me in sync with the score board). The first column is the jam number, (normally my matrix goes up to 40 jams per period). The next three columns cover the CUP (Contested, Uncontested, and Power jams) for the home team. The next column pt (points) is the column for the running score from jam to jam (I follow the score board). The last column for the home team side is the jammer number. The other side of the CUP matrix (visitor) is identical to the home team side of the CUP matrix. The last column on the right of the CUP matrix is for comments I will make throughout the jams of a game, like star pass, a blocker is getting beat a certain way, a jammer is taking a certain angle, track scoring passes, weaknesses or strengths of both teams.

J 1 2 3 4 5

C X

Home Team U P pt Jmer 0 111 144 X 188

PERIOD (1 or 2) Visiting Team C U P pt Jmer

joe mac

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X X

COMMENTS poor offense Number 18?

NOTE: Enter the jammer numbers and the points made by each team by following the score board. Don’t try to count the points, just maintain a Talley count if you get into a jam with lots of points (IIII II).

Each time you enter an X in one of the squares under the CUP you are indicating the offensive team: Example A: I enter an X under C on the HOME TEAM side of the matrix for jam 1, this indicates an offensive contested jam for the home team (lead jammer advantage). This means the visitors are on the defensive side of jam 1 by default.

Example B: In jam 2 the VISITING TEAM has the X entered in the P box. This indicates an offensive power jam for the visiting team. With the home team jammer in the penalty box by default the home team is on defense.

Example C: Jam 3 started as an offensive uncontested jam for the home team, but because of a jammer foul, jam 3 turned into an offensive power jam for the visiting team. Note the circle around the change of jam status. If the jam status changes again I will use a square around the next change.

Looking at the figure below, you are the coach for the home team and it’s half time. The first period has gone 11 jams (hypothetically) what can you tell your team about this first period:

C 1 X 2 3 X 4 X 5 6 7 8 9 X 10 X 11 X 6

FIRST PERIOD Home U P pt Jmer C U 0 111 0 144 X 1 188 3 111 X 7 144 X 12 188 12 111 X 12 144 X 14 188 15 111 15 144 1 1 1 2

Visitor P pt Jmer 0 3 0 18 0 33 1 3 1 18 X 11 33 15 3 18 18 18 33 19 3 19 18 1 (totals)

joe mac

1. We have 6 contested jams to their 1 Our jammers are beating our opponents to the Lead jam but we are unable to contain their jammer or their jammers are too quick and wiry to hold in the pack very long or maybe a little of both. (What did you see?)

2. Uncontested jams 1 to 2, (this is a dog fight) when the uncontested jams are this close and a good percentage of the jams are contested, the points on the score board will reflect it!

3. Power jam 1 to 1, (dog fight confirmed!) we had the advantage and let it go to a cut track (or whatever?). We must be more patient in this game, as we are evenly matched and whoever makes the least mistakes and/or has the best team endurance will win this game!

4. The score is 15 to 19 and it’s anybody’s game. Play your game and be patient. With a couple of good jams we can win this one!

5. Jammer stats Home team: #111 @ 4 jams & 3 points. #144 @ 4 jams & 4 points. #188 @ 3 jams & 8 points, but (-11) because of the Power jam = (-3) points.

6. Jammer stats Visitors: #3 @ 4 jams & 3 points. #18 @ 4 jams & 3 points. #33 @ 3 jams & 10 points.

(Opponents jammer #33 most productive.)

A lot of what you, the coach, will have to say is about what you see in real-time as you watch the game. The CUP matrix supports the facts, the dynamics you add to your half time evaluation (this is where the comments section of the CUP matrix can help a lot). For a coach it’s about learning to trust what you see and articulate it to your club in a way that benefits your second period play.

SECOND PERIOD AJUSTMENTS: I spotted a weaker line in the first period. It appears that the visiting team is putting in new (beginners) skaters every third line and it is #18 their jammer. (I will rotate my line so that I put my best jammer #188 against their beginner jammer #18. I am trying to find a mismatch in our favor.) I will also shift my blocker lines to create as much of a mismatch as possible.

As the coach, it is hard enough to follow the game and all of the possible contingencies of every jam. Try and focus on patterns within the play: Your opponent’s jammers getting out consistently on the inside or outside line. Pick up the positive and the negative mismatches on the floor, blocker and/or jammers offensive and/or defensive. Look for strange formations that yield good results. There’s always reasons for offensive/defensive success on the track.

POST game analysis: Did the half time line adjustment pay off? It appears so! This is not always the case, but it is a good confidence builder when you’re right! Let’s break down the second period: See figure below.

SECOND PERIOD C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

U X

X X X X X 1

5

Home P pt 15 25 25 26 31 32 X 37 47 50 52 1

Jmer 111 188 144 111 188 144 111 188 144 111

C X

U

X

X

2

X 2

Visitor P pt Jmer 20 3 20 18 21 33 22 3 23 18 27 33 28 3 28 18 X 33 33 34 3 1 (totals)

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Second Period CUP stats: Home team C = 1, U = 5, P = 1 Visiting team C = 2, U = 2, P = 1 1. We have 1 contested jam to their 2. This is a much closer stat than in the first period. Our blockers have stepped it up and did a better job holding their jammers in the pack.

2. Uncontested jams 5 to 2, this is the difference in the game, and it is a combination of mismatches, team playing together and team endurance.

3. Power jam 1 to 1, critical to winning a game. Impatient jammers can kill the drive of a team. When you see big blowouts this stat is almost always very lopsided.

4. Jammer stats Home team: #111 @ 4 jams and 9 points #188 @ 3 jams and 27 points #144 @ 3 jams and 4 points but ( -5) because of the power jam = (-1) points.

5. Jammer stats Visitors: #3 @ 4 jams and 4 points #18 @ 3 jams and 1 points #33 @ 3 jams and 8 points

DRILL

Over all CUP Stats: Home team First Period C = 6, U = 1, P = 1 Second Period C = 1, U = 5, P = 1 Home Total C = 7, U = 6, P = 2 Visiting team First Period C = 1, U = 2, P = 1 Second Period C = 2, U = 2, P =1 Visiting Total C = 3, U = 4, P = 2 Conclusion: The CUP system does not replace the WFTDA stats. This technique is for the coach, commentator or spectator. One person or a dedicated fan can maintain these stats (I like to do it myself) during a game. I have been in many half-time locker rooms when the coach had nothing constructive to say, and understandably. Roller Derby is a hard game to follow in real time. Any help a coach can get should be used to their advantage. The CUP Matrix is just that tool!

The coach can maintain it with just a little practice and you will have plenty of constructive input at your next half time talk. Lots of derby love and keep the shiny side up!H

drill: offensive action

purpose: counter-blocking offensive hits, reforming a wall

drill courtesy of phantom menace, rocky mountain rollergirls

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joe mac

The defensive team lines up just in front of the jammer line in a four wall. The other “team” sends out five offensive skaters. Two line up as picks in front of the wall. The other three line up in front, staggered, as three offensive rovers.

One jammer lines up behind the jammer. At the whistle, the jammer jams. The pick skaters hold their ground and play “O” by forcing the defensive players to reform around them. As the wall approaches the offensive rovers, they move laterally to make offensive hits, without moving forward with the wall. Reset and repeat. As your skaters become familiar with the drill, allow the picks to hold position more aggressively by turning forwards and backwards or by giving them a 2’ by 2’ area of space to hold their pick.

Alternatively/additionally, allow the rovers to continue playing offense as the wall moves forward instead of just laterally. Also, the picks can become the “pack” and force the other blockers to bridge.

tools, part two J E N N I F E R S A V A G L I O A K A L A P E T I T E M O R T, F A S T G I R L S K AT E S

Mounting Tools: Center line marking tool, bolt break off tool, bolt cutters, tacking hammer, drill press, countersink bit, cordless drill.

When we “mount” boots, it essentially means we attach the boot to the plate. We do this by drilling holes into the bottom of the boot, placing screws through the boot and plate, and using nuts to hold them tight. Prior to mounting, we choose the correct sized plate for the particular boot.

There are industry standards and manufacturer recommendations that guide the mounter to the correct sized plate. A “standard” mount is when the front wheels are directly under the ball of the foot and the rear wheels are under the ankle bone on the outside of the leg.

Furthermore, when looking down at your feet in your skates, there should be an even amount of wheel showing on the inside and outside of your feet, taking into consideration the curvature of the ball of the foot. A common misconception is that when looking down at your feet, the toe seam looks like it is the boot’s “center”, but it is not.

Placing the plate along the actual center line is what the skating industry has long considered a “standard” mount.

To position the plate, we mark the bottom of the boot with the Center Line Marking Tool. An industry standard, this tool was created by the makers of the Snyder Plate, the gold standard of plates at the time. The center line of a boot is determined by a triangle on the

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bottom of your foot. The center of your heel is one point, and either side of the ball of your foot are the other two points. If you dissect the triangle down the center, the line comes out just to the outside of the toe seam of your boot. This tool is placed on the bottom of the boots sole and a line is drawn next to the middle post of the tool.

We then place the plate along the center line and mark the plate’s holes where the screws will be inserted. Once the holes are marked and double checked (Measure twice, cut once!), it is time to drill the holes into the sole of the boot. We use a particular size drill bit that is just slightly larger than the thickness of the mounting bolts. In order to protect the boot best, a drill press is kept stationary, meaning we do not lower the drill into the boot like in other drill press applications. Instead, we raise the boot up onto the drill bit so more control is achieved and we can more effectively protect the boot.

Imagine drilling a hole into a boot, going too far and going through the leather or tongue of the boot. The boot is potentially ruined.

The cardboard liner on the inside of the boot’s footbed can get pushed up and create bumps that the skater might be able to feel through the insole. A countersink bit can be used to remove this excess material and make a neat seat for the screw head to sit so the skater has a lesser chance of feeling the bolts.

Next, we put the toe and heel mounting bolts through the boot and through the holes in the plate. A washer is then put on each bolt, and finally the mounting nuts. At Fast Girl, we have a custom machined extremely thin walled long socket used with a cordless drill to tighten these mounting nuts. At this point, on the inside of the boot’s foot bed, the heads of the bolts should be slightly sunken in. The plate is now attached! The bolts are then cut with either a bolt break off tool, or bolt cutters. Whichever of these two tools used is at the discretion of the mounter and most of them have a personal preference. The bolt cutters leave the bolt with sharp bits, with a few bolt threads showing above the nuts.

The bolt break off tool breaks the bolt right at the level of the nut, and some mounters feel that the nut should leave some threads showing for security. If the bolt cutters are used, a tack hammer is used to “tap” out the sharp points on the bolts. The cushions, retainers, trucks, toe stops and wheels can then be assembled and you have just created a fully functional skate!

Stretching Tools: Ball and ring stretcher, boot press, shoe stretcher, heat gun, boot oven, hairdryer.

Many boots are made of leather, while others are made of microfiber, a durable man made material. Most boots have heat moldable sections within the boot so they can be heated and manipulated. In Riedell leather boots, there are heat moldable counters or reinforcement from the front of the foot arch all the way around the heel. In ONLY the right boot this counter goes all the way around the heel up the outside of the boot to the pinky toe. This is to stabilize the right foot because we skate continually to the left. Antik boots are also leather, with heat moldable counters in the same places as the Riedell speed boots.

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Most microfiber boots like the Bont or Luigino are microfiber with heat moldable material all over the boot.

Because microfiber does not behave like leather and soften over time, many skaters choose to heat-mold the boot to their feet so it fits like a glove, not unlike leather.

Let’s say you have a leather boot and the outside counter on the right foot is KILLING the outside ball of your foot just below your pinky toe. I know some of y’all feel me on that one. At that point, we would heat the boot in the boot oven, or with a heat gun, or in a pinch, a hairdryer, then use a hand held Ball and Ring Tool to gently push out the spot on the boot causing the pain. This is a scissor like iron tool with a ball that is enclosed by a ring on the other side and placed on the boot, tightened and left on the boot so as it cools, the spot is pushed out. Less is more when dealing with leather, if you stretch the spot too far, you cannot then make it smaller. This tool is ideal for small hot spots on the foot. The arches of the boots can also

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be manipulated in this “press and hold” way, as can the toes of the boots. For this, we use a bench mounted boot press, which is a larger, sturdier version of its cousin, the ball and ring tool.

Now let’s say you are wearing a Bont microfiber boot and the heel feels too wide for your foot and your heel are slipping.

To adjust, the boot would be heated in the boot oven, and as it cools, the heel of the boot would be compressed either around the foot while wearing the boot, or by hand without the boot being worn.

The heatmoldable material in the boot would cool while being compressed around the heel, making it narrower. Any painful spots can also be manipulated with the tools above in the same way as with leather.

Lastly, let’s say you have a shiny new Antik boot, and while new, they feel just a bit too tight. Again, we would heat the boot in the boot oven, have the skater put on several pairs of socks and wear the boots laced tightly until they cool. In this way we can give them a slightly roomier feel for comfort.

We can also heat the boot and use an old fashioned shoe stretcher to make the boot slightly wider.

Having these tools at your disposal is pretty convenient, but what if you don’t live by a skate shop or roller rink?

Head to your friendly neighborhood cobbler and tell them what you need. They have the mother lode of rad stretching and softening tools.

I took my original 595s and had them soften the arch counters for me using a way fancier ball and ring tool than I had. Your cobbler is a fantastic resource, because they can also repair damage, such as a ripped toe seam, and add any number of straps (think 595 or blue streak) to the boot so you can lace it to make it stay where you want it. If the upper comes apart from the sole of the boot, however, sending it back to the manufacturer to be repaired is also an option if your cobbler is not willing to re-last it. (read: rebuild it).

There are also things you can do as the skater to help your boots become more comfortable. After practice, when your boots are warm, is a great time to work the counters in a leather boot with your hands (think baseball glove), or insert boot stretchers or even shove something in the toes to stretch them.

Bottom line, you should look forward to putting on your skates, not dread it.

Although break in can be tough, most boots break in beautifully. If you are experiencing severe ongoing issues and/or pain, this needs to be addressed.

Sometimes it is simply not the right boot for you, and sometimes they are simply laced too tightly!

Until next time, dear readers!

Remember; Love your skates.H

Bottom line, you should look forward to putting on your skates, not dread it.

Although break in can be tough, most boots break in beautifully. If you are experiencing severe ongoing issues and/or pain, this needs to be addressed.

Sometimes it is simply not the right boot for you, and sometimes they are simply laced too tightly!

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launching the junior flat track derby association K O S H E R A S S A U LT, W F T D A J U N I O R C O M M I T T E E

In September 2015, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association announced it would help launch a member-owned, member-operated, junior-affiliated derby coalition to help foster and promote the international sport of flat track roller derby through the empowerment and growth of junior derby skaters and member leagues.

The Junior Flat Track Derby Association is finally here!

“The WFTDA is so thrilled to support the junior leagues playing roller derby all over the world by facilitating their work together. Many of our WFTDA member leagues are affiliated with or support local junior teams already, and we believe that junior derby skaters deserve access to the same organization and democratic principles as adult skaters,” said Juliana Gonzales, WFTDA Executive Director.

Launching a WFTDA-affiliated junior derby organization has been an idea brewing within the WFTDA membership for several years. Things started to really take shape at the WFTDA Annual Meetings in 2012 and 2013, when members discussed supporting a junior organization that would have a relationship with the WFTDA similar to the organization’s relationship with the Men’s Roller Derby Association. To explore the idea, WFTDA member leagues elected a team of project managers (the Junior Committee) to develop a strategy for assisting member leagues’ junior counterparts in creating a governing body and membership structure that aligns with the mission, vision and philosophies of WFTDA. “Skaters having a voice in the sport is at the heart of the WFTDA, and we want to help build a space where junior derby leagues can similarly collaborate to govern their sport.

These junior skaters are the future of flat track roller derby and we believe they play an integral role in the direction of our sport and our community,” Gonzales said.

From the beginning, it was unanimously agreed that in order to truly be successful, the junior member leagues would need to own the organization and shape their own reality, rather than be

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managed top-down from WFTDA. The affiliated junior derby organization would follow the WFTDA ruleset and democratic philosophy of “by the skaters, for the skaters.” The goal is for the junior leagues to have the power, voice, and leadership in their governing body, including both the adults and junior participants who make up those leagues. While the WFTDA will provide support and guidance through the process of establishing the new organization, ultimately the JFTDA will operate as an independent coalition run by its members. All decision making will come from within the organization, not WFTDA. “I am hoping that the formation of the JFTDA will present leagues of all shapes and sizes with a familiar format to WFTDA by which to organize and encourage the formation of new, consistent and successful junior programs,” said Shana Kerr, aka Ima Hotmess, of the Santa Cruz Derby Groms. “[JFTDA] will benefit our Groms the most by not only introducing them to new junior skater networks but also providing increased opportunities for all levels and varieties of junior derby game play throughout the season.”

So, who’s joining the organization? The initial round of registration from Sept. 8 to Oct. 5 already brought in 82 leagues – both co-ed and single gender – from countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Denmark. These leagues are already beginning to build the JFTDA from the bottom up, discussing and voting on everything from gender policies and age requirements to codes of conduct, organizational structure, and competitive game systems.

Once the organization’s structure, membership rules and other standards are finalized, these teams will have the option

joe mac

to continue on to become full JFTDA members.

The WFTDA’s membership is invested in the long-term evolution and sustainability of roller derby, and junior skaters are the future. Having a “by the skaters, for the skaters” junior organization also means WFTDA will be able to work more closely with junior roller derby and present a united front to the world.

This is also not just something that the WFTDA member leagues came up with on their own, but something that junior derby leagues have been requesting for years. Many junior teams have a relationship with an adult league in their town and have been inspired by the WFTDA mission and philosophies.

Providing opportunities for youth to have a voice within roller derby is extremely important. We see the JFTDA – where youth are given a chance to participate in the democratic process and own their sport – as a revolutionary concept.

Many people have wondered, “How will WFTDA’s ‘by the skater, for the skater’ philosophy work for junior leagues? Minors surely can’t run their own business.” The exciting thing is that JFTDA member leagues will get to define what “by the skater, for the skater” looks like to them. The WFTDA Junior Committee also doesn’t necessarily think it’s fair to say that junior skaters can’t help run their league. Junior leagues across the world already have minors involved in business operations that are age-appropriate, from promoting games through social media and handing out fliers to sitting on committees with adult leadership and more. There’s also precedent of minors running organizations with the guidance of adults – for example, 4H and Future Farmers of America in the United States.

“It's really exciting for juniors to get a seat at the table that allows them to have a voice and a say in how flat track roller derby is played. Junior teams have been around for a while, but now, in addition to empowering younger people through skating, they are being empowered and encouraged to make decisions and contribute to the sport they love! The JFTDA also opens up doors for younger skaters to become leaders in their organizations, developing those skills right along with their skating skills,” said Headless Highness, Chief Interleague Officer of the Texas Rollergirls.

The WFTDA itself has always been about more than just playing roller derby; it’s also about building a community and empowering members through decision-making and ownership of the sport. The WFTDA believes that junior skaters should be afforded the opportunity to develop essential skills like management, team-building, sportsmanship and leadership, and take pride in their organization.

Getting this endeavor off the ground has been a culmination of years of hard work. The WFTDA Junior Committee could not be more excited to finally get the ball rolling and see how the JFTDA takes shape over the coming months.

You can check out the progress and get regular updates by following JFTDA online: facebook.com/jftda twitter.com/jftda Questions? juniors@wftda.orgH

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how to start a junior league B E T T Y F O R D G A L A X Y, R A I N I E R R O L L E R G I R L S

Roller derby has exploded from one league to hundreds, with hundreds more just starting. It has circled the globe and been televised. The newest faction to the roller derby scene is junior derby. I am about to answer the million-dollar question – Cliff Notes style.

First, make sure you have the time to commit to this undertaking and the right reasons for doing so – it has to be a venture of the heart. You must strive to always put the kids’ needs first – always.

I recommend reading the book “Positive Coaching – Building Character and Self-Esteem Through Sports” by Jim Thompson.

This book has given me so much insight into the complicated decisions a coach has to make on a daily basis. It can be a delicate balance of being strong and stern with them, as well as being caring and nurturing. It is very important that you take the time learning how to coach and treat kids; it takes an incredible amount of time and energy to start and maintain a junior derby league, however if the passion and resources are in place, the reward is tremendous.

Junior derby provides a place for the kids to build their selfesteem and character, I believe, more so than any other sport.

Many people who join a roller derby league are strong, independent and motivated, but often the type who didn’t fit into conventional sports, and the junior skater often shares these traits.

There is no “one right way” to start a junior derby league.

There are several active junior leagues running in the U.S. at this time and we have all sort of forged our own way and created similar paths to the same goal. I will tell you my experience with the Seattle Derby Brats and try to elaborate on how some of my fellow leagues run.

The number one rule of junior roller derby is to have fun.

Generally, kids play sports not to win or make friends, not to be a star or be on a team, but to have fun. The main reason kids give when they quit a sport is that it stopped being fun.

Gather your group of interested parents and adult skaters who want to help. Start with a mission statement. I started with one early on and it has evolved over time, but when I started by myself it gave me direction and let the parents know what the sport was about.

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Decide early, if you want to be a nonprofit or not. Explore the options of being an extension of an adult league or if your league will be a separate entity with support of one or more adult leagues. Often this is referred to as your “big sister” league. Then set up a board of directors right away and get to work on committees.

Below is a laundry list of things you will need to consider: recruit skaters – Get them signed up even if you don’t have a rink or a start date yet. Let the parents know you are forming and get all their information to notify them as soon as you have practice space. Promote at the local rinks to garner interest, advertise at local adult bouts – give a flier to every kid you see there. Once your league has started, organize derby demos and half times at adult bouts to gain more interest. communicate – Create a Facebook page, and use this as a tool to link you to the adult leagues and derby fans in your area.

Start a Facebook Group or forum – use this to communicate with your parents and kids. You can put up schedules, instructions, notifications, and whatever else you need to communicate. DO NOT post practice time or skater info on public forums or Facebook. create a database – Assign a secretary to create a database of all the skater’s information, including parent names, parent phone numbers and emails, home addresses, parent cell phone numbers, skater birth dates, skater cell phone numbers, allergies or disabilities, and emergency contacts. It is also helpful to keep track of necessary documents and required gear, for example: Do they have all their gear? Do they have insurance?

Did the parents sign a waiver? Did they sign a photo/press release? Did the child sign the skater agreement? Make sure you ask each parent if there is any reason their kid should not be in posted photos for safety reasons. Google Docs is a great way to keep a private database and roster where all the parents have access to it privately through an online invitation.

schedule practice time – Find a rink willing to let you train there; if you are lucky enough to live in a warm climate you can use an outdoor hockey rink inexpensively. Check your local parks – often you can skate in gyms or youth centers if there is no rink available. Rink time can be hard to snag if you have one or more local adult leagues, but you may be able to work with them to establish your own practice time. get insured – The type of insurance (USARS, Francis L. Dean, or WFTDA insurance, for example) is not as important as making sure your league is insured. Many rinks require USARS or something of the sort for all skating classes, instructional or derby. get educated – Make sure you and other coaches take a first aid class. You might not always have a medic around. Kids fall, kids cry. You have to help. In any injury situation YOU must remain calm. Take any local free classes for head injury and preventive sports injury. Reach out to a children’s hospital or a local sports injury physical therapy clinic to see if they can volunteer some time to teach you and your new league. Check your local laws about concussions, injured players etc. Example: In Washington State there is the "Lystedt Law” which has protocol around head injuries and concussions that can have legal ramification if not followed.

Steven L. Price (Skippy Steve) sign waivers – Make sure you have a waiver for parents to sign that protects you from liability in the case of injury, death and loss or destruction of property. Waivers are different from state to state and even from county to county in some cases, so contact a local lawyer and check out the laws within your community. create a skater agreement – Write up a skater agreement and have the kids sign it at the beginning of each season. For example, Seattle’s starts out with “the number one rule is to have fun” and goes into detail about respect, listening and trying hard. create a parent agreement – Have parents sign up to pledge their support and help for the junior league. Without parent support, a junior league will have a hard time surviving. The agreement lets the parents know upfront what is expected of them, and also outlines appropriate behavior at events and practices, including appropriate support and encouragement of their skater. establish dues – Set up a dues schedule ahead of time.

Your league may need to set up fundraising events as well to

completely cover rink time. You may also consider creating a scholarship program for skaters whose parents cannot afford to pay dues, in which the parents will be expected to help out with extra junior league work. organize fundraisers – You will probably need the funds for rink time, uniforms, gear (whistles, cones, timers, etc.) and travel expenses. Search your local derby community for volunteer refs and coaches. There are a ton of great ways to fundraise – common ideas include holding a skate-a-thon, organizing spaghetti or pancake feeds, and selling junior league merchandise. design a logo – There are often many people willing to do free artwork for new nonprofits. Offer bout tickets and a t-shirt in exchange for their help. Make sure your logo is clear and easy to read, and that it looks good at any size. Keep in mind that clear lines and one or two colors will make printing on shirts and buttons cheaper and better looking. form committees – Set up committees right away – it may take a while to get an official board set up, but you will want to get to work on making your league run.

Establish a head coach, head ref, merchandise committee, treasurer, event planner, and secretary. You will need to learn how to delegate or you will burn yourself out! cover business details – Go online to your state website to get a business license, which you will need to create a bank account. The bank account should be in the business name before you take in any money. You should add about three to four parents (probably board members) to the account.

Work with a lawyer to set up the 501C3. It can take a while and is really confusing, but be patient. You may be able to find a parent, grandparent or friend of the family who is a lawyer and can help you out for free. Check your local laws and find a lawyer you can trust.

For more information on how to start or run a junior league, check out the several facebook groups that exist. There are many examples of forms, waivers and drills out there and it is a great way to meet other leagues, ask questions and get plugged in.

Running a junior league takes a lot time, but it is so worthwhile. When you watch those kids gear up to skate, it will just melt your heart and you will know it is time well spent.H

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focus on fresh meat S M A S H TA N K

Big, small, short, tall, full-figured, slender, fit, fast, fluffy... derby skaters come in every shape and size. We all start somewhere before we get to scrimmage and bout, and that starting point is Fresh Meat.

When it comes to starting out in Fresh Meat, most of us, quite frankly, really sucked at skating. Sucked BADLY. Skaters come into Fresh Meat training programs with aspirations of being the next derby rock star, and then the reality sets in. This sport is hard. Not only do we have to learn the strategy, but we have to learn an actual skill, as well. For many of us, we come into derby with little, if any, skating experience. For those who have skating experience, they have to forget a LOT of what they know and assimilate to the sport of derby.

There’s such an allure to roller derby, and from the outside looking in, it’s so easy to fantasize about how we too could be that bad ass on the track. The quote from Whip It comes to mind, “Be your own hero.” Sounds great, but exactly how do we get to that point?

Just like with any sport and any training program, there is a multifaceted approach. While it is imperative that leagues set their recruits up for success by having a tested, tried and true training program, it’s equally important that skaters take personal responsibility for their training and development.

There are fundamentals that will always come into play – basic skating skills, classic drills that will never go out of style, making sure we’re on the right setup – and the most important component is having the capability to actually skate with competence, confidence, and by exhibiting sportsmanlike conduct.

Whether warming up with a team for off-skates, training in Fresh Meat, practicing drills or taking a clinic run by

Smarty Pants, there is an underlying principle which is the vein for skater success – utilizing fundamentals for ongoing success.

Fundamentals are formed by learning minimum skills, building endurance, and being physically and mentally strong. Each league has a Fresh Meat program to get skaters started, but in addition to league practices, skating outside of practice is a huge benefit that leads to being adaptive, and strong, and having great endurance, stability, and confidence.

It took me a long time to get through Fresh Meat. A LONG time. My journey started one hundred pounds and four injuries ago, and it took a while for me to break each component down, but eventually I was able to pass minimum skills and I had one hell of a great time bouting all over Florida and playing non-stop at my first RollerCon. What helped me immensely was developing the mental grit to keep pressing on through each challenge; each moment and each doubt that I had in my mind and what was projected at me. It was also evident that I needed to train outside of practice, so I lifted weights, strengthened my core, did lots of plyometrics (things like squats, lunges and burpees), and took up yoga.

During RollerCon, I got to skate every day and noticed how much of a difference it made on the track. When I returned from RollerCon, I started my first 30 Days of Skating challenge, and I invited my friends and encouraged them to invite their friends. We got to see some big changes

Asking a skater to be a Big Sister is a buddy system and an accountability measure for the new skater, as well as the league, to ensure success on the track and within the league.

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DARIA PESENTI-Flamingo Photography

in our game. When I did another challenge, the number of skaters quadrupled, and we had skaters from all around the world. The most recent challenge had several thousand skaters globally of every skating level and background, every fitness level, age, shape, and size.

The challenges are designed to get skaters laced up every day, to get in the habit of wearing skates daily. It’s been amazing watching people progress, and most of all (I’m a bit biased here because of my deep love for the new skater), to witness skaters pass minimum skills and start bouting.

Here are some tips for Fresh Meat skaters that will help pave the path toward skater greatness (or, at least to get started, pass minimum skills and fit in within their respective leagues): • Skate daily. Skating every day, whether it’s in a rink, in the streets, in the house while folding laundry – whatever it is, lace up and get comfortable in skates.

• Work on core strength, it will help with balance and agility.

A strong core means more stability, and more stability means staying on your skates and getting to try more things. Planks, crunches, leg lifts and such are a great asset. To take it a step further, do these exercises while wearing skates!

• Find a mentor. This is a BIG one. Asking a skater to be a Big Sister is a buddy system and an accountability measure for the new skater, as well as the league, to ensure success on the track and within the league. It’s also a great way to have someone to go to, instead of go outside of the league and complain about all the problems going on. Having a mentor keeps league issues within the league, and leads to quick resolution.

• Strengthening is a huge asset, and muscles are an integral part of effective skating, hitting, taking hits, and having endurance. There are many ways to get strong, and starting out with one day a week will be an asset. Ideally, do weight training or resistance work 2-3 times a week. Remember this is a guideline and suggestion, so it doesn’t have to be all done at once, but start somewhere.

• Keep a journal of things learned from each practice, each training day, and each conversation had with league mates, mentors, referees, coaches and online. So much goes on in our heads and that has to go somewhere, so keep a small journal, notepad, or a phone handy that has a note-taking app.

• Get in the habit of mental conditioning by focusing on a desired outcome. Set attainable goals, and invest time daily to focus on those goals. Visualize them happening, and they will, in time. With hard work, diligence and faith, amazing things will happen. Give it time, and give it hell!

It helps to have a community to go to for help, so definitely get involved in various groups! We encourage, share stories, pictures and videos in the Facebook group Skate Every Damn Day, and all are welcome! Here’s where to get started: mindheartswole.com/skateeverydamnday Fresh Meat is hard, and it should be – derby is a huge challenge, and it’s not meant for everyone. If you have the right mindset, you can make it happen. Skills are important, hard work is a huge asset, but most important of all, persistence is key! After all, so much more happens after Fresh Meat; that’s just the beginning!H

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why officiate?

S TA N D A R D S T E V I AT I O N, L A N S I N G D E R B Y V I X E N S

I asked several of my fellow officials to share their reasons and motivation for officiating. With their permission, here are some of their responses!

Evat, Houston Roller Derby I’ve been officiating roller derby for over four years now. And the answer to this question would have been different almost every six months. In the beginning, it was for the exercise. For a while, it was socializing at derby events. Then the eval treadmill and traveling. Derby has taken me to some amazing places. Anymore, it’s because I enjoy it. To me, it’s fun. I enjoy officiating and the community.

M.I., Keweenaw Roller Girls I started derby as a player in 2010, but became a referee in 2012 after breaking my leg playing. Derby had become such an important part of my life and I just couldn’t give it up. When we moved to the U.P. in 2013, I really wanted to play again, but this newly founded team needed officials, and I felt like it was the best place for me, so that is why I officiate.

5 ft Assassin, Lafayette Brawlin Dolls Retired skater (four seasons with Kokomo City of Fists Rollergirls) I joined roller derby with full intentions of becoming a ref. I thought it would be advantageous to see the sport from a skater’s point of view. I never dreamed I would enjoy it so much, so one season turned into four. After both of my children started skating derby (one adult, one junior), I felt it was prime time to start reffing. I’m currently in my second season and I LOVE IT!

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Laddie, Memphis Roller Derby I think it becomes more complicated as time goes on. At first it was the challenge of doing something difficult.

Then, as I started to work more on the national level, it was the competition to be a better official. I’ve never been committed to a hobby this intensely for this long, so I’m not exactly sure what compels me. I think at this point I still just love the sport, and its participants, and I really enjoy it. I used to play in bands and do a little regional travel. This scratches many of those itches (camaraderie, meeting new people, making friends, rising to the occasion, etc.).

Sass Squatch, Grand Raggidy Roller Derby I’m new to derby. I chose officiating because I was too scared to bout. Being more knowledgeable about the rules has definitely helped me to appreciate the sport. Now that I’ve conquered my fear of playing, officiating is helping me to be a better skater. I hope to both play and officiate!

Math, A2D2 I officiate roller derby for many reasons.

I love to be on roller skates. It’s good, low-impact exercise, and it’s darn near impossible to not have a good day on skates.

I love roller derby. I was originally drawn to roller derby as a fan.

I love its third-wave approach to the idea of what a sport is.

I love how accessible it is to people who have never played a sport in their life.

I love how it fosters such close and warm communities.

I love the challenge of officiating.

Reffing is most fun for me when I have concrete areas in which I can improve... and I’m not going to run out of those any time soon. Even after my best bouts, I can name 3-5 specific things I could have done better. For me, officiating is all about the eternal pursuit of the impossibly perfect bout.

I move every few years for my job, and officiating derby helps me find an awesome and positive community wherever I move.

Cranbeary Crush, Anchorage AK I officiate roller derby in order to make the game safe, fair, and fun for those who play, as well as those who watch.

Yeah I’ve given this some thought... originally it was because I’m sorta broken and while I can skate well, I can’t really afford to take the hits and get hurt! As a ref, we get our fair share of hits and wipe-outs anyway.

So... meh. There’s no glory, just lots of bruises. So, I do my share to make the game productive. And that’s why I officiate roller derby.

Filly Collins, Pittsburgh East Roller Villains I started officiating to understand the game better as a new player, to learn what was ok vs. what was illegal. It’s also a great way to get out and skate when there isn’t a game to play for your own team!

Kristina [Preachers Brat], Grand Raggidy Roller Derby I joined derby in 2007 and was rostered for my second game vs. the new Killamazoo Derby Darlins in Nov 2007.

I tore my ACL in that game and had surgery in January 2008.

Doctors cleared me to return to skate in July 2008, and I started my path back to being on the team. I completed all the return requirements to MSR but when it came to scrimmages, I fell short. I found myself favoring my leg without knowing it. I realized that the lateral strength I had before was gone and would experience pain in those movements.

I was getting discouraged until my friend Jackie Daniels and I were on our flight to Tampa in 2009 for the WFTDA

annual meeting. We talked about my fear and not wanting to quit but not sure where to go. She helped me come to the decision to try my hand at reffing.

So after we returned from Tampa I started to hang with the zebras.

I reffed my first game that December.

I have no desire to ever play again.

I enjoy reffing.

UnderSiege, Independent For me it’s a pretty simple reason/reasoning behind why I choose officiating instead of playing. I liked the physical workout when I started skating, but wanted more of a mental workout.

Once I started officiating, immediately it was obvious that it is more mentally engaging, plus I love the intellectual challenge. I liked the physical workout, I love the mental puzzle. That’s why.

There is a downside to this perspective though...

Boba Threat, Keweenaw Roller Girls I started officiating out of necessity for our local league, the Keweenaw Roller Girls, at the tippy-top of the state of

Michigan. I’d been a hockey player for many years, but knew little about derby.

I’m still a bit of a newbie after two years, and still learning new things every day about the fine details of being a roller derby referee. Aside from a love of the sport, safety is, I think, one of the main reasons to officiate roller derby. What I like about derby is that it empowers women to create communities that build up and encourage everyone. However, given that it’s a full contact sport, bad injuries can happen even with the best of intentions. Everyone loves a good hit, but nobody wants to see the EMTs called onto the track. Even though the WFTDA rule set is carefully crafted to walk this fine line, referees are responsible for not only enforcing the rule set, but also cultivating awareness of safe play. I’ve really come to enjoy officiating derby.

It’s fun to learn a new skill, it hones attention, and it develops a thick skin, among many other things. Above all, though, I’m here for the skaters, and I enjoy being able to contribute to the safe practice of a great sport that helps a lot of people.

Love, exercise, mental and physical challenge, personal growth, friendship and community plus family are some of the facets that make roller derby officiating part of a person’s life. For some, myself included, a chance to be part of a sport that empowers many women to excel and become more is the benefit. Why do we officiate?

To be part of something greater than the whole of any one of us. We contribute to a new direction of athleticism and play a vital role in safety, organization and definition. Even when we are heckled, we know we are still wanted!H fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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making the call: transitioning from skater to official TROUBLE IN KARADISE, NO COAST DERBY GIRLS

Learning to execute a 180º or 360º transition takes hard work and the dedication of repetition for most new skaters.

It is rare that early attempts at a 180 are flawless. Like nearly every roller derby skill, skaters master the mechanics at their own pace. My transition from skater to official, with its awkward, wobbly moments, was no different.

For years I dreamed of becoming a roller derby girl like Ellen Page in Whip It. I wanted to be a part of that tough, cool underground culture. With sweaty palms and an open heart, I joined the Quad City Rollers in Davenport, Iowa in 2011. In eight short months, I transitioned from being a scared newbie to finding my place in my league. But, in an instant, my derby dream came to a screeching halt when a fall at practice resulted in my right leg breaking in four places.

At the time of my injury, I could not picture my evenings and weekends without the adrenaline rush of the sport with which I had quickly fallen in love, but the fear of another injury overwhelmed me. Not ready to throw my skate bag in the back of the closet and walk away from my new identity, I considered making a 180º move to officiating.

I started asking questions. The local officials filled me in on the ins and outs of reffing. I was intrigued! A gift from a friend of a metal pea whistle (which I soon learned was not authorized for use in the sport) finalized my decision to trade in my jersey for a fresh set of zebra stripes.

Admittedly, learning to officiate sometimes felt just like stumbling through the process of learning the 180º and 360º transitions. I made a lot of calls as a new ref, but unfortunately they weren’t all correct. More than once I blew a whistle on what I thought was a penalty, before realizing it was a legal act. As the skaters looked to me for notification on who the penalty belonged to, I gave them the first verbal cue that came to mind – “Sorry, never mind!” Fortunately for

me, skaters and officials alike respect when a referee is able to learn from mistakes.

Being a good official parallels being a good skater just as a well-executed 360 keeps you moving in the right direction.

Both roles require a strong knowledge of the game’s ruleset.

The rudest awakening that I experienced at the start of officiating is how little I actually knew about the rules.

Despite having scored perfectly on my skater rules test, I didn’t know enough. Now, like many officials, I can spend hours studying the rules, poring over every detail. It’s not uncommon to find me at the gym on the elliptical reviewing Section 7 – Scoring. Referees need to be prepared to assess the legality of any scenario on the track, and answer the specific questions that come from the skaters and coaches.

Although skating and officiating occur on the same track, the two groups are focused on very different aspects of the game. Unlike skaters, it is common for a referee not to know the score of the game.

As an official, I am focusing on micro-moments: did the red jammer’s hips get past the opposing skater’s hips or did the blue blocker improve her relative position when reentering the track? Officiating even changed the way I watch the game from the audience; I have been reprogrammed.

Instead of watching the skaters, I watch the officials imagining the call I would or would not make in that scenario. Observing other officials is a great resource I use to pick up new tips and tricks to develop my ref game.

Transitioning from skater to official caused some league relationships to shift. During scrimmages, former teammates disagreed with some of my calls. Occasionally, the tension escalated and I was not invited to hang out after practice with the other derby girls. Receiving negative responses on the track was one of the hardest parts of my skater-to-ref

...skaters and officials alike respect when a referee is able learn from mistakes.

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Taura Horn Photography

...becoming an official means being a part of another team of people who love roller derby transition. I persisted by focusing on my professionalism and confidence while learning to not take anything personally.

Conversely, becoming an official means being a part of another team of people who love roller derby. Officials are an extended family within the league, region, and across the world. Officials love to “talk shop”, discuss rules publications, discover mutual friends, or swap stories of the rare and puzzling scenarios that occurred in past games.

Last year, my officiating family grew when I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where I became a ref with the No Coast Derby Girls. Their large and established crew of officials quickly became my close group of friends on and off the track. Assimilating into this group helped me make a seamless transition when I moved cross country to a new town and into a new league.

Skaters and refs both face tough challenges that can result in great rewards. Just like the 180º or 360º transition skill that required months of practice before landing a good one, the satisfaction of finally getting it is euphoric. Making a good call, correctly citing a rule, or being in the perfect position to see a back block gives me that same euphoria.

Being a successful official takes time, effort, flexibility, and a passion for learning.

Thinking of making the call to become a zebra? My best advice is to be curious! Go out for coffee with your favorite official and soak up as much knowledge as you can about the role. Becoming an official can be an amazing, fulfilling journey with a cast of wonderful, colorful, intelligent, and hardworking characters. Ask questions, work hard, and read the rulebook. When the time is right, consider a transition.H

Being a successful official takes time, effort, flexibility, and a passion for learning. fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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team structure P U N C H Y O ' G U T S, R E S U R G A M R O L L E R D E R B Y

When modern roller derby leagues began, they created home teams because it was the only way a game could happen. There were very few leagues and they were spread across the U.S. Having home teams ensured the precious game time and experience every skater sought.

As more cities and towns birthed derby leagues, there was less of a need for home teams because, just a couple hours away, there was another team to play. A team didn’t have to play another team on their league in order to get game time.

Some leagues, in addition to having home teams, added A/B teams. Some leagues dissolved their home teams and moved to the A/B structure. Other leagues began their league with an A-team and added a B-team as the league grew. Today, you’ll find leagues structured in various ways for various reasons.

Home teams are intraleague teams that play each other within a home season. They train separately and develop their own strategies and plays. Each team consists of skaters at various skill levels, with captains and coaches who lead each team. Players are drafted from a pool of skaters who pass the minimum skills requirement as determined by the league. Most leagues with home teams have at least three home teams, so each team has more than one other team to play. While many skaters view themselves as competitive players, home teams are typically the least competitive team on a league. This is because new skaters are immediately drafted to a team, rather than trying out, and most home teams allow for equal playtime.

Advantages: This structure offers all skaters, regardless of skill level, an opportunity to belong to a team and play games. It offers an opportunity for a young skater to earn the experience needed for a more competitive team and a home for skaters who are not interested in traveling and/or high-level competition. Also, having home teams can build a larger fan base for your league, as locals build loyalty with a team.

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Disadvantages: Home teams can be a costly endeavor for a league because they require significant resources. You need money to afford team practices for each team. You need the resources to host several home games within a season, and you need strong branding and marketing to establish and build a local fan base for each team.

An A-Team is comprised of the league’s most skilled players and plays home and away games. The team consists of up to twenty skaters, fourteen of whom can be rostered for a game. To be eligible for team placement, a skater must consistently demonstrate a set of skills and qualities predetermined by the team. A try-out is held to determine membership. Captains and coaches choose who is placed on a roster and how much playtime each skater is allotted.

Their decision is usually based on a predetermined set of qualities (skill, attendance, attitude) and the unique collection of skaters needed to secure a win (specific type and amount of jammers or blockers that stack up well against the competition).

Advantages: The existance of an A-team creates a hierarchal system in which skill and dedication are rewarded with game play. It also develops healthy competition among skaters. This model is widely used in amateur and professional sports, so it’s easier to research information about the structure.

Disadvantages: The A-team model can feel exclusionary to young skaters who are developing their skills. Because of a subjective or seemingly subjective path from new skater to team member, some skaters develop a feeling of entitlement, asserting that they’ve earned their spot on the team and have been purposefully denied it.

Brangwyn “GI Jones” Photography

The B-team operates similarly to the A-team, but on a less competitive scale. It is the league’s JV team and consists of skaters who have passed minimum skills.

Some leagues immediately place a skater on the B-team after they’ve passed, and some require skaters to try-out for the team.

Advantages: The B-team is a home for skaters with various goals. It can serve as a place for new skaters to acquire the experience and knowledge needed be considered for the A-team, and it’s a home for skaters who don’t want to compete at a higher level. Additionally, it adds to the hierarchal system to foster healthy competition within the league.

Disadvantages: Without constant, clear communication about how the hierarchal system works, the league can fall into unhealthy competition, which can lead to entitlement, which can lead to league drama.

When choosing a team structure, a league should consider its mission and purpose. How many teams do you need to provide playing opportunities for all your skaters?

What level of competitiveness should each team operate at?

Do you need to provide teams with various levels of competitiveness in order to retain skaters?

Aside from answering those questions, the size of the league impacts the success rate of a team structure.

Assuming a healthy team consists of 12-20 skaters, leagues with 10-20 consistent skaters would house only an A-team.

Leagues with 21-30 skaters would support the A/B team structure. Leagues with 31-40 would extend the A/B structure to include a C team, which functions the same as the B-team, but at a lower competitive scale. Leagues with more than forty players could incorporate a structure that houses A/B teams and home teams.

This, of course, isn’t a system that’s strictly adhered to.

You can have a league of thirty skaters and create three home teams. It’s risky and definitely not ideal, but you can play a season with ten skaters per team. It’s all about finding what works for your league. Skaters always seem to find a way to make the impossible happen, don’t they?!H

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RollerGirl Skates ANDI STRUCTION PHOTOS BY NICOLAS CHAREST

Lisa Suggitt talks a lot. Not all the time, just when she’s talking about roller skates. You’d think after more than twelve years, she’d be tired of it, but she enthusiastically chats with every customer at her RollerGirl.ca shop, day after day. It doesn’t matter if they’re buying a full derby package worth hundreds of dollars, or one set of $5 laces, she gives her undivided attention to everyone. She clearly takes roller skates seriously – the amount of knowledge she has about skate wheels alone could fill five TED Talks. This super-personal service isn’t aggressive in the slightest. If the $300 skates fit your needs better than the $600 ones, those are the ones you’re taking home. RollerGirl.ca is a lot like the Apple Store; you’re likely to spend a good chunk of change in there, but you leave feeling like they did YOU a favor.

Let’s back up a bit. Lisa Suggit, aka RollerGirl, is the owner and operator of RollerGirl.ca in Vancouver, BC, and she didn’t get that nickname by accident.

She put on her first pair of white Dominions at five years old, and hasn’t been off skates since. “Roller skating has always been so much more fun than everything else in my life. I feel more comfortable on roller skates than I feel in my shoes. I guess there is something child-like about it.”

She flirted with in-line skating and skateboarding as a teenager, and although she enjoyed them, nothing really stuck. That is, until she had a crazy idea: why not marry the

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adrenaline from the skate park with her beloved roller skates?

In 2001, 23-year-old Lisa was one of the only female aggressive ramp roller skaters in Canada. Her boyfriend, Nicolas Charest was a budding photographer and web designer at the time, and he was inspired to document Lisa’s progress as a beginner aggressive skater, so the two of them started the RollerGirl.ca website.

As Lisa’s skills progressed, she started building her own custom skates from old hockey skates and skateboard parts, and she noticed that she couldn’t find a roller skate shop in Canada where she could get more gear suited to her badass needs. So in 2003, instead of just hosting a photo gallery of cool tricks, she started building and selling custom roller skates online.

Not long after she opened the online shop, Lisa heard about the roller derby resurgence in the U.S., but she wasn’t convinced it was for her.

“I was a bit of a tomboy and I just wasn’t sure what to make of it all. (It was) the tutus and fishnets mostly.”

Because rollerskating is in her blood, when derby finally reached Vancouver, she couldn’t resist its siren call. She attended the league’s first meeting in 2006, and after getting to know the sport and the women involved, she was hooked.

“In the end I wore my share of fishnets and liked it. I got caught up in everyone’s excitement about skating. It was rewarding being part of the evolution of this crazy new sport.”

Because of her roller skating acumen, Lisa was nominated to be the league’s first Head Coach. Her instruction was integral to the TCRG skaters’ athletic development, and laid a strong foundation for the league’s Fresh Meat, house team and WFTDA charter team programs. She was the captain of the Bad Reputations house team for three undefeated seasons, and played for the Terminal City AllStars for nine straight years until her retirement this year.

When roller derby came crashing into Vancouver, RollerGirl.ca obviously became a destination for new players to gear up, and in 2007, Lisa and Nicolas opened the first brick-andmortar RollerGirl.ca shop in East Vancouver. They eventually outgrew that tiny storefront space, and in 2011 they moved to a bigger location on Vancouver’s trendy Main Street.

The converted dance hall is a roller skater’s dream: loads of shiny

recreational and derby skates on display shelves, a full wall covered in safety gear, racks of colorful skateinspired clothing, a hardwood dance floor perfect for trying out new skates, and the jewel in the crown – a mintcondition vintage Roller Disco pinball machine, which she proudly shows off every chance she gets.

The shop is obviously a beauty, but they have a lot more to brag about, because they’re also renowned for their customer service all over the world. Besides the over 30,000 pairs of standard skates they’ve sold, there are the several hundred pairs of custom-built, high-end skates, most of them mounted in-store. (Their Facebook photo album “Custom Skates” is the #1 skate porn site on the internet.) They’ll price match any product they carry with a 10%

discount, they extend manufacturer warranties on basically everything, and they’ll give experienced and attentive advice to anyone who asks, whether you bought your stuff from them or not. They have over 200 five-star reviews on their Facebook page, and close to 1,000 rave reviews on their website.

It’s obvious that Lisa’s warmth and enthusiasm permeates throughout the entire company. Despite the daily grind, she never gets tired of the skate life.

“I love my shop, staff, and our customers. They are all roller skaters, which is a fantastic segment of the population. I feel like I change people’s lives for the better by introducing them to roller skating. It is cute to think how many superstar players have stood (awkwardly) on skates for the first time in my shop.”

Now that she’s retired from roller derby, we asked Lisa about her plans for the future, and she tells us that she’s focusing her limitless energy on the bigger roller skating world. They regularly host Jam Skating workshops, she is in the beginning stages of lobbying the City of Vancouver to build an indoor roller skating facility, and they just released their own RollerGirl.ca Buzz wheels.

Last but not least is the thing that lights her up like a Christmas tree.

“Ramp skating! I have fallen in love again with the skate parks. We founded the Chicks in Bowls chapter in Vancouver this year and it has been a blast. It is an exciting time for park roller skating. When I started, there were only a handful of people worldwide that skated ramps. Thanks to the Chicks in Bowls movement, roller skaters are taking over the skate parks worldwide and I am so happy to be a part of it.”

Go ahead, ask her about any of it.

But get comfortable – if you ask RollerGirl to talk about roller skating, you’re in for a long haul.H

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british championships S I N E A D G A R R Y, L E E D S R O L L E R D O L L S PHOTOS BY JASON RUFFELL

2015 has seen the inaugural season of UKRDA British Roller Derby Championships. The Championships feature both men’s and women’s teams and are the first of their kind in Europe.

The British Champs grew out of a desire for more structure and formality for the growing number of roller derby leagues across the UK. In 2012 Milton Keynes Roller Derby brought together a group of teams based around the Midlands to play in the End of the World series, a series of games played over a number of dates, culminating in a triple header at the end of the year and a trophy for the winners.

This grew in 2013 into the Heartland series, with double the number of teams participating, and in 2014 Heartland doubled again to 24 teams. At this point, there were so many leagues participating in the series that UKRDA were in a position to build on the momentum to create a league structure that covered the entire country. Fu Man Drew of UKRDA and tournament head ref for the 2014 Heartland series, literally contacted every single league in the UK to invite them to participate, which they did, in droves.

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What’s exciting about the structure is that it breaks away from the focus on rankings and individual placings, and instead means that teams are following each other’s fortunes as closely as their own. The regional/local structure makes it easier for leagues to travel to their own and other British Champs games and observe how rival teams are faring, as well as making it logistically easier for participating leagues to organize.

The women’s championship has 72 teams participating across a structure of 4 tiers, subdivided into divisions. Tiers were divided up according to Flat Track Stats and UKRDA standings at the end of Q2 2014. Each team plays each of the other teams in their division once, scoring 3 points for a win and 0 for a loss. If teams are tied on tournament points at the end of the tournament, the winner will be the team with the highest game points differential.

The top tier, UKRDA premier, has a single division of 6 teams and no playoffs, with the champions being decided by divisional placement at the end of the tournament. The bottom 2 teams from tier 1 will be relegated to tier 2 for the next UKRDA championship season.

The other tiers feature more divisions. In each of the other tiers, the top 2 teams from each division progress to playoffs, which feature more teams the more divisions there are in the tier.

Tier 2, UKRDA national, has 2 divisions of 6 teams. The top 2 teams after playoffs will be promoted to tier 1 and the bottom 2 teams will be relegated to tier 3.

Tier 3, regional, has 4 divisions of 6 teams. The top 4 teams after playoffs progress to tier 2 and the bottom 2 teams are relegated to tier 4.

Tier 4, local, has 6 divisions of 5 teams, with the top 8 teams from playoffs being promoted to tier 3. There is no relegation from tier 4.

The men’s tournament has fewer levels as there are as yet considerably fewer men’s leagues in the UK than women’s.

We followed one of the teams through Tier 2 North, Newcastle Roller Girls Canny Belters, on their first ever UKRDA British Champs journey.

At the beginning of the year, Head Coach Kalamity James had no idea that 2015 would be far and away the most successful season NRG would have had. “As much as we wanted it to happen, we had no idea at the start of the season that this is where we were going to be,” Kalamity explained, in an interview before the T2 North playoffs.

“2015 has exceeded all our expectations so far, to be

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playing for gold. We worked really hard in the off season, so it shouldn’t have been such a surprise! But we weren’t expecting to do so well.”

The Canny Belters came within a whisker of winning gold at SKOD, somewhat to their own surprise –some of their players had booked flights home before the final finished.

In fact, the SKOD final was the only game the Belters lost in 2015 – and they only lost by 2 points. Kalamity puts some of this success down to coaching, recruitment and retention of skaters. “We have a really strong league and a really deep roster,” she explains. “Our B team is one of the strongest in Europe, and that’s starting to really pay off, because it means we have a lot of resilience within both teams.”

“The British Champs have been a really good opportunity for us, and a really good opportunity for the North,” Kalamity says, a view which is echoed by Canny Belters captain, Penny Bizarre.

“We went into the season feeling really positive and thinking that we were in a really good place, but we were looking at playing Hot Wheel and Leeds, thinking they were going to be really tough and working really hard on strategies for those individual games, and it paid off. As we’ve played more of the games our confidence has grown,

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we had such a sense of achievement when we pulled it off.

“The northern division is stronger than the south, and next year tier 1 will be dominated by northern teams and Scotland,” Penny says, as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Middlesbrough and Cardiff are to be joined next season by Newcastle and Nottingham.

Both Penny and Kalamity are really looking forward to the prospect of playing different teams next year. “We’ve played Glasgow’s B team before but never their A team, it’s really exciting that there are new opponents on the table,” Penny says. Kalamity adds that based on the success of this year, Newcastle are not intimidated by the prospect. “Beating [UKRDA tier 1] Middlesbrough at SKOD was a real high point of the year, because we’ve played them several times in the past and they’ve always taken the win.” Newcastle will be joining Middlesbrough to compete in tier 1 next season, placing the teams on a more equal footing.

As for next year, Penny says, “this year we really wanted to challenge ourselves and play these [tier 2] teams – it has been challenging but we’ve managed to overcome it and succeed beyond our expectations. We’re looking forward to continuing to raise our game.” And we’re looking forward to watching you do it. Go on you Canny Belters!H

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derby life TEQKILLIA, WINDY CITY ROLLERS

There are a number of roller derby books available these days, which span from how to start skating to how to improve as a skater, however this is the first book that is completely holistic in scope.

Derby Life: A Crash Course In The Incredible Sport of Roller Derby covers

rdo design by Zak Dea photo by TJ Chase,

ff

the history of the sport along with an

Gotham City’s Margot “Em Dash” Atwell is an eight-plus year veteran to the sport, who has captained, coached and competed on home and travel teams, allowing for a broad perspective that encompasses all areas of roller derby.

Added to her insight are numerous interviews and vignettes provided by various experts. Windy City’s Papa Doc writes about injury diagnosis, treatment and returning to play, along with the importance of maintaining hydration. Information on fitness and cross training specific to derby is written by Booty Quake of Roller Derby Athletics; and an excellent nutrition overview (for example, no fad diets!), is provided by Tri-City’s Lilith NoFair. In addition, personal stories from

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overview of the rules, derby culture, nutrition, gear, sports(wo)manship, and even retirement.

skaters on a range of topics from motivation to sobriety are included, which will appeal to skaters in different stages of their lives and derby careers.

Well researched, with endnotes provided, along with a listing of books, movies and articles about the sport, Derby Life is a great resource for anybody curious about roller derby. Of particular value is the extensive background on the origins of derby and its evolution to the game that it is today. Through interviews with derby pioneer Jerry Seltzer, the book showcases the originality and unique nature of roller derby, along with explaining how it has morphed (and continues to morph!) into current game play rules

Sean Hale aka Hale Yeah

Tyler Shaw

Dave Wood

Dave Wood

Juan Paden

and strategies. Em Dash points out that “nobody grows up playing roller derby”, which is great for everybody starting off on relatively equal footing, but, ideally, all those involved in the sport can also know and speak to its humble beginnings from the Great Depression. Of special importance is the early representation of women in derby and the ability of female skaters to earn as much as their male counterparts, as well as the concept of skater profit-sharing that existed in the original leagues. While much has changed since the 1920s, the big personalities, creative personas and sometimes circus-like atmosphere of roller derby remain in the spirit of today’s scene.

While virtually no skaters are currently paid to skate (with a few rare exceptions), the culture of today’s roller derby is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Em Dash emphasizes the importance of being reliable, driven and low-drama in order to be the best teammate. While skill on the track is important, dedication and contributions in organization and leadership are extremely necessary as well. Insider information on the concept of “derby wives”, dating etiquette and after party fun are also outlined.

Not interested in being a skater, but want to get involved in roller derby? Chapter 3 provides a who’s who of the sport and outlines the myriad roles of NSOs, mascots, managers, etc.

For those looking to begin as a skater and try out for a league, chapters 4 and 5 explain how to get started. Additional chapters also cover basic derby gear, how to choose a name, and information on the wide range of leagues and their various structures.

For existing and experienced skaters, Derby Life tackles how to train one’s brain for roller derby by setting goals and learning from others, studying the rules and game footage for improvement, and utilizing sports psychology (i.e. visualization and self-talk) for optimum results. There are some great tips on how to be prepared for bout day and traveling for scrimmages and tournaments.

Also for seasoned skaters are chapters on dealing with stress, addressing plateaus, rekindling the passion, and ultimately, retirement. The chapter on Life After Skating provides great ideas on other alternatives to personal development and how to fill the void when the inevitable time to retire is upon a skater.

Funded by a Kickstarter project and written by a skater for skaters, Derby Life is the perfect example of both the helpfulness and DIY culture of modern roller derby. Definitely check out this book to expand your knowledge of the sport and learn something new.H

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2015

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herbal derby

Gypsy Wagon Apothecary and fiveonfive present

A user friendly cookbook focusing on the medicinal properties of 5 popular kitchen herbs.

By detailing their medicinal properties along with some entertaining facts and applications, users of this book begin to understand how our food can become delicious medicine.

With a few simple adjustments, Herbal Derby can easily accommodate every dietary requirement for optimal health and vitality. available at fiveonfivemag.com

herbal derby

Gypsy Wagon Apothecary and fiveonfive present

A user friendly cookbook focusing on the medicinal properties of 5 popular kitchen herbs.

By detailing their medicinal properties along with some entertaining facts and applications, users of this book begin to understand how our food can become delicious medicine.

With a few simple adjustments, Herbal Derby can easily accommodate every dietary requirement for optimal health and vitality.

derbylife.com der e bylife om m available at fiveonfivemag.com

remembering those we have lost Rancid Badger #7

Big Red #88

Country Girl #76

Zombiegoat

Casper #57

aka Simon Knight 1975-2014 Plymouth Mens Roller Derby

aka Annis Jensen 1922-2015 San Francisco Bay Bombers

aka Alicia Hummel 1986-2015 Sioux City Roller Dames

aka Jesse Cairns 1973-2015 Sac City Rollers

aka Sam Taub 1999-2015 the Darlings of Destruction

Sic Shooter #06

RockHell #4

Bat Wing #68

Mexica Mayhem #23

aka Kimberly Hardy 1979-2015 Texas Rollergirls

aka Raquel Keola Blanco 1969-2015 Assassination City Roller Derby

aka Evan Jones 1980-2015 GateKeepers Roller Derby

aka Jen Ortiz 1978-2015 Rocky Mountain Rollergirls

Choche #929rr

Slam Van Diesel #1988

Rob Lobster #b52

Josie Ozzbourne #109

aka Travis Johnson 1983-2015 Slick City Rollerz Drive-By City Rollers

aka Samantha Miller 1988-2015 Confluence Crush Roller Derby

aka Robin Ludwig 1980-2015 Rose City Rollers

aka Lola Salines 1986-2015 La Boucherie de Paris Roller Derby

you will never be forgotten!

Thank you to Oscar the Roach for creating “the final jam” yahoo group – sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/THE_FINAL_JAM If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know.

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Winter 2015 | fiveonfivemag.com

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Winter 2015 | fiveonfivemag.com 1. Outlet in background is missing. 2. Blocker’s number has changed.

3. Jammer’s right wheels are now orange. 4. Men’s sign in background is missing. 5. Track tape is missing on left.

6. The logo on the jammer’s right knee pad is missing. 7. Girl in center of crowd has changed.

Jennifer M. Ramos

THERE ARE SEVEN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PHOTOS – FIND ‘EM!