fiveonfive | issue 6 | Winter 2009

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK DERBY ASSOCIATION (WFTDA) ISSUE 6, WINTER 2009

fiveonfivemag.com

G N I T S O GREAT H !

S K N A H T T A E R G S E V R E S E D

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2009 WFTDA TOURNAMENT HOSTESSES! EAST Wicked Wheels of the East, hosted by Carolina Rollergirls NORTH CENTRAL Brawl of America, hosted by Minnesota Rollergirls SOUTH CENTRAL Southern Fried Smackdown, hosted by Atlanta Rollergirls WEST Derby on the Rocks, co-hosted by Rocky Mountain Rollergirls and Denver Roller Dolls NATIONALS Declaration of Derby, hosted by Philly Rollergirls

Real. S Strong. trong. Athl Athletic. etic. Revolu Revolutionary. utionary. www.wftda.com

4-5 advice

30-32

ask dahmernatrix and suzy hotrod!

WFTDA

6-9

Four regions, 40 teams... The 2009 WFTDA Tournament Season was the biggest “Derby Death March” thus far.

business announcing: your best marketing tool giving back: eight easy ways to maximize charity relations

Jules Doyle

10-15

health and fitness vitamin d: it’s not just for bones anymore stretching for roller derby

2009 WFTDA nationals recap season structure

Can roller derby break into the mainstream consciousness while retaining its DIY-ness? Or does it have to make a choice?

34-35 JRDA

JayVollmar.com

24-27 gear gear questions answered wheels: grippiness and durometer

a ballet of whip-cracking, barrel-rolling lionesses

42-44 roller derby history A glimpse into the storied past of roller derby.

36-39 rookie the trials and tribulations of forming a new league pre-bout jitters

46-47 international derby 48-49 have derby, will travel 50-54 art and media 55 classifieds 60 horoscopes

40-41 sport and spectacle: does roller derby need both to succeed?

16-23 games and coaching

A.J. Epstein

ls

fiveonfive contents

editor she who cannot be named rocky mountain rollergirls copy editor vera n. sayne rocky mountain rollergirls content manager annsanity rocky mountain rollergirls art director assaultin’ pepa rocky mountain rollergirls contributing writers dahmernatrix duke city derby suzy hotrod gotham girls roller derby bob noxious mad rollin’ dolls harriet beecher ass roc city roller derby john rudoff, m.d., fac portland, oregon

from the editor Welcome to the sixth issue of fiveonfive magazine, the official magazine of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)!

Let me start by saying that I’m super excited and honored to be stepping up and filling the big shoes (skates) of my league mate and friend, Anne Shank. It is my hope that fiveonfive continues to bring joy and reinforces the love of derby in each and every one of its readers – and also those who like great photos!

Kidding aside, as 2009 draws to a close, it is simply amazing to reflect on what the year has brought for the sport of women’s flat track roller derby. Not only did

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the WFTDA membership expand to 78 members, but its Apprentice Program got

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lift-off with the acceptance of 23 leagues. Thus, the country was divided into four regions for ranking purposes, which gave birth to two more regional

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tournaments. WFTDA Nationals saw 12 teams competing in Philadelphia for the

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Hydra trophy in November (mad Congrats to Oly!). 2009 also saw the first

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European tournament – Roll Britannia – hosted by the London Rollergirls, who were also the eventual champion. Other multi-league events – The Big One, RollerCon and The East Coast Extravaganza (to name only few) attracted derby

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folk from near and far to feed the collective derby addiction.

loco chanel windy city rollers

On the administrative end of things, the WFTDA hired its first two full-time paid

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employees: Bloody Mary as Executive Director and Toss’er Assout as Insurance Administrator. The Referee Certification program continues to gain momentum

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with not only ensuring quality officiating on the track but also fuel lively

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conversation off the track regarding rules and game practices. At the annual

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WFTDA conference in Tampa, member leagues hunkered down face-to-face for the fifth time in the organization’s short history to discuss growth and plan the

ringo scarr nashville rollergirls

future of our sport. No easy feat considering that we are such a diverse group of

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individuals with many opinions, visions and ideas.

hurt reynolds derby news network

Here at fiveonfive, we are continually striving to bring you, the derby enthusiast,

luscious smacksome rocky mountain rollergirls cover photo jules doyle type2bphoto.com fiveonfive magazine info@fiveonfivemag.com myspace.com/fiveonfivemag fiveonfivemag.com

useful and comprehensive information regarding all things flat track.

Your thoughts, stories, and suggestions are always welcome at editor@fiveonfivemag.com.

She Who Cannot Be Named #88 Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Denver, CO 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.

Loco Chanel

Harriet Beecher Ass Kris Dreessen, aka Cuss Muffin

Loco Chanel loves tournaments, more than most folks and probably more than what is healthy. Loco skates for Chicago's Windy City Rollers and loves WCR a lot. She will try to convince anyone who'll listen that they should skate for Windy City too, regardless of present location. Loco also loves WFTDA. She currently serves as Treasurer for WFTDA's Board of Directors. She enjoys her dual Directrix roles of "America's WFTDA Rep" and Ca$h Box. In years previous, she has married these passions by working for the WFTDA Tournaments Committee, furiously casting bouts for Derby News Network and cheerleading for the WCR All-Stars. Next year, she'll be co-chairing the WFTDA National Championship Tournament, hosted by the Windy City Rollers. She thinks you should start looking for flights to Chicago for November 2010 because WFTDA, WCR, and tournaments are awesome.

Coach Pauly

Hurt Reynolds

Originally hailing from the Great Pacific Northwest, Harriet Beecher Ass is proud to skate with Roc City Roller Derby of Rochester, New York.

Like her namesake of Harriet Beecher Stowe, this grantwriter by day and blocker/ pivot by night is an avid reader who is passionate about community involvement and thoughtful activism. She brings much dedication to her work on the charitable side of roller derby as the head of her league’s Community Engagement Committee.

Bob Noxious

Hurt Reynolds was head scorekeeper and production monkey for Seattle’s Rat City Rollergirls during their first two seasons, more recently contributing in similar roles for WFTDA tournaments and RollerCon 2006-2008. He spent most of 2007 traveling, observing, and assisting leagues from coast to coast, while documenting his experiences at havederbywilltravel.com. Today, he’s a Duke City Derby hanger-on-er, a DNN partner, and manager of the Derbymatic bout database project.

With over four years of derby coaching and referee experience that includes working with 20+ leagues across the U.S. and Canada, Coach Pauly helped bring AZRD’s Tent City Terrors to a national ranking of #3 in 2006. Coach Pauly has shared his knowledge with countless leagues at a number of training seminars and camps.

Justice Feelgood Marshall Justice Feelgood Marshall began his derby career in the summer of 2005 with Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls as a referee, and since then has dedicated much of (some would say too much of) his life to following derby wherever it leads him.

He’s participated as a referee in over 80 bouts around the nation, including all of the 2007 WFTDA tournaments; was head referee of RollerCon 2007; has helped train leagues from Edmonton, Canada to Lubbock, Texas; and founded one of the first male flat track derby teams, the Harm City Homicide in Baltimore.

In addition to his many duties on the track, he is the managing editor of derbynewsnetwork.com, a central point for derby recaps, scores and previews that he launched in September 2007.

Bob Noxious began announcing for the Mad Rollin’ Dolls in late 2004 with co-announcer Baam Baam. After four seasons representing the Dolls at home and on the road, his passion for the game led to a coaching role with the league’s Vaudeville Vixens in 2009, sharing the thrill of watching the team participate in and win their first league championship.

He will continue to work with the Vixens during the 2010 MRD season. He is known nationally for helping upstart leagues train announcers, presenting regular RollerCon sessions, and working on mic at most national WFTDA sanctioned events and various regional events. In 2007, he started the derby novelty company Flyin' Squirrel, which can be found at flyinsquirrel.com.

advice

Suzy Hotrod

Dahmernatrix

Gotham Girls Roller Derby, New York, NY

San Diego Derby Dolls, San Diego, CA

DEAR BLOCKER AND JAMMER, I’ve been skating for about 4 years now, and I’m struggling with a dilemma: while I love playing the game and the camaraderie I feel with my teammates, I’m becoming resentful for not having the time to do other things. It seems I have to make an appointment with myself for something as simple as reading a book! I have a full time job that is pretty stressful and sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get home from practice is read 50 emails about uniforms. Help!

-BURNING OUT

DEAR BURNING OUT, As you further your skating career, let go of some administrative responsibilities. It is important for your league’s long-term survival for the admin tasks to trickle down to newer girls for the longevity of the sport anyway. Become like a grandmom. You did the hard work, now enjoy the grandkids. The skating is the best part. Really enjoy it. Learn to delegate if you are in a role of leadership. You don’t have to do everything yourself, and if you’re someone who does have to do everything yourself take a step back and realize. Your league will have to go on without you eventually, so you really don’t have to be doing everything yourself.

Leagues have home teams that are made up of all kinds of skaters and that’s what is so great about our sport. You don’t have to kill yourself to play derby. I know some home team leaguemates that carry a slightly lighter practice load and still maintain their attendance and committee requirements but give themselves a little more personal time.

As travel teams nationally become more competitive, that doesn’t mean that home teams will stop offering an active learning environment for varying skill levels and varying schedules for women that really do want to skate.

Most importantly you need to decide if you really want to be skating or not. All derby girls are dedicated, hard working, and creative. Ones that retire from skating continue to be completely active in their lifestyles, just with a new hobby, or a hobby that had taken a backseat to skating! All of my friends that are retired miss skating but also love their new schedules and ability to work on other projects and still be able to come see the league they retired from skate in bouts and be supportive of their love of derby, even off skates.

4 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

DEAR BURNING OUT, Roller derby has grown so much and by degrees. If you’re like 99% of everyone who plays this sport, what might have started as a lark to get fit and kill some weeknights has probably taken over most of your life. The important thing to remember is that you let it replace everything else because you love it. It’s more fun than just about anything else, and you like people who do it so much more than you like people who don’t. Go ahead. Take a break. You’ll find out how boring everything and everyone else is.

Roller derby is the best thing in the world. And if or when it gets to the point where it feels just as tedious as your job, maybe it’s time to take a critical look at what really needs your attention and what doesn’t. When it comes down to it, do you really care what your uniform looks like? What band plays the next bout? What font is used on the next bout poster? I think you’ll find some of the decisions that you find tiresome are exciting to people who might have easier jobs or more time, and it’s okay to let them take over. Go ahead and skip a practice to have a nice dinner and read a book; I won’t tell your captain! Roller derby is fun, and every time a derby girl forgets how fun it is, a fairy loses her wings and Baby Jesus starts to cry.

Don’t let that happen.

How much time and effort you have to dedicate to your league will probably fluctuate throughout your derby career, and in order to prevent burnout or flaking it’s important that you are always honest with yourself and your leaguemates about how much you can realistically give. Leagues need everyone to contribute, but don’t put yourself in a position where you’re doing too much and all of it makes you unhappy. If everyone feels this way, maybe your league’s ambition was a little too big for its sparkly britches. If it’s just a few people, maybe it’s time to restructure and let more people in so everyone is doing a little less. Either way, you need to remember: THIS IS FUN!

DEAR BLOCKER AND JAMMER, “We all know jamming can be physically tough. Every skater on the floor from the other team is gunning for you, you have to be Brian Murphree able to take a hit, be quick on your feet and of course endurance, endurance, endurance. But, what can you do to mentally keep your head while jamming in a bout? It can be terribly frustrating to be stuck behind a pack wall, or just when you see the light of day and you’re so close to breaking out of the pack, you go down and have to fight your way back through all over again. What do you do to keep your chin up and emotions in check?”

-HEAD CASE

DEAR HEAD CASE, Ever see The Simpson’s episode where Homer finds out he has a crayon poking his brain and it’s making him dumb? Stick a crayon up your nose and hit the track. My heart turns off my brain. And if my heart wants something, the brain never wins.

The body can do the job. We spend countless hours conditioning our bodies to play sports. It’s the brain that F’s everything up.

Your brain is going to cause doubt and emotional frustration, your heart is not.

If you respond to tough love, think of it this way: You have a two minute job. You are the only one that can score points.

Is it really fair to your blockers that you get frustrated and can’t do your job, because you’re upset? I think my blockers would hurt me themselves if my brain made me fill with doubt and frustration. There is no time to think out there, no time to let myself or my teammates down with the brain distracting my athletic strength.

I have derby amnesia, work on getting it. (I’m sorry, it's not sexually transmitted, so stay the hell away from me. In fact don’t touch me.) Anyway, I don’t remember anything from a second ago. All I think about is “What’s next?” And, “Go! Go! Go!” Skate with survival instinct. No time to think about anything except getting through and getting out. You’re not a braless horror movie victim. You are the one that lasts till the end of movie. When you’re sweating, falling, running, yelling, hitting, it’s all heart and instinct. No time to think, only time for action. You are the action, make everyone else react.

DEAR HEAD CASE, I feel like you’re asking me two different questions here: 1) How do you deal with the pressure of jamming? And 2) How do you lose a game without losing your mind?

I know you didn’t say the Scary L Word, but I think we can all agree that the situation you’re describing is not usually associated with winning, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Well, for one thing, you need to let go of the expectation that it’s up to the jammer to win (or lose) the game, because that’s not true at all. Without getting involved in the blame game, I’m going to stress that team performance is dependent on everyone, not just the point-scorer. By giving you the star, your team is trusting you to do your job: to be speedy, tricky, and slippery; but their accountability to you doesn’t end there. Your blockers should be doing their best to make sure those walls get torn down before they get built, and they need to get all protective-dad on it and punish blockers for even thinking about touching you. I’m not going to lie – as a blocker, imagining me and three of my teammates together walling or waterfalling on an opposing jammer and killing her soul is just about the most fun I can think of. But whenever the four of us are having a great time all doing the same thing, a part of me knows there must be something that’s not getting done. We need to be protecting our starry headed baby.

That’s not to say that you should expect your blockers to deliver you through the pack all of the time. I can tell you that the two fastest ways to make your team stop wanting to make clears for you is to either not take them when they make them, or need them all of the time. Both things are equally frustrating and demotivating for a blocker. But here’s the thing: your team wouldn’t have given you the star if they didn’t have confidence in you, so now you need to relax, take a breath, and have the same confidence in yourself. Just remember that you’re not alone, you’ve got four of your girls on the floor with you and twice as many more on the bench. And you’re all in this together. I’m not going to make any false promises – sometimes everyone will do their job, and you’re still going to be outskated.

That’s just a part of playing the game. Don’t see it as a personal failure, and don’t start placing blame. Just remember everything that frustrated you in the game and take it as direction for what to practice more in the future.

need advice? email advice@fiveonfivemag.com fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 5

business

announcing: your best marketing tool BOB NOXIOUS, MAD ROLLIN' DOLLS Joe Schwartz / JoeRollerfan.com

As you wait to take the track, your name to be called, fans screaming... does it give you goose bumps? If not, why?

You’ve worked out the pre-bout nerves?

Or is it because your announcers aren’t very good?

Named by pants, I was reborn!

In late 2004, I spotted the most hideous pants at the mall. “Man, those are obnoxious.” I stood in a vortex of fate having found my name, persona, and passion. I became Bob Noxious. I had no idea what that meant, how life would change and how many people I’d touch as announcer for the Mad Rollin’ Dolls in Madison, WI. Good announcers work the crowd, know names and study rules. The great announcers come armed with stats, history and can explain strategy as well as rules. I work hard at what I do. I work even harder to help others improve. We are, as Carolina’s Rocker Boy would say, “the sub-culture of the sub-culture.”

There aren’t enough announcers, period.

This is another reason the exceptional stand out. To make my point, many of you may know me, know of my name, or would recognize my voice. The same can be said of another dozen or so announcers. Ego doesn’t fuel that statement. It indicates how few leagues find good announcers, keep them, and take them on the road.

Announcers as a major source of marketing Skating in front of a packed house is exciting! BUT, it also fills league coffers.

Step out of the skates a moment and 6 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

think business. We don’t play for pay, but money brings assets, growth and supports travel. And it needs to grow over time. Flyers, appearances and media comprise the basic marketing/PR arsenal. Early on, media attention is easy. You’re new and interesting. By the third season, it’s harder. Newspapers have done multiple stories, you’ve been on the radio shows and the local sports hack skated with you and fell on his/her ass for the Six O’clock News. League success relies on building a hardcore fan base – those who come once, get hooked and are back for every bout.

Once fans attend their first bout, what brings them back? The product on the track plays the biggest role. But how much of the audience’s return is influenced by announcers? Announcers are the bridge between the game and crowd. Good announcers are engaging, entertaining, push merchandise, keep sponsors happy, explain rules and strategies and keep bouts interesting.

Derby has NOTHING familiar even to the avid sports fan. There is no ball, puck, goals, nor end zones. Without good announcing, derby really does look like “girls skating in circles hitting each other.” And how long will FANS (not friends, family and co-workers) keep returning if that’s their impression?

The paying ticket holder is not discussed enough. We need them!

Good announcers help bring them back. Bad announcers can hurt fan and sponsorship retention, thus league profits. Not to mention, they may annoy

skaters or miss opportunities to build hype. How disappointing is it to do something amazing – break a league record, beat your rival for the first time – yet the crowd is silent. Why? Announcers didn’t pay attention nor do prep work.

My epiphany If you think this revelation came from a higher-being, you’re right. I received it straight from Crackerjack, our cofounder. She knew MRD had good announcing. Cracker booked the first interleague bout east of the Mississippi with Gotham days before her and I would meet about marketing. We shared small talk, and then she asked, “Are you going to New York?” The question caught me off-guard. Why would I go? “No Cracker, I wasn’t planning to.” She then totally surprised me. “Listen! I’m not sending us all the way to New York without a voice. If we don’t have our announcers, I’m not skating! I’ll announce and make sure EVERYONE KNOWS WHO THE MAD ROLLIN’ DOLLS ARE!” What backgrounds make for good announcers?

My answer is typically, “I have no idea.”

Most announcers have no experience ( I never held a mic before derby).

The one common thread that does pop up is having performed in front of a crowd before. Comedy, theater and bands are examples. Radio personalities? Some adapt well and some can’t face the crowd. The DJ booth and the track are very different environments.

n.com

How should we determine who to choose?

Most announcers, myself included, were in the right place at the right time.

A skating co-worker got me involved.

For others, it’s often a friend, girlfriend or wife saying, “Hey, s/he’d be good at it.” Job interview finished. Welcome to derby! Luckily, for some, it turned out to be a talent we didn’t know we had.

How do you choose skaters? Do you allow girls to bring friends/partners and immediately deem them rollergirls? Of course not! Advertise for announcers on your website, MySpace, Facebook, in the newspaper, etc. If skaters have friends/significant others interested, bring them in with other applicants. Have all attend a few practices with someone who can explain the basics of the game. Then hold tryouts.

They could announce a few scrimmages at practice or call to

doesn’t happen by showing up for a bout once a month. My co-announcer and I spent three years at most practices.

Drills taught us technique. We watched skaters progress, anticipating their “breakout bout.” On scrimmage days, we announced, honing our skills. We were there as strategy was taught to the league and travel teams. Most importantly, it built a bond of trust

past bout footage at a sponsor bar, which gives them a crowd to face.

Whatever you do, MAKE THEM EARN IT. What about ex-skaters? Sure, try them out. Some are wonderful. But don’t assume all of them will be. I know the game, coach the game, but it doesn’t mean if I had expensive, gender-altering surgery that I could play the game! I’d suck. Same goes with announcing. It’s a different skill set. There is no script,

rosters, in order of introduction, refs, sponsors... anything to be announced that night. Info was organized on a single, two-sided sheet. Other announcers prep even harder.

and friendship with the skaters.

We also prepared. I’d spend six hours on bout week gathering stats, looking for trends and noting performances from the previous bout. Documentation had

Brian Murphree

play-by-play can’t be two laps behind, color can’t take three minutes. We stand looking into the faces of hundreds or thousands of people all night. It’s not everyone’s bag. Projecting your voice, giving succinct descriptions, picking out nuances at high speeds, and quickly providing analysis at the WFTDA level isn’t easy. Mentally, it’s exhausting.

Set expectations Like skaters, establish expectations for new announcers. Developing skills

Why quality announcing is only getting more important Every year, the sport is more competitive and complex. Leagues are increasing their skills at a faster pace, WFTDA leagues have grown exponentially and there are more interleague bouts and tournaments than ever. Your announcers need to know the game and how to work with announcers from other leagues. They can no longer fake it with jokes and lack of preparation. Working with someone new has a protocol and is a skill. Your announcer will stand out, negatively, at bouts or tournaments if they aren’t ready. I’ve seen announcers pulled by their teams, learning this the hard way. And tournament announcing is

a different animal. Three announcers working a bout need to know the game, roles and how to cue each other. If your announcer isn’t ready for that level, it hurts all three.

There are resources!

After the first Dust Devil in 2006 – the first time nearly every announcer worked with someone they didn’t know – we established a private online group to discuss topics and share ideas. Today, resources are many. Now, there are online groups for announcers of all experience levels – from brand-new to the tenured; and another specifically for WFTDA announcers. Myself and six others are the first board members for the AFTDA (Association of Flat Track Derby Announcers). We were elected by peers from the WFTDA leagues. In addition, contributing to the online groups, 2009 saw the AFTDA organize WFTDA announcer communication in accordance with regions, adopt a Code of Conduct and develop a formal relationship with refs. The AFTDA has created numerous training materials for new and tenured announcers, standardized and documented announcing management for tournaments (used at all five WFTDA tournaments) and continues to express our interest to the WFTDA officials that we want our goals to be in sync with their expectations.

For a group that could fight for attention, we take pride in sharing experiences and helping each other.

To make things easy, if you have new announcers or, as a league officer, have questions, direct them to me at madrollinbob@yahoo.com. From there, I can get you to the right materials, person or online group.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 7

business

giving back: eight easy ways to maximize charity relations HARRIET BEECHER ASS, ROC CITY ROLLER DERBY

Charity Relations is more than just quietly handing over a check at the end of a bout.

Making the community engagement component of your league a priority and maximizing the impact of your contributions takes little more than some foresight and creativity, but can reap great rewards.

Here are eight easy ways to enrich the relationship with your community to benefit your charities and your league: 1. Do your research.

To get the greatest impact from your league’s charitable contributions, you must be sure that charity recipients are spending their money in a high-impact manner to begin with.

Independent evaluation sites, such as Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org), are great places to start, particularly if your target organizations are large. If your league prefers to keep donations local, though, it’s not hard to research smaller organizations – it just takes a little homework.

When interviewing potential charity recipients, ask about their administrative rates, how the organization is structured and what percent of their budget is spent on fundraising.

As a general rule of thumb, support organizations that dedicate more of their budget to direct services; the lower their fundraising expenses, the better. While you’re at it, ask what their CEO/director’s annual salary is.

2. Incorporate the charity’s presence at your bout.

Invite featured organizations to staff a table at your bout where they can display promotional literature, have a donation bucket and even sell their own merch, if they have any. Our league also coordinates with the charities to see if they have any freebies to give out to the crowd and announcers use official timeouts and halftime to throw the schwag into the audience.

It doesn’t matter if they are ugly, outdated walk-a-thon shirts or cute stuffed animals with the charity’s info attached – the crowd goes wild over catching the goodies, stays engaged in the bout even when it’s slow, and the charity gets a little extra exposure. Win-Win-Win.

8 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

An especially classy touch is to acknowledge not only the charity, but also the audience members affected by the charity.

Working with an organization fighting to end breast cancer?

Ask for a moment of silence for those lost to the disease and then for survivors to please stand and be recognized to wild applause. Audience participation is part of what makes people feel invested, so finding a way to incorporate your charities is a natural extension that enriches the relationship for all involved.

3. Have a door collection.

People will only give so much in financial donations but are often happy to give the extra stuff they already have in their houses. Make sure to only collect common items without too many restrictions, such as canned pet food for animal service agencies, toiletries for homeless shelters, etc. As an extra incentive, we offer a raffle ticket to win a halftime prize to each person who participates. The charities are responsible for bringing the prize (which we advertise on bout posters when they are particularly good, such as an iPod, electric razor scooter or a football signed by a professional player).

Remember, consistency is key. In order for this to work, the door collection needs to be well-publicized and a regular feature of your bouts.

4. Get creative.

Think about what your league has to offer that could work for the charities in question, in addition to money and exposure to your (hopefully) large audience. Do you have an amazing dedicated practice space that your charities could use for a special event? Access to a credit card machine that allows people to buy their merch through your system and give the charity their sales in cash at the end of the night? Don’t forget the huge asset of derby girls simply being really cool, which can also be used for the powers of good. As part of our relationship with an organization that recruits foster and adoptive families for children who have been waiting the longest for permanent homes, we have taken a 16-year-old girl under our collective wing as an “Honorary Ref.” She has been christened with a derby name and league shirt from our merch

Roc City Roller Derby presents a “big check” to Sojourner House, a local group that offers transitional housing and case management for women and children in need.

RCRD also collected almost 800 diapers as part of their door collection for them. photo by Bob Krzaczek, aka Pixel8

booth and will be honored at our final bout through introductions with the actual refs. Her role is to come early (with a chaperone) to help prepare for the bout by setting up the track and will have a special seat during the event (near the players, but not in the center, as she is a minor). This unique offering has helped foster an incredibly rich relationship and takes very little effort and money. What else does your league have to offer?

5. Make their connections work for you.

Many local organizations are well-rooted in their communities and have long lists of contacts and donors through which your event can be publicized. Send them promotional material to post around their offices and as email blasts. See if they’re willing to sell tickets out of their organization’s office, write press releases and post a link to the event prominently on their website. There are likely lots of places around town that would not be otherwise willing to post your flier, but will if it is to benefit charities, such as libraries and fire stations. Let the charity PR machines work in your favor – they often can get event plugs published that the paper otherwise wouldn’t run.

6. Volunteer.

Volunteering at local events sponsored by your pet charities is a great way to both do some good in your community and increase your visibility, possibly winning over fans without even trying. Many events will allow your league to serve in uniform and sometimes there are even jobs that can be done on skates (such as setting the pace for the front of charity walks). We babysat children during outreach workshops for battered women, have been auctioned off for charity and even received TV exposure while answering phones for a PBS pledge drive.

Trick-or-Canning (collecting non-perishable food for the homeless on Halloween) is a great low-commitment and

worthwhile endeavor that also raises awareness of your league door-to-door. As a plus, it tends to appeal to league members with children who might not otherwise have much time to give.

And don’t overlook your main skill – knowing how to skate! Call organizations that work with underprivileged youth to offer to share your passion through an afternoon group skate lesson for the kids.

7. Keep in touch.

Send reminders about upcoming bouts to charities with which you’ve partnered and as part of your league’s extended family, send them special offers and notices first. Having a sale on merch? Did a volunteer usher position open up? Only selling a limited number of season tickets or trackside seats?

Give employees of your charities first dibs.

8. Publicly acknowledge your commitment to the community.

If your donation is particularly large, have one of those big checks made up and turn it into a photo opportunity. We also present a bout poster signed by our whole league along with each check, some of which have rather prominent displays in the charity offices and serve as a permanent (free) advertisement for our league to all who visit that organization.

Many leagues have one page of their website feature their community involvement, tallying up contributions donated, highlighting pictures from volunteer activities and posting those incredibly heartwarming thank you notes from the charities.

Your organization has the power to really be a pillar of your community – don’t be afraid to let people know. A letter to the mayor introducing your efforts never hurts!

Interested in sharing your own great community engagement ideas? Email givingback@rocderby.com or sign up on the Yahoo! Group for roller derby league charity representatives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/charityrelations.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 9

health and fitness

vitamin d: it’s not just for bones anymore J O H N R U D O F F, M . D . , FA C , A K A J O H N N Y T H E K N I F E

Fact of life: rollergirls fall down. A lot. Usually they go splat, but occasionally they go crunch. Your bones take a beating, and so we’ll start talking about vitamin D in the usual way – concerning healthy and strong bones. But we won’t end there. Vitamin D is a lot more interesting than just bones.

Vitamin D (we’ll now just call it D) allows the gut to absorb calcium and phosphorus, and without adequate D, bone is neither dense nor strong. Various conditions can be the result: osteomalacia, osteopenia or osteoporosis. If your circulating D levels are inadequate, you cannot absorb more than 10-15% of the calcium you consume. Without calcium, you cannot make strong bone. Females make most of their bone and bone strength between about ages 16 and 35, and they lose bone strength progressively through menopause and into old age. If you don’t make lots of good bone now, you can’t play catch-up later in life.

If you go into menopause with light, poorly-calcified bones, you may be destined for an old age of hip and vertebral fractures, a “dowager’s hump” (that stooped, bent-at-the-shoulder shape of older women with terribly painful compression fractures of the spine), and easily fractured wrists and legs.

Historically, the minimum requirement of D for adults was 400 Units (400 IU). This is far too low. It was calculated back in the 1920s to show how much D was the minimum needed to prevent rickets in children in working-class, cloudy England. This requirement has not really been definitively updated. Women athletes need far more than this “minimum.” The good news is that you can get all you need for a dollar a month.

Vitamin D is produced in a complex series of steps, starting with the effect of sunlight on skin and then involving the actions of the liver and the kidney. This may suggest that diet and sunlight alone provide enough D. They don’t. This is why supplementation is needed – foods are a poor source of D, and, unlike our huntergatherer ancestors, we don’t spend enough time half-naked, outside, in the sun, making D (and dying of disease or trauma at 35.) This is a peculiarity of D – calling it a vitamin suggests that it is easily obtained through proper diet or with sunshine alone. It isn’t. 50% of Hawaiian adults receiving three hours of sun per day were D deficient. 40% of south Floridians and 25% of Arizonans 10 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

were deficient. Dietary sources of D, such as cod liver oil (when was the last time you took that?!), oily fish, fortified milk or orange juice, will not reliably give you anywhere near enough D. Generally (and there is some disagreement among experts), a D level (this is called 25(OH)D) of less than 20 ng/ml is labeled deficient; about 21-30 is insufficienct, and more than 30 is adequate. Many experts are suggesting a target level in the range of about 35-40, however. This is easily attained.

What types of people are at risk for deficiency? People who live in northern latitudes, like Portland’s Rose City Rollers, who rarely see sunshine from October through April. People who work and/or exercise indoors (flat track derby isn’t an outdoor sport). Black people – the melanin in their skin prevents sun absorption and creation of D. Obese or even overweight people tend to “hide” D in fat, so they need more D to get adequate amounts circulating.

Fair-skinned people who regularly use sunblock: even SPF 15 will reduce D production by more than 90%. Much less commonly, people with kidney disease or fat malabsorption syndromes need massive D supplementation; but this is a special issue.

You see, the common factor is lack of sunlight. This is why supplementation of D is important: using sunlight on skin to produce D increases the total lifetime risk of skin cancers (including the lethal melanoma) in long-lived modern people. This is why the American Academy of Dermatology wisely says “...(D) should not be obtained from unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.”

But that’s all the dull stuff. Now it gets cool. Remember... it’s not just for bones anymore. We’ll talk about cancer, pain, brainpower, arthritis, and (my favorite) heart disease.

Most cells in the body have vitamin D receptors – meaning that D can affect the actions and consequences of most cells in the body. Vitamin D reduces cell proliferation (uncontrolled growth), reduces angioneogenesis (which is the formation of new microscopic blood vessels needed for tumors to develop and to metastasize), and also controls the appropriate timing of cell death. Recent interesting studies (in peer-reviewed mainstream conventional medical journals) suggest that D supplementation, or adequate circulating levels of D, are associated with a reduction

in cancer incidence, particularly breast, colon, bladder, mouth, and leukemia. Further, because of the mechanisms of action of D, it appears that people with some cancers (especially colon) who have adequate D are less likely to die of that cancer than are people who are D-deficient.

Chronic pain may be related to D deficiency. (Yes, it may also have something to do with falls, collisions, and workouts.) Severe deficiency is associated with chronic muscle and bone pain, low back pain and possibly with nerve pain (neuropathy) of the sort seen in diabetes. This type of pain may be severe and life-altering, and it is felt in the hands and especially the feet and legs.

D affects heart muscle and arteries, overall heart function, and survival, too. This means that a population which is D-deficient has a total mortality much greater than an otherwise similar population that has normal levels of D – and most of that excess death is due to heart disease. Low D levels are associated with double the risk of heart attack and nearly double the risk of general heart-related death. This seems to be indirect, because D deficiency is associated with all the direct heart-disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, both diabetes and excess insulin, and heart failure.

So if D deficiency is related to all this misery, and it’s easy to fix, why are so many people D-deficient? Until recently, the metabolic effects of vitamin D were not appreciated, and its effects were thought to be limited to bone production. That’s why I wrote this article.

One question comes to mind: do you need to be tested? It is cheap (about $40-45) and commonly available. Many experts, especially bone gurus, would say that if you don’t have risk factors for severe deficiency, or the inability to absorb D supplementation, they would not test you. In general, I would recommend against it, particularly if finances are important.

The likelihood of “toxicity”(too much D) is almost unheard of.

Instead; go to any Costco, chain supermarket, or discount store and buy a bottle of 2,000 units of Vitamin D3. (This is vitamin D3, also called Cholecalciferol. Don’t buy Vitamin D2, called Ergocalciferol.) At Costco, nearly 2 years’ supply, 600

tablets, costs about $14. Take one a day faithfully. There are no side effects. After 6 months, if your finances are OK, get a vitamin D test. If the level is greater than 30-35 or so, keep taking the vitamin D forever. If it isn’t, see a doc (a medical doctor, namely an M. D. or D. O.) who knows something about endocrinology.

The combination calcium-vitamin D tablets (like Os-Cal or Viactiv) do not provide enough D – usually only 400 units. Take a couple of daily TUMS instead. If you already have bone problems – such as unexplained fractures, X-rays showing osteopenia and so on – then testing your baseline level of D might be reasonable.

Major warning!! You do not need any sort of expensive or special supplements, especially if sold by naturopaths or Internet charlatans. Avoid these quacks like the plague – they will take your money, frighten you, and they will not provide you with any special, secret formulation of Vitamin D that your body utilizes better than the product you get from Costco or Target. (There is a similar scam with “coral calcium” that has gone on for years.

You want more calcium? Take TUMS along with your D.) In summary: 1. You are young and athletic. Set the basis for a lifetime of staying that way.

2. You don’t get enough vitamin D from diet or sun. Supplement it. It is easy, cheap (<$1/month) and has no side effects.

Do this indefinitely.

3. The obvious effects of D are on bone health. But adequate circulating levels will improve chronic pain, decrease cancer risk, improve cardiac function and longevity and may improve arthritis and seasonal affective disorder.

4. Whether and when to be tested for D deficiency is controversial. If you have had many fractures or x-rays that suggest “light bones,” it may be worth doing.

5. If there are men in your life, remind them: “Osteoporosis – it’s not just for women anymore.”

Johnny the Knife is a cardiologist, derby groupie, photographer and hanger-on with the Rose City Rollers of Portland, Oregon.

fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2009 | 11

health and fitness

stretching for roller derby B U S T E R S K U L L , S I L I C O N VA L L E Y R O L L E R G I R L S

Stretching is absolutely essential for proper muscle function and development. Not only do you risk pulling a muscle by not stretching, you also hinder the progress your muscles make during practice. Proper stretching will help with muscle toning, growth, and muscle memory. But with limited rink time and an unlimited number of muscles required to play roller derby, it's difficult to manage your team's stretching time. Rather than stretching less, stretch efficiently. Use your stretching time to talk business while thoroughly stretching all of the muscles necessary to play the strenuous sport of roller derby. photos by Ashley Salada

After consulting with yoga instructors, physical therapists, nurses and fellow derby girls, I have compiled an ideal set of derby specific stretches. some tips for stretching Remember to breath during each stretch.These stretches should be performed slowly and controlled.

Gradually reach a point of tension and hold it for approximately 15-20 seconds.

Perform each stretch twice to receive the maximum benefits.

It is important to warm-up your muscles before stretching to increase your range of motion and significantly reduce the chance of injury. It is recommended that the warm-up you do prior to stretching targets the muscles that you will be stretching. Skating moderately (while swinging your arms and remaining in good stance) for 5-10 minutes will sufficiently warm-up all of the muscles you will be stretching.

Stretching after practice is equally as important as stretching prior to practice. This will relax your muscles and gradually lower your heart rate and breathing rate to their resting rates.

12 | Fall 2009 2008 | fiveonfivemag.com

upper trap stretch

on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

posterior shoulder stretch

Drop your left ear as far to your left shoulder as possible. Reach your right arm behind your back. Do not raise your shoulders. You should feel the stretch on the right side of your neck and top of your right shoulder. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

triceps stretch Reach up as far as you can with your left arm, bend it and drop it down the center of your back.

Grab the top of your left elbow with your right hand and gently push it lower down your back. You should feel the stretch in the back and side of your left arm. Repeat

Reach your right arm across your chest. Use your left arm to gently pull it toward your chest. You should feel the stretch in your right shoulder. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

chest stretch Reach both hands around the back and interlock your fingers.

Slowly push your shoulders back and chest forward as shown. You should feel this stretch in your chest. Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat.

hip flexor stretch Move right leg forward as shown. The right knee should be directly over the ankle. The other knee should be resting on the floor. Gently lower the front of your hip. You should feel the stretch in front of the hip. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

calf and hamstring stretch Following the hip flexor stretch, extend your right leg and slowly bring your hands as close to your right foot as possible.

You should feel this stretch in your right hamstring. To feel the stretch more in your calf, pull your toes toward you.

Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

gluteus/pigeon stretch Lower your right leg to the floor perpendicular to your hips, as shown.

Gently lean into the stretch. Walk your hands forward and rest on your forearms to deepen the stretch. You should feel the stretch on the right side of your gluteus.

Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

groin stretch (stripper stretch)

Kneel with your skates pointed out to the sides and your forearms on the floor.

Spread knees apart and gently lower hips. You should feel the stretch in your groin and inner thighs. Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat.

spinal stretch (angry cat stretch) On your hands and knees, arch your back, pushing your stomach toward the floor. Hold for 15-20 seconds. Then round your back toward the ceiling. Hold for 15-20 seconds. You should feel these stretches in your back.

Repeat both poses.

hamstring stretch Cross your left leg over your right and reach down with both hands to your right toes. You should feel the stretch in the back of your right leg. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

standing hamstring stretch This is another version of the hamstring stretch.

Cross your right leg over your left leg at the ankles and reach down to your left toes. Let your head hang loosely for an added stretch in your back. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

straddle stretch

quadriceps stretch Lie flat on the floor (itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to put your face on the track). Bend your left knee and grab your left foot with your left hand. Now bend your right knee and

Sit on the ground with your legs spread apart as far as possible. Reach both hands to your left toes, then to the middle, then your right toes. You should feel the stretch in your groin, buttocks, back, and hamstring. Hold each position for 15-20 seconds and repeat.

grab your right foot with your right hand.

Pull your heels toward your buttocks. You should feel the stretch in the front of your thighs. Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat. fiveonfivemag.com | Fall 2009 | 13

health and fitness

stretching for roller derby torso stretch Sit on the ground and cross your left leg over the right. Turn and place your right elbow on your left knee. You should feel the stretch in your torso and buttocks. Repeat on the other side.

Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

glute stretch

lying oblique stretch Lie flat on your back. Extend your right leg and cross your left leg over your right at the knee. Pull your right leg

gently toward you. For a deeper stretch pull your left leg closer to your body.

Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

Laying flat on your back, drop your right leg over your left side. Keep your shoulders flat on the ground. You should feel the stretch on the right side of your lower back. Repeat on the other side. Hold for 15-20 seconds, twice on each side.

avoiding the flu The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that the 2009-2010 flu season could be more severe than usual.

Here are a few simple things you can do to keep from getting sick. vaccine Flu shots are available despite what you may have heard in the media. Contact your healthcare provider or state health department. Some people swear by the flu shot.

no touchy Viruses can spread easily from your hands to your mucus membranes. Avoid touching your face, especially around your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash-up before you make-up.

eat right Yogurt is great for the immune system and a quick and easy

irrigate and gargle Simple salt water rinsing of your sinuses and throat keeps viruses from propagating. Gargle with warm salt water and use

breakfast. Garlic and ginger contain compounds that help fight

a cotton swab dipped in salt water to rinse each nostril.

off infections. Peppers like red chilis and red and orange bell your sinuses. Nuts, beef, turkey and tuna contain selenium

work out A good sweat is a great way to stay ahead of the flu.

It helps you sleep, and being well-rested equals healthy.

that help ward off viruses. Vitamin E can be found in nuts, too.

Avoid strenuous exercise if you have a fever.

Good old-fashioned chicken soup is rich in vitamins and always

toss it Use that Kleenex once then throw it away. If you feel like a cold or flu is coming on, toss out your toothbrush.

Take the extra time to get a healthy meal at least twice a day.

peppers are rich in vitamin C and the hot ones help flush out

makes you feel better. wash your hands Washing up with soap and water three or four times a day is always a wise choice. A quick rinse wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do. Make sure to work up a good lather, worry about whether or not you have OCD for 30 seconds, then rinse.

14 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

use the force Simply will yourself not to get sick. Stay positive, laugh, dance, sing, skate. Do something nice for yourself. May the force be with you.

cozy cocktail party for 10 Catholic Cruel Girl, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls

This menu is easy to pull off since all food items can be prepared ahead of time, making it easy for you to join the party instead of spending your time cooking. A combination of warm and cool bites, as well as seasonal ingredients, makes for a tasty variety of flavors and textures. Don’t be deterred by long ingredients lists or directions.

All of these recipes are very simple to make but will have your guests fooled into thinking you are the next Top Chef!

winter squash soup This dish can be made up to step 4 two days prior to serving.

I keep this soup warm in a chafing dish and set small coffee cups and a ladle out for guests to serve themselves. ingredients: 1 cup chopped leeks 1 tablespoon Safflower Oil 1 teaspoon curry powder 3 10 oz. packages Cascadian Farms Organic frozen winter squash

1 cup organic pear nectar 3 cups vegetable broth 1/2 cup coconut milk Apple chips for garnish

• Prepare squash according to package directions.

• Clean leeks and finely chop. Heat Safflower Oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add leeks, sautéing until soft (about 5 minutes).

Add curry and stir until mixed.

• Combine squash, pear nectar and broth in saucepan with leek mixture.

Simmer 15 minutes.

• Purée soup in a blender until smooth and creamy. (At this point you can refrigerate up to two days prior to serving.)

• Before serving reheat slowly on low and add coconut milk. Lightly season with pepper.

deviled mango zucchini cups Mixture can be prepared one day in advance and refrigerated. ingredients: 2 zucchini, medium-sized 8 tablespoons firm organic tofu, chopped 3 tablespoons mango chutney 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon dry yellow mustard

1 tablespoon vegenaise 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced 1 tablespoon orange zest Pinch of salt Pepper to taste

• To make zucchini cups – wash zucchini and cut off ends. Cut cross-wise into ¾ inch thick slices. Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out inner bits, leaving a “floor” in each slice.

• In a medium bowl combine chutney, curry, turmeric, mustard and vegenaise. Transfer to a food processor, add tofu and pulse until chunky.

yam wraps You can make this dish up to two days prior and simply wrap in chard the morning of your party. ingredients: 2 lbs yams 4 tablespoons White Miso 1½ tablespoons creamy peanut butter 4 tablespoons minced shallots 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 4 cloves minced fresh garlic 1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Safflower Oil 2 cups edamame 1 12 oz. package organic silken tofu, diced 1 pinch cayenne pepper Small handful finely chopped cilantro or basil 1 bunch Swiss Chard

• Prepare edamame according to package directions.

• Wash yams, trim ends, cube and boil until soft. Pulse in food processor until chunky but mashed.

• Add miso and peanut butter to the yams and stir until thoroughly combined.

• Heat oil in large skillet or wok. Add shallot, garlic and ginger. Sauté until soft (about 3-5 minutes).

• Add edamame and vegetable broth to skillet.

• Toss tofu, cilantro (or basil) and yam mixture into skillet and mix well.

(The tofu will continue to crumble while stirring, it’s OK.) • Let cool. Spoon small amounts onto Swiss Chard leaves.

Roll up burrito style.

celery root twice baked potato bites This dish can be made up to two days in advance and reheated in the oven. This recipe is not as labor intensive as it seems. Most of these instructions are on how to bake and boil the potatoes and celery root. ingredients: 10-12 small Yukon gold or Russet potatoes 4 lbs celery root 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, diced

4 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread 1 cup cream, milk or milk substitute 1 small bunch chives, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

• Scoop mixture into zucchini cups.

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

• Serve at room temperature.

• Scrub potatoes and pierce each one with a fork in several places. Using your hands, lightly coat the outside of potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

red pepper wrapped asparagus ingredients: 2 bunches asparagus 1 large jar roasted red peppers 1 tablespoon olive oil Juice of ½ lemon 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced 1 tablespoon orange zest Pinch of salt Pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim off ends of asparagus. Lightly coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Place asparagus onto baking sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes turning once.

• Slice red pepper into long strips ½ wide. Wrap red pepper around asparagus spears. Serve warm or at room temperature.

dessert Go to your local bakery and buy a pie.

Make a pot of coffee and you are done!

• Place on oven rack and bake for 1-1½ hours. The skin should be crispy but soft when squeezed (careful when squeezing, they are HOT!).

• While potatoes are baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel and cut celery root into cubes. Add to boiling water. Cook until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain the celery root and set aside.

• In a large saucepan, heat remaining olive oil. Add onion and garlic sautéing until soft. Set aside.

• Remove potatoes from oven and let cool enough to be handled.

• Slice in half and scoop out the potato, leaving the skin intact as a shell.

• Add celery root and potatoes to saucepan with onion and garlic. Add buttery spread and, using an electric mixer, blend until smooth and creamy.

Add milk, cream or milk substitute slowly while blending until you get the right consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

• Spoon mixture into potato skin shells. Place back in oven until heated through. Once heated, place in broiler for 3-5 minutes to brown and crisp the tops.

• Remove from broiler, sprinkle with chives and serve.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 15

games and coaching

2009 WFTDA nationals J U S T I C E F E E L G O O D M A R S H A L L , D E R B Y N E W S N E T WO R K photos by Jules Doyle

One year ago, at the end of the 2008 WFTDA Nationals in Portland, Oregon, New York’s Gotham Girls completed a dominating year with a 134-66 championship bout victory over Chicago’s Windy City Rollers. At the time, it was Gotham’s 12th win in a row. Gotham’s record-setting undefeated streak continued through most of 2009, reaching 18 games before their regional rivals Philly finally stopped them by just one point, 90-89, in the championship bout of September’s Eastern Regionals.

This November when the 2009 Nationals in Philly rolled around, many derby observers thought the main question was whether Philly could translate home advantage into a second defeat of Gotham or if Gotham was going to take that one-point loss as a minor speed bump on th e way to a repeat championship. But some new teams from the West had other ideas.

By the time the dust had settled in the Philadelphia Convention Center, Philly had been dramatically knocked off in their very first match, Gotham had been eliminated before reaching the semifinals, the West would take three of the top four spots, and a team that hadn’t even played their first WFTDA sanctioned match when Gotham won the 2008 championship were the new undisputed queens of the flat track derby world.

In an illustration of the continuing evolution of the flat track game, exactly half of the teams this year were making return trips to Nationals while the other half was debuting. Returning to Nationals after previous appearances were Gotham,

16 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

Texas, and Windy City (all of whom appeared in both 2007 and 2008), Kansas City and Detroit (from 2007) and Philly (from 2008). Making their first-ever trips was the entirety of the West contingent (#1 Oly, #2 Rocky Mountain and #3 Denver), Boston, Madison and Houston.

Friday Day One’s action kicked off with a match between #2NC Madison and #3E Boston that looked on paper to be very evenly matched – and proved to be exactly so on the track. The lead changed five times in this one and the largest lead all bout long was a mere 20 points very early on for Boston. Madison kept Boston on their toes by throwing in star passes much more often than usual, although Boston was usually pretty good at keeping focus on the active jammer. Madison led at the half after two lead changes, 76-62.

The second half of the bout saw three more lead changes before Boston pulled ahead 104-88 with about five minutes to play, but Madison arrested Boston’s scoring there and almost pulled out a last-jam miracle that ended up being stymied by penalties. The score was 104-98 favoring Boston with just over two minutes to play, and it seemed as if

Madison had been handed the game on a platter when Boston jammer Krushpuppy went to the penalty box in her opening pass, giving opposing number Juke Boxxx a minute to work alone. Unfortunately for Madison, they lost their jammer twice to the box in that jam as well, and Boston escaped with the win, 104-98.

As it turned out, though, that opening bout wasn’t any sort of harbinger of the rest of the day’s action. Rocky Mountain seriously punished Houston in their first-round matchup, running up the biggest ever first-half lead at Nationals level by holding a 142-5 advantage a t the break. Houston got some more offense running in the second half, but had no answer whatsoever for the speed and strength of RMRG and lost 239-46.

In the third bout of the day, Denver showed a whole new style of derby play to a clearly bemused Kansas City. Denver had taken slow and positional play to an extreme, with their packs often choosing not to accelerate at all off the pivot line and an absolutely smothering isolation game on power jams. The result was quite a few jams where everybody on the track was either stopped or going clockwise except for the Denver jammer,

FINAL SCORES Madison 96 vs. Boston 104

Gotham Girls 187 vs. Detroit 38

Windy City 125 vs. Denver 157

Denver 91 vs. Oly 178

Rocky Mountain 239 vs. Houston 46

Texas 111 vs. Boston 72

Oly 136 vs. Gotham Girls 105

Denver 151 vs. Rocky Mountain 103

Kansas City 89 vs. Denver 175

Philly 121 vs. Rocky Mountain 128

Texas 139 vs. Rocky Mountain 82

Texas 100 vs. Oly 178

which clearly baffled and riled the audience, who didn’t take very long to turn on Denver and start booing every time they used the tactic. But it was undeniably working.

pack wor k was looking every bit as dangerous as it was last year, as they continued to increase their lead in the second half, scoring 101 points against 13 for the overmatched Detroit girls. Final score for this one was 187-38 for Gotham.

Though the Friday games only had one close bout, the fireworks would really start to fly on Saturday, as two of the #1 seeds lost their opening bouts and the 2008 champs went down early.

Denver jammer Kimmy Kimmy Bang Bang picked up 20-0 and 23-5 powerjams in the first 30 minutes that accounted for nearly half of Denver’s halftime point total, 100-49, and Denver rolled on to be up by 101 points over the 2007 national champs before KC’s big blocker Eclipse took the jam star and rolled for a crowd pleasing but ultimately irrelevant 15-0 closing jam, leaving the final score 175-89 for Denver.

Friday’s action closed with an expected outcome, as 2008 champs Gotham fell behind 11-0 early in their bout with Detroit but quickly righted themselves with a 50-1 run and held an 86-25 lead at the half. Gotham’s nationally feared

Saturday Saturday’s first bout between Texas and Boston played out as the seeding would have predicted, as Boston once again fell into first-half penalty trouble, but the stronger and more experienced Texas was able to take advantage where Madison had not. While Boston kept it close at 18-11 after the first ten minutes, Texas blew it open with a 36-0 through the middle of the half, and was up 60-26 at the break.

The second half proved to be similar to the first, as Boston played Texas nearly dead even for the first ten minutes of the half – 9 points for Texas and 8 for Boston – but Texas once again took control with a big run, this time 26-1. Texas went on to eliminate Boston by a final score of 111-72.

Tournament hosts Philly followed up by playing an instant classic against the upstart Rocky Mountain. Though Philly was greatly favored due to their recent defeat of giants Gotham, RMRG got a spectacular all-around performance from recent addition DeRanged, supported by jamming from Whipity Pow and extremely effective blocking from Frida Beater and Assaultin’ Pepa. They held a surprising 28-3 lead early, and Philly had to fight very hard just to shave three points off that lead by halftime.

Philly took their first lead after 40 minutes of play at 74-71, but Rocky Mountain hung in there long enough to go back up with eight minutes left, 97-92.

That lead wasn’t safe either, though, and Philly remained just a hair ahead at 111-107 with under two minutes to go.

That resultant jam proved to be a hair puller as DeRanged and Philly’s Elle Viento had to chase an extremely fast pack for nearly the full jam until DeRanged finally got in pack, grabbed four points and called before Elle could get any, sending the bout to overtime. The inexhaustible DeRanged took the star again and ran for 17 points in the full-length OT jam while Teflon Donna was held to 10, and Rocky Mountain delivered a thrilling upset to boot

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 17

games and coaching the home team from their own tournament, 128-121.

The East’s #1 seed was gone to a team from Denver and in the next bout the North Central’s top seed suffered the exact same fate. Many who had seen Denver impose their game on Kansas City on Friday were confident that Windy City wouldn’t fall victim to the same strategies, but the first half of Denver vs. Windy City proved to be nearly a carbon copy of the KC bout.

Once again Denver’s opponent was flummoxed by Denver’s ability to transition from a high-speed pack to a glacial pace on a moment’s notice, with particularly dominant back-of-pack blocking from Tracy Akers. Once again, the crowd wasn’t shy about making their feelings about Denver’s tactics known. It was close after ten minutes with Denver up 28-23, but Denver powerjams were again the difference maker. At the half, Denver held a 101-52 lead that was remarkably similar to the 100-49 advantage they’d held over KC on Friday.

Unlike Kansas City, Windy City did seem to start figuring Denver out as the bout went on – late in the bout there were a few moments where WCR played Denver’s strategy against them by blocking an opposing jammer out of bounds and then heading clockwise on the track to force them back with them.

Windy City won the second half 73-56,

18 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

but they never got closer than 21 points behind and in the end the 2008 runnersup found themselves one-and-done, losing 157-125.

There was one more upset in the cards that night – in perception, if not in seeding. The top seed from the West, Oly, came in with an 8-0 record on the year and an incredibly talented core of skaters that included international speed skating champions. The question was whether Oly had the teamwork to stop a team as disciplined as Gotham – and Oly silenced their doubters with an eye opening performance.

In a contest that stood in stark contrast to the extreme positional style that Denver had just shown, both teams played each other very fast. Gotham seemed to have the slight advantage through the first half, up 36-20 about halfway through, but Oly chipped away to close to 55-53 at the half.

After a quick series of lead changes, Oly moved ahead 73-72 about 7 minutes into the half and managed to control Gotham for the following 15 minutes, up 113-85 with 8 minutes to play. Just when it looked like Oly had it in hand, though, Gotham’s Bonnie Thunders blasted them with a huge 20-0 jam, which would prove to be the only real defensiv e collapse for Oly all weekend long.

While Gotham had pulled within just eight points at 113-105, Oly denied them any points for the rest of the game – with

a little help from Gotham jammer Em Dash, who committed fatal penalties in the last two jams of the bout that handed Oly back-to-back powerjams to close the bout. Oly came out on top, 136-105, eliminating the Eastern teams from the tournament.

After the drama of the quarterfinal rounds, the semifinals that finished the night’s action were somewhat anticlimactic. Oly refused to let Denver impose their slow game, as their blockers were just too fast, strong and gameaware to allow themselves to get trapped, and Oly was up 84-24 by halftime on the way to a big 178-91 victory.

In the other semifinal, Rocky Mountain did a bit better against Texas, managing to hang within 10 points with five minutes to play in the first half at 56-46, but a 17-2 run for Texas to close the half robbed Rocky Mountain of their momentum. Texas opened up the lead to 50 points at 113-63 with 17 minutes remaining and the margin stayed right about there for the rest of the bout. In a bit of an ugly scene in the second-to-

last jam of the bout, though, RMRG’s ace DeRanged lost her temper after absorbing a high hit from Texas’ Angie-Christ and retaliated by throwing a punch at the back of Angie’s helmet – leading to an immediate expulsion from that game and a suspension for the rest of the tournament that left her unable to participate in Sunday’s third-place bout against Denver.

Sunday The third place meeting between the two Denver teams, Rocky Mountain and Denver, was a rematch of an intense meeting at Western Regionals, where RMRG had won an incredibly controversial 15 point game. It was called early when fans rushed the track with a minute still remaining on the clock.

This entry in the city rivalry was much different, though, in great part because Rocky was very clearly missing DeRanged after her suspension.

Denver took over the bout about halfway through the first half, going on a 44-0 run to turn a tiny 27-19 lead into an imposing 71-19 with six minutes to play in the half. While Rocky got their feet under them a little bit to close the half at 79-39, Denver had the upper hand.

RMRG got as close as 82-52 early in the second half, but Denver was still able to turn practically every power jam into an isolation clinic, an d went on a 44-5 run at that point to put the game out of reach. In the end Denver got revenge for

their Western Regionals loss by taking third place over Rocky, 151-103.

All that was left then was a final matchup that wasn’t what most people had expected, but which was still dramatically perfect – a meeting of new face Oly, who’d played their first WFTDA game in January 2009, and sport

Nationals by a final of 178-100 and ending their first year in WFTDA with a flawless 11-0 record.

founders Texas, who had played in the very first WFTDA interleague bout ever in November 2004. With Oly already having stopped Gotham, everybody in the audience was aware that Oly had a solid shot at the Hydra trophy, but few expected them to dominate Texas the way they did.

Texas looked like a potential champ for exactly two jams, where they went up 3-0 on Oly, but Oly clamped down with some tremendous blocking from Sassy, D-Bomb and double-threat Heffer. The Olympia crew dominated the next series of jams to take a 24-3 lead, and that only increased through the first half. Heffer, Tannibal Lector, Blonde ‘n’ Bitchin and Atomatrix were able to repeatedly take advantage of their blockers disrupting Texas’ control of the inside line, but all four also had the speed to race past on the outside and it left Texas seemingly unable to decide which part of the track to defend.

At the half it was 95-40 Oly, and they rolled on through the second half to hand Texas the biggest defeat of their lengthy existence, winning the 2009 WFTDA

In the aftermath of the tournament, many fans and skaters were heard marveling at Oly’s near-complete dominance, amazed at their shockingly efficient defeats of teams previously considered to be nearly invincible and wondering aloud if anybody would be able to stop the dominant Oly next year... all of which sounded awfully familiar to anybody who followed Gotham’s 2008 road to the championship.

So is Oly something different?

Does their hyper athletic roster represent a next stage of play that’s a cut above the amateur sport level that WFTDA has seen so far? Is this the beginning of a championship dynasty? Or are they simply the currently dominant team, as Gotham was before them and Texas before that?

Nobody knows the answer yet. But come November 2010 in Chicago, there will once again be 12 teams looking to write that chapter.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 19

games and coaching

season structure D O L LY R O C K E T A N D J OY C O L L I S I O N , C H A R M C I T Y R O L L E R G I R L S

Charm City Roller Girls (CCRG) had a pretty busy 2009 season. Fifteen regular season games, seven competitive scrimmages, five home games, three tournament games and two exhibition bouts makes for a very busy rollergirl. A competitive season can make you a better skater and test your limits, but it is also very trying on a league and its skaters physically, mentally and financially.

We firmly believe our experiences from the last two years have made us the strong team we are today. We’ve created a die-hard fan base, our skaters get to travel the country at no cost to them, and our skill as a league has jumped unimaginably over the last two seasons. The downsides are problems with skater retention, injuries and uneven distribution of resources within the league.

While there is no surefire way to plan your year’s events, the following are some tips to start the discussion with your league.

RESOURCES First things first, you need to know what you’ve got to work with.

Collecting budget and scheduling information is the first step to a successful season. If you plan right, each year your league will grow its audience, finances, and skills. money As a league, you need to decide how much money is going toward games. Specifically, how much of your money goes toward travel team games, as your travel team season can be one of your league’s biggest expenses. Despite travel stipends, away games usually cost more than home games, and home games bring in revenue, PR and sponsorships. Know your league’s annual expenditures and earnings before you start planning. Budget, people!

20 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

time How willing are your skaters to give up their time? League participation is the next biggest factor. If no one is willing or able to run or participate in your events, how will they exist? Poll your league often about what they are capable of with their minimal spare time and be realistic about your demands. venue Find out what your venue restrictions are before you plan your season. Maybe you can’t have games during hockey season or they cost more during the summer for some odd reason. Use that as a basis for planning home and away games. Also make sure your venue fits the size of your audience and your bank account.

SCHEDULING Deciding what to do with your resources. season structure Most leagues still have their skaters participate in home team games. You need to allocate money, time and venue space to both your home team and your travel team.

Depending on the wants of your league as a whole, one group may get more resources than the other. Every league deals with these issues differently, you need to find out what works best. planning Setting season goals for your league will help put planning into perspective. Do you want to win nationals? Ha ve a fun and exciting home season? Train your fresh meat? What are your league’s priorities?

Talking with your league’s captains, coaches and board members about what they need to accomplish your league’s goals can help to give you some answers. Consider the order of the games from easy to hard, the

frequency of games, how many home versus away games, where you place your home team games during the season, and when national derby events take place and what kind of preparation you will need for them.

OK, OK. Collecting the info is fun and all, but how do you decide what is best for your league? Mistakes can be costly, but unfortunately our sport is so new that trial and error is sort of a given. Always look to other leagues with similar resources to yours and see what is and isn’t working for them.

Once you’ve collected enough opinions and information to make your head and computer explode, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons and find a balance with the following things: frequency and intensity Frequency: Amount of games per season.

Intensity: How difficult each game within your season is, and how difficult the season as a whole is.

There are pros and cons to having more or less frequency and intensity in your season.

More frequent games will result in a stronger, more experienced team. It also allows up-and-coming leagues to catch up with more experienced teams faster, and to follow and set current trends of roller derby.

Plus, more games means less pressure put on any one performance, so every experience is a learning one. More games can also result in more injuries, less time for skaters’ friends and family, and lower attendance of skaters at practice as skaters need time to heal between games. Lower frequency of travel team games can result in more intense practices, a more

competitive home season, and league resources to use for things other than games. Also, lack of experience can be an issue when playing higher ranked teams, regardless of team skill.

An intense season does wonders for team training and building meaningful experience.

However, it can do a number on your team morale as intense seasons are very emotionally trying.

If your team loses every game, you may have a hard time filling rosters. Small injuries can become big ones if skaters aren’t allowed the proper healing time between intense games. A less intense season may give your team a false confidence boost, but it will allow the bottom half of your roster more playing time. training arc Making sense of the mess.

Once you’ve decided what kind of season you want to ha ve, make sense of it over the course of the year. Decide the frequency and intensity of your season based around your league’s goals. Maybe you want to make your games more intense as the season goes on, maybe you need some time off before tournaments to heal pre-season injuries, or put some super difficult games right before tournament season to up training. Maybe you schedule some B team games for your up-andcomers and try to fit the home season into a place that makes sense narratively for fans and skaters. superstars v. the little guy Everyone wants attention!

Everyone joins roller derby for different reasons, but every league member brings important resources. Pleasing everyone is mathematically impossible, but your league needs to make an effort to please most people. Think of your league members as customers. Everyone pays dues and everyone should feel their league supports them.

Planning a competitive season for your travel team will increase the skill of your top players, but may wind up leaving your new girls in the dust.

Non-travel team skaters may wind up feeling taken advantage of if minimal resources are given to them.

Make a competitive B team or give some money to your home teams to do some traveling. Planning too

relaxed of a season may make your travel team girls bored, and the more competitive girls will have to get their rocks off during the home season, which may make it more difficult to have a cohesive travel team. Make a travel team season of games with varying intensity, plan some double headers to save time and money, and schedule the right amount of off-season. Maybe schedule practices at different skill levels so everyone feels catered to. If everyone on your league is happy, your league will do great things.

OUR EXPERIENCE So, how on earth do you please a room full of angry women? Balance. CCRG has had four seasons and each season we’ve taken a different approach to scheduling. We think we’ve finally found the balance for 2010. We are still playing a competitive travel season, but having more home games than away pleases the working gals and moms on our team.

(Just a little side note: it’s really difficult to schedule home games as an up-and-coming league against established opponents. Your first season or two, plan on traveling a lot.) All four home teams are playing one home game against another league and are traveling at least once. Everyone gets to suck from the CCRG teat! (Eew!) We are hoping if everyone is happy, we will retain more skaters, build smarter players and make a stronger future CCRG. We've heard lots of leagues talk about using their season schedule to help their rankings.

Though a viable strategy, we’re not sure it’s the most sensible way to plan a season. Rankings only matter to qualify you for tournaments. Rather than focusing on your number, focus on making your whole league happy, have good events for your fans and train your travel team to be stronger.

More games mean more exposure for your league and the sport of roller derby. Don’t turn your nose up at a brand new league and don’t shy away from an ass-beating. Play some cheap games with surrounding sister leagues and scrimmage other leagues as much as humanly possible. Share the derby love and consider all the offers on the table.

Take it from two of the biggest derby hoes ever, there’s a lesson to be had in any experience.

Craig Lammes

2010 CCRG SCHEDULE JANUARY Mobtown Mods vs. Night Terrors Speed Regime vs. Junkyard Dolls FEBRUARY Mobtown Mods vs. Junkyard Dolls Speed Regime vs. Night Terrors MARCH Mobtown Mods vs. Speed Regime Junyard Dolls vs. Night Terrors All-Stars AWAY APRIL Home teams play off All-Stars AWAY MAY Home teams championship All-Stars AWAY JUNE All-Stars vs. visitor Night Terrors vs. visitor All-Stars AWAY East Coast Derby Extravaganza JULY All-Stars vs. visitor Mobtown Mods vs. visitor AUG All-Stars vs. visitor Speed Regime vs. visitor SEPT All-Stars vs. visitor Junkyard Dolls vs. visitor WFTDA Regional Tournament OCT All-Stars vs. visitor Female trouble (B-Team) vs. visitor NOV/DEC WFTDA National Tournament fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 21

games and coaching

coach’s corner by coach pauly

know your roll

part 6: Bench Coaches

Before bout night comes, every team preps for the battle ahead. Captains make final roster changes and set their lineups, bench coaches and managers are briefed on the final lines. All the “i’s” are dotted and “t’s” are crossed – let’s get it on!

Overall, bench coaching can be the most frustrating job anyone can do. It’s a mixed bag of frustration; from drama of skaters complaining that they’re not getting skating time, to skaters wanting to be passed up due to fatigue, or the chaos of a bench full of skaters yelling out pointers to the skaters that are on the track in the thick of it. All these things are just some of the appetizers; we have not even gotten to the meat of the job.

With new rule changes every year, knowing when your skaters are in the box becomes a huge endeavor unto itself. Knowing when you have too many skaters on the track or monitoring the opposing team’s lineup is crucial to your strategy and pack setup. To handle these issues I have found that having two bench coaches helps balance the load and adds a set of eyes to the equation.

One coach serves as the “strategy” coach and the other coach runs the lineups. The strategy coach handles all strategy issues, both on and off the track. After the lines are called for the next jam, the coach gets the line to start discussing what they’re going to do when they are on the track. You may be asking what I mean by this?

Well... if each member of your line can discuss quickly where they feel their strengths are in the pack, each skater can play their position with better flow and symmetry. The strategy coach should have a stopwatch on hand at all times. If you keep the jam time and thirty second timing, you can add more rest time onto your time outs. Most leagues really don’t take the time to give their skaters the time to catch their breath and hydrate – instead they call time, make a strategy adjustment and get right back to it. In my view, the time out should be used to change the tempo of the bout, and in close scoring bouts, it allows the skaters to recharge so you can run your best lines back to back to score needed points.

The last job that this coach has is to watch the opposing team’s penalty box. By watching the penalty box you can adjust your lines to gain advantage. For instance, the opposing team’s jammer hits the box at the end of the jam; if you see that, you should get with the lines coach and get your best blockers and best jammer into the jam to score as many points as possible during the minute

22 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

penalty. It may be prudent to pass the star and use the pivot’s fresh legs to score some fast points.

The second coach is the “lines” coach and their primary job (as the name suggests) is to make sure the lineups change properly. Once a lines coach has some experience, you can have them write down the opposing team’s lines to see if there is a set pattern. If you know what the opposition is doing you can adjust and take advantage of it.

Once bout night comes, I feel that the captains should be free to focus on their game play. The more pressure that is taken on by the bench coaches relieves the pressure for the captains and allows them to focus on their game play rather than on administrative issues.

There are some tools of the trade that I think I should mention. We have already discussed the stopwatch and its uses so I will move on to some others.

A lot of strategies are developed by jam time and many leagues don’t have the money to pay for huge jam clocks that are clear and visible to the skaters and coaches. If you know where you are in the two minutes you know when to pass the star, or if the opposing jammer has not made it through the pack you know when you can let her go and focus entirely on offense. To help with communicating this time to the skaters in the thick of it, I would recommend laminating 4 large bright colored sheets of paper with 30 second increments of time e.g. 1 min, 30 sec, 20 sec and 10 sec. If you like you can add one that says “call it!” With these laminated sheets you can hold them up to let your skaters know how much time they have and allow them to adjust strategy for themselves.

The last tool I have is not a tool at all, but more of a style. I believe that more often than not there is too much screaming and overall chaos on the bench. In my view, the people in the jam cannot be helped by getting yelled coaching cues by eight people from the bench, let alone having to deal with the noise of the crowd, announcers and music. Bench silence is golden.

‘Til next time, see you on the track…

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

DRILL drill: quick change

purpose: To strengthen transitioning and awareness skills

Steven L. Price (Skippy Steve)

Divide skaters into small packs with teams of 4-6 people each. Designate a jammer from each pack. The jammer will have a jammer panty from each team. The jammer starts in the back of the pack and changes her helmet cover right before she starts to skate through the pack.

Each team must adjust to offense or defense depending on which jammer panty the jammer is wearing.

gear

gear... so confusing!

S H O RT B U S , DA L L A S D E C E P T I O N

The big question about gear is why is there so much to choose from?

Well, the answer might shock you, but it is very simple – Drum roll please...

It’s because not every skater is the same.

Preflash Gordon

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Every skater is different, whether it is weight, position played, height, skating style and even skating background. In this article I will throw out my thoughts and opinions about what gear is available and let you, the skater, decide what is best for you.

Do you ever go to your favorite online store or local dealer and wonder, “CRAP, where do I start?” Well, the biggest thing to think about before you begin shopping is: what is your budget? The next thing to think about should be: are you fresh meat, an average skater or a seasoned veteran?

Fresh meat, do not be overwhelmed.

There are a lot of stores to choose from, so try and find a store that has specific packages built for you. There are a lot of sites and stores that have specific packages called “Rookie Packages” which is your one-stop purchase for everything you need such as skates, pads, helmets, mouth guards and other products to help you maintain your skates.

Are you an average skater and looking to finally move out of the rookie skates that you bought during your first season?

Look no further because Riedell has plenty of packages to choose from that are not too expensive. The Riedell Rogue, Vixen, SheDevil and Wicked are all quality skates that will suit your specific derby need whether you’re a blocker, pivot or jammer.

The list above are just a few packages that Riedell has put together to make your shopping experience a little easier and make things not so confusing. Check out your favorite dealer for more information on skate packages that have already been assembled.

For the seasoned skater who has already purchased their favorite skates but are always looking for a little advice for what might make you a little bit faster, more agile or something that might make your foot a little bit more comfortable.

Below is a list of what I feel are the best aftermarket products to purchase. boots: Riedell 265 – This boot is a great price point boot for skaters on a budget. They are VERY comfortable with little break in time. They have a rolled collar for extra comfort around the ankle and elastic straps around the tongue to keep it from sliding. The boot also laces all the way to the toe and has retro looking stripes on the outside for looks.

Riedell 965 – This is a middle price point boot for skaters who are looking to spend a little extra money. This boot rides a little higher, much like a ball hockey boot, which will keep your ankle stable when doing jukes, snow plows and hockey stops. The boot also offers a hardened toe box, which keeps the skater from blowing out their toe and has a TON of padding for extra comfort.

Riedell 1065 – This is Riedell’s newest boot for derby. Look to spend a little more money, but the investment is definitely worth it. The boot offers comfort without all the unnecessary padding. It has every attribute as the 965 but will allow the skater to pull the laces tighter, which will place your heel deeper into the boot to allow better maneuverability and push. plates: There are so many things to think about when choosing a plate.

Action – The action is the means by which the plate reacts to the skater's motion of skating. A plate that is described as “single action” is simply seen as having

one cushion. This is usually found on older style plates. Most modern plates are “double action”, having two cushions for better response and maneuverability.

Weight – This plays a major role when choosing a plate. If you are a stronger skater, you will want to look for an aluminum plate much like the Powerdyne Reactor or any of the Roll-Line Plates.

Cushion Hardness – These are the rubber or urethane pieces that you see between your trucks. Cushions are what allow your skates to respond when you tell it to turn left or right. Lighter skaters will want to look for softer cushions and heavier skaters will want harder cushions.

Most advanced skaters like to mix and match cushion hardness to find what best works for their particular skating style. wheels: There is a wheel for everyone and every surface. Do not hesitate to contact the manufacturer for more information about a certain type of wheel from Atom Wheels, Radar Wheels or Heartless Wheels. bearings: Bearings are the easiest product to purchase for derby. Swiss bearings will always be the best bearing to choose from. Watch out when someone tries to sell you ceramic bearings because, in my opinion, ceramic bearings are just a gimmick and are not worth the extra $120-$150.

I hope this article has helped you better select the gear for your certain skating style. There is so much to write about gear and such little space, so feel free to hit me up via email at Shortbus@atomwheels.com or Shortbusxx@gmail.com.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 25

gear

wheels: grippiness and durometer I VA N N A S . PA N K I N ’ , S A N D I E G O D E R B Y D O L L S

At Sin City Skates, we get a lot of questions about durometer. So we ASK a lot of questions to the manufacturers and we keep asking until the often seemingly contradictory things they tell us start to agree – or at least make sense.

Here’s kind of a summary of some of what I’ve figured out from Radar, Sure Grip, Atom, my own experience, talking to girls all day long about wheels and research on the internet.

wheels are certainly lighter but I believe most hollow core

DUROMETER – what the hell is it?

Durometer is a measure of the hardness of urethane in wheels and it’s only ONE factor in how grippy wheels might be. An actual *durometer* is a handheld meter with a tiny retractable metal tip on the end and a gauge on the other end. You can roll the tip over a sheet of cured urethane and the gauge tells you the durometer reading of that place in that slab of urethane. It’s easy to screw that up, though, because it’s a handheld gauge and you can make your reading inaccurate by too much or too little pressure.

It’s even harder to get an accurate reading on a wheel shape because it is round, so the curve of the wheel and the grooves can make it even harder to get right.

And there are many other factors that determine wheel performance, especially grip, including: 1. The formula of the urethane they are made of. For track skating purposes, most “experts” – and skaters, who are the real experts – seem to agree that Poly BD urethane wheels perform best. Other urethane formulas include TDI, MDI and outdoor formulas, all with different properties and characteristics that make them suitable for some things better than others. There are also clay, wood and wheels made of pretty much any other material you can get round... but I have never tried any of those, so I’m going to stick to talking about urethane here.

additional weight. If there’s a difference it’s probably

wheels are purposefully designed to be stiff. I believe the point is to make the hollow core perform with the stiffness (i.e. quickness and less traction) of aluminum without the

2. The hub material and shape. Some skaters swear by aluminum hubs, others by nylon. Nylon hubs have flex to them when you’re rolling and pushing – so that flex translates into more traction if you were to put the exact same urethane in the exact same shape on the same size/shape hub (one nylon, one aluminum), as well. I prefer nylon for that reason. Nylon hubs with holes might be even more flexible than solid – not sure on that one but it seems logical to me. Hollow core

26 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

negligible, though. Aluminum hubs are supposed to be lighter, but what they mean by lighter is lighter than other aluminum hubs. Again, there are more factors in the metal hubs that have to be considered to be definitive, but generally, nylon hubs are the lightest.

3. Wheel/urethane shape and ratio of urethane to hub.

Another factor in shape is how much urethane there is to how much hub. There are a lot of new shapes available these days over the former standard 62 x 44 mm wheels – and we’ll talk about that in more detail in a future article.

4. The universe. Meaning – the weather. The humidity. How dirty your floor is. What type of floor your venue has – etc., etc.

All the obvious stuff. So a girl skating in a humid, hot wooden rink with a grippy urethane coating in the south in the summer without A/C is going to HATE super grippy wheels and will prefer something firm. But a team, outside at night in the cold dry air of winter in the desert on a slippery cement outdoor track that’s usually coated in dust, will be physically unable to hold corners in wheels the Southern girl loves. Meaning what’s right for someone else isn’t necessarily right for you. So before you ask on a message board about what wheels are best, ask the veterans on your team! The girls who’ve tried different wheels on your floor will probably be a lot more helpful than anyone else. Then take their opinion with a grain of salt – or ask around to see if anyone has old wheels you can try.

Nothing substitutes for your own experience.

So what is the deal with DUROMETER, then? It’s theoretically a measure of how soft the wheels are and how much give they have. But what is painted on the wheel may not be the actual durometer of that particular wheel on your skate. Wheels are

poured in big batches so the true durometer of a batch can actually be a range of +/- up to 4 points.

Here’s an example: take pink Fugitives, which Sure Grip told us are about 94 durometer. What that means is that the pinks are in the 93-95 range and usually measure about a 94. But there are so many factors in what makes a batch of urethane measure a certain durometer (humidity, temperature, amount of dust in the air on the day they were poured, etc.) that the closest the factory can say is that they’re aiming for 94 durometer for the pinks and every wheel in that batch will be close to it. Even things like the color dye (formula of the chemicals) they use can be a factor in the durometer, which is one reason that some manufacturers use colors to differentiate between durometer/grippiness ratings on the same models of wheels.

So what’s the real difference between a wheel that says it’s 92s vs. 95s? What’s the difference between, say, blue fugitives – the grippiest, and reds – the firmest fugitives? That will depend on the +/- factor for that particular wheel (like maybe your blue fugitives that you think are 92s are actually 91 or 93 – and the red fugitives you’re comparing that are supposed to be 95s are actually 93s also), and all kinds of factors in your venue as well, like temperature, humidity, dirtiness of the floor, your skill as a skater, etc.

That’s why wheel manufacturers are reluctant to be nailed down to a particular durometer because it’s more like a target they aim for than a set measurement of that particular wheel. We have to trick them into telling us what it is half the time, which is why you probably have seen conflicting info about durometers for the same wheel on different sites. Sure Grip qualifies their durometer listing with the +/- explanation and Radar is opting out entirely lately, using terms like “tite” to describe their wheels and not letting us pin them down with durometers at all.

So factor in all that... and the smart skater will basically use the durometer as ONE way to compare wheels, rather than as a set measurement of which one will be grippier than another.

An example of how durometer can be an unreliable comparison (if taken totally out of context): 95A red Fugitives vs.

95A Radar Cayman wheels. Both wheels are on nylon hubs, similar size and shape. But the fugitives are Poly BD – and the Caymans are either TDI or MDI (not sure which). So the same durometer of wheels is the same but in actuality, the red Fugitives are much grippier.

Which means, if you think that one step further, durometer ratings are a good way to compare wheels of the SAME MODEL. A lower durometer rating will be grippier than a higher durometer when you’re talking about Fugitives – usually (taking into account the +/-). But if you’re comparing Washington apples to Granny Smiths – say Poly BD or Fugitives to Tuners, for example, it’s a good benchmark, but not gospel. And if you’re comparing apples to cumquats, like V-Drives to Flat Outs... well, then durometer is even less reliable because there are so many other factors to take into consideration.

SO WHAT DUROMETER DO YOU NEED? People almost always start by wanting the grippiest. Do you need that? You might! Maybe you’re a new skater and need as much traction as possible while you’re learning. Maybe you have the world’s slipperiest floor.

Grippier is becoming universally accepted as better in our growing subculture, but that’s not really always the case either, in my opinion. For example, I prefer firmer wheels for practice. The main reason is that practicing on firm wheels makes my grippy wheels feel grippier when I need them. And practicing on slippery wheels forces you to learn better form and grip with your thighs and stride rather than relying on wheels. Firm wheels also tend to be more durable. Softer wheels wear faster. So I save them for games!

But ultimately, skaters call us all the time to ask for grippy wheels that won’t slow them down. Well, the truth is that grippy wheels are bound to be slower in a sense – they’re gripping, after all. But what are you trying to achieve? If you slip on every push, can you get going as fast? If you slide out on turns or have to coast to hang on, you are probably slowing your overall lap speed. On the other hand, when I first switched to blue Fugitives, I got a lap and a half less than usual on a timed 5-minute sprint.

I was pissed. And I was more tired because I was pushing harder – the grippiness slowed me down. BUT – the next week I was back up to where I was because I was accustomed to the grippiness and pushed accordingly and probably got a little stronger just from sheer stubborness and a refusal to get less laps than I was shooting for. And in a PACK situation, I loved the Fugitives right away because I could bob and weave without sliding, taking harder hits, etc. – so even though I might have been a hair slower, I was getting through the pack faster.

And that’s what really counts, for me.

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ThaNk you to all of our sponsors, supporters and derby fans!

DerbyNewsNetwork.com

wftda

2009 regional tournaments L O C O C H A N E L , W I N DY C I T Y R O L L E R S

Some called it “Tournament World.” Some, perhaps more jadedly, referred to it as the “Derby Death March.” Some used both terms during the four weeks that spanned WFTDA 2009 Regional Tournament Season.

It may have been a lot of things, but it definitely wasn’t boring.

of the month and the live video stream had almost 90,000 views, not including Brawl of America video, which was handled separately by the hosts.

It’s crazy to realize that the first WFTDA organized tournament was just 3½ short years ago. Twenty teams participated in the 2006 Dust Devil that was everyone’s introduction to national play. This year we had forty teams participate in our regional tournament cycle. It’s amazing how far our sport has come (and even more amazing, really, how our athletes manage to make even the 55th game of the month exciting to watch!). At the time of this writing, we were counting the days to Nationals, knowing that more excitement was just

Labor Day weekend means different things to different people.

For most people, it marks the end of the summer – the last weekend at the beach, at the lake, at the pool. The last weekend before school starts. The last big barbecue. The last road trip. Summer’s over – back to serious.

But for hundreds of WFTDA skaters, referees and thousands of flat track derby fans, Labor Day 2009 meant that the most wonderful time of the year was about to start – tournament season! For four back-to-backto-back-to-back(!!!) weekends from September 11 until October 4, WFTDA put our best on display during our regional tournament cycle. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend three of the four tournaments. And if we count live viewing as well as real-time boutcast or videocast following, I know I watched at least 50 of the 60 WFTDA bouts (and I’m thinking at least 35 live), and wow – I don’t know about you, but I just don’t get tired of good derby. Records were set. Champions were crowned.

Furious “OMG did you see that?!?!” texts were sent. And the bouts were cast.

Speaking of the bouts being cast, our partner derbynewsnetwork.com saw site traffic grow to record levels over the course of Tournament World. Almost 30,000 unique visitors tuned in to DNN for some live coverage over the course

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around the corner.

We realize that we wouldn’t have gotten nearly this far without the support and dedication of our community, so THANK YOU. And in particular, thank you to the five leagues – Atlanta Rollergirls, Carolina Rollergirls, Denver Roller Dolls, Minnesota RollerGirls and Rocky Mountain Rollergirls – who spent the past year working their tails off to put together these events. We know that a lot of sweat (though hopefully not tears or blood) goes into a tournament and we appreciate your huge contribution to WFTDA as hosting leagues. Thank you to all of your hundreds of volunteers across the derby nation who made these events run smoothly and, most importantly, safely. Each tournament definitely was a different experience and we’re fortunate that our organization allows the hosts to showcase their league’s and region’s personality.

Thank you to the referees, non-skating officials, and Games Committee staff who worked tirelessly to ensure that all the bouts were officiated fairly and cleanly, that detailed and useful statistics were kept and that every “i” was dotted and every “t” was crossed. We all recognize that quality transparent officiating is key to our sport’s development and we appreciate your dedication to this often thankless task.

September 11-13: Wicked Wheels of the East hosted by the Carolina Rollergirls Fresh-faced and wide-eyed, our tournament season kicked off with the Wizard of Oz themed tournament in Raleigh. The Carolina Rollergirls pulled out the stops to make Dorton Arena a veritable Oz, with a yellow brick road entryway, a poppy field VIP section, derby girls clad as the lollipop guild or wicked witches and a sparkly Emerald City trophy. While there was lots of exciting derby over the weekend, Sunday’s championship bout threw down the gauntlet as one of the most exciting tournament bouts ever as Philly eked out a one point win, breaking Gotham’s record 18 game winning streak. Another record that was broken over the weekend was the pointsscored-in-a-jam, with Charm City’s Joy Collision putting 30 (so yes, that’s six scoring passes, plus the initial pass, for you math whizzes out there) on the board during their second round game against DC. The Wicked Wheels of the East was the only tournament to feature 16 bouts – before the third place bout on Sunday, a full length men’s bout was held, featuring two mash up teams of skaters from the Eastern Seaboard, with the New York/ Connecticut team besting the Baltimore/Massachusetts team.

Another exciting treat for tournament goers was the spectacular Gourd Festival that was simultaneously happening on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. So if anyone needed to take a break from the derby action, they could check out some fabulous gourds and gourd crafts. Win-win!

September 18-20: Brawl of America hosted by the Minnesota RollerGirls With two local leagues participating, each with a huge following, North Central’s Brawl of America boasted the highest attendance of any of the Regional tournaments. Derby fans saw the first of several big cross town tournament match ups in St. Paul: after Milwaukee’s Brewcity Bruisers bounced Minneapolis’s North Star Roller Girls, and Windy City eliminated host Minnesota, the two local teams met in Saturday’s first consolation bout of the day. Both were out of tournament contention, so they were playing for pride and bragging rights.

North Star won it by 15, and this was one of many ‘til-the-lastjam exciting bouts over the course of the tournament weekend.

Other noteworthy nail biters were Cincinnati over Arch Rival on Friday, Saturday’s happy hour Brewcity vs. Burning River bout (only overtime bout of the regional tournament cycle), and a memorable Saturday night Madison/Detroit semifinal.

This was my first time seeing the Minnesota RollerGirls’ home, the legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul and, wow, do they know how to put on a show up there! Apart from the tournament action, there was an open co-ed scrimmage on Sunday morning, lots of crowd participation halftimes, including races for kids in the audience and two Queen of the Rink contests for local skaters, one for Minnesota and North Star rookies and another for the local derby boys. The after parties were spectacular as well, with a mechanical bull, a Guns N’ Roses cover band, and of course, the requisite pants-off dance party.

On a more serious note, before Friday’s games began, the Minnesota RollerGirls held a moment of silence for fallen North Star skater Moxie Mayhem. Moxie was killed in a tragic accident the day before the tournament as she was out walking with her infant daughter. The North Star Roller Girls immediately started a fund for their fallen league mate and are still collecting donations. Please go to brawlofamerica.com for information on Moxie and how to help her family.

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wftda

September 25-27: Southern Fried Smackdown hosted by the Atlanta Rollergirls Held at the Yaarab Shrine Center (local home of the Shriners) in the heart of Atlanta, the South Central Regional Tournament was a more intimate event than the other regionals, but no smaller in spirit! Half of the participating teams made their tournament debut at the Smackdown and it was inspiring to see the development of our organization manifest itself on the track. Many of these younger teams, like Tampa Bay and Nashville, will surely be short-listed as teams to watch in years to come. Of course, the Texas Rollergirls, fabled godmothers of the sport, managed to take home the skillet-shaped trophy with a string of statement making wins, but the growth in the region was evident.

The Smackdown was the lone BYOB venue among our tournament hosts so the off track action during the weekend got a little interesting. The highlight of which were the impromptu hula-hoop-offs during halftimes and in between bouts. Additionally, there was some excellently timed cross promotion with Whip It, as Juliette Lewis was in town that weekend with her band, Juliette & the Licks. One highlight of the Sunday night after party was the wedding of former teammates, now cross-state-derby-rivals Morphine and Mistilla the Killa, and one lowlight (have to mention it), was the spreading of swine flu throughout the derby nation. Hopefully everyone was fully recovered (and took their immunity boosters) by Nationals!

October 3-5: Derby on the Rocks hosted by the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls and the Denver Roller Dolls As the last stop of the roving carnival that is Tournament World, Derby on the Rocks ended it with a bang. After Denver secured their semifinal berth and Rocky Mountain scored an upset win in the second-round to advance, the two cross-town rivals and tournament co-hosts made a historic Saturday night date with the winner locking in a spot at Nationals. The teams played in front of a capacity crowd (no doubt helped by the front-page tournament coverage in the Denver Post, and the coinciding of Whip It’s release that weekend) and the air was positively electric in the Bladium that night. Prior to the Mile High match up, cross-state rivals Rat City and Oly had their first match up as well, so all the fans knew that the West would be represented by at least one team from Washington and one team from Colorado.

For all the skaters who traveled out to Denver but weren’t playing that weekend, the hosts organized an open scrimmage for all-comers. Conversely, for those who came to play in a different sense of the word, the mercifully late start on Saturday, the early end on Sunday, the thin air, and the availability of 24-hour green chili burritos from Pete’s Kitchen made for some raucous after parties, as per usual. And for those looking for a cheap souvenir, Issue 4 of California-based derby publication Hellarad dropped on Saturday. Unfortunately though, I believe it’s already out of print.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2009 TOURNAMENT SPONSORS Spenlen | Fox Searchlight | Union Vacations | Tattoo Goo | Atom Wheels | Skate Court | Sourpuss Clothing | Riedell Skates Roller Girl Skates | Derby Skinz | Heartless Wheels | TruLuv Tool Company | Wicked Skatewear | Get Funk Out | Derbylicious Deviant Derby | Dolled Up Derby | Vanilla Skates | Rocky Mountain Skates | Fast Girl Skates | fiveonfive | Derbylove Whether it’s our first year of working together or our fourth, we appreciate your support of WFTDA tournaments and hope to continue to grow our relationship.

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roller derby – a ballet of whip-cracking, barrel-rolling lionesses FA L L O N A N G E L , S E AT T L E D E R B Y B R AT S Richard Williams

Or, in my case, cubs.

I’m Fallon Angel, a rollergirl like most of you, and I have been playing derby for almost two years now. I love my coaches and my teammates, and even the players on other teams (couldn’t play without them right?). I love playing any blocking position, and generally kicking butt. Not that I always get what I want; I have my mistakes.

I’m also fifteen years old.

By the time I’m old enough (18+ years of age) for the local league, Jet City, I’ll have been skating for about four years.

If I go with the other closest league, Rat City (21+ years of age), I’ll have been playing roller derby for seven years.

Richard Williams

We are going to change the face of derby.

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Right now, I’m on a league called the Seattle Derby Brats on the Evil Angels.

The Derby Brats are from ages six to seventeen years old.

We are going to change the face of derby. Girls that start playing at six will have been playing for over a decade by the time they try out for an adult league. These skaters coming into the adult leagues will open a whole new playing field of full-blown competitive derby action. Cities with junior leagues will have a leg up over the cities that don’t, bringing in more seasoned players. How do you think it would have changed you, seeing as your already one tough derby chick?

Add on years of more experience, and that makes you one unyielding ferocious femme fatal. This is how it changed me.

So I’m not going to lie, I’m considered to be pretty weird compared to the average teenage girl at my school. A good weekend consists of a few comic books, the sci-fi channel and writing a little poetry. I don’t really like or understand the significance of chick flicks or extensive shopping. Neither do I shop exclusively at all the hot places for all the “in” clothing. I like lots of “me” time. When I started playing roller derby, it was one of the first times I felt truly accepted. I generally don’t talk too much and I’m pretty shy. After my first few bouts, I quickly started to shed that shell. In turn, I started to be more outgoing in school and social situations. I have more friends that I genuinely love to be around and I find myself being surrounded with people who are just as immaculately weird as I am. So I find that “weird” isn’t really that different after all.

The Junior Brats focus on working together but in an environment that covets individualism.

Derby pushes me to make the most out of the person I already am and to develop it in a way that makes me even more. I strive to do all that I can in order to play derby. I aim to get satisfactory grades when my parents remind me that derby is not a right but a privilege (regardless of what I think). I work hard at practice, push myself to be as strong and lithe as everyone else, be better. I want to play derby and I picture myself playing derby for quite a long time. Who knows, it might even affect which college I choose to go to, where I apply for jobs, where I live. All the big decisions in life.

So Junior Derby is pretty epic. If you don’t have one in your area, create one. Not just for the good of the sport but to help girls figure themselves out, understand that you are you.

It doesn’t really matter what kind of person you are. What size, shape, disposition, glasses, contacts... cool clothes, no clothes (well, actually we advise clothing). Whoever you are, you’re perfect, there is no other person that can be created *just* like the individual you have made yourself into.

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rookie

the trials and tribulations of forming a new league BELLE AIR BOMBER, CENTRAL MASS ROLLER DERBY

You’ve fallen in love with roller derby, but the closest league to you is a two-hour, commute – one way! What’s a skateobsessed girl to do? Start up a new league! But like any new business venture, there is a lot that can be learned from other skaters that have already been through the trials and tribulations of birthing a new league. Let us be your quad-wheeled midwife, as we highlight a few dos and don’ts courtesy of some newly minted WFTDA teams. research It’s a no brainer that in order to become a successful roller derby league you need the skills to play. Keep in mind that the road to earning those skills can take up to a year to get under your toe stops.

A great first step in your training adventure is the wide and wonderful world of the internet.

“At the time there were few leagues in our region that we could travel to,” explains Bad Penny of Derby City Roller Girls out of Louisville, KY. “I printed materials I found online and asked other girls in the league that were interested in training to help out. They began their own research and then we did drills.” outside influence All the research in the world will only get you so far, as many young leagues learn early on. Making connections with nearby leagues, retired skaters and referees is one of the most widely recommended ways to start your training off right.

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“Many of us hadn’t really been skaters before this, so the first thing we worked on was basic skating skills,” shares The Terminatrix, or Trixie, vice president and founding member of the Tallahassee Rollergirls. “Strawberry Krush, who was a lifelong skater, was instrumental in teaching us those basic skills.” With Krush’s help, the Tallahassee group ran through the basics, such as learning how to fall, weave lines, proximity skating, pack formation and basic drills.

Silicon Valley Roller Girls were lucky to have Haley Combat, a former Bay Area Derby Girl, come lead early practices and offer her experienced advice.

Pandamonium, another former BAD girl, also came to lend her time and expertise to the growing league. “With her knowledge and skating skills, Panda quickly become a vital element to Silicon Valley Roller Girls and to our positioning today,” readily admits the Valley’s Lindsay Lohanded.

Northeast Ohio’s team, the NEO

“A new league should welcome any visiting skaters with open arms,” says Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby’s Queen Mercy.

“It is always nice when they can give us another drill or two to put in our arsenal.”

Death by Dollface of Silicon Valley recommends making the move to reach out to nearby derby teams as well.

“If you have any league members that travel often, tell them to hook up with local derby leagues and attend their practices.

Pick the brains of their coaching staff and throw yourself in the drills,” advises Dollface.

Besides the valuable lessons a veteran can teach a new league, it’s the career-long connection that can help in unexpected ways. “Networking with other leagues is a huge opportunity... you never know whom you’ll need your WFTDA recommendation letter from or whom your WFTDA mentor league will be – why not start making those friendships/connections now?” says a wise Scarlet GoDancin’ of NEO.

Rock ‘n Roller Girls, had their big sister

referees

league, Burning River Roller Girls, whom

For many new leagues, the importance

they looked to for training inspiration.

of a dedicated group of referees is

“They would occasionally come

undervalued. So focused upon learning

down to lead a practice, extend

to skate, many teams are unaware that

invitations to come practice with them

a ref can help guide training to enforce

and were always available if we had any

the inherent learning of the rules and to

questions about anything derby,” says

coordinate scrimmages so that they

NEO’s Taking Names. The two leagues

are played within the WFTDA rule set.

continue a thriving friendship, often

Knowing the rules of derby should be

scrimmaging and exchanging

like knowing how to fall safely, it should

volunteers for area bouts.

happen instinctively, without thought.

“Our refs are part of our Training Committee and actively participate in leading practices, teaching skills and developing training ideas,” says NEO’s Suicide Blond.

“Our ref staff is pretty stable and consistent,” explains Staplehead, manager of Hammer City Roller Girls of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

“We wouldn’t be able to exist without them.

We consider them part of our league and they do almost everything we do.”

Training for referees can be approached the same way one would train a skater. Silicon Valley encourages their refs to work on skating skills by participating at practice with the league, whether they are with a team or at the fresh meat level.

“Our refs are in constant communication with the Bay Area Derby Girls’ refs and do training with them,” says Dollface. “My advice would be to help get your volunteers to another WFTDA league. This may mean fundraising for them to allow them to travel for training to help them learn. They can learn a lot from other leagues just as skaters can,” Dollface shares.

If you’re lucky, you’ll strike ref gold early on in your league’s career, like the Tallahassee Rollergirls did. Their head ref has been with the league since the beginning. “These guys got the rule set (Version 1.0) and trained themselves, not to mention trained our skaters,” says Trixie. “Our refs meet regularly to get up-to-date on WFTDA standard practices and rule updates, and all skaters are encouraged to attend,” she explains. drama A quick lesson most leagues learn to deal with, or dissolve because of, is drama. “There are always going to be people who suck up or thrive on drama in any organization. Derby is no different,” states Trixie. “Our league does have a formal grievance policy and process which, fortunately, we’ve never really had to invoke,” she admits. For Tallahassee, when drama rears its ugly head, most skaters turn the other cheek.

“Most of us try to not feed it any fuel because doing so can threaten everything we’ve worked so hard to build,” confesses Trixie.

For some, ignoring any potential drama is the key to keeping it at a minimum. “Drama is like a baby throwing a tantrum,” says Mercy. “The more attention you give it, the more effective it is.”

As leagues become more established and skaters gain in confidence and experience, it seems the drama does subside. “We are an adult league and expect you to conduct yourself as so,” explains Staplehead. “People looking for drama don’t seem to last long in our league.”

Coach Panda of Silicon Valley doesn’t have time to waste on people that don’t want to take this sport and their part in it seriously.

“We have a very low tolerance for BS on the track and I think everyone understands that.

Our league is a big believer in rule #1 of Derby 101: don’t be a douchebag.”

Drama can extend off the track as well.

“Any drama we do have is usually within the BoD (board of directors) who are overworked and stressed with running the entire league,” confesses Taking Names of NEO. The Board of NEO, which was previously handled by only four skaters, have recently added two more positions and hope to add a seventh soon.

“We also plan to have subcommittee heads under each BoD position to run specific branches of that committee,” adds Chrissie B. Hynde, also of NEO. journey Playing derby is a multi-layered journey.

The road to a successful team involves hard work, both on and off the track.

These young teams all acknowledge that looking to other more experienced teams for support and advice has been key. Second is creating your own network of support through refs and trainers, and third is simply keeping your cool.

If none of that works for you, think of the words of Trixie from Tallahassee when she says, “When things get too hard or seem overwhelming, lean on your derby sisters.

They are in it for the same reasons you are, for the love of the game.”

WORDS OF WISDOM “Get each girl involved.

Let each girl know that she helps make your league a success.

There’s a lot of work involved in derby and we do it all; from balancing the checkbook to planning a bout to playing the game. When every girl can look back at the end of the day and say, ‘Hey, I helped do this,’ the smell of success is so much sweeter!”

- Scarlet GoDancin’ NEO Rock ‘N Roller Girls

“Have Patience. You will love this, guaranteed!”

- Bad Penny Derby City Roller Girls

“Be proactive with your advancement of skating skill level.

You are the only person that can make yourself a better skater.

Listen to your coaches, trust your teammates, and do research.”

- Coach Panda Silicon Valley Roller Girls

“Think of the future and where you want to go, not where you are.”

- Queen Mercy Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby

“Research as much as you can about flat track derby online and form good relationships with your closest leagues.

They have already been through the things that you will be experiencing. While there will be things specific to your own league, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel when you can get good advice from girls who have been there.”

- The Terminatrix Tallahassee Rollergirls

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rookie

pre-bout jitters B I T C H E S B R U Z E , P I O N E E R VA L L E Y R O L L E R D E R B Y

I remember my first interleague scrimmage well. I had been playing derby about three months when we traveled to a practice swap with a league two hours away. I donned the baggy orange pinny and stood, knees shaking, on the line as the inside blocker. My stomach was in knots. I wondered if my legs would hold as I took my first few toe stop steps after that whistle. By turn three the adrenaline took hold and my head found itself completely in the game. Everyone has some form of pre-bout jitters. They are a part of being an athlete. symptoms Even if you’re “cool as a cucumber” at a bout, a significant percentage of your teammates (and fortunately opponents) are experiencing stage fright. Even the most experienced skaters encounter these symptoms.

• Sensory deprivation – Suddenly the referees’ calls are muffled. The pack positions are blurry. That distracting pivot panty exacerbates the problems.

• Lack of coordination – The booty block that worked so well at practice this week is narrow and stiff-legged. Forget your lateral movement.

• Trembling – Knees are weak. Breathing is uneven.

Sweat comes at new rates and locations. Fingers curl into wrist guards to hold them still.

• Dry throat and mouth – In-pack cross-talk and shouting seems impossible and this mouth guard seems bigger than ever before.

• Sudden tiredness / need to urinate – I can’t possibly go in this jam, I need to go pee NOW! • Distorted sense of time – Is this jam really only lasting two minutes? Where did the period go?

• Other physiological responses – Symptoms include numb fingers and toes, headaches and muscle cramps. the cure Remember, stage fright is a psychosomatic response. Your mind creates this physical response in your body. Take time as part of each practice to work on mental conditioning as you would work on your body’s muscle memory and your team’s strategy.

No perfect cure exists for the bout jitters, but here are some things to keep in mind.

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bouts are an act of giving If you have made the roster you have put in the time to take your skills, combine them with your teammates, another team, and the audience to create the final product of roller derby – the bout. Leverage the power in this thought of giving of yourself.

You are a critical component in this event – your presence much more so than whatever your ultimate performance is. pre-think the afterparty If you’ve been to an afterparty before – either as a skater or as a helper – you know the emotional energy that is there. Take inventory of those emotions – the feeling of well-being you have from being a part of the bout, the fun you had playing, the big hits, the great jams, the whiffs – and bring that emotion to the beginning of the game. Winner, loser, or referee – every bout is a derby success. competitions are growth The pressure of performance improves your rate of learning better than a dozen practices. This bout will make you a better skater for the next one. make your own space Use the crash zone like an invisible bubble. Inside this bubble is your space shared with your teammates, opponents and mutual referees and officials. Those people are all happy you are there and are all looking forward to being a part of this with you. there is no fail in derby Everyone in the audience will cheer when you fall or when you take someone else out. Nerves never seem to be concerned about doing absolutely nothing. Anything you do that makes you stand out, even just for a moment, contributes to an exciting event. Doing a stand out move with a teammate generates even more cheers. take it one jam at a time Consider your first jam a throw away. In fact, each jam is its own jam and has nothing to do with the jam before unless you got sent to the box. Allow yourself that first jam to get a feel for your wheels on the track and take a sensual inventory. Look around you. Feel the energy and electricity of the venue. Smell your teammates and opponents and snack bar. Listen to the whistles

Jules Doyle

and the drone of the announcers. Keep in mind that the condition of the track will have changed from the warm-up time. It might be dryer or sweatier or who-knows-what. Zone into the bubble and become a part of it while letting it become a part of you. have a pre-bout ritual I always keep a talisman just for bouts. In the past I’ve used hula girl guitar picks or a bullet I wear on a cord around my neck. My talisman goes on last – after all my other clothing and gear. I wear “bout only” underwear and socks. I put my mask makeup on early – before any of my clothing and gear. Have an order for putting on your gear and focus on that order. Take time to have an emotional and sensual inventory as each item goes on – elbow pads, knee pads, makeup, socks, skates, helmet, mouth guard. How do they feel? What practice experience does each one evoke? Focusing on these aspects of yourself as an athlete keeps your mind from wandering to the bigger picture of “the terrible unknown.” share in team rituals Your team has a pre-bout ritual too – a way of skating in and cheering together. Some teams have more established rituals than others. Be proactive in developing a team ritual. Relying on a sense of the familiar – your pads, your gear, your team, your space – will help calm your nerves which are mostly worried

about what you don’t know. When you are with your derby family, even the most unfamiliar place becomes home. minimize the unknown If this is a travel bout, try to watch a bout there before you compete. If you cannot, familiarize yourself with the venue through photos and videos the team has on the web. Have a teammate scout or have your interleague coordinator get a description of the venue. Where are the changing rooms?

What unique things should we expect? What is the access to water and nutrition? What surface are we skating on? What wheels are recommended? Are there environmental factors to consider? Where is the audience? Is it a standard WFTDA track with a full 10-foot crash zone? Where are the benches, penalty box, scoreboard, and other bout tools?

Whatever you do, remember, this bout is not about you – it’s about your team. You are there to show the audience about derby and anything you do while on skates meets their expectations. You will find your zone where everything outside the crash zone disappears. After the bout you can try to remember if it was the second, third or tenth jam then kick back the beverage of your choice with your opponents and the officials and remember just how absolutely, incredibly fun it all was while you begin to look forward to the next one. fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 39

feature

sport and spectacle: does roller derby need both to succeed?

TA N K , C I N N C I N AT T I R O L L E R G I R L S

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In the past six years roller derby has evolved at a quick pace.

Penalty wheels, uncomfortable costumes and fighting have all went the way of the cassette player. It has advanced as a true sport more then ever before with ex college athletes, dri-fit uniforms, and an evolving ruleset that is worldwide. Now skaters such as Sarah Hipel, Erin Gargiulo, Amy Spears, and almost the entire Denver Roller Dolls’ All Star Team, are dropping their skater names for their real ones. Referees now wear a standard issue uniform for tournament play, gone are kilts, collars, sunglasses, and other flair. If all the camp is removed, will that solidify derby as sport to those who doubt it?

Spectacle and sport have co-existed for years together. One sport that has blended them perfectly is one of the most popular in the United States and is also an amateur sport; NCAA Football. For decades it has been celebrated for its rivalries, tradition and pageantry. Mascots such as Brutus Buckeye, Bevo the Steer, and the Notre Dame Leprechaun are all proud parts of their schools’ identities. Teams not only play for championships but for rivalry trophies such as Paul Bunyan’s Axe, Golden Boot and Keg of Nails. Even with these augmentations, the legitimacy of the game has never been questioned due to the performance of its athletes.

In the past 15 years the three largest growing sports have been NASCAR, X Games, and Mixed Martial Arts. All three sports are based on the individual, speed and the potential for serious injury. Each year these sports generate millions of dollars in revenue through ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorships.

They are watched by traditional sports fans, but draw a number of their viewership from nontraditional fans. Simultaneously the NHL, NBA, and MLB continue to decline or remain stagnant in television ratings. Entertainment is thrashing tradition all the way to the bank.

In the realm of traditional sports, the spotlight has shifted from the team to the individual. Today’s headlines and sports talk radio focus on Brett Favre, Terrell Owens and Manny Ramirez, not their teams. Today it’s all about the individual, Scott Engelhardt

Roller Derby. Those two words conjure images of skaters slamming elbows into each other on a banked track and involved in a type of sports entertainment where the results, just like the big fights, are predetermined. Since the rebirth of roller derby in 2003, many parts of the sport have changed.

The track is now flat, rules have been put in place to give the game structure, and wins are earned not scripted. But the sport has not lost all of its showbiz and glamour. The vast majority of skaters play under a nickname. Fishnets and booty shorts are standard fare and it’s not uncommon to see skaters covered in tattoos, multiple colored hair or wearing face paint. As the sport seeks to find a broader audience, will these things connect with mainstream America or will it create a glass ceiling that can’t be broken through?

Scott Engelhardt

Steven L. Price (Sk

ippy Steve)

Jules Doyle

Nick Fancher nickfanc

her.com

Steven L. Price (Skippy Steve)

Jules Doyle

Kerry McClain

not tradition. In the 1990s Dennis Rodman was one of the first athletes with visible tattoos in the NBA. Today players such as Allen Iverson and Chris Andersen are walking art galleries.

Clinton Portis has become famous for dressing up and giving interviews as different characters after Redskins’ victories. The sports media feeds into this by covering these players, who are equal parts athlete and showmen.

Some believe that the ultimate goal for roller derby is to end up on ESPN, and to do that means stripping roller derby of all its glitz and glamour. This might actually hurt that goal instead of helping it in the long run. ESPN in the past decade has only given serious coverage to six sports organizations (the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA Football and Basketball) while at the same time shunning or discrediting smaller sports. What caused ESPN to have a change of heart to create a NASCAR show, a MMA show, and cover the X Games every summer for the past decade?

Simple. Money and ratings. The sports did not change. They gained fans. And as that fan base expanded larger sponsorships came with it. By drawing this type of attention to their product, ESPN eventually had to cover them.

Women’s sports have always had a hard time gaining media attention both in video and in print. The WNBA has been the most successful female sport in terms of mainstream acceptance, but at the same time continues to languish in the ratings, recently drawing a miserable 0.4 rating for its 2009 All Star Game. Roller derby’s spectacle could actually help it instead of hurting it by getting television viewers to tune into something different and new. Its flash might just be what gets the average viewer to stop channel surfing to check out the sport and convert them into fans. You need a hook to drag fish into your boat. If roller derby was to become a “by the numbers” sport, it would probably suffer the same fate as every female sport before it.

It’s been said that sports reflect the culture of their time and vice versa. The America we live in today is much different than it was 25 years ago, so it only makes sense that our sports are different as well. The modern version of roller derby is on the right path with its combination of sport and spectacle, giving both traditional and nontraditional fans something to be interested in.

We are less than a decade into this new era with each year showing signs of growth. To change course now might prosper some short-term gains in legitimacy but could hinder roller derby in the long run. To paraphrase a quote from the movie A Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come” and as roller derby continues to build in its own way, the fans will come.

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 41

feature

roller derby history RINGO SCARR, NASHVILLE ROLLERGIRLS

Imagine twenty thousand people pressed in close to see a sporting event at Madison Square Garden. The room is electric, filled to capacity, peppered with the star entertainers of the day and the crowd cheers wildly for their favorite team and screams hoarse for their favorite players. If this were the 1970s this event could be the New York Knicks playing in the NBA finals, in the 1990s it could be the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup. And in the 1940s? It could have been a relatively new sport called Roller Derby.

Ten years earlier a man named Leo Seltzer created a exhibition race called the Transcontinental Roller Derby which featured 25 two-person teams skating around a banked, oval track in an effort to be the first to reach 3000 miles, or the width of America.

The Transcontinental Roller Derby combined two popular fads of the day – roller skating and dance marathons – and it was such a huge success that Seltzer soon decided to form an eight team league and hit the road with similar competitions in cities all over the country.

Though the skaters in these early races circled the track eight hours a day, they were also encouraged to kick it up a notch with occasional sprints, or “jams” as they were called. The crowd’s passion for the “jams” and the excitement created by the bumps and crashes that sometimes occurred in tight passing situations were so apparent that when Seltzer and sports writer Damon Runyan decided to map out an official set of guidelines for roller derby they included these facets into the rules of play.

As the bouts continued, television would cement derby’s popularity in

42 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

America and soon the matches were filling baseball stadiums and making household names out of skaters like

said, ‘Can I use the equipment if I make a deal with the skaters?’ He said ‘Yeah, but I can’t put any money into it.’ So,

Paul Milane, Billy Lyons, Joanie Weston and Ann Calvello. Roller derby continued strong for the next fifteen years but eventually business breakdowns stopped the derby from staying on a regular TV channel and soon it was off the air completely and fan interest began to wane. Then, in 1960, when roller derby seemed all but finished, Leo’s son Jerry Seltzer took over the company (at the age of 26) and his energy and ideas brought the sport to prominence again.

being the idiotic 26-year-old I was, I took over the roller derby!”

Creating and promoting the derby had taken Leo Seltzer away from home through much of Jerry’s youth, but even though he only saw his father three or four times a year growing up he was able to attain Leo’s great sense of promotional savvy and, not long after acquiring the business, had Roller Derby back on television and gaining a new

“So, being the idiotic 26 year old I was, I took over the roller derby!”

“My father decided he couldn’t sustain roller derby anymore and shut it down,” said Jerry Seltzer from his home in Northern California. “Right around that time a new television station called KTVU Channel 2 came on the air in San Francisco and I called my father and

fan base.

“So many things happened at the same time,” said the second generation derby owner. “In 1958 a guy working at Ampex developed two-inch video tape which allowed TV to look two dimensional and suddenly you couldn’t tell if it was live or taped. So I went to Channel 2 and asked if we could get an hour on Saturday mornings to do a replay of the previous night’s game.

They loved the idea and that brought in a second audience of younger viewers.”

When Jerry took over the business the working model was to contract with a big venue, set up the track and bleachers, and skate there for

A.

A.J. Epstein

A.J. Epstein

six to eight weeks. But soon a new

on derby icon Joanie Weston.

concept was emerging.

“I proposed it at the editorial meeting and all the guys went crazy. They said ‘Oh yeah, we can have these chicks ripping off their blouses getting hot and sexy!’ and I had to explain to them

“We realized the power of television was huge for us. In the San Francisco bay area at that time you might get the S.F. Chronicle, the San Mateo Times, San Jose Mercury News, or the Oakland Tribune, depending on where you lived.

But TV was everywhere. Everyone was watching the same programming and that’s when I came up with the idea of doing one nighters. We’d skate one night in San Francisco, one night in Richmond, one night in San Jose, one night in Oakland, and the fifth night we’d alternate between Sacramento, Stockton, Monterey, or Santa Rosa, so we didn’t overexpose any markets.”

With the help of local television, roller derby became popular all over the bay area, but the sport was about to branch out again. “One of our sponsors at that time, Gateway Chevrolet, had a dealership in Portland and we put a tape on the station up there. Well, we got such a response that we scheduled a game in Portland, and that’s when the light bulb went on.”

A.J. Epstein is a photographer/ writer/artist in Los Angeles who grew up in the ‘50s watching roller derby with his Grandmother Pearl. Twenty years later, while working at Playboy magazine, he pitched the idea of doing a feature piece

that it wasn’t like that. Joanie was the number one TV personality in the country and could fill Shea Stadium or Madison Square Garden in a week.

They said ‘WHO is she?’ and I said, ‘She’s the Blonde Bomber!’”

Playboy ended up pursuing the story and Epstein did the interview.

The skaters at that time were put through rigorous training, skating five days a week for a minimum of a year, at which point they had to pass a difficult skills test before they were allowed to compete in a bout.

photos from the soon to be published book the Blonde Bomber

“She was a smart lady – college educated – and gave a very intelligent interview. And they sent a photographer out but he was afraid of the skaters and sat on the ringside and shot with this really long lens, and that’s what it looked like. I wanted an intimate conversation and photographs of the people within the environment they worked in so I put my camera on and went down there and requested that I be allowed to shoot from the infield.

Only they wouldn’t let me.”

The skaters at that time were put through rigorous training, skating five days a week for a minimum of a year, at which point they had to pass a difficult skills test before they were allowed to compete in a bout.

“The first test they had to do was to hold a five stride pace in a pack for a minimum of an hour.” said Seltzer.

“And sometimes the pack would come out of a turn and the trainer, Buddy Adkinson Sr., would throw a chair in the middle of it. There are a lot of reasons for that. If they couldn’t jump it, which they learned to do eventually, they could kick a person that was down and seriously injure them.”

When Epstein was denied entry to the infield, he decided to play an ace he’d been holding up his sleeve.

Epstein’s grandmother often babysat

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 43

Leo’s young son Jerry while also managing all the concessions for the derby for 14 years. Years later when Epstein revealed who his grandmother was, Jerry’s face dropped and Epstein was granted a skills test.

“Nobody thought I could do it,” said Epstein, “But to my surprise and everyone else’s, I was pretty good and passed.”

This proved to be a lucky break not just for Epstein but for the sport of roller

down and sideways and it’s very different when you do a whip. I mean,

derby itself, as this new access allowed him to get incredible shots from the inside, capturing the skaters from angles not often seen before. The access also allowed him to develop a long time friendship with Joanie Weston that led to an upcoming book of Epstein’s derby photographs entitled “The Blonde Bomber.”

When roller derby was revitalized with Austin’s flat track league in 2002 the skaters borrowed what they could from derby’s history and left out what they were forced to abandon, and though it was still roller derby there were some big differences between the new game and the derby of old. The most obvious being the track itself.

“You go a lot faster on a banked track.” said Epstein. “Not only are you racing but you are navigating up and

At its peak Seltzer’s league had somewhere around 20 separate tracks and the skaters could make a little extra money by helping put them together and take them apart. But when Jerry switched to one night competitions in different cities a new track design had to be implemented.

“We went from having a track that generally took two days to set up and one day to take down to a track that could be set up in four hours and torn down in less than four hours,” said Seltzer. “And the tracks were much more flexible. We knew the skaters played to the crowd. That got them more salary.

That got them their name. So on these tracks they could do flips, land on the track, bounce off the padded rail, and the floor was suspended so it would absorb the force of the fall.”

you go spinning around the rail at that speed and then it’s 15 feet to the ground. It’s a whole different thing.”

The banked track allowed you to hit turns harder and use gravity to your advantage and this dictated different game strategy. But as important as it was to the sport, using a banked track also created the burden of assembling it, disassembling it, storing and moving it.

When roller derby was revitalized with Austin’s flat track league in 2002 the skaters borrowed what they could from derby’s history and left out what they were forced to abandon, and though it was still roller derby there were some big differences between the new game and the derby of old.

A.J. Epstein

feature

Dig a little into the player profiles of any flat track team and you will find skaters giving props to certain famous and infamous names of derby’s past. But what would the icons of the old school game think of the new flat track leagues?

“Skating on a flat track wouldn’t have been Joanie Weston’s style,” said Epstein. “But I think she would have been into anything that promoted her sport and supported her girls. I think ultimately she would have been into anything that brought roller derby back.”

Jerry Seltzer observes flat track derby with the same pride a father shows his child.

“They’re skating roller derby and I admire them and boost them all I can.

I think if Leo could get over the shock of how different it is now he’d see his game is still alive and well... in France, Germany, London, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and even Dubai... with an estimated 15-16 thousand participants, and lots more than that coming to the bouts as spectators.”

Flat track roller derby may be a different experience that the banked version of yesteryear but it still holds a great appeal to thousands of skaters and fans, and as the sport enters its latest phase, the culture of derby remains alive and well – seventy-plus years after it began.

T

st 44 | Fall 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

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international

derby explodes down under G O RY K I L L M O R E , G O L D C OA S T R O L L E R D E R B Y

First hitting TV screens across Australia in the 1960s, old school

Sun State Roller Girls are just about to finish off their second

Roller Derby lured audiences to the sport, capturing hearts as

season with their final bout on Halloween. With over 60 members,

people quickly fell in love with this unique form of entertainment.

SSRG’s Sculley said the league growing quickly with about five

However, the craze behind derby seemed to vanish as quickly as it

new girls signing up every week. The league plans on adding

started, leaving Australian fans with empty hearts awaiting a derby

a new team in the new year. “There has been a massive influx,”

revolution to hit their humble shores. Fortunately, it was well worth

she said. “It’s so great to see all these people so passionate about

the wait.

the sport already! The only way we can go is up! I can’t ever

The new school version of derby that took over the U.S. hit Australia in 2007, sending shockwaves throughout the derby

imagine roller derby being phased out like it was in the ‘50s.”

The idea of an Australasian WFTDA is also being thrown around

deprived public. Women’s flat track roller derby leagues quickly

after some Australian and New Zealand derby leagues met up at

began sprouting up across the country; the core leagues being

RollerCon. “Our biggest obstacle is that all the stronger (and

Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Victoria. Now with over 26 leagues

possibly WFTDA eligible) leagues are so far away from each other,”

across the nation, interleague bouting is in full force and talks

Sculley said.

about national competitions have begun.

Candy Rocks from the Victorian Roller Derby League said their

Adelaide Roller Derby publicity coordinator, Marshall Stacks, agrees with Sculley saying despite the growing desire for a

league is growing so rapidly that they have added another

national competition, Australia’s geography makes it difficult. “It’s

interleague team, with their third Fresh Meat Boot Camp bringing

such a big country that if Darwin in the Northern Territory wanted

over 150 potential skaters to the league. “Roller derby had a really

to play a league in Tasmania, for an extreme example, it would

strong following in Australia back in the ‘70s and I think it has

mean a more than an eight hour flight as the distance is about

taken off again because it’s such a fantastic sport for women

3800 km or 2375 miles!” Sculley said.

and encourages really positive traits such as teamwork, strength and fitness,” Candy Rocks said.

Founded in 2007, the league is in its fourth season of bouting

Starting in 2007 ARD has grown significantly, necessitating the introduction of a third team for their 2009 season. And maybe even a fourth for 2010. Despite not being the oldest, ARD has won every

and currently has around 40 skaters and officials. They continue

interleague game they have played this year. “...we are currently

to pack their arena with eager derby fans. “It’s fantastic to see

the team to beat but the quality of derby in this country is

a whole new bunch of women discover it and we’re looking

improving so fast that really it’s neck and neck,” Stacks said.

forward to introducing to them some real, home-grown roller derby,” Rocks said.

Despite starting around the same time as the other core

Across Australia derby leagues are selling out bouts as bouting skaters are outnumbered by eager fresh meat and crowds of Aussies are ready for a good time. ARD recently hosted Sydney

Australian leagues in 2007, Sydney Roller Derby League found

and Brisbane in a double header, with over 1,575 fans in

themselves struggling for their first year. However, after a demo

attendance and the crowds are sure to only get bigger.

season (November 2008-January 2009), SRDL’s Miss Biff said

“It’s inspiring to see how fast Aussie skaters are improving

they watched their fan base grow from about 200-300 at the

and how strong the game is getting here,” Stacks said. “We’re still

first bout to over 500 at the last.

coming down from the high and every league is now busy trying

“The do-it-yourself and amazing support of derby leagues all around the world (and within Australia) has made it easy for new leagues to get up and running,” she said. With over three

to organize our schedules for more interstate/interleague bouts next year.”

With ARD having an impressive 100 “raw meat” show up to

times the usual amount of people registered for SRDL’s next

a training night after the Whip It release and 90% of them already

fresh meat program, Miss Biff said they are both excited

making the commitment of buying their own derby gear and

and nervous to have so many new skaters.

practicing before attending any training sessions, it’s obvious the

46 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

growth is only going to move faster. “The quality of skills

Sergeant Spanx started the league in October of last year with only

and commitment from these girls is incredible,” Stacks said.

five members. These days they have over 20 members, who are

Australians seem to be embracing derby wholeheartedly

quickly becoming outnumbered by fresh meat. “It is a sport that is

and Stacks believes this is because derby not only appeals to

growing rapidly over here, but the profile is still fairly underground

Australia’s national character but also to the nation’s ideals of

as most of the people we meet haven’t heard of roller derby, let

womanhood. “Aussie girls in general are known throughout

alone know what it is all about,” Spanx said. “It will only grow

the world for being down-to-earth, tough, funny, and ballsy with

more as time goes on and more people join, more leagues form,

a get-it-done no-nonsense attitude. And if that’s not a derby girl,

and regional/national competitions start to take place.”

With very dedicated

I’m not sure what is!”

members and a growing

Stacks said.

fan base, Spanx said their

Perth Roller Derby (PRD) skater Trans Em

only obstacle has been

thinks the cause of this

finding places to skate.

explosion is simply

“We hope that all the

because it’s “awesome”.

rinks that closed after the

“I think that in society

‘80s will begin to reopen.

contact sports like

Not just because of roller

football, rugby, etcetera,

derby, but because it’s

are seen as men’s

a healthy and fun thing to do,” Spanx said.

sports; whereas sports Gold Coast Roller Derby

like netball are seen as

As the explosion of

women’s sports,” Trans

derby continues to engulf

Em said. “I think roller

Australia, this once

derby provides an arena

underground sport is

for women who want to

starting to become more

play contact sports and

and more infamous. “The

to be accepted as a

change is picking up

women’s sport.”

speed now, and I think being recognized in such

PRD was started only recently (mid 2008)

mainstream movies as

but already has two

Whip It is only going to

established teams

bolster that growth,”

(Mistresses of Mayhem

Sydney Roller Derby League

Spanx said. After the

and the Bloody Sundaes)

release of Whip It,

and over 40 skaters and

leagues across the

volunteers proving that

country are being

the explosion isn’t just

overloaded with fresh

limited to established

meat eager to learn,

leagues.

and the publicity has

As one of the newer

been very welcomed.

leagues in the country,

Derby Down Under can only go upwards

is growing faster than

and onwards from here.

they could have ever imagined. Co-founder

Sean Versteegh

Gold Coast Roller Derby

Adelaide Roller Derby

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 47

have derby, will travel

interleague bout etiquette It’s a rite of passage for every derby team or league. You’ve been training for months, learning skate skills, endurance, and basic pack and jammer tactics. You’ve been scrimmaging, and perhaps you’ve even played one or more intraleague or black and white bouts.

You’re ready to take your game on the road.

Here are a few tips to help you make your first interleague bout as enjoyable as possible, while also bolstering your reputation in the derby community as “someone everybody wants to bout.” get it in writing Once two teams have agreed to bout each other, the first step to a happy interleague bout is a good contract.

Among the details you’ll want to spell out on paper are the date and location; ruleset; ref crew makeup; compensation for the visiting team (typically anywhere between $500 and $2500, or a commitment for a reciprocal bout); insurance; comp tickets granted to the visiting team; medical crew details; and more.

You can find bout contract examples in the files area of several derby Yahoo!

Groups, including roller_girls and roller_derby_productioneers. Good contracts make good neighbors. getting ready Many, many headaches can be avoided if each league appoints one member to serve as the conduit for all communication regarding the bout.

This can be your league’s interleague coordinator, or a bout liaison picked 48 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

out for just this event. By piping all communication about the event through these two people, you can prevent the “different answers to same questions” that crop up when multiple communication routes are in play.

Well before the bout date, the contacts should ensure that insurance, contact, and other emergency information for the visiting team’s skaters are gathered up. Hopefully no one gets injured, but in that event, it’s even more critical to have drug allergy or other contingency information readily available when you’re on the road, away from family. getting settled and getting around As the host, you can make it more appealing for other teams to come play by helping minimize lodging expenses.

“Rollergirl housing” is a staple of early interleague play and can definitely add to the fun factor. If you’re unable to come up with enough couch and floor space to offer, you may also be able to help secure a discounted rate at a local hotel, particularly if you offer sponsorship exposure at your bout in trade.

If the visiting team is flying in, make sure they’ve got a way to get around.

Organizing rides can be a major hassle, but the payoff is fun – sharing cars from and to the airport, bout venue, after party and hotel makes a great way to get to know members of the other team.

Alternately, the visiting team can look into renting a 15-passenger van, which is a little more costly but damned convenient (once you get past the “herding everyone aboard” step).

Help the visiting team get around by putting together a map of key locations.

Google Maps’ “My Maps” feature is perfect for this – you can create a new map and add place markers for the bout venue, after party venue, hotel, grocery store, drugstore, liquor store, etc etc.

Jules Doyle

Jules Doyle

H U RT R E Y N O L D S , D E R B Y N E W S N E T WO R K . C O M

meet and greet To ensure that your bout is a satisfying, enjoyable experience for everyone involved, it’s a great idea to arrange some kind of social gathering prior to the event. Once you’ve met your opponents and gotten to know them a little bit, you’re a lot less likely to mistake a bit of sloppy skatework for intentionally illegal play – and so are they.

Depending on visiting team arrival time and the bout time, a meet and greet could be a barbeque at a host league member’s house, a brunch at a restaurant the day of the bout, or something else. The bout venue is generally not a good place for a meet and greet – once on site, people automatically start to put on their game face, reducing the likelihood of real social engagement.

If the rigors of travel are likely to leave the visiting team too tired to enjoy a meet and greet, there’s no shame in politely turning down the invitation.

However, this should be done well before the bout, so the home team doesn’t put

the effort into arranging a meet and greet that the visiting team doesn’t plan to attend.

needs. A good host will provide all the basics, such as water, high-energy snacks, sports drinks, etc.

Gift baskets in the locker area, either one per skater or one for the team, can go a long way toward setting a “ready

referees One day, perhaps, modern roller derby will reach the promised land of fully independent officiating. For now, though, most refs in the sport are directly associated with a specific league.

To minimize any possible concern about an uneven reffing field (due most often to familiarity with calling style; favoritism is pretty close to nonexistent, thankfully), it’s a good idea to use refs from a variety of sources whenever possible. Ideally, if you have neighboring leagues with skilled ref staff, see if you can persuade them to officiate the bout (perhaps in exchange for sending your refs to their next interleague bout).

Barring that, the hosting league should do everything possible to incorporate refs from the visiting league, particularly including one as one of the jam refs. at the venue To host a bout successfully, the home team should make sure the visiting team doesn’t have to go searching for any

Derek Lang BAGELHOT.com

Jules Doyle

to have fun” tone. Gift baskets can include anything from the practical (biofreeze, band-aids/moleskin, etc.), to league schwag (especially bout programs), to local specialties, to novelties... just anything that says “we thought this would be nice.”

the after party Modern derby etiquette dictates that everyone should make an appearance at the after party, no matter how exhausted/stinky/bruised/grumpy/angry you may be. You don’t have to stay long, but do at least drop in for half an hour.

These opportunities for social exchange are how derby grows and organizes.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, things will occasionally get heated at the bout.

When tempers flare, there’s often an inclination to hold the grudge and skip the after party. If you follow this instinct, you’re cheating yourself out of the best opportunity you’ll ever get to clear the air.

Instead, do yourself a favor: go to the after party, tip back a couple of beverages with your opponents, and make a point of engaging them in conversation. You’ll be surprised how many points of conflict are revealed at the after party to be simple misunderstandings. Sharing drinks at a bar after hitting hard on the track is a cherished modern roller derby tradition. cancellation Regrettably, it sometimes happens. A few weeks before the bout, you discover that you’re in deep budget trouble and can’t afford the trip. You have a sudden rash of injuries, pregnancies, transfers, whatever, and can’t field an adequate roster. If you’re the hosting league, perhaps you’ve run into a problem with the bout venue. These things happen, and they are not the end of the world.

The key to avoiding hard feelings in a cancellation situation is, surprise surprise, communication. Let the other league know just as soon as you realize there’s any question about your ability to participate. This allows a home team to start investigating options for an alternate opponent, or a visiting team to putting off buying airfare if the home team’s ability to host is in doubt. Often enough, the other team may have some suggestion for a way to solve the problem that’s in everyone’s interests.

Happy bouting!

What’s in a Name?

"Have Derby, Will Travel" appeared on the scene in October 2006, first as a website and blog to document Hurt Reynold's 2007 national derby tour. The original site can still be viewed at 2007.havederbywilltravel.com, and represents a bit of a snapshot in the evolution of modern roller derby.

When fiveonfive magazine launched in 2008, HDWT morphed into a travel column, offering up tips on making the most of your derby travel experiences. This article marks the sixth installment in that series.

Now in 2009, "Have Derby, Will Travel" begins its third incarnation, as a consultancy offering full league services to help solve common problems in cases where the communities many free resources just haven't proven adequate.

Visit havederbywilltravel.com for full details. fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 49

art and media

whip it review S H E W H O C A N N OT B E N A M E D , R O C K Y M O U N TA I N R O L L E R G I R L S

Chances are that if you are reading this magazine, you’ve probably already seen Whip It and couldn’t care less about another review. It took me a while to get out and see the film.

I mean, who has time to watch a movie, much less go to a movie theater these days?

I was already barraged by so many different opinions, even before the movie was released here in Denver, that I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew I needed to write this piece eventually, so I had to see the film for myself no matter what my pre-conceived notions were.

Going in, I had heard everything from what a poignant portrayal it is of a young girl finding herself to it being an unoriginal piece of fluff. My opinion is somewhere in between the two viewpoints, for what that’s worth. I liked the film for some reasons, and didn’t like it for others.

First, the things that I liked: The story is a cute, albeit a familiar one that we can all somewhat identify with. Adolescent girl feels suppressed by her parents’ values which are being thrust upon her (especially her mom’s: Beauty Pageants or Bust!). So, in an attempt to make strides to find herself, she becomes entrenched in a not-so-prim-and-proper subculture that she stumbles upon by accident while going about her relatively ho-hum business.

Sure, it’s already been done: think Valley Girl or Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains. I will admit that I’m a sucker for films of this particular ilk. In Whip it, the fringe faction that Bliss Cavendar becomes smitten with is roller derby. Watching her run the gauntlet of the new recruit process was a nice trip down “I Can Relate to That” lane. The film does a decent job of portraying how tough it can be to get involved in something bigger than yourself – figuring out group dynamics, balancing work/school/friends – things that we as real derby people can surely identify with. Also, the non-derby folk in Bliss’ life were a quirky mix that I got a kick out of – especially the Dad, with his convenient college football distraction; and her friend/coworker Pash, in all her boy-craziness. We probably all have folks in our lives that make these characters seem quaint by comparison.

Now for the not so likable things: The love story, for one. Not that I dislike love stories in general, but this one was just wrong

50 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

in my opinion. The whole time I had to suppress my urge to yell, “Dude, she’s only 17! You could go to jail!” And what was up with that pool scene? The back seat of a car or the dude’s band practice space would’ve been more realistic venues for sex. Cliché suggestions, yes, but at least the actors would’ve been breathing! In addition, what the film didn’t touch on at all was the massive amount of work the skaters put in to keep a league going. Surely that would’ve bored the general public to tears, but I really wanted to see Bliss behind her computer trying to read 100 emails, 10 different forums, and researching drills, skates, or sponsors. I imagine it would’ve instantly won the hearts of derby people everywhere if it were added into the scene where cyberspace informs her that her hipster honey was cheating on her.

But alas, that’s the trouble with films. They don’t always give you everything you want. Whip It was not so much about derby, but about people finding themselves and helping others do the same along the way. It was a nice little two-hour distraction that held my interest because of the backdrop of the plot. Not sure I would see it again, though. Like I said, who has the time?

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 51 1. Skater on left has a different helmet color. 2. Skater on left is missing green under eye. 3. Jammer’s outside wheels are orange.

4. Skater on right is missing stars on right leg. 5. Skater on right is missing text from logo on shirt.

6. Ref is missing stripe on left arm. 7. Green pivot’s pony tail is missing.

Jules Doyle

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

art and media

circle city socialites’ roller derby guide to the good life Whip It Up! “The Roller Derby Guide to the Good Life” features delish recipes and gorgeous color photos of the Circle City Socialites, an all girl roller derby league, presenting their recipes and lifestyle tips on how to entertain, host parties and live it up.

Having a party but worried about your stinky kitchen? Toss citrus rinds in the garbage disposal to freshen it up. Didn’t shave your legs? Nude fishnets are a girl’s best friend.

The book’s recipes range from simple (Ivanna Maimya’s White Trash Treat) to decadent (Prozac in a Pan) to healthy (Junior Say-Ow’s Bok Choy) to partyworthy (Faye Stunaway'’s Sun-Dried Tomato, Goat Cheese & Pesto Torte), but all can be assembled quickly by cooks of various skill levels. Plus, there's a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookie known to man. There’s something

in here to spin everyone’s wheels!

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52 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

$12 (plus shipping) CircleCitySocialites.com

October 2008 Nashville Rollergirls artist: Eric Powell thegoon.com

June 2008 Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls artist: Matt Traughber matttraughber.com

November 2009 Philly Roller Girls artist: Charlie Layton charliedraws.blogspot.com

celebrity audience!

Matt Costa

Check out Whiskey7â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s featured derby art â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hand picked from across the derby community!

Chevy Chase and wife Janyi attended the Gotham Girls Championship Bout on Nov 21, 2009.

classifieds Want to get rid of that old gear? Need to get the word out about something to the derby community? Searching high and low for something you just can’t find?

Submit your classified text (up to 50 words) FOR FREE to classifieds@fiveonfivemag.com to include in our next issue!

WANTED Help us help you find what you need!

WickedSkatewear.com

FOR SALE Submit details to get those gently used but no longer being abused skates out of your hair!

CHECK THIS OUT! If you play derby and want to get the word out about something awesome, send your text our way (it’s free)!

Get outta the white winter, head across the pacific for some Hawaiian heat and join us for the SK808, a tournament created just for you.

Saturday, January 9, 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, hosted by Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby, SK808 invites all skaters from across the globe to join us in this tournament. No need to bring a team; SK808 is a time for individual roller derby girls to show off what they got. Skater entry fee is $35.

Tournament fee, tournament t-shirt, after party, and Sunday, January 10th BBQ is all included. Don’t miss this chance to skate the 808!

PacificRollerDerby.com

Denver Roller Dolls 2010 Calendar "Warriors On Wheels" on sale now!

13-month calendar featuring all your favorite Denver Roller Dolls.

Please visit DenverRollerDolls.com for more information.

Shoe Rescue is an eco-friendly footwear insert designed to stop odor, remove moisture and eliminate bacteria. Place Shoe Rescue into your skates or shoes between uses to prolong the life of your footwear.

Shoe Rescue is 100% biodegradable, made in the USA and Derby owned.

Order Shoe Rescue at TheShoeRescue.com

The Angel City Derby Girls bring you Roller Derby Workout, a 50-minute video with five sections including stretching, core, legs, booty, and agility.

Workout to bands like the Faint and Tilly and the Wall while the added weight of your skates sculpts your body into a derby machine.

Available at RollerDerbyWorkout.com

fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2009 | 55

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

S A G I T TA R I U S

GEMINI

November 23-December 21

May 21-June 20

Take advantage of your improved energy. All your practice and dedication will pay off this month. Your team will be amazed by how far you have come and will allow you more playtime and freedom to explore this newfound connection to the game.

Be strong and go after whom and what you want.

When strategy is on your mind, you will find that your game play is elevated. Don’t let others distract you.

This is your time to shine on the track!

CAPRICORN

June 21-July 22

December 22-January 19

Being truthful with yourself and your teammates can make a big impression. Don’t be silent. Allow your intuition to surface. This will benefit your game play in a way you didn’t anticipate. You will gain the respect of your team and emerge a leader.

Change it. Whatever you’ve been doing at practice needs to be changed up a little. Don’t get too radical, but try to look at the strategy of your team differently.

By doing so, you’ll be able to make adjustments and improve the overall level of your game play.

CANCER

LEO

AQUARIUS

July 23-August 22

January 20-February 19

The spotlight in on you this month. Yes, dear Leo, you’re going to be the center of attention during practice and your upcoming bout! If you don’t play your best, it’s because you are consumed with selfdoubt. Don’t let that happen! Remember, you are better than you give yourself credit for.

Finding your passion on the track can be a reality. You have been feeling burnt out lately, but you need to remember why you got involved with derby to begin with. Having fun again is the key! Once you can do that, your game play will improve and you will find that you truly love this sport again. Don’t give up!

VIRGO

PISCES

August 23-September 22

February 20-March 20

Sometimes derby is more difficult than you would like it to be. The dedication and commitment seems overwhelming at times. But if you choose to stay the course, you will shine. The rewards are greater than you can imagine. Stick with it at all costs!

You can make it work. Whatever the case, however you are feeling; don’t let it drag you down. This is your time to feel the spotlight and become the all star player you know you are! You and your team will be amazed at the outcome!

LIBRA

ARIES

September 23-October 23

March 21-April 19

There is a fun ride ahead, but be careful to maintain your focus. Your dedication and hard work will benefit not only you, but your teammates as well. Enjoy yourself, and be confident on the track.

A teammate may hold the key to you improving your game play. If they are trying to help you, be open to their criticism. This will open your eyes and you will see the game differently, allowing your full potential to surface. Listen and learn.

TA U R U S

SCORPIO

April 20-May 20

October 24-November 22

Your thoughts could get you into trouble. Try and stay focused and unfazed by your self-doubts and the doubt of a teammate. No matter how good you are, take a second look at your game play and be sure you aren’t falling into complacency.

You may have a personal policy about befriending other leagues’ members, but that policy may be challenged.

Open yourself to communication with other teams as they may have some insight into your and your team’s abilities. This will only help you elevate your game play.

60 | Winter 2009 | fiveonfivemag.com

ASSOCI ATION (WFTDA ) THE WOMEN ’S FLAT TRACK DERBY ISSUE 4, SUMMER 2009 THE OFFICIA L MAGAZI NE OF

ASSOCI ATION (WFTDA ) THE WOMEN ’S FLAT TRACK DERBY VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1, SPRING 2009 THE OFFICIA L MAGAZI NE OF

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