Cherry Poppers by Hannah Christie

CHERRY POPPERS

A Beginners Guide to Roller Derby

Hannah Christie

Editor : Photography : Design

19 5 11 17 roller derby 101 the basics

scrimmage

practice practice and more practice

editors letter

origins of the magazine

interview with sydney derby skates

all you need to know about skates

training

learn whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involved

5x5 roller derby championships

25-28 : BMRDL v NBRG 29 -32 : SRDL v NRDL 33-36 : CCRDU v IWRDL 37 -40 : S2D2 v VDL

45-46 : vicious dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;licious 47-48 : spewnicorn 49-50 : ballereaper

derby love

testimonials from derby skaters

stacks and stumbles normal part of of the game

skater feature

ME A N E D O C

n o o M

s i s i Cr

My editors letter for this small publication is basically just to tell you a little about myself, my own experiences within the vast world of roller derby and little bit about what this project is and how it came about. First thing you should know about me is that. I have always done sport. Since I was old enough to be registered in some form of physical activity I have done it. Starting out in little athletics, I have explored the realms of Tee-Ball, Cricket, Netball and Soccer. Most notably soccer which I have played for twelve years. While I liked participating in these sports it was always just something I did as a form of exercise or activity, I never made lasting friendships with the members of these sports and they were just something I did.

I was always open to some form of skating, I used to roller blade when I was younger but the one time I tried on quad skates was a disaster and hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even thought about them since. At the end of last year, after a year of nagging from a close friend, I attended my first Roller Derby game at the Big Photo taken by Cassandra Dray for the purpose of this magazine

And that is something that is different about Roller Derby compared to other sports. It is in fact a very dangerous and sometimes brutal sport (why I love it!). Because of this there is a lot of training involved, you can’t one day decide you want to join a roller derby team and start participating in contact derby right of the bat. It is something that is earned through hard work, commitment, blood (literally, sometimes blood), bruises, sweat and tears. It can sometimes take people years before they are even deemed, by a league, contact safe.

This is one of the things I wanted to address about the sport which isn’t always known by new comers or people who have seen a certain roller derby movie (which has some things that are completely wrong and not allowed in an actual derby game). I also wanted to demonstrate the skill, endurance and effort that is involved with joining roller derby and the amount of success and sense of community that you receive from it. When I attended that first roller derby game just over a year ago I had no idea what the rules or aim of the game was. The league who was hosting the game were ahead the curve though and had little pamphlets that told the basics of the game.

This initial exposure to the rules was good but trying to find out more required scrolling through numerous Internet pages and to find more information about equipment and recommendations and the like required even more web searching.

When developing my idea I thought back to this small pamphlet and thought about how beneficial it would be to have something to hand out at bouts that yes had the basic game play and rules, but also had tips and testimonials from skaters, information about the training involved, equipment information. Things you would usually have to find in multiple different websites, all in the convenience of a small magazine that you could easily obtain by going to watch a game. While there are a couple of magazines available for roller derby they have to be bought online and none cater exclusively for ‘Fresh Meat’ so don’t have the same information someone just starting out would need.

Thus

Cherry Poppers was born.

Top at Luna park. Simply put I fell in love with it. That one game was enough to convince me that this was something I wanted to do. Borrowing some skates from said friend that introduced me to the sport, jet lagged from getting off a plane that day, I attended my first ‘Fresh Meat’ training at the beginning of the year and have now progressed to full contact derby. I played my first bout in October, nearly eight months after putting on skates for the third time ever in my life.

THE EDITOR

ROLLER DERBY 101

“THE BASICS”

WRIST GUARDS

2 MINS = A JAM 2 X 30 MIN PERIODS 30 SECS BETWEEN JAMS 3 TIME OUTS PER TEAM 1 PENALTY = 30 SECS IN THE PENALTY BOX 7 TRIPS TO THE BOX = PLAYER EJECTION There is a maximum of 10 players on the track. 5 from each team. The only time there isn’t is when someone goes to the penalty box! The 8 players starting between the jam line and the pivot line make up the pack. They are the blockers. They play both defence and offense. The player with the stripe on their head is called the pivot. The pivot helps the blocks but also has the ability to relieve the Jammer in what is known as a STAR PASS.

The Jammer is the one with the star on their head. They are the only players able to score points.

KNEEPADS

Helmet

Mouth Guard

ELBOW PADS

QUAD SKATES

WHAT YOU NEED

ROLLER DERBY 101

The players starting between the jammer line and pivot line is the pack. They need to start between these two lines or risk a false start warning. The jammers start behind the jammer line.

“GAMEPLAY” 2

Each Jammer fights their way through the opposing blockers. NO POINTS SCORED ON INITIAL PASS.

PIVOT LIN

jAMMER

lINE

LEAD JAMMER: Two short whistles. The first jammer to legally pass all the opposing blockers gets lead jammer status. You know lead jammer because her referee will be pointing at her. She has the ability to call the jam of early.

5 9

START: One short whistle. The jam starts.

If a player receives a penalty they must leave the track and make their way to the penalty box.

POINT SCORING: After the intital pass, jammers can score points by passing the hips of an opposing skater. The blockers help their jammer through the pack while preventing the opposing jammer from scoring. JAM ENDING: Four short whistles. To call off the jam the lead jammer taps her hips. If there isn’t a lead the jam will go for the full two minutes. All the referees repeat the four short whistles.

bLUE JAMMER PACK

BLUE PIVOT

bLACK BLOCKERS

BLUE BLOCKERS

SYDNEY D E R BY SKATES A question that is always asked by new comers to the sport are questions about skates and equipment. To act as a guide in my magazine I contacted Suzie Tomlinson, the owner of the online roller derby shop Sydney Derby Skates, to ask some questions that are frequently asked by Fresh Meat.

How long have you operated your shop for? I started SDS in 2008. At first I had about 20 pairs of skates and that was all LOL! Now I have sooo much stuff! How far away do your customers get? Any interstate or just mainly the Sydney Area? I ship Australia wide and to New Zealand though I have in the past shipped small one off things to Dubai, The States and also Singapore. I ship a lot to WA and NT actually.

Did you play derby first or after? I played derby first. I was a member of Sydney Roller Derby League when there was only 10 of us in the league! And there was only 4 leagues Australia wide at the time, Sydney, Sun State, Victoria and Adelaide.

What made you want to open the shop? We had to buy all our derby gear from the States. There was one skateboarding shop in Adelaide that sold a tiny bit of roller derby gear and that was all. Nowhere to try stuff on at all! So I saw an opportunity and started SDS. What is it like operating a business that caters for roller derby. Have you had any memorable experiences? I love it. It is awesome having a job that is associated with something you love to do. I think the best think is when Freshies buy stuff because they are just starting out in roller derby and they are so excited and that excitement is so contagious. It reminds me of how nervous and excited I was when I started out. Unfortunately all my memorable experiences are usually bad injury ones.

A girl bought all her freshie derby gear off me one day and that night, she was trying her skates on in her home and fell over and broke her wrist. She didn’t have any of her padding on. She never got to do derby after all because her break was quite bad and she needed surgery. Always wear your padding, even at home!! Reasons you would recommend roller derby to people? Mostly because it is super fun! It’s exercise without realising it’s exercise because it’s so much fun. And it’s roller skating! Who doesn’t love roller skating? And hitting peeps! How much is your fresh meat package. Is it something you would recommended straight off the bat? I don’t have any set fresh meat packages. I designed the website

so that you pick any skate, any pad, any helmet etc and then just get a fresh meat discount off the total. I did this because I found that sometimes people want, as an example, an expensive set of knees but everything else basic. I do recommend to go the basic stuff though as it’s a lot of money to lay out if you decide derby isn’t for you and also you have more knowledge of what works better for you skate and pad wise if you upgrade later. Is there a piece of equipment you stress to put good money into? Starting out at the beginning, I would say knee pads. We can tend to land quite heavily on our knees and they can really take a beating. You don’t have to buy $160 knee pads but definitely something better than Rebel sport or kmart knee pads. What is a better mouth guard to use? The sisu mouth guards are the bomb. They are so comfortable and you can drink and talk with them in. Before these mouth guards came out, we used to use chemist $8 ones and they are awful! If you really want to protect your teeth though, you can get your dentist to make a mouth guard that’s moulded to your teeth and only fits your mouth.

What type of skates would you recommended for a beginner who is skating for fun vs a beginner who is aiming to push into a higher level for roller derby? In the first case, the fun skater, I would suggest the beginner

skates. The Riedell darts or R3’s, the SureGrip GT50’s, or the Crazy VXi’s. Recommending an intermediate skate is a lot trickier. Generally, intermediate skates are quite heavy and the reason for this is the plate on the bottom of the skate. Beginner skates have a nylon plate which is quite light but as a skate gets more expensive, the plate switches to metal. A really expensive skate usually has a CNC machined plate which means that even though it is a metal plate, it is usually not too bad weight wise, as it’s hollow. An intermediate skate has a cast plate which means it is a hunk of solid metal. I used to always suggest to someone that it’s better to keep your beginner skates until you can afford a much more expensive skate instead of slightly upgrading to avoid the heavy plates.

But now there are the Crazy DBX3 skates. These skates are not a leather boot so are not very expensive but they have a

very nice CNC machined ‘venus’ plate on them which I think is an awesome plate for the money. So generally I now suggest those if you want something a bit better than the normal beginner skate. Do you recommended getting the best skates you can off the bat or is it better to be more comfortable before you spend the big money? No I don’t recommend getting the best skates you can off the bat. I really highly recommend you stick to the beginner skates, the ones I mentioned above, when you are starting out. There are a number of reasons why I recommend the beginner skates: They are made for beginners so the plate is mounted centrally for more stability. You don’t want to spend up big and then decide derby isn’t for you, it really does take a lot of commitment. Most of all though, you don’t know what you like and dislike in a skate at the beginning. The longer you have been skating, the more you know

about how you skate and whether you need a higher cut ankle or a wider toe box or lacing all the way to the front of the boot etc. I have seen too many people buy expensive skates at the beginning

“The longer you have been skating, the more you know about how you skate” and then hate them. What brands do you recommended to start on? Any brand really, that doesn’t matter too much. The biggest names in the skating world though are Riedell and SureGrip with Antik, Bont, Crazy and other brands coming close behind. What type of wheels would you recommend for fresh meat? OK this question is difficult as wheels are so complicated. There are so many variables you have

You are best not to buy new wheels until you have started skating at your venue for a little while and have managed to figure out what type of floor you have. You could have a very slippery floor and your friend in a different league could have a very grippy floor even though they are made out of the same material! I always suggest that the best people to give you advice on what wheels to buy are the veteran skaters in your league. And believe me, they will usually be happy to talk to you about it and even maybe lend you some old wheels they have for you to try out. Generally speaking though, a softer wheel with a lower durometer (like 88/90) that is wide for stability would work as you want more grip if you are a beginner.

Would you recommend fresh meat skaters getting outdoor wheels straight away or wait until they feel more comfortable skating? Maybe give it a week or 2 of indoor skating first to see how you go but then yes, definitely buy outdoor wheels. You will want and need as much practise as possible and that will generally mean outdoor skating. A word of caution though, outdoor skating is a lot different to indoor skating. It feels completely different and is a lot scarier at first. There are way more things to trip up on so don’t try it on your indoor wheels or you will fall down. How much should you roughly spend as a fresh meat? I would say $380 to $450 depending on if you want to get all basic stuff or upgrade on a particular item like knees. Of course, you can also buy second hand gear to keep it cheaper.

Any other tips that you find helpful to fresh meat in regards to skates and equipment? Yes, when you try skates on, keep in mind that you want your skates to be tighter than you would wear a normal shoe. You don’t want there to be any sliding around in there at all, it will really affect your skating if you have ill fitting skates. You want the skate to be an extension of your foot, similar to rock climbing shoes. Pads wise, you want them to be tight as well. Pads always stretch and very fast so try to get them as tight as you can handle without them hurting you as soon they will feel like the nest size up. Also with helmets, the foam compresses real fast in them so you want your helmet to be tight too so long as it doesn’t give you a headache. Always check your skates over and tighten screws etc on them if loose. Always use grease when you change the stopper or you will

to consider when you buy new wheels. Not only do you have the durometer of a wheel (how soft or hard the wheel is) but you have the height, width, and type of hub. All of which make a difference.

likely one day cross thread them and that really is a pain. Keep your bearings in your wheels dry so they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rust. If someone has really big feet and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stock their sizes but they are really keen to get skates what would you recommend for them? I usually do stock big sizes, although only in the beginner skates. A lot of the male refs have large feet so I always have a couple of sizes of the big ones handy. Once they are advanced though, I usually recommend having custom skates made for them. What is the difference in the hardness and softness of wheels and what do they mean for your skating? As I mentioned a few questions ago, wheels are extremely complicated! The hardness or softness of a wheel is called the durometer. The lower the number eg 78A, the softer the wheel and the higher the number, eg 100A, the harder the wheel. Basically, if your floor that you skated on was very slippery, you would want a grippier/softer wheel like 88A ish. If your floor was very grippy, you would want a harder wheel, probably a 97A ish.

If you were skating on a slippery floor with hard wheels, you would slide all over the place and if it were the opposite, grippy floor and grippy wheels, you would find it very hard to get anywhere and would be wasting a lot of effort just to try to skate. It is usually a good idea for beginners to have

Outdoor wheels have the lowest durometer at 78A as you want your outdoor wheels very soft to be able to absorb sticks and stones etc. After you have advanced a little, you can mix up the durometer of your wheels. As an example, you might want to put grippier wheels on the left hand sides of your skates and harder wheels on the right so you can get some grip while cornering without losing too much speed. What are the purpose of Cushions and Bushings and what does the softness or hardness mean for skating? Cushions/Bushings are kind of like suspension I guess you could say. The softer they are, the more manoeuvrable and agile your skates are, you can turn corners with only the slightest lean on the sides of the skates. Harder cushions are more stable and solid. You have to work more to be able to turn. What would you recommended as the best top stops and why? I really really like the Grn mnstr gumballs. The main thing I like about them is that they are round. So many companies make funny shaped stoppers like oval or wedged shaped but if they get loose and turn around and they are then in an awkward position, you can fall over if you lean on them. At least with round ones, if they get loose, it doesn’t matter what position they are in. They are also just very good bouncy

stoppers, they feel comfortable. I also like the fact that you can have them with a short or long length stem. I like my stoppers quite close to my boot so I can get the short stemmed ones. Is there any other parts of your skates that can affect the type of skater you are? How do they do this? Yes, the trucks. These are the metal parts that the wheels attach to. You can loosen or tighten your trucks. Similar to the cushions, looser trucks make your skate feel more manoeuvrable and agile and tighter trucks, more stable and stiffer. I like my trucks very loose. It will usually take a bit of work to

of the boot. You want your skates to last you as long as they can as they can be an investment. What do you need to have or do to maintain your skates in good condition? The number one rule is keep them dry and don’t keep them in your car on a really hot day. Try not to skate outside after rain as water can really screw up the bearings. Keep them clean and dry. Take the bearings out occasionally and wipe them clean and get all the hair that.

“You want the skate to be an extension of your foot” get them to the point that you like. You just have to keep loosening a tiny bit at a time till you feel they are responsive without feeling too squirrely. You loosen them by turning the nut on the bottom of the skate. Are toe guards a good investment? Why do people get them? Yes absolutely. When we do knee slides, we tend to drag the front of our skates along the ground and it really rips into the leather/vinyl

a lower durometer wheel as it helps them to learn without slipping too much.

TRAINING HARD

THERE ARE TWO RULES IN ROLLER DERBY. 1. never GIVE UP.

2. Remember RULE ONE.

There is a lot of training and commitment to that training with different levels to determine the skills and skating level of a player. Depending on the league most levels go for 8-10 weeks with the test being in the final week to determine if you have the skills to advance to the next level. While most leagues only have womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teams, fresh meat programs are open to men as well.

FRESH MEAT - In fresh meat you learn all the basics. How to skate properly, how to stop properly, how to skate near others properly, how to fall properly (because you will fall a lot and falling badly leads to injury).

WHITE STAR - This is when you start to learn some contact drills. Only very light contact and nothing that would cause serious injury. Big focus is on learning how to block properly, skate extremely close to people in a pack and hitting people legally and correctly.

YELLOW STAR - This is when it gets real. This level starts you in full contact derby and at this level you can start participating in scrimmage and home bouts. You are expected by most leagues to really commit yourself to the sport, keeping up your fitness and getting to training is key.

ORANGE STAR - This is the highest level of most leagues and most times requires another short test to achieve. Just to add another layer of security that you can safely play against other leagues. This level is where you can compete in inter-league bouts with the leagues away team.

SCRIMMAGE like conditions and learn how to manipulate, adapt and implement them while competing against another team. All the awesome skills and moves you have seen at a bout are worked on at these trainings. Not only is this a good training time for the skaters, but also for the referees and NSOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

(non skating officials). Without these people Roller Derby games would not happen, this is as much true in scrimmage as it is in a real bout. At scrimmages they also work on their skills and are there to make sure the skaters are skating correctly and are informed of things they do wrong so they can improve and not do it in an actual bout.

Scheduled once a week by most leagues this is simply a way to practice for bouts and keep up your skills and fitness level in between. This as where the teams practice the drills they have been learning at training in bout

On a scoring pass

In the Penalty Box

ou y y b r e n t D o r s i e e h l i ol pant and s. R d d In ear a n e e h i w r r f u yo our y

S M A E T

Saturday 29th August at Whitlam Leisure Centre, Liverpool

S E M A G

BATTLEGROUNDS 25

FOR 3RD PLACE

Meet the team

BENCH : Mischief managed, vix’n bones

00 07 11 118 1832 375 485 911 99

nasty noodle get shirty unsteddie bold and the bruise’em all crush n over betty rocker metallikez natural born killer priss ruby whipper corporal punishment yorkshire terror

0807 14 161 1630 181 1956 210 66 68 78 790 85

BENCH : topper gnarley, rage quit

Chick Dastardly roxy tocin doctor hoo hoo vicious d’licious bloodred penny victoria hitter kitty carnage anni-emergency ninja rogers

Jammers pushing their way through

Escapes the pack

victory huddle

41 1 DL BMR

VICTORIA HITTER LEAD JAMMER

62 2 nbrg

SCOR L A FIN

ARMAGEDDON FOR 3RD PLACE

Meet the team

Stockard Slamming Stocks Low Down Hoe Down Micro Machine Icy Red Chakram Low Blow Oreo Levi Strides

122 131 14 22 23 288 33 501

Goldie Horns Carnage Feisty Cuffs Tonya Harder BENCH : RAMPAGE

55 72 9000 94

BOOGA DE-BRI VANILLA BEAN THUNDERSLUT KALI ENTAY KAY SASSE

16 737 93 R18 100 49

BENCH : VALFREYA , THE DUTCHESS

Fannie Tastic 0690 MOXIE MONOXIDE 789 mARILYN tANTRUM 15 HIPPY HARDARSE 7 mOJO mALICIOUS 26 hOLLIE fUNCK 3 REGGIE RAMJET 31 GODJILLA SOLD SEPARATELY 92

hollie funck calling off the jam

188 L D SR

CORE S L A N FI

132 L D NR

feisty cuffs pushing through

Close Call

BATTLEGROUNDS CHAMPIONSHIP

Battle Smurf Coppa Floggin Ratbag Hannabelle Dekt’her Rouge Bludger Madame Mischief Hazy Demon Miss Rackers Bumbum Belt’er Goodrem Mini Mayhem Maddusa Bamphibian

BENCH : Hans Oferbach, Sir Gestive

101 1111 18 202 22 26 2h8 38 42 6 93 sg1

flying Dutchess Rockzy Vo Teaze Ginger Rogered Boxy Lady Capt’n KidKat Shevy Chase Cop Ophelia boss Whedon Hellcat crushy Amphlett Violet Van Slam Lyoness Penelope Pistoff

076 13 1929 314 42 43 50 64 68 76 84 896 999

BENCH : Rampage, Lee Wrecks

Meet the teams

Race to the front

Hazy Demon giving it her all

Making her way through the tunnel

6 8 1 l iwrd ORE C S L A FIN

8 1 1 u ccrd

ARMAGEDDON 37

CHAMPIONSHIP

s m a e t e h t Meet

BENCH : KERNEL PANIC , APRILLA THE HUN

005 187 20 23 25 27 389 480 64 666 75 8 801 81 99 XX3

LASER STATION JO DIRT DIAZESLAM SPANKY MAIM EVENT CHERRY BOMB RED HOT JILLIE PEPPER GINJA AIL CLEAVER TERROR-SMACKDAL REAPER CUSSIONS MALEFICENT MARA ALT BLOCKTOPUSSY

0 08 10 18 180 1956 23 375 3XL 666 76 928 007

BENCH : DOC’D MARX , SHERIFF

BACARDI BRUISER DOM uNDERBELLY mORELLI DANIHELL WINNIE BRUISE KILLABEE LETHAL HEART SPARKY MINNIE CLUSTER FRACK FAIRY BLED HATERADE IMPURE BLONDE APOCALYSS TEKILLHER SHOT

Taking the abuse to get the points

Bacardi Bruiser takes the lead

209 D2 2 S ORE ld v

168

L SC A N FI

DERBY Love Why did you choose to get involved with roller derby?

Its unusual and looked like heaps of fun. Needed to get active and healthy again. I wanted something different and challenging in my life. Plus I wanted to meet friends. Derby found me at a time when I needed it. I was stressed out, having chest pains and panic attacks. I took my daughter skating and when session was over, in walked all these chicks with gear. I asked one of the girls what they do and I went back to the rink three days later for my first practice. I immediately fell in love with derby after watching my first bout and knew I had to be a part of it.

I enjoy contact and competitive sports. it looked fun and challenging. The more people I met from the community, the more I knew it was the right sport for me :)

I love the idea of a female dominated sport, along with the confidence derby gives you, and the camaraderie.

What do you find most interesting/ enjoyable about roller derby? I love getting to a point where I can teach skills to other skaters and hearing my name screamed from the sidelines Female empowerment. Loving accepting community The community. Its not just the women and men in your area, the derby community is worldwide. The intricacies of the game are most interesting (so much more to it than being brutal on skates) but the most enjoyable thing is playing a sport that is uber competitive as well as supportive. Its so different from most sports because everyone seems to want everyone to do well. Especially amongst women - it’s a build em up culture which is awesome!

The other skaters/coaches, the physical/mental challenge it presents. The fact that I’m learning to do new things with my body that I never thought possible. I also deal with anxiety regularly and whenever I play derby it COMPLETELY DISAPPEARS, which is a very rare thing. Also, the controlled hitting is very therapeutic as a stress reliever and healthy outlet. Strong athletic women and the overwhelming support received by not just women and other women, but by their loved ones, and their friends and family, who also help them realize their dreams on and off the track. Pushing myself physically and nailing a skill or drill gives me a lot of joy as well as satisfaction. I’ve also made a lot of great new friends who I never would have met otherwise. Being part of a team, I never had that before. There are different types of women in the team, some who I never would have met otherwise. It’s great to be a part of that.

No judging based on your personality or who you are. Your accepted for who you are because derby tends to attract like people. And if you have different interests to everyone else your loved for your individually instead of feeling out of place like a lot of other sports. I like training hard and playing team sports. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something about the people it attracts, they are very giving and generous with their time. I find that we all share each others successes, and that is really great. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive, but in a healthy and supportive kind of way. I am always inspired by my team mates and they drive me to challenge myself and try things I would never do otherwise. What is your most embarrassing, funny or memorable derby story? After a scrimmage a ref came up to me and was complimenting me on my jamming. It felt amazing! He was a fan!

When I first came out and started skating, I was going across

the floor and hit some tables because I couldn’t stop, and feel backwards and went under the tables. It hurt but was hilarious. I’m new to the sport so the stories are in short supply but I have taken up derby with my long term girlfriend who turned up at the middle circle ready to stretch with everyone. The hall is quiet, lots of focus until a teammate asks my girlfriend “Marsh...is your helmet on backwards?!” cue laughter as it appears it was and she’d not noticed “thought it was a bit tight you know!” Last week I had to go to the penalty box, which in this case was just a row of plastic chairs. I came in way to fast, fell down on a chair, and then the chair broke with the loudest bang ever. I got another penalty :P I’m still fresh meat but when I first started I was pretty clueless and kept putting my wrist guards on backwards the first couple practices. I also kept putting elbow pads instead of knee pads on my knees. Everyone was totally in good spirits about it though and you just have to laugh at yourself.

Roller derby brings people together in such a unique and genuine way that help people create long, life-lasting bonds. I’m always thrilled when I see people get engaged or married in a roller derby environment. I don’t usually tear up during emotional moments, but the waterworks want to turn on whenever I see a unity/marriage proposal happen on the track. Ah, lamour!

Embarrassing- picking a wedgie out when sitting on the bench during a game, only to find out later that a camera for a live web stream was directly behind me. Yes, they caught the whole thing.

When it was over we stood in the parking lot in one big group hug for 15 minutes. We didn’t take it as a loss. We took it as a win that this team was scared enough to put us against their A team.

When my team first started bouting we went out of town to play a team. We had scrimmaged with their B team a few times and held our own. When we got to the venue, we realized that this team had placed us against their A team, because they were undefeated that season and wanted an easy win. We still went out and played our hardest. We never got discouraged even when we lost by over 200 points.

I am an official and I had a skater enter the penalty box and ask if she could sit down and fix her knickers. She proceeded to lie down across the seats and commence a very complicated knicker-compression tightsreadjustment procedure. A teammates wheels got caught in another teammates pants and pulled them down :D

Vicious Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Licious Plays for the Blue Mountains Roller Derby League based in Katoomba. Has played roller derby for TWO years. Trains the fresh meat for the league as well as helps with White Star training.

Is a member of the away team the Free Sisters.

#118

Has played for Sydney Roller Derby League, University of Sydney Roller Derby League and currently skates for South Side Derby Dolls.

1 1 7 #

Has SKATED FOR THREE YEARS. IS a team unicorn die hard. Live tweeted the great southern slam 2014.

Spewnicorn

WHAT’S IN MY DERBY BAG...

Ballereaper Currently skates with the Blue Mountains Roller derby League in white star level. Has SKATED since the beginning of the year. She doubles as an after school dance teacher as well as a dance and p.e high school casual teacher.

Is a die hard sci-fi enthusiast.

#66

STACKS STUMBLES