The light at the end of the tunnel

So I've entered the two month stage of being off skates and I'm still feeling pain in my ankle. I went to the physio on Monday and she was actually pushing me to get back on skates! Perhaps I'm being overcautious and paranoid after all the injuries I've picked up this year but I was a bit hesitant to get back on skates while I still felt some pain. She reckons I'll still have that pain for a few months but it shouldn't impact my skating. Shirley ended up giving me a letter to say I could try skating (only) for about an hour this week at training and see her again on Monday to see how my ankle pulls up. If there's no new damage I'll finally get a clearance letter and go back to derby training. Now I'm torn, a part of me can't wait to get back on skates and work my way up again to the level that I was before I got injured but a part of me is shitting bricks about getting back on skates and re-injuring it again. Injuries aren't just physical they're such a head fuck for me anyway. If I get over my fear and manage to skate again I'm going to be sensible about it and spend the rest of the year with the freshies and work on all my falls, stops and endurance again. This year has been a write off for me in terms where I was hoping to be. I want to be firing on all cylinders next year and make next year my year to prove to myself that there's more to me than just writing. I want to be good enough for my league and be an asset and not a hinderance. If I get myself in order by the end of this year I'll be able to push on and work even harder to get to the level that I want to be at next year.

I've had some of my team mates ask me at training how I manage not to go crazy sitting on the sidelines watching the rest of them train. Easy! I occupy myself with stuff to do so that I don't think about it too much. I've been hanging around Team White Tiger and listening to them go through rules and hand signals so that's been fun and helpful. We had Womb Raider come to training on Sunday to take the city team for the city vs coast bout through tactics and strategies before this week's bout which was amazing. I loved learning new tactics and seeing my team mates execute the tactics on the tracks, it was like poetry in motion. I've also been doing the jam timer duties during scrimmage practise, it's nice to have some control over Cherry ;) haha Lastly I've spent the last couple of weeks taking photos at training in the hope that my team mates might pick up on things they're doing correct or might want to work on. Instead I've discovered most of them love having their picture taken and then asking me to upload them on Facebook hehe. Here's some of my favourite pics I've taken.

Yep that's Cherry mid air after Bede's hit haha

There's heaps more pics on my Facebook profile!



There's been such a build up amongst our league for this week's city vs coast bout. Not only will we have members from our league bouting but we're hosting it so it's been a massive learning experience seeing what goes on behind the scenes with putting a bout together. It's been amazing to see my team mates and the guys from MARD push themselves in training and seeing how far they've come. It's going to be a great bout, in fact it's going to be a great night, hurry up already Saturday! I'll be doing the write up for RDAU and possibly HAM but I'm also going to do a special one for our league. No idea where I'll post it but I'll focus it more on my team mates and interview as many of them as possible especially those bouting for the first time. It'll be nice to be able to keep a record of this moment, the first of many for our league :)

Lastly I had a fangirl moment on Saturday night at our H*A*R*D trivia night, Cherry actually came up to me and asked me if I wanted a pic with her so I finally got a pic with her. I've gotten a pic with Jilla, now I've got a pic with Cherry, now all I need is a pic with both of them :)

See you guys on Saturday!

To skate or not to skate? Is it really that easy of a decision to make?

I found myself at a crossroads on Monday night. I was at the physio getting my injured ankle worked on. My physio Shirley was telling me that the tightness in and around the injured area had improved a lot and for me it was the first session I've had with her that I haven't felt any additional pain while she's been working on it. She said I could probably resume skating this week and was going to give me a clearance letter but I had a decision to make, should I take the letter and start skating or tell her the truth that I was still feeling some pain and I wasn't 100% confident that I wouldn't re-injure it the second I got back on skates? I told her the truth and didn't get my clearance letter. This is the 7th week straight I've been off skates injured and I hate it. I really want to be back on skates and training again but then I think back to all the times this year where I rushed back on skates before I was over my injury and ended up making it worse which resulted in such a stop/start year which stunted my progress. I'm also having to deal with those negative thoughts you get in the back of your mind when coming back from an injury, the fear of skating again after being out for so long. I've had it happen before where I psyched myself out so much that I felt physical ill driving to training and ended up sitting out the entire session. I don't want a repeat performance this time but I can feel those thoughts already forming in my mind and I'm not even on skates yet.

Looking back on the year and the way I dealt with my injuries I made a pretty big discovery and ended up surprising myself in the process. The first few times I got injured I spent all my time on the sidelines with a shitty look on my face and angry that I was falling behind everyone else. Don't get me wrong I wasn't angry with my team mates, far from it I was just so angry with myself for getting injured. When you dream of being able to bout it's so easy to get narrow minded and not see the big picture. I then realised that staying angry wasn't going to change my situation, so while I would still have a sook that I was injured once again, I would get it out of my system and started looking at ways that I could be more productive. The first thing I started doing was going through the derby rule book and would you believe it I started learning more about the sport, who would have thought! I then started doing jam timer duties at scrimmage practise and started learning even more from seeing the game played at that point of view. Listening to the skaters yell out instructions and ref's making calls and learning more rules, I was really starting to get into it.

All this ended up having a flow on effect because Roller Derby Au asked me to fill in for them for a Newy intraleague bout and from there it all kind of exploded. I made notes for every single jam and started seeing patterns and tactics unfold as I looked back on my notes which I probably wouldn't have seen if I only watched the bout. RDAU and Newy liked my review so I thought I would continue doing bout reviews for my blog unless RDAU asked me to fill in for them again in future. The more reviews I did the more I learnt. I was now able to start looking at a ref calling a major and know what it was for without even listening to them. My biggest discovery was I was starting to be able to read a game and see tactics and patterns unfold, it was like I was really seeing roller derby properly for the first time. I've filled in RDAU for a few times this year and it has ended up resulting with an amazing opportunity - the chance to be published in H.A.M for next week's city vs coast bout. It may not happen but to be even considered in the first place is an amazing honour. The funny side with doing my blog and bout reviews is getting noticed. It still never fails to shock me having someone come up to me and ask me if I do 'that' blog or add me on Facebook :D It's not like I have people flocking towards me, just having one person come up and talk to me is like WOW some people actually like what I do! haha.

Cherry's picked up on my love of tactics and strategies so this has opened up another door for me. She's asked me if I wanted to be an assistant benchie for one of our intraleague teams next year along with Sarah. We'll be paired up with either Santina or Katie so there will be even more opportunity to learn from either of them which is a win-win situation. This is only until I make it onto one of our intraleague teams then I'll pass the baton on and show someone else the ropes. What an amazing opportunity though, once she explained what it entailed I was chuffed to bits to even be asked. I've already thrown myself into it by trying to find as many benchie tips as possible, I pity the team I'll be helping bench for next year ;)

So I've learnt that once I'd gotten over my sooking at being injured and looked at the bigger picture I learnt a LOT about the sport and it resulted in getting a lot of opportunities in other areas of the sport. I might not be the quickest or strongest on the track but all this game intelligence I've picked up this year will help me next year so that I play the game smarter and not just physically.   

So it's city vs coast next week and I'm split in my loyalties! I'm going for city in the first bout since it'll have members of H*A*R*D in there but I'll be going for coast in the second bout because it'll have members from Newy in there. I thought I'd have a bit of fun and 'pick' the coast team for the second bout. If you asked 20 different people you'd get 20 different selections so don't shoot me people. Here's who I would go with:

DangeRass
GodJilla Sold Separately
Babycakes
Broken Arrow
Brigand Strong
Hippy Hardarse
Dino La Rouge
Belt'er Goodrem
Vicious Ness
iKandy
White Hawk
Janis Job'em
Penny Nartsy
Mocha Killingbird

Reserves:
Booga
Lady Quirkinator

Let me explain! Susy Pow doesn't feature because she's about to go play for Team Australia so you wouldn't want her to pick up an injury. I went for combo's which I've seen work well on the track like Danger/Jilla, Brigand Strong/Broken Arrow, Janis/White Hawk. For specialised jammers I picked ones that don't spend too much time in the penalty box because having your jammer in the penalty box can break you. I tried picking strong pivots or people who play the pivot role without having the stripe on their helmet like Dino, White Hawk and Vicious. There's some strong blockers in there too who have good game intelligence and there's some kick arse all rounders in there to boot. I know I've favoured Newy but to be honest I've seen more of their bouts this year so I've picked up on more of their patterns. It's all theoretical and a bit of fun :)

2011 - The year of injuries. 2012 - The year of kicking arse.

It's been a month since I've been off skates and sadly there is no end in sight. I can't even flick a ball up with my left foot without it feeling as though someone is stabbing me with a knife in my heel. I've gone back to the physio that fixed my right ankle up and this week she said she noticed some improvements compared to last week while working on my ankle and calf, yay for some improvement. She did however say that this sort injury can take weeks or months to heal so I've made the decision not to get back on skates until I'm 100% confident my left ankle is fixed, even if it means not skating again this year. No matter how much I hate being off skates injured, it's not fair to my team mates not being able to go 100% at training or not being able to complete a training session because I'm carrying an injury, plus the whole stop/starting due to picking up niggling injuries because I didn't let the initial injury heal correctly does my head in so it's for the best.

It's not all doom and gloom though, I've tried to make the most of my time off skates. I picked up the WFTDA officiating manual which has absolutely everything rules, all ref info and NSO duties descriptions. Personally I like to learn as much as possible and how it all works to get a better understanding. During scrimmage practise on Sunday nights I've gotten a protege in team mate Black Jaq with jam timer duties. She's picked it up pretty quickly. I've had so many people teach me so much about the sport that it's nice to be able to pass on that knowledge.

As for writing reviews Roller Derby AU have asked me to cover the WIRD intraleague bout this weekend between the Vixens and Vipers. I've never seen a WIRD intraleague bout before so that'll be something new for me, plus it'll also be the first time I'm writing a review that doesn't involve Newcastle's league at all so I've got no idea how it'll turn out haha. If that wasn't enough RDAU have also asked me to cover the first bout at the City vs Coast bout on the 3rd December. It'll be the first bout my league will be hosting plus it'll have members from my own league bouting, so that was a nice honour to be asked to do it. Shameless plug, please come it'll be an amazing spectacle - 8 different leagues involved, 4 teams bouting, 2 bouts and all proceeds go to charity. Oh and there will be lots of kick arse people there, it's a win win situation ;)

Although I'm currently off skates, I still go to watch training or help out if needed. While sitting on the sidelines and going to bouts this past month it's only helped highlight how badly I want all 'this'. I'm over the moon that my reviews have been pretty well received, it was initially only to help out my friend's but I ended up learning more about the game and tactics by doing it. Watching my team mates prepare for the City vs Coast bout, watching the freshies improve truckloads each week and watching Corporals going for their Sargeant tests it's given me even more of a hunger to try and fulfil my goals. I really couldn't give a shite about getting attention or popularity because it wasn't why I joined in the first place, as a matter of fact I'm pretty shy. Although this year personally has had a lot of starts and stops due to injury or illness I've gone from not being able to stand up without rolling around at my first training session with WSR to passing my Corporal aka white star test. That feeling I got when I passed I can't even put into words how happy I was. I want to experience that feeling a lot more often with derby. I set myself the task of passing my Corporal test by my birthday this year and I did. My big goal for next year is to be bouting by my birthday next year. Lots of work involved before I get to that stage which is why I want to get my ankle fixed up so that I'm firing from all cylinders physically and mentally.

One thing I also need to work on is not being so fangirly especially around Cherry and Jilla. I need to believe that I'm worthy of being on the same track as them not because I'm arrogant but because I shouldn't have them on a pedestal because they would have no hesitation knocking me on my arse in a bout. I would like to join Newy in one of their training sessions but I wouldn't ask before I at least knocked Cherry down once on skates because she's not easy to knock down and Newy are at a pretty decent level. Yeah I'm probably dreaming big but fuck it if you don't set yourself some decent goals you won't end up pushing yourself and finding out what you're made of. Liverpool will always be my first love but sometimes it scares me how quickly derby has become so important to me. I know you shouldn't have tunnel vision but I'm so focussed on my goals. I've already set the wheel in motion by changing my eating habits and doing exercise that doesn't impact on my injured ankle. I've set up another blog to keep track of all the exercise and eating issues since this blog helped keep me on track.  

Fort Smashleys vs Harbour Hellcats decider - the untold story

In what is almost becoming my second home, it was up to Newcastle again last Saturday to watch another bout. This time it was the decider between the Smashleys and the Hellcats. Roller Derby AU asked me to do the review because they were covering the WSR bout on the same night, so I did the review and it can be found here.

As always there was other shenanigans that went on that I couldn't put on the review but could put here. It all started before I even got inside. RDAU had my name on the door because I was doing the review so I had to sign a media form and got given a media pass. It all felt surreal, it was like I was important or something haha. I would have a done a review on my own blog if RDAU hadn't asked me to do it for them.

Ness and I walk in and who do we see at the merch stand but CASS! She was working the merch stand that night. I can't help but smile when I see her, she's always doing something derby related. I picked up some merch for Mon and another Smashleys shirt for myself because I was hoping to get the Smashleys to sign my other shirt.

I kid you not it was humid as buggery that night. I was sweating just standing there, kudo's to all the skaters and ref's that night for coping with the temperature. As for the bout itself it was another cracker of a bout. I think in future all NRDL should carry a health warning in their bout programs. They love nail biting bouts up there. It's bad for your heart I tell ya haha. This bout went down to the last jam just like their bout against Adelaide and it also required an official time out to sort out the final score.

I probably look like an absolute loony when I watch their bouts, I'm trying to cheer/yell either the Smashleys or Dames on (when they bout) while madly scribbling down notes in my notebook for the review. There's been a couple of times when I've had paper flying everywhere. I have enjoyed doing the reviews, I'll keep doing them for my blog next year unless RDAU need me to fill in for them or NRDL tell me that the reviews suck and I'll stop. Being a lifelong Liverpool supporter I've grown up appreciating tactics and I've found that by doing these reviews I tend to look out for tactics and patterns when I watch a bout. It's another reason why I love NRDL they employ a lot of tactics in their bouts so I have an absolute field day doing their reviews. Here's a funny fact, in this last season the Smashleys had a 0% win rate with Jilla in the side. She played in the first and third bout which the Smashleys lost both bouts but they won the second bout when she was on the sidelines. Please don't kick my arse Jilla haha. Speaking of Jilla I can finally carry on a conversation with her without going all shy and fangirly around her, yay for progress :)

At the end of the bout I walked up to Jilla and gave my Smashleys shirt to her to sign. Ness who was wearing her Hellcats shirt gave Jilla a hug, I wouldn't have blamed Jilla for decking her since the Smashleys lost in controversial fashion :P While the Smashleys were signing my shirt I had to go off and get some interviews for the review. Here's where I hit a stumbling block, I'm notoriously shy and rubbish at interviews. I was trying to pull questions out of my arse and wanting to go and try and interview either Dino la Rouge, Booga or The Cramp but I was too shy to actually go up to them. Bloody hell, I eventually found the guts to go up to The Cramp and ask her a couple of questions.

Once the interview was over I went over to pick up my signed shirt and while I was standing there admiring it DangeRass came up and started talking to me. She asked me if I was the one who wrote the blog (what I wouldn't do to have the same reputation for my bouting skills). I've never spoken to Danger before so it completely threw me that she even knew about my blog. While I was still coming to terms with the fact that she was talking to me she was giving me positive reviews about my NRDL reviews and how I picked up how her and Jilla work off each other on the track, I thought it was common knowledge. She also said that although Jilla was my favourite skater I wrote balanced reviews and didn't just favour Jilla's side. I was still in shock but also over the moon that my reviews were appreciated by the guys I was writing about. As for the signed shirt here's a pic and thanks heaps to the Smashleys for signing it :)

Since Ness and I were staying overnight we decided to go to the after party. Wasn't that one big epic fail. We got there and we were too shy to talk to anyone. It's not as if they were snobs or unapprochable, I just don't have it in me to butt in on a group conversation and start talking to people I've never met before. Eventually we both felt tired and gave up trying to get over the shyness and left. I also had to get up and watch Liverpool's match at 3:30am, yep I was jumping up and down and cheering on Liverpool at 3:30am from a hotel room. What a weekend. I can't wait to do it all again next year :) (hopefully I'll actually have a conversation at the after party haha)

I swear I've been here before

Last Sunday night I was pretty focussed, pretty excited and a little nervous because it was my first Corporal training session. Yay I finally made the step up and now had the chance to train with the big kids. Even better I finally got the all clear from the physio on Thursday on my right ankle. I was doing my warm up and started to stretch my left ankle when I feel a tearing sensation down my heel, the same pain I felt when I first injured my right ankle all those months ago. Despite all the swearing I was doing on the inside and wanting to put a hole through the wall in anger (knowing my luck with injuries I would have shattered my entire arm and not just my knuckles) I just KNEW that I had done some damage. So what do I do? I tested it out to see how bad it was. It only hurt when I tried stretching my ankle but I could skate pain free so I continued on. Probably not the most smartest decision but dammit I worked so hard to get to this level and to miss out right from the start it just felt so unfair.

Right away I noticed the difference in training. It was a lot more advanced and better footwork was a major requirement. I felt like a freshie all over again starting from the bottom and having to work my way up. I did have that nagging thought 'I don't know if I can do this' in the back of my head but I tried to ignore it and kept carrying on. One of the things we practised was getting in groups and kicking out at each others skates. While it is illegal to do in a bout it's all about getting used to have your skates clipped in a pack situation. I found that alright and didn't stack it yay! Then it came to practising carves and can openers. I was teamed up with Mon which was good because we're a similar build so I didn't have to worry about hurting her. This one was bit of a challenge for me because given the size of me I should be able to pack a strong hit but I'm weak as piss. I know I could probably cause some damage if I execute a good hit but I'm also worried I might injure a team mate unnecessarily so I hold back a bit. I had a big smile on my face when Mon was practising can openers on me because I was hardly moving and she said I'd be hard to knock over on the track which is what I'm aiming for. I want it to take something special to knock me down on the track. We then started practising carves and hits on the track, far out it is not easy you need to get the timing right and get yourself in position and try and catch them unaware. Mine were pretty crap. I did injure Danger Blond she did a shoulder hit on me and re-injured her shoulder. I felt a bit bad about that. I did get a chance to finally try and hit Cherry but she saw me and got down even lower that I would have to be skating with my arse touching the ground to have any chance of doing a can opener on her. I think she's making it harder on me because she's worried I'll fulfill a wish of mine of knocking her on her arse in training :P It's all good though by making it harder for me she's making me a better skater. I won't lie I'm a little excited that I now get to work with one of my favourite skaters to be able to learn from her and hopefully reach her level one day is ace and I'm also not acting like a fan girl around her at training which is new for me :)

First thoughts on Corporal training it's a lot harder skills wise and I know I'll be battling mentally to push myself when it all feels too hard but I've also had a taste of it and I want more, this is where I want to be. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait at least a month until my next training session because I ended up straining the ligaments in my left ankle which is what I did to my right ankle a few months ago, this really bloody sucks. If I was a horse I would have been put down by now. I've come to accept that roller derby is not going to come easy for me due to setbacks from injuries. If I can take anything out from that it's that it'll make me mentally tougher to keep coming back despite the setbacks. When I start bouting and have my arse handed to me but more experienced skaters i'll hopefully have that mental toughness to keep picking myself up and keep carrying on.

During our team talk Cherry asked us what our goals were, I had a thought about it and came up with this list (in no particular order):

1. Stop picking up so many frigging injuries.
2. Be good enough to finally bout not just intraleague but against other leagues.
3. Knock Cherry down on her arse in training :)
4. Somehow have a scrimmage training session with Jilla.
5. Be in a bout with Cherry and Jilla and try and take on Jilla.
6. Bout against my friend's from other leagues like Cass, Ivy, Jo and Pepa.
7. Try and learn the 3 point transistion move, walk and run on my toe stops, tomahawks and backwards skating.
8. Become a fearsome blocker but also have a crack at jamming one day down the road.

ERRD finals - Newcastle Dockyard Dames vs WIRD Steel City Derby Dolls bout review

It was the weekend of the Eastern Region Roller Derby (ERRD) finals and there were two bouts to look forward to. First up was the bout to determine third and fourth spot which was between the Newcastle Dockyard Dames and Wollongong's Steel City Derby Dolls. I knew what to expect from the Dames. I'd never seen WIRD bout before but I've heard they're a tough, physical team to come up against. One player I was interested in seeing was WIRD's White Hawk. I've heard a lot about her in terms of her blocking skills, even Cherry said she was the toughest skater she's ever come up against. I was curious to see her come up against someone like Godjilla who loves a good hitting contest and see who would come out on top.

The bout came to life right from the first whistle when Steel City's Chakram got lead jammer over Hippy Hardarse. Thanks to some great defence from her blockers, Chakram was able to call off the jam and grab an early 8-0 lead. The Steel City blockers even got the measure of Godjilla as they double teamed her whenever possible so that she couldn't lay a hit on their jammers. It was all Steel City in the first few jams and it wasn't until the fourth jam that the Dames finally got lead jammer thanks to Booga but she called it off early to make it a nil all point jam.

The Dames started getting into the contest when DangeRass jumped over the apex to get lead jammer over Janis Job-em and score a 4-0 jam to bring the score to 15-8 for Steel City. Hippy Hardarse then added another four points in her next jam to make the score 15-12. Despite the comeback the Dames needed to find a way to stop White Hawk from dominating at the front of the pack, even without the pivot stripe on her helmet she was controlling the pack and as for her blocking, I was starting to see why she has such a big reputation, honestly it's almost near impossible getting past her.

The Dames did however manage to capitalise when White Hawk wasn't on the track when once again DangeRass got lead jammer, this time over Chakram as she scored an 8-0 jam to give the Dames the lead for the first time 28-23. Steel City appeared to bounce back when Underbelly Morelli got lead jammer over Brigand Strong then White Hawk to the detriment of her team went to land a hit and took most of her team out instead which allowed Brigand Strong to score a 4-1 jam and take the score out to 32-24 for the Dames.

Steel City formed a wall at the front of the pack but great team work from Godjilla and DangeRass created space for DangeRass to get past two blockers. Chakram got lead jammer and called it off for a 4-4 jam to make the score 36-32 for the Dames. Speaking of DangeRass and Jilla, I've noticed a pattern lately whenever they've played for the Fort Smashleys and the Dames. These two work as their own little unit. If DangeRass is jamming while Jilla is blocker, they'll be close to each other. Jilla will create the space for DangeRass to get through the pack, or give her a whip. They seem to operate on the same wave length when they're on the track.

This bout was a very physical encounter. The pack was skating at a quick pace and it wasn't until an official time out was called with ten minutes left in the first half with the score at 36-all that both the skaters and the crowd could start catching their breath back. Once the next jam started it didn't take long for the intensity to pick up when White Hawk knocked down Godjilla while Jilla was skating backwards. Almost instantly Dino La Rouge had the last laugh when she knocked down White Hawk.

Steel City went for a no pack start but it didn't take long for Godjilla to show everyone the human wrecking ball that she is at the front of the pack which helped Hippy score a 3-0 jam and help even the score 40-40. Steel City's Penny Nartsy managed to get lead jammer by skating along the outside line but then got sent to the penalty box so DangeRass capitalised  with help from her blockers by slowing down the pack to allow her to catch up as she scored a 9-2 point jam. The Dames' Babycakes also joined in with points as she scored a grand slam to take the score out to 54-42. Special mention has to go to Lady Quirkinator as her massive hit on Steel City's iKandy stopped her from scoring any points.

The first half ended with Steel City's Demander got a whip from Unleashed but she got whipped face to face with Godjilla. I've noticed her do this more often in the last few bouts I've watched. If she does it for the intimidation factor, I'm sure it works real well just like in these pics taken by the legendary Kim Lee

Hippy scored a 9-0 jam to give the Dames a half time lead of 63-42. Some things I noticed in the first half were the Dames needed to do more to stop White Hawk's effective blocking. I thought they would have tried to double team her to try and stop her dominating so much. Both Godjilla and White Hawk were hardly on the track at the same time, they seemed to be on alternate jams. I've got no idea if that was a tactic by either side so that it allowed either player to be at their destructive best without worrying about coming up against each other. I finally met Susy Pow in person at half time. I also need to apologise in my last review I kept spelling her name Suzy, sorry Susy with an S :)

Steel City came out with all guns blazing in the second half, almost all the jams they started with a no pack start to try and get their jammer scoring some much needed points. They eventually had a power jam as the Dames had a blocker and jammer in the penalty box and they closed down the deficit to 67-58. Babycakes tried to stop Steel City's momentum by getting lead jammer but when Godjilla lined up a hit to take out Steel City's jammer she ended up taking out her own team mate and a ref which allowed Chakram to score a 3-0 jam and cut the Dames lead to 69-61.

White Hawk and Janis Job-em (who really impressed me too, she'll hit anything that moves on the track in opposition colours) took turns stopping Babycakes from getting through the pack. I know jammers usually get all the glory but there was great blocking like this going on in this bout which made the crowd really get into it. Courtney Lovebite whipped Chakram to help her score a 2-0 jam and make it a 3 point bout 69-66.

Despite the comeback Steel City were mounting it was snuffed out again as the Dames starting picking up lead jammer consecutively. A 4-0 jam here a 9-0 jam there and the score is 87-70 for the Dames. Amongst all that while iKandy was jammer for Steel City, Dino La Rouge lined a hit on her that sent her flying into the crowd at the suicide seating.

I applauded Penny Nartsy when she appeared to face plant the floor but she got up and got lead jammer over Babycakes but then got smashed by Godjilla but got a 4-1 jam to make the score 101-75. Hippy fired out of the blocks to get lead jammer by the second bend but then the bout got really painful as there was a multi player stack which left the Dames' Fannie-tastic and Vicioushire Cat both injured. Vicioushire Cat came off the worst and ended up making a trip to the hospital after the bout.

DangeRass is a really good jammer but she can more than hold her own when it comes to blocking too which serves her well when she's jammer because she can take hits really well from opposition players. In one particular jam she actually outmuscled White Hawk on her way to getting lead jammer. It then left White Hawk and Godjilla to go at each other in a rare moment and my gosh was it great to watch as someone who wants to become a really good blocker.

Penny Nartsy gets lead jammer over Babycakes by hugging the outside line. Demander went for a hit on Babycakes but only succeeded in landing on her backside. Babycakes ended up outscoring Penny 7-6 to take the score to 113-82. The last jam summed up the bout. Lady Quirkinator tried stopping Chakram but she still got lead jammer over DangeRass. DangeRass managed to take down White Hawk and then Booga got taken out by a late hit. The bout ended 117-86 for the Dames in what was a great bout to watch and I imagine even better to have been involved in.

Special thanks to Roller Derby Au's Indy Carcass and WIRD's Courtney Lovebite for helping me identify some of the WIRD skaters for this post :) and to Mon who I watched the bout with, I learnt more rules and enjoyed your company.
  

Earning your stripes

Last weekend was a pretty big one for me in terms of roller derby. It all started when Ness and I went up to Newcastle for their social skate on Saturday morning. Both Pwnie and Skarz were both attempting to teach me how to do a crossover before I had to re-do my Corporal test on the Sunday night so this was my last chance to learn how to do it. It also gave me a chance to meet some of the guys I had been chatting to on the social skate Facebook group like Skarz, Carley and Susie. I think Pwnie has taken it upon herself to become my PR person. When she was introducing me to some of her team mates she was telling them I did this blog and that I had done some reviews for the Newcastle bouts, thanks Pwnie :D She was in full coach mode before I even got my skates on. She was running me through what we would be doing so once I stretched and warmed up I was ready to go. God knows Cherry and my team mates have tried teaching me various methods to do a crossover and the method Pwnie was teaching me was a completely different method again. Pwnie's method was about completely breaking down the crossover and then putting it back together again, just like stripping down an engine and then re-building it again. It sounds so simple. I found some parts more challenging than others but the more times I did all the parts, the better I got and the more comfortable I became. Pwnie quickly picked up that I look at my feet when I try to do crossovers, I'm aware I'm doing it, it's because I have this fear at the back of my head that if I don't look down, my feet will get tangled when I try to do a crossover and I'll stack it. She got me to stare at a point on the wall when we were practising the drills and I soon came to realise that I could do these drills and not get my feet tangled up if I didn't look at my feet so that was a nice little win for me. By the end of it although I hadn't gotten the crossover down 100% I knew for sure that my technique had improved so I was happy with that.

Skarz asked me if I wanted to join her and the freshies practising falls for their level one test so I did. For those that don't know Skarz is better known as Skarz N Strikz, she's the only female ref in NRDL. I'm weak doing single knee falls on my left knee and I completely stuffed up on my first attempt. Skarz took me through it and it worked. I was able to do them with a bit more control after that. I practised other falls like double knee, four point fall, single knee fall with a 180° turn, then I tried a fall they call 360° porn star. I never attempted that one before so my first attempt wasn't too crash hot but my second one was better. I learnt a lot that morning and had a lot of fun too. The freshies I was practising falls with were a nice bunch too. Pwnie and Skarz are really good teachers, they helped me a lot. I really hope I can return the favour one day. Once again thanks heaps guys. I hope to skate with you guys again more often :)

Roll on Sunday for D-Day. The realistic part of me didn't think I would pass on my second attempt because although I had noticed improvments in my skating and general skills I didn't think it was at the level required to pass. Plus I had gotten the cold on Wednesday so my nose completely blocked so I knew I was going to struggle with breathing especially during endurance. Despite all that I knew I was going to go all out and not leave anything in the tank and improve on my first attempt from a few months ago. I took on Pwnie's advice and followed the pre-training meal plan she suggested. I also decided to wear my lucky shirt which is the Liverpool jersey with my derby surname and number on the back of it

By the time we were warmed up and lining up to start the endurance part of the test I was focussed and ready to go all guns blazing. Lynda was counting my laps so I didn't worry about counting laps I was just worried about my form and trying to do crossovers. After the training session with Pwnie the day before I made a conscious effort to look straight ahead instead of my feet when I attempted crossovers. It didn't take long for my blocked nose and wearing a mouthguard to hinder my breathing. My chest felt like it was on fire. I wanted to give up, I didn't feel like I was going fast enough and eventually every second I kept thinking the five minutes will be up and I won't have done enough laps in time. I kept skating though left foot, right foot then attempt a crossover coming out of the bends and repeat and then I hear Lynda telling me one more lap until I hit the magical 20 laps so I tried picking up the pace and I do it. It was the first time I've hit 20 laps in a 5 minute endurance. I manage to do 21 before Poz calls time. I end up on the floor unable to breathe thanks to the stupid cold and I'm thinking it would be easy just to quit right there and then but I eventually pick myself up and get ready to do the rest of the test. Unlike my first attempt, I attempted everything this time around stops, falls and jumps. My double knee and four point falls aren't as tight as I'd like them to be but I keep going and eventually it's over. I feel completely stuffed and no amount of blowing my nose unblocks it. I was pleased with my effort but I didn't think I passed.

Cheya and Mon were doing the endurance test for their Sargeant level. I was counting laps for Mon and catching my breath back. Once that finished Poz came up to me with my test results. Judging by the serious look on her face I braced myself for failure then I look at the results. I've got ticks next to everything and 21 laps next to endurance. Did I just pass? I look at it again and I appear to have passed. WTF? I ask Poz if I passed and then it sinks in that I passed. I cannot believe it, I've fucking passed!!! I can't help it I scream out to everyone in the room that I've passed :) I'm still in a state of disbelief but I'm so happy I could just scream again. Nine months of injuries, mental battles, illness and tears mixed with stubborness leads to this moment. You know what it was all worth it. Everyone handles it differently but passing this first step means so much to me. Like Pwnie said passing this first level is the hardest thing you'll ever have to do in roller derby and I agree with her. If you can get past that first step then you know you can past everything else because you know you have it in you to do it. It also means now that I get to join in the more advanced skill training instead of watching from the other court wishing I could.

Pwnie's reaction when I posted that I passed on Facebook made me laugh. It was great to be able to share it with her. Not only had she helped me she also knew the feeling of finally passing after struggling with getting past fresh meat level. While I was buzzing for days I also knew that I was back at the bottom. I now have to work my way up Corporal level to pass my Sargeant level. So not only am I battling mental battles I'll have more physical battles as I start doing hits, pack work and eventually scrimmage. It'll only get harder as more will be expected of me so now I have to work even harder.

Roller Derby is my game, Lisbeth Slammed-her is my name.