Being involved in derby - part 1: Officially Official

Being involved in derby
Roller derby can take over your life. It can and with me it pretty much has. In the first place I am a skater, but I do a lot of stuff in and around derby that doesn't have to do with playing directly. That's why I want to talk about the other ways that I am involved in derby and what I take from it. This is the first one, all about being official.

Picture by Christopher Yarrow

When I started Roller Derby I had no idea what this game was all about. Seeing how derby was still pretty new in Europe and we were the first league in our country there was not a lot of derby around to go and see and learn from. The first time I went to even see a bout after I started was 9 months later in Berlin. Not really around the corner, cause it's a decent 6 hour drive from Amsterdam to Berlin.
But even when I did get to watch bouts live or online, I didn't necessarily understand all of what was going on in the game. Especially cause I seem to have a little "condition" called "hooliganism". Whenever I get to watch a bout I turn in to a total hooligan and scream my lungs out. Which is all fine and dandy, and maybe fun for the teams playing, but it doesn't leave a lot of room for focusing on the game and whats going on.
The other thing was, that in our first year we were focusing mostly on skating skills and basic derby skills and we weren't scrimmaging yet. When you haven't played a scrimmage yet (or worked a bout for that matter) you don't really have that "feel" yet for the game. You don't feel the excitement you feel right before the first whistle, you don't feel the pain shooting through your body when you get a great hit, you don't feel your body working hard and you definitely don't get the same feel for the game as when you play. 

So what can you do to get more of a feel for the game when you cannot play yet? When you are still fresh meat, or even when a certain injury makes it that you cannot play.
I found that a good way was by being a part of the game. And not as the hooligan, but as an official.

The first time I ever worked a bout as a Non Skating Official (NSO) was in November 2010 in Stuttgart; Stuttgart Valley Rollergirls vs Go Go Gent Roller Girls. I had the position of outside white board and had no idea what I was doing. I of course had read about what I was supposed to be doing, but I had no idea what it would mean to be a part of the officials crew. I understood, of course, that I wasn't supposed to cheer. And I was supposed to be impartial. But I didn't really understand what it meant until I was working that very first bout.

Being part of an officials crew, means that even though you are impartial and not supporting one team, you are supporting roller derby it self in the highest way possible. Cause you are making sure this game can be played the  way the girls want to play it. 

For me, being a skater (first and foremost), this made a huge impression. Realizing how important our officials are for our game. 

But it did more then just give me respect for officials. It gave me that feel for the game, without being able to play. 

I was part of the action. And because of officials role, I for once got to focus on all going on, cause I had to keep my "hooliganism" in check. 

And it was a great experience. 

After this first time I went on to NSO the first German Meisterschaft: Roll DMC.

That's when I got a real feel of what it meant to be a part of team No-Fun.... It's so much FUN! I don't mean to say that officials secretly have a lot of fun and don't take their jobs seriously. Cause I think they take their jobs very seriously. But I did also see the "other side" of the officials. The side that they do not show on track. And that is a very fun side. 



The officials crew for Roll DMC
Picture by Michael Wittig

 

Accept for feeling like a part of the game, getting more of that feel for the game and gaining more respect and understanding for officials I also noticed something else. 

As I started working more and different NSO positions I felt like my understanding of the game and the rules improved immensely. And I am not saying that the only way of getting this understanding is by officiating. But I sure do think it helped me a whole bunch. There are several reasons why. First of all because in officials meetings and during the games you hear all about how refs call certain penalties and why. Another reason is that refs love to discuss rules. All.the.time. And even though I might not be the best rules nerd in the world and I will probably zone out after 30+ minutes of rules discussion, I do think I have picked up quite a lot of the years by hanging out with officials.

Also just the NSO jobs it self teach you a lot about how the game has been set up, how it works, as NSO's are there to make sure the game runs smoothly. And even though everybody (should) reads the rules, I still see that many people don't understand all the rules when it comes to the penalty box and jammers. Also being able to fill out all that paperwork and knowing what says what, where and why, makes it a lot easier to understand the stats book and to analyze it.

Now 2,5 years after I started NSO'ing, I've been playing bouts as a skater for 2 years, but I still love to NSO. I don't do it super often, as derby takes over you life enough as it is with "just" being a skater. 

But I do try and NSO at tournaments and a bout every now and again. 

And I still feel I learn something new every time. 

Last month I was working the Men's European Roller Derby Championships and in my very first bout I was working the penalty box and all ready learned something new. The blockers and jammer of one of the teams were super communicative while in the box. As in when their jammer had lead but there were several of their blockers in the box, the blockers would communicate to their jammer (every time he lapped the box) what their time was, so he would keep going until their box was empty. And therefore they could start the next jam with a empty box. 

I am sure this sounds like peanuts or basic stuff for some. But it was kind of an eye opener for me. As we have never really did it that way. Of course we try to empty out our box, but never like that. It was a very confident and "in control" way of running the game. And it was good to see. I am not sure I would have noticed the same thing or as quickly if I would have been in the audience. But because I was working the box, and the blockers kept asking every few seconds what their time was I noticed a lot quicker why they were asking, what their strategy was behind it. 

 

So yeah the conclusion of this blog post is that I love NSO'ing. For several reasons:

• You get to be part of the game and get a feel for the game more then when you are in the audience. 
• You get to be part of the funnest team no-fun there is
• You get to facilitate the BEST sport in the world
• You learn so much more about the rules and the way stuff is called
• (a lot of times) I learn more about game play then while screaming my lungs off in the audience 

 - Furrrocious

24 straight hours of roller derby madness...

Sometimes in life it happens that you come up with a crazy idea while talking to a team mate in a bus... And now here we are, turning our crazy ideas into reality. Today ADD announced that we will be hosting an actual 24 hour roller derby scrimmage marathon, or scrimmathon! :)
There will be room for womens teams, mens teams, pick up scrimmages (female and co-ed) and challenge bouts (more info, scroll down).
I'm just so stoked that this is happening. It makes me giddy, slightly nervous and hyperactive all at the same time. :)

Here is the press release from our league:

Don’t you just wish to play roller derby all day long? Did you ever wake up at 4am wanting to scrimmage? Well, hold on to your toe stops, because it’s happening. On September 7th and 8th the Amsterdam Derby Dames are hosting a 24hrs Scrimmathon!
And we are not just hosting this epic event for shits and giggles, it’s serious business. In the first week(s) of September 2013, a group of positive roller derby enthusiasts will be skating across The Netherlands in an effort to end sex trafficking. They will try to educate the public and raise awareness to all the people they meet.
This group reached out to all Dutch leagues asking them to organize something to raise awareness and funds along their trip. Amsterdam being a city where sex trafficking certainly is an issue, the Amsterdam Derby Dames want to step up to the plate and do something extraordinary to really get some attention for this great cause. For more information about Sk8 The Netherlands check out their Facebook page.
When we got the dates for this trip we realized that in these weeks the Amsterdam Derby Dames are also celebrating their 4 year anniversary. All the more a reason to make this a memorable event.
An event of this magnitude needs a lot of bodies: skaters, refs and NSOs are essential to keep the games going for 24 hours. We invite teams to play, but we will be opening the event for individual skaters as well, to partake in challenge bouts and pick-up scrimmages (girls only, but also co-ed). That’s why we are asking you right now to SAVE THE DATE! You surely don’t want to miss this.
Registration for NSO-ing, refereeing, announcing and volunteering opens up soon, and so will ticket sales for skaters. But for now, make sure you mark those calendars for the 7th and 8th of September.

For more info keep an eye out on our website.


- Furrrocious

I love it when a plan comes together...

As most leagues that have been around for a while know is that it's not easy to organize a bout. Like winning a bout, it takes a team to make it into a success!

One day before our very first home bout and the first ever live Roller Derby bout in the Netherlands, I'm getting a happy kind of nervous and super freaking excited. As president of our league I cannot be anything more then so incredibly proud of our league and all the people involved making sure this is going to be an event of epic proportions to never forget.
And to give all our girls the credit they deserve I want to dedicate this blog to all the members of our great league that have put so much effort in to this.

There is so much work that goes into planning and organizing a home bout. And in our league we have a committee structure, so all the different committees have been responsible for different tasks.
If I look at how things went a year (or so) ago, there were only a handful of committees really active and functioning properly. If it would come down to organizing something it would usually come down to just a few people working their asses off. This time this was not the case at all!
All the different people in the committees have really taken on their tasks and made sure they were done they way that should be.
Of course certain committees had a lot more work then others. But still the work load of the organization as a whole has really been spread out over all these different people of our great league.
And this just makes this day before our big day so much more relaxed.
Knowing that everything is taken care of.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well let me tell you, it takes a derby community to hold a bout!
No less then 100 people are involved in some way to make sure that this bout will be a success.
From skaters to Refs and NSO's. From Medics to Security. From Volunteers to Photographers. So many different people are involved. And we all know and realize we would not be able to play this great sport of ours without all these people.
You can have 100 skaters if you want, but without an officials crew you can't have a bout.
And without all our volunteers we as skaters would have to work the register, the merch table and all those other jobs and skate too. Which would be pretty stressful to say the least.
I guess I don't just want to dedicate my blog today to all members of our league, but to EVERYBODY involved in making this happen. Without all of you there wouldn't be Roller Derby!



I cannot begin to state or name all the people that have been involved in working so hard to make this happen, because it's so many of us. But I can state a few things that I am very impressed with.

Our design committee.... Oh my gosh. They have worked miracles with everything that needed to be designed for the bout. Starting with our bout poster, which is just amazing. They took the theme and made sure it all comes together in every little aspect, from the passes for the volunteers to the decorations. In one word: Incredible.

The PR and communications committee worked really well together in making sure the world knows we are here and having this bout. On the website, Facebook and twitter we have been more then visable! And this was also due to all our members, friends and family reposting everything! Thanks for that.
This past week they also showed it's not impossible to work the media to your benefit. On Tuesday night we were featured on national television at BNN - De week van filemon.




(View it here online - starts around 14.55).












And on Thursday two of our members were featured on a radio show.

But also a very important (and a lot of times forgotten) committee like the finance committee has worked miracles. Keeping track of our budget and pre bout ticket sales. Don't forget all the work involved with the ticket sales... Lists that need checking and updating and making sure people that pay through bank accounts actually pay, and kicking their asses if they don't. A lot of work!! But it was worth it, because to top it off on Monday at midnight we closed our pre sale for the bout, with 425 tickets sold!! With 500 tickets available this is pretty impressive for our first hone bout.


As I said it's to much to name. So I won't go on. But I am just so proud of everybody! I can't even believe the day is almost there....I just love it when a plan comes together!!

- Furrrocious

Back on track...

Holymoly its been a while since my last blog!
It's bad but the blog has just not been on my priority list with everything going on.
However I am back now, and I will try to get back on track with blogging.

So much has happened since my last blog. I will do my best to update you a little.

ADD's Monthly Mixed Scrimmages
The Amsterdam Derby Dames have started organizing monthly mixed scrimmage open to all. The first few weren't that crowed, but they have turned out to be super busy and successful! The last two mixed scrimmages there were at least 7/8 different leagues present from all over Holland.
It's been a great experience to skate with all of these different skaters from all these different leagues. You learn so much from skating with different people. I think it has also been a very good learning experience for all the different Dutch Leagues. We, as a country, are so new to Roller Derby and all the leagues are dealing with not always having enough players to scrimmage. These monthly scrimmages give everybody a chance to scrimmage on a full size track with a full officials crew.
Which is another reason why these monthly scrimmages are so amazing. The officials get an opportunity to practice reffing and nso'ing at a full scrimmage. As some refs skate for leagues that don't have weekly scrimmages. So they don't always get the chance to practice. This way everybody wins!
Here are a few pictures of the mixed scrimmages we've had.

Mixed scrimmage 7-1-2012  (picture by Kees Rijken)

 

Captains talking (Picture by Wolf Schouten)

Team Black mixed scrimmage 4-2-2012 (picture by Dennis Stempher)

Megabyte going for Vegan! (picture by Wolf Schouten)

Our girl Jamakaze had the best Derby bruise ever!

Cork City Firebirds vs Amsterdam Derby Dames
So after our first amazing bout against the Devil Dolls Essen, we played our second bout against the Cork City Firebirds in Cork, Ireland. Oh my...how can I explain how freaking awesome it was... It was mind blowing! First of all to pick up 16 derby girls and putting them in a plane, is pretty much an experience all together. :p  We did a ref dance in the boarding area, but except for that I guess we behaved pretty well!
Unfortunately when we arrived in Cork my bag wasn't there. Luckily I brought my skates and all my gear except my helmet and knee gaskets on the plain with me. So when we got to Cork I had to go shopping for a bout outfit (which was also in my bag that they conveniently left in A'dam) and some knee gaskets. I could luckily borrow a helmet from the Firebirds.
The bout it self was amazing! It was super exciting and there was not one dull moment. We didn't know much about CCF before we played them, as they play in Ireland, it wasn't like we had been able to skate together before. This was a very new and exciting experience. We lost with a pretty big loss. But we kept fighting till the end and to be honest I didn't realize we were as behind as we were cause the game was so exciting!!

Poster of the bout

The Cork ladies were the greatest hosts. They made sure were taken care off and all had the sweeties hosts to stay with. At the after party the girls introduced us to Thigh Wrestling and I LOVED that!! I pretty much kicked everybody's ass at thigh wrestling, so I had a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day! :p
I also got voted best blocker by the Cork girls, which made me feel very special! Especially because I know we have a lot of amazing blockers and I wouldn't say I am the best one. But the other team decides. So I'll take the complement. :)
Here are some pictures of our Cork adventure:

Skate out
Photography by Marcin Lewandowski at soundofphotography.com

 

 

 

My wonderful derby wifey was our Bench Coach
Photography by Marcin Lewandowski at soundofphotography.com

Vix rocking as Jammer
Photography by Marcin Lewandowski at soundofphotography.com

Me and Crow Jane right after the Bout! <3
Photography by Marcin Lewandowski at soundofphotography.com

 

Derby hurts...
If you have been following me on my blog for a while you will know I have been hurting a lot while skating. Well they finally found out what the problem was. After more then two years of 'not knowing' they finally figured it out: Chronic Compartment Syndrome. 
I could try and explain it in my own words, but this website does a great job:

a tough tissued called a fascia surrounds the different muscle groups. This fascia is a small compartment that holds the muscles, blood vessels and nerves. It has limited flexibility so if the muscle swells beyond the fascia's ability to stretch it puts pressure is felt on the nerves and blood vessels in the small space. If swelling continues blood flow to the muscles will decrease, nerves get compressed and it can cause numbness or tingling in the feet and lower legs.

 So basically this is what had been causing me all this pain. And kept me from skating to my full potential.
In December I finally got tested for it, which they do by letting you run and then poke needles in to your muscles, very enjoyable...let me tell you...
But it turned out the pressure values were very high, and therefore and operation would probably be useful.
On the 17th of January it was my turn. I got operated on both the side of my leg and the front on both legs.
It looked pretty horrible at first when they were done.

In the hospital after my surgery

Right after my surgery I had to start walking, to make sure the fascia wouldn't stick back together.
It was really painful at first, and I was so incredibly slow. The day after my surgery I had to start a training schedule that they normally give to Military people who have this surgery.
It basically said I had to walk three times a day for 30 min for four weeks, and then start a running schedule were I will be running 3 times a day for 30 min. I am starting running this Tuesday. I have not ran for more then to catch a train or something since High School, so I am not looking forward to it. But my friend Asa Spades will be coming over tomorrow to show me how its done. We will see how it goes....

  This is what the wounds looked like after a few days. It was very tricky for me though, as the wounds on the outside were so small, but the incisions they made on the inside were over the whole length of my lower leg, on two sides! But because the outside was so small I couldnt always understand why I would hurt so much all over. :p
Luckily I have had a great surgeon who was very helpful in answering my questions when I had them.

After only 2,5 weeks I was back on skates and skated a scrimmage with NO PAIN!!! It was amazing!!
I think I might have been almost as excited as I was when I played our first bout.
I even jammed and got Lead Jammer, and I called it scoring three points before the other jammer could score any. I was so proud of myself. Before my surgery I wasnt able to keep up with the intense skating that comes with Jamming. And all though I am no where near a great jammer, I would love to keep trying and maybe one day I'll get good at it!

Getting lead jammer is the best feeling in the world!! :)   (picture by Branko Colin)

 I am one of the lucky ones though... I realize this every day. Being able to be back on skates after a surgery in such a short time is amazing.
My wifey Lola Rock 'n' Rolla has been injured since the bout in August. She finally found out what it was months later, that she has ripped her posterior cruciate ligament and they will have to operate on it. They will take a piece of something (cant remember what...) from her upper leg and make a new ligament for her knee. Which is a really intense surgery, she wont be able to walk for a long time, then will have to learn how to walk again and she wont be able to skate for 9-12 months. When you are as derby crazed as Lola is, and working your ass off for two and half years, this is pretty much hell. But then again, when she gets back on her skates I know she will kick some ass!! And in the mean time we will make sure to train her for our bench team so she will still be part of the amazing team of ours. 


Another one of our skaters got injured, Nasty Moves, while playing a mixed scrimmage with merby players at a One Love Roller Dolls Bootcamp. She has broken her leg, and wont be skating for a while either. 
She needed to get surgery too. Her recovery time wont be as crazy as Lola's, but it still blows when you have to keep your leg up all the time and can't hardly walk. 
ADD has had some surgery filled months in the beginning of this year.
January: Me  February: Nasty  March: Lola 
Boy oh boy, it better not be a trend for this year...




First home bout (ADD vs RGA)
But there are also up sides on Derby for ADD. We will be playing our very first home bout, and the very first Roller Derby bout in Holland, on the 25th of February. 
We are so freaking excited about this!! We will be playing against the lovely Roller Girls of the Apocalypse (Kaiserslautern, Germany).   
Our locations committee found an amazing hall, the Apollo Hall in Amsterdam, its a hall mostly used for basketball, and is four basketball fields long and has a wooden floor. Amazing... 
It did however cause some concern, when we test the floor we noticed our pads were leaving some serious markings. Luckily we were able to put together a group of our girls for a temp sewing committee that tested different fabrics until they found the right one to use. And then made covers for all of us. Awesomeness! Thanks to Minnie Misschief, Red Peril and all others that helped put this together!

Our crew at work with the covers.  (picture by Dennis Stempher)

It's so great to see the whole league pull together to put this home bout together and pull this off. We have one coordinator Vix Vendetta making sure all the committees are doing what they should be doing. And our head ref Belle Anger is pulling together the officials crew for the bout.
I am so very proud of all our girls putting the time and energy in to make this all work. And so very happy with all the officials coming in to make sure this will be a fair and awesome bout. They will be coming from as far as Malmo Sweden! That's pretty amazing!! 


So on Saturday the 25th of February 2012 at 17.00 I hope to see you all at the Apollohal in Amsterdam for Hollands first ever live Roller Derby Bout. 
You can get your tickets on our website. Let us know you will be coming on our FB event. 

AmsterBAM!!

I cannot wait to finally be able to show all my friends and family what I have been working for all this time. Of course we all ready played before. But not in Holland. So only my brother and my mom have been able to watch me play. 
I hope everybody will be able to make it out and watch and cheer for us!! 



That's all for now!


- Furrrocious

WOW!!!!! First bout madness

It took me a while to get my thoughts together and start writing this blog. Because to be honest the feeling I had last Saturday was incredibly overwhelming, to say the least....

Saturday 13th of August 2011 
The day the first team of the Amsterdam Derby Dames played their very first bout!
10 am the ADD gathered around at a train station in Amsterdam to travel together by a large coach bus to Essen, Germany. Where we would play our first bout against the Devil Dolls Essen (Ruhrpott Roller Girls).
The bus ride over was fun, some of us were nervous, but mostly everybody was just very excited!!

It's hard to explain, but most of us have been working over a year to get to this point. And the feeling of finally making it there.... is just indescribable.

After the three hour drive (with a little detour here and there...) we made is to the Eisssporthalle in Essen.
When we got there Ruhrpott Roller Girls where working hard on getting the place in order for the bout, setting up the dressing rooms, laying the track, etc. They did a great job in getting the place ready for a great night.

The Supporters bus!! - Picture by Grumpy Crump

Around 5 the bus arrived with our very own supporters showed up! Girls from our own league, friends from our girls and people from several other leagues took the bus we arranged and came to support us.
Other people came by car, and all with all, there were people from 8 other Dutch Roller Derby leagues, and a whole bunch of friends and family to cheer us on! My brother and mother also made the drive out, and it was great to see them there.




We warmed up together and got to get used to the floor, which of course we never skated on before.

Warm up with Kim Wilde - Picture by Blauwe Bil 

The floor was great, my new skates felt good, my ankles weren't hurting, and my broken little toe wasn't bothering me while skating. So I felt as ready as I ever would for our very first bout.
Although everybody seemed excited and the team spirit was definitely there, I think we all were starting to feel the pre-bout jitters right before we had to skate out.
For the team skate out we picked a really cool song. Unfortunately we couldn't really hear it at all... We also couldn't really hear Puppi (announcer for the Rotterdam Death Row Honeys) call out our names, luckily she was awesome enough to run with us and call out our names, so we knew it was out time to show our selves :)

Puppi running with us - picture by Kristian Sunder

Acting all cool! :p - Picture by Blauwe Bil

I was crazy, our skate out wasn't necessarily very spectacular or anything, with the music not being heard and all. But having the crowd going wild when we did something as little as skate out, was amazing! It filled me up with the warm fuzzy exciting feeling that I guess is so very normal for your first bout! :)
It was just great. When we were taking a knee for the Devil Dolls Skate out, I saw my wifey's friends in the stands holding up 'Lola' signs and then I saw it, my mom and my brother holding up a banner, just for me! It was so great to see all this support, by our friends and family and our derby friends from all these other Dutch leagues.

We started the bout with our 'power line', which consisted of me, Abs of Steel, San Solo, Monstah Megs, Vegan Vengeance (jammer).
I was in the penalty box before I could say "Roller Derby", which to be honest bummed me out more then you can imagine. But when I got back into the game I played the best I could, we ALL did!

I did a several things I am proud of, like hits or certain strategies that worked out, and the feeling of pulling of a great legal hit or having your line pull off a strategy is just the greatest feeling in the world. I would come back to the bench after the jam just completely SICKED!!! :)

The emotions also ran high on the bench, sometimes by frustration (luckily not because of people getting badly hurt), but also because of crazy exciting jams, like Armorkillo's 38 point jam!!!


The bout was amazing... I have no idea how to describe it... there was action, strategic, great hits and blocks  and fast jammers...

It was simply amazing! So I will just post some pictures here, so you can see for your self how great it was.

DD vs ADD - Slideshow Creator

Pictures in the slide show are made by Kristian Sunder (black and white pictures), Blauwe Bil (color pictures) and Grumpy Crump (color pictures). Thanks to all three!



After the final whistle blew, ADD blew up too! We were all so happy, proud and ecstatic!!! We did it!! And we didn't suck (yeah, that's for you Eliza ;)
We worked our asses off for the passed two years and it showed off!
The feeling I had at that very moment, I will never forget....
And therefore I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people, who, without them, we wouldn't have made it this far.

First of all I would like to thank the founder of ADD and of Dutch Roller Derby; Limpin' Lily. Without you, there would be no ADD. And therefore we are all in debt to you for eternity. But next to that, I also would like to thank you for all the blood, sweat and tears you have put into making this happen, taking your dream and making it into reality. I personally would like to thank you for letting my cry out on your shoulder every time I was hurting or frustrated, and for being in the board together and making stuff happen. And finally for being the great person you are, you ROCK!!!

Second, I would like to thank our coach Hurricane Hayles. Since you have joined ADD we have improved so much! You have a way of motivating us to push ourselves to the very best we can! And I would like to thank you for that. Also I cannot wait for you to give birth to that baby so we can finally skate together!!!

San Solo, 'captain oh captain', you've done a great job in leading this team to our own personal victory, to do the best we can!! And we did, we worked hard and kicked ass, thanks to you!!!

There are a lot more people I would like to thank, but if I write it all down, you will all stop reading, cause it's just to many people, so I am just going to list them, and make it easy for all of you! :)
Lola Rock 'n' Rolla (love you wifey!), Vegan Vengeance, Eliza Do-damage, Armorkillo, Sweet 'n' Sinister, Dirty Job, Mayatollah, Abs of Steel, Monstah Megs, Nasty Moves, Kim Wilde, Minnie Mischief, Nina, Crumpy Grump, Fembot 3000, Jamakaze, Irizzz, Cherry Poppins and all the other great ADD members, ChefX, DI Die, and the rest of the Devil Dolls Essen, Major Madness, Riff Reff, Crank Skice, Pixie Spankalot and the rest of the great ref crew and all the NSO's!

Okay, I'll stop now  :)  I just cannot show enough of my gratitude. It takes so much more then 14 players on two teams to play a bout.... Roller Derby is so much more then just girls in cute outfits skating around. It's a group effort of amazing dedicated, slightly crazy, wonderful people! And I am so happy to be a part of this.


- Furrrocious

What a crazy week it's been...

Saturday we had a scrimmage training with Damage Dahl and 'snot rocket science from Steel City. It was awesome!! I have learned so much and had a great time.
Unfortunately my ankles were really acting up again, and hurting like hell...So it was hard not being able to skate constantly, when we had a training with these amazing ladies. But I was able to scrimmage, had to be smart and listen to my body and sit out more Jams then I wanted to, but well I just learned in Derby that listing to your body and trusting that what you're feeling cannot be ignored.
I cannot explain how freaking awesome it is to be in a scrimmage with girls that you just saw on DNN a week earlier... I was on the white team with Damage Dahl, and actually tried Jamming with 'snot rocket science as the opposing jammer....it was scary to say the least! :p 

It ended up being a great training for all. The girls learning more blocking/jamming and scrimmage skills and our Refs getting a chance to do some actual reffing!! Blauwe Bil (Rotterdam Death Row Honeys) and Stan-Lee (Dom City Dolls) joined the ADD Zebra's and they all blew their whistles at us! :)

Steel City in ADD disguise! :)

Me and Blauwe Bil! See Rotterdam and Amsterdam are perfect together!!

 

Monday night we had another practice with Damage Dahl and 'snot rocket science. And I just feel like we are freaking lucky to have such talented people visiting us. As I have said before it really has his upsides to be 'Amsterdam'.

Wednesday I unfortunately had miss practice by our brand-new-very-own Hurricane Hayles, cause of work. Had a meeting so couldn't go to practice. 

During the day Hunter S. Toss 'em arrived in Amsterdam, and we spend some time talking on the phone catching up. 

 

Thursday after work me and Hunter met up and went to practice. Was great having Hunter back with ADD. We went through a lot of things that are pretty much 'need to know' before our scrimmage with OLRD. It was super useful to go through all that and great to have him back on the track with us!

Today was a super long and hard day for me, working the sixth day in a row... but it ended just perfect, hanging out with my wifey, cleaning our skates and watching some more Anarchy in the UK footage (whilst drinking lots of water and icing my ankles). 

And now it's almost Sunday (or it actually all ready is sunday, after midnight, I should really get to bed...), and we are getting ready to play our (and Hollands) first international scrimmage against Antwerp One Love Roller Dolls. It's going to be a FUN learning experience for all of us. And I cannot wait!! It's going to be the closest thing we have gotten to a bout. There will be a full NSO and Ref team (with Hunter S. Toss 'em and Major Madness being two of them!)

I am super nervous and excited all at the same time, and if I wasn't so tired from working all week, I would probably run around in circles in this very room, because of it! 

So more info on Dutch Roller Derby history after tomorrow! :) 

Now, I am off to bed...

 

- Furrrocious

E.R.O.C. II; There is no stopping this virus

EROC II: Day one




So this weekend Bear City of Berlin is hosting the second European Roller Derby Organizational Conference. And we are here with 5 of us representing the Amsterdam Derby Dames.
Belle Anger, Lola Rock 'n' Rolla, Vegan Vengeance, Sweet 'n' Sinister and me.

Yesterday we started with a nice dinner and registration. To be honest, this dinner was all ready exhausting! After being in a car for about 7hours, we went to the dinner. And there is a restaurant filled with all the amazing derby people. To much to handle... I was surprised to see I all ready knew quite a few people. And it was nice to see awesome people like Tigre from Helsinki again, after I met her first in Helsinki last year in June.
So you can imagine the dinner was a good time to network and drink with new and less new derby friends. And therefore it was all really exhausting. Lots of talking and hugging and stuff like that. :)

The Netherlands is well represented at EROC. As I have said in earlier blogs, there are now 7 roller derby leagues in The Netherlands, which is, to be honest, pretty amazing! We are this tiny country and ADD only started a year and a half ago. In that time Dutch Roller Derby has grown out to the new up and coming sport for women in the Netherlands.
I am side tracking all ready, so as I was saying, lots of Dutch Leagues at EROC! East side Rock 'n' Rollers (Enschede), Rock City Rollers (Eindhoven), Arnhem Fallen Angels, Rotterdam Death row honeys, Dom City Dolls (Utrecht) and us. So actually the only ones not here are the brand spanking new league from the north of Holland; Northern Lightning Roller girls (Groningen).
It was so nice to finally meet everybody.
As one of the inter league people at ADD I have been in touch with all the Dutch leagues. But it was good to finally put real faces with the Facebook profile pics! ;)

So we started the day of at 9 in the morning with a breakfast. Which was great.
At 10 all the workshops, trainings and Q&A's started.
I had taken the liberty to make a schedule for our own league reps, to make sure we would maximize the information intake. Cause OH MY GOSH....there is so much info! And there is so much we don't know yet! Luckily we also found out there is stuff we do know, and all ready do :)

I am not going to recap each workshop I have been too, cause I would be typing for another hour and it's all ready to late, as it is. :)

But a couple of high lights (and it was alllll great, just not enough energy to write about it all..)

- On skates training by master Blaster and Devilina. This was absolutely amazing!





- The League organizational structure workshop by Dr. No-No.... No-No has the amazing quality of saying and explaining stuff as it is, but making you feel good at the same time. She gave me the feeling that we are doing a good job with our league and that all leagues and a lot of (womens)organizations have the same kind of issues. Which is so good to realize.


Of course you know you are not alone, but at the same time, because it's new and we are (almost) all new at this, you can still feel isolated and alone sometimes.
But to quote Dr. No-No:
"There is no recipe on how to organize your roller derby league" and "No Roller Derby League is perfect. They are all run by (in-perfect) humans, we can and should strive for perfection, but we are not!"
Which of course I know, but it's good to hear someone say it all so clear and with a really positive vibe.

Well, there is so much more to talk about, recruitment workshops, Dutch leagues discussion, Low Country meeting, etc etc :)

For now I will stop, cause I really need to go to sleep. More EROC tomorrow, including a beginners scrimmage (!!!) Which will be my first ever scrimmage... I am all ready scared shitless!


- Furrrocious

And the virus just keeps spreading...

For a small little country that had never heard about Roller Derby a year and a half ago, we have grown to an amazing number of leagues.
We now have no less then SIX leagues!!

The brand new league is the Arnhem Fallen Angels!!



One of our very own Amsterdam Derby Dames, Peachy Piek moved to Arnhem and after being infected with the derby bug she couldn't live without anymore. So she started her own league!!! Good job Peachy Piek! We cannot wait to play against the Arnhem Fallen Angels. :p


For the Amsterdam Derby Dames there is a winter stop right now, which sucks. Cause I want to skate. But I guess if I would have to say something positive about it. I would say it's good to have some time off so I can focus on uhmmm well work, relaxing and board stuff. I still miss practice though... A LOT!!!!!

Earlier this week I got my end of the year bonus and threaded myself to a x-mas present... I finally ordered new protective gear. After reading the intro from Black Dahlia in Blood and Thunder magazine issue #15 I got the last push I needed to order it.
She had crappy knee pads and fell really badly... Took her months to recover. And she said that good (and expensive) protective gear is not something to safe your money on. And she is so right!! The only derby scar I have until now, I have because of cheap shitty kneepads.
So anyways, I finally ordered some 187 Pro's!


Of course it's hard to resist ordering other stuff when your are on a webshop like wickedskatewear.com.
So I ordered new elbow and wrist protection and some clothing too. Cannot wait for it to arrive!!

Well everybody, I want to wish you all a merry x-mas and an amazing derby filled 2011!!!!

- Furrrocious




You can find the Arnhem Fallen Angels on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arnhem-Fallen-Angels/147617188621900?v=wall&filter=3

Fresh meat makes you feel all fuzzy inside!

Today I was finally able to go to practice again. Glad to be finally on skates, especially after just seeing so many bouts this past Saturday.

So a couple of weeks ago we started our three month training program for the fresh meat girls and guys. And I was there the first night they came. It was great to see all those girls and guys trying to skate, after not being on skates for years.
Some girls had shaky legs and were like those new born animals standing up right for the first time. Shaking and unbalanced.

So I didn't see them skate for a couple of weeks and my gosh was I amazed!!! The baby animals are turning in to fierce ladies!
It just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see these newbies improving so much.
And I love how motivated they are.



For myself it was just great to be on skates again. My ankles are doing a lot better and I was finally able to finish my five minute endurance laps with a pretty decent score. It's been so frustrating not to be able to skate as much as I wanted and keep up with the rest. But slowly but surely it's getting better. And I am back on my way to play!


- Furrrocious

Sprechen sie Derby??

The best part of Roller Derby Is of course the bout it self.
Seeing how the Amsterdam Derby Dames haven't played yet, and no other leagues in holland are ready to play a bout, we have to travel if we want to see a live bout. You could say, that this is really annoying. And of course it is in some way, but I happen to love road trips!! And lucky me, cause so does my Derby wife Lola Rock 'n' Rolla.
Earlier this week we decided it would be cool to go to Stuttgart and see the bout between SVRG Rookies and GGGRG.
I contacted the Gent girls, and heard the pre-sale tickets were sold out.... Which of course is great, but not if you don't have tickets yet.
So I contacted Riff Reff, Stuttgart's own Head Ref. Asking him if there were still tickets left and if he might know a cheap place to stay. Luckily there were still some tickets left, to be sold at the door, and he could make sure we could get two. But he also suggested i would NSO. Seeing how I will be NSO'ing in Berlin in a couple of weeks and have no experience in doing that. It would be a good chance to practice. I was so excited, I immediately said yes!
He also arranged for us to crash at one of the SVRG girls, Valerie. Which was just perfect!






After packing up my 'official' gear, we left Saturday morning at 9 for our 5.30 hour drive to Stuttgart.





Now let me tell you there are a lot of good things about driving to Germany with a German driving the car. Lola is first of all used to driving for a long time and actually enjoys it. Also the right hand lane, is not her favorite lane. And her car will go faster then a 120km/h. :)






I also love driving through Germany, because it is so pretty. Mountains, forest, trees. Its so pretty.







Around 2.30 we arrived at Valerie's house. We made a really good time. Only stopping for the necessary bathroom brakes, and not hitting any traffic jams.






At Valerie's house we quickly changed and left again. For Valerie had to be there at 4, and me too for an officials meeting.
We took the subway to the venue which is just outside of stuttgart.

My first 'officials meeting' before a bout was really informative. I got to see how this part of roller derby is organized.
The officials team (Ref's and NSO) is so important. As a part of starting league I think its so important to see how this works too. It's not just the players you need.

At 6 the bout started. The hall was filled with supporters. From both sides! A bus load of people from Belgium showed up, which was very cool, to have so much support on a 'away bout'.
The Ref's and NSO's came in first and we all stood in the middle of the track. After that the girls of both teams skated around and were introduced one by one. I think this was actually the most nerve wrecking. Standing there in the middle in front of all these people! I will probably puke the first time I get on the track to play...







Finally it was time to actually start the bout! All the girls were ready to play.
And I, was ready to NSO! :) Standing next to the track at the corner armed with a whiteboard, a marker and a cloth, I was ready to communicate those penalties to the penalty trackers on the inside.

The bout itself was exciting. The teams were true opponents, as the scores were pretty close together most of the bout. Half time started and both teams had exactly the same amount of points! And they stayed close for a long time, except for one moment where GGGRG had double the amount of points as SVRG had. But the bout was undecided till the absolute last jam. In which the SVRG Rookies (who had been behind a couple of points before that jam started) scored enough points to win!






For me experiencing the bout as an NSO was a lot different from watching it from the stands. I couldn't scream, cheer or clap or anything like that. Because first of all, you are busy and focussed on your job, and secondly, because NSO's and Ref's have to be impartial. So you can't cheer for a team even if you had the time too.
I would have had the time, there were enough penalties, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't crazy busy with writing every jam.
The most annoying thing about doing the NSO job of outside whiteboard, is that refs are in a hurry, so you don't always understand what they are saying so quickly, and that penalty trackers don't pay attention to you sometimes, which leaves you standing there next to the track bouncing up and down with your whiteboard! Of course it's understandable, because on the inside of the track it's crazy busy. So it's not that they are ignoring you and purpose. But it's also not like you scream to them 'hey look at me'. Cause for those who haven't been to a RD bout, it's one hell of a loud sport!






In the end it was a great bout. And I am so happy I got the chance to experience NSO'ing. And to see the bout a little more from an organizational side of things, instead of being a spectator.

Luckily, a bout isn't a roller derby bout, unless it has an after party! :p And Stuttgart knows how to throw one.
They continued the 80's theme at the after party. And even though I am not that much into 80's music I had a great time. And was dancing and singing along most of the night!







The thing I like the best about the roller derby after party, next to the drinking, singing and dancing, is meeting all these rad roller derby ladies and gents! I have met so many awesome people from Stuttgart, Gent, Antwerp an Rotterdam. And that was just great! Not just talking on facebook or through email, but in real life is just great.

The days after are always kind of a downer, as you have to get back to reality (with a huge hangover of course..). You just wish it could be bout day everyday!
Luckily for me, I have practice tonight. So I'll get my shot of derby!!

- Furrrocious

Come and get your fresh meat!!

Today was our last fresh meat training till next year March. The new fresh meat will be getting a three month beginner course ending in taking the WFDTA skills test.
We had all been promoting this last fresh meat opportunity and it worked!! We had no less then 13 new girls and two refs. Which is so amazing.

The practice started out with a talk about Roller Derby and explaining about the Amsterdam Derby Dames. Our fresh meat committee did a great job on explaining the in's and out's and answering all sorts of questions.

After the introduction all the girls (and guys!!) got gear from our 'fresh meat supply' and from team skaters. It's all about sharing. :)
Trainers and fresh meat committee sorted everybody out with gear, how to put it on, etc.



And then the most exciting moment for all of us: they started skating around.
As roller skating isn't a big thing in holland, most girls and guys had their last skating days in their childhood. So it was very exciting to be back on skates.
They did great!!
Some were more nervous then others, and some were clearly better at skating then others. But all of them had fun and were super enthusiastic!




It was weird to look at the fresh meat and remembering my first practices on skates. I was scared shitless!! The wobbly legs and knees. Not having a clue about what I should or shouldn't be doing. And now I am almost ready to join the team.
And the funny thing is, when you tell these newbies that I was just like them beginning of this year, they look at you and say "yeah right! I don't believe that! I bet you're just saying that to make me feel better...".
And for those newbies out there that still think that, No we are not just saying that! We all started out not being able to skate (at one point or the other). So don't think you'll never get the hang of it, because you will!!

Seeing all these new girls struggling also gives a boost of confidence knowing how much we have progressed in this passed year. As skaters, but also as a league. Becoming more organized and really growing as a league. It was one of those great nights that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

To all ADD's new girls and guys! I hope you'll stick around and kick ass on the track in a couple of months! We are happy to have you!!


- Furrrocious