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

Everybody can be a hero in Roller Derby

Like loads of us 'newer' derby girls, we'd seen Whip it! and got enthusiastic about the sport.
The one message in Whip it! that stuck by me, is "You can be your own hero!".
That message combined with the main character going from hardly being able to skate to be an actual Roller Derby girl was the reason that I thought "fuck it, maybe I can do this too! Maybe I can be my own hero.."
When I started looking in to Roller Derby, I saw that girls from all shapes and sizes played this wonderful sport. For me that was the push I needed to think I could actually do this, or at least give it a shot!

When you start Roller Derby with absolutely no athletic background, its not easy. You find out you have muscles you have never used before, or let alone even knew excised. And its hard, at first, you will have ups and downs, moments where you think you will never get better.
But the cool thing about derby is that that you have a team around you, to motivate you, to push you when you need it, and to hug you when you feel like you can't do it anymore.
I have definitely struggled to get where I am now, and I am not even it the maximum of my abilities. I cried on the track out of pain and utter frustration, but in the end I kept going, because I have had amazing girls around me to support me when I needed it.

I am a big girl, and playing Roller Derby did not make me any smaller. I gained more muscles, got stronger, tighter and fitter, but no smaller, and no lighter either! In stead of feeling down about my size and weight I embraced the fact that my body type could be of use in this sport (just as any body type has its place in Roller Derby). I became proud of my body and all it brought to my skills in Roller Derby, so I made my number my weight, #105kg (230lbs) I found out that it wasn't just good for myself, but it also works as a great scare tactic! ;)  

The reason I am writing this blog today is because about a week or so ago a saw this post on Facebook of a Nike commercial. I reposted it, because I loved the text that goes with it, I could have written that myself.
 

 My BUTT is big
and round like a letter C
And ten thousand lunges 
Has made it rounder
But not smaller
And thats just fine.
Its a space heater
For my side of the bed
It's my embassador
to those who walk behind me
Its a border collie
That herds skinny women
away from the best deals
at clothing sales
My butt is big and that's just fine
And those who might scorn it
Are invented to kiss it



The only thing was that the picture didn't fit for me...
So I made a new one:

I made this because I am proud of myself, especially when I am surrounded by Derby people. They give me the feeling that it's okay to be me and that I have a body I can be proud of. Something society does not tell you with the commercials we see everyday. I deal with trying to fit in to jeans all the time, because my body type is not standard (not in Holland anyways) and because clothing designers and store focus on the small sizes instead of bigger ones.
I felt like showing the world that having an actual big butt is something I can be proud off. As a Roller Derby girl and as a woman.

I was hoping people would like it as much as I did myself but little did I know people would like it so much that they would share this with their friends. No less then 79 people liked my picture, that alone is pretty insane!
But then it started to get shared by different people. Even people I didn't know.
It also got shared by a league called Stone Cold Foxes Roller Derby from Junction City KS, and their founder and coach Jersey Vicious re-posted it, with a messaged that I related to very well, she pretty much grasped the idea of it the whole picture:

The fact that she called me one of her "derby heroes" was very touching. I can't believe anybody would see me as a hero at all. And it is in no way my goal to be anybodies hero, derby or otherwise.
So I wrote this, because even though I don't have to be a hero, I love to share my story in which I am my own Roller Derby hero and let everybody know that we can all be our own heroes! I have come a long way from stumbling and falling over on skates, to playing bouts and having the best time in my life with this sport.
So put on those skates and work hard, because you can be your own hero!!

- Furrrocious