The night before I am on my way to play.....

It's weird, I started this blog to keep track of my experiences of being on my way of becoming a Roller Derby girl. Of being on my way to play!

So now is the time! Tomorrow is my very first official Roller Derby bout!! How crazy is that?

Worked so hard for the passed year and 8 months.

Lets go back in time.....

On Friday night January 9th 2010 at 02:29 in the morning after seeing Whip it! for the first time I wrote this email:

Hey Dames!!
Ik ben zo blij dat ik jullie gevonden heb!! Sinds ik in 2007 een Roller Derby Wedstrijd heb meegemaakt in Amerika ben ik opzoek geweest naar groepen in Nederland, en nu zie ik dat jullie er zijn! YEAH!!!
Ik zou heel graag mee willen doen, maaaaar..... ik heb eeuwen niet meer op rolschaatsen gestaan, ben redelijk stevig (weet dat dat ook een voordeel kan zijn in rollerderby! ) En ja, fuck, geen echte excuses dus... behalve dat ik het nog niet kan dan!
But I am willing to learn!
Dus zijn jullie nog opzoek, naar onhandige, onervaren roller derby girlz?
Ik hoor het wel!
Groetjes uit Utrecht!
Jennifer

Translation:

Hey Dames!!

So happy I found you!! After I'd seen a Roller Derby bout in 2007 in the USA I've been looking for groups in Holland, and now I see you are here! YEAH!!

I would love to join you, butttt....I haven't been on skates in ages, and I am pretty big (even though I know that can also be an advantadge in Roller Derby!). So yeah, fuck, no real excuses I guess...except that I don't know how to play!

But I am willing to learn!
So are you still looking for, clumsy, in-experienced derby girlz?

Let me know! 

Kind regards from Utrecht!
Jennifer

Limpin' Lily, our proud founder, emailed back the next day, and that monday I was on skates again for the first time in years. 

I stumbled and fell, but all and all I was excited about skating again. Learned my first falls that night. 

And I guess that night the derby bug was planted. 

Cause I haven't stopped. 

I wasn't really involved in the beginning. It took a while for me to understand that this bug was going to take over my life. ;)

After about 7/8 months I started skating with the Dom City Dolls once a week and twice a week with ADD. My life was all of a sudden all about Derby! And I was loving it. 

Before I knew it I was involved all the way, and I was voted in as president of our league. 

I know that people who don't play derby simply can not understand how this sport can take over your life... and to be honest I don't know if I can explain it. 

Is it worth all the time, blood, sweat and tears? I think so. And I think thousands of derby girls and boys will agree with me. Can I explain it? I guess not. 

What I can say, is that I think it's worth it because, I am enjoying the work out, loving being part of a great team, crazy about my derby sisters and brothers, traveling the world for derby, road trips, great friends, I love it all!!! And it makes every single tear, drop of sweat and pain I feel worth it. Because nothing can beat this feeling I have now, the night before I will finally play!

On my way to play (Roller Derby)....

1 year, 8 months and 1 day after I rolled on skates for that first time, I will be playing a real official Roller Derby bout!

I would like to give a special shout out to everybody who helped me get here! There are to many to name, but you know who you are and I love you all!!!