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