Rat Attack this Saturday

This weekend the Swamp City Roller Rats are hosting their first major bouts of the year, its going to be awesome and we are hoping for a sell out, so if you are in Palmerston North this weekend this is a must go to event.

skating for survival

I spent a lot of time struggling to get skating last year, issues with skates and then my health being dodgy meant I skated a lot less than I wanted too.... So I set myself a goal for now, and that is to get through the 12 weeks of freshmeat without more than 3 sessions off. I had the first one off due to health but have done the last couple, I managed to skate for the whole 2 hours and was really pleased when some of the things I hadn't been able to do have become skills I now can do.

I have struggled to learn to t stop and to cross over, both things I need to be able to do to pass freshmeat. There is a set list of skills that we have to be able to do to be considered safe to be allowed to learn how to play roller derby, I wonder if similar things being in place would cut injuries in other games too, eg you must pass a basic skills course to be allowed to play rugby. The governing body has designed a test of things that are needed to be passed as well as a written test too. Its the first sport I have been involved with that you have to be skills tested to play.

The skates that I so proudly showed off earlier last year turned out to be the wrong skates for me and I sold them. I was having huge amounts of foot pain when wearing them which was from them being too narrow and too long for my foot. I spent a lot of time researching and talking to people and got some Vanilla brass knuckle 2.0 boots with a Suregrip mg Avenger plate custom mounted for me from the awesome G-no Evil at Leadjammer Skates. The set up is proving to be perfect for me, my skating form is improving and I can skate for 2 hours without sore feet.

so my love affair with derby is continuing, our home league has lots of bouts for this year and there is always the chance to go somewhere else to watch games too, the home season in Wellington is great for seeing well played derby.

love D

playing sport

I am not a natural athlete, actually I have avoided organised sport for most of my life, I have done some triathlons, but nothing team related or involving contact, well this has all changed, I have started freshmeat training for Roller Derby... and I LOVE it!!! who would have thought I would like sport.

I love the challenge of learning to skate again and the skills that we are learning, I love the sense of belonging, I like getting to wear short shorts and not caring that my butt is huge. I love being with a group of women who aren't judging each other about our looks/weight/backgrounds/kids/incomes. Its amazing. I am finding it so freeing.

I am also enjoying being able to break out of the suburban housewife role that I find myself in, derby gives me an outlet to be aggressive if I want, to be physical, to wear fishnets,  to swear, to be free....

I never thought I would find a sport that I wanted to do, but this I am addicted to, I love it.