Time Running Out for Bootcamps and Auctions!

Two exciting things happening today, which you might just be in time to catch if you were previously unaware of them…

Firstly: London Rollergirls’ London Brawling are holding a Bootcamp in Edinburgh, hosted by Auld Reekie Roller Girls. The tickets went onsale at midday today, and the Intermediate session has entirely sold out already. However, if you’re New WFTDA Mins passed, you can still book onto the Advanced session, where there are a small number of places free.

https://www.facebook.com/events/571365989561526/ is the link for the event.

 

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Secondly, in order to give people enough time to bid, Glasgow Roller Derby have extended the deadline on their fundraising Auction for ECDX by a whole week. It looks like the counters for time available haven’t been fixed at the time of writing, but I am informed that there is really a week left, not less than 4 hours!

This could be your chance to get tickets to the Sealife Centre, rock CDs, gardening work, or even a custom doll made in your image, for a bargain price, and also help one of our two history-making Scottish leagues get to Philadelphia in late June!

http://glasgowrollerderby.com/auctions

Emergency announcement: Vienna Rollergirls in need of housing. *solved*

The brilliant Vienna Rollergirls are coming over to play Auld Reekie Roller Girls this coming weekend… but they’ve hit on a problem.

A last-minute cancellation by one of their hosts means that as many of 6 of their skaters have nowhere to stay in Edinburgh for the entire period they’re visiting.

We know that the derby community is full of helpful and supportive people so:

If anyone can put up any number (up to 6) Viennese roller girls from 16th to 21st May, then you will have their eternal gratitude. (Edinburgh much preferred, but I suspect that in reasonable distance would work if needed.)

Contact: Sabine HansaBlast Anderson or Anke Schaffartzik via Facebook if you can help.

Situation resolved: thanks to You Sayin Bolt of Bairn City Rollers, housing has been found for all of the potentially homeless skaters for Vienna. Thanks to everyone who offered a place for them!

 

 

Fierce Valley Roller Cubs: still rolling

It may appear to have gone quiet on the FVRC front recently, but behind the scenes, it’s been a busy time. It has been a bit of a slog, but the good news is that the end, or rather, the start, is now in sight.

We’ve had an ongoing “wheel amnesty”, looking for old, unloved indoor wheels that you no longer use, which we can use on kids’ skates. In addition, we’re now appealing for donations of any old kit that you no longer have any use for, which is doing nothing but clutter up your house. Any pads or even skates which you or your kids have outgrown would be gratefully recieved. They don’t have to be perfect, merely functional (and safe, obviously!). We won’t be able to have full spare kit for everyone, but we would like to have at least bits and pieces that we can lend. If you have any wheels or kit that you would like to donate, please contact us either on Facebook or by emailing cubs@fvrg.co.uk.

Similary, we’re also looking for people to help out in various ways – no derby experience neccessary! Being involved with the Cubs doesn’t have to mean being a coach, there’s lots to do so it’s all hands on deck. Contact us if you’d like to be a part of the fun.

Finally, with a view to raising some much-needed funds, we now have a PayPal account so we can accept donations. I, along with a group of skaters from Fierce Valley Roller Girls, am climbing Ben Nevis next month and have decided to try to raise some money for the Cubs at the same time. Any donations would be much appreciated, and would make the blisters worth it! Our PayPal account can be found
here
Remember to look out for further information, hopefully coming soon. If you’re not already on our mailing list, drop us an email and we’ll add you, to make sure you don’t miss any important annoucements.

Power Jam: Roller Derby – Derby meets Video Games, an Opportunity.

While modern Roller Derby as a sport is spreading rapidly across the world, and turning up on TV and in newspapers with various degrees of accuracy, there are still parts of modern culture where our favourite sport has failed to penetrate.
Most notably, there is only one Roller Derby game in existence, Jam City Rollergirls, which, while WFTDA-licenced, is also essentially a fusion of Mario Kart and Derby. Disappointingly, it’s also limited to the Nintendo Wii, with no other platforms even being considered.

Concept art for Power Jam: Roller Derby.

This month, however, hope has arrived with the appearance of the Power Jam: Roller Derby project on Kickstarter. (For those of you unaware of Kickstarter, it’s the best known of the “crowd-funding” websites, where potential projects can ask for donations of funds (towards a set minimum target) from the general public. If the minimum target isn’t met, then no-one is charged any money (and the project presumably either dies or goes looking for money elsewhere). In order to encourage donations, projects offer “rewards” for pledging funds at various levels – usually on a graduated scale from “We’ll tweet you a thanks” for £5, up to grand invites to the opening party, or the ability to contribute to part of the project design, for £1000 or more.)

The Derby community is, in fact, no stranger to Kickstarter, thanks mainly to the Derby, Baby Distribution project, which saw basically everyone in derby worldwide donate money to help Robin Bond and Dave Wruck get their Derby documentary distributed around the world. (We, of course, all got sweet DVDs or Blu-rays of the film.) On a smaller scale, photographer Kyle Cassidy ran a Kickstarter to fund taking Lead Jammer’s Moxie McMurder around the States while he photographed skaters for a book.

The Power Jam : Roller Derby project is something different, however. A collaboration between two Belfast-based companies, Iglu Media and BillyGoat Entertainment, the plan is to create a fully-featured Roller Derby management game, with both strategic and tactical elements.
As with management games for other sports, you’ll manage your league at one level, dealing with recruiting skaters through fresh meat, planning training sessions, hiring halls and promoting your bouts. At the bout level, the plans show a full featured tactical interface, allowing you to give orders to both your jammer and all blockers during each jam (the skaters will be smart enough to do sensible stuff if you don’t order them around directly too, of course). The plan is to show the bouting action from a bird’s-eye tactical view, zooming in closer for “glam cam” shots of particularly impressive blocks or other important moments.

Speaking for Iglu, Jonny Kane was keen to emphasise that the project was born of a genuine love of derby from the developers: “It was by having conversations over an extended period of time with Roller Derby players and fans that it occurred to us that those who play or take part as Refs or NSO’s – no matter what your role – there is so much passion and dedication to the sport that goes beyond just the bout. This really appealed to us, the side of the sport that exists as soon as you scratch the service.”

This mock-up shows the tactical options planned for the bout interface.

With media representation, the issue of veracity often comes up (we’ve all seen TV depictions of derby that were… less than accurate). In this too, Power Jam : Roller Derby is trying to do the right thing. One of the first things the developers did was to contact local league, Belfast Roller Derby, for assistance. BRD’s Dempsey Hammer has been pleased with the level of interaction so far: “It’s hard to quantify [how much time we've spent talking to Iglu] as we’ve been in regular contact over email and phone as well as the occasional meeting or mo-cap session. We’ve been kept updated about the various stages of the project, and we’ve asked questions when we’ve wanted to and visa versa, it has been a very positive relationship between us and the guys at both companies!”

Indeed, so concerned are Iglu and BillyGoat at getting the action just right that they’re using the motion capture facility at Queen’s University Belfast to capture BRD’s skaters in action and translate them into the game models’ moves. Despite a little trepidation at being the models for the in-game skaters’ skills, BRD have been happy to help, and are so far happy with the results.

The astute of you may have noticed that we’ve gotten this far without any mention of which leagues are going to be featured in the game. That’s, partly, where the Kickstarter comes in.
In order to raise the £75000 needed to greenlight the game (a very parsimonious amount for modern games development), the developers are putting the final skater and league rosters in the game up for the funders to decide. While smaller donations will get you a copy of the finished game as soon as it’s ready (£15 for digital, £45 for boxed), skaters or leagues with deeper pockets will get to contribute content to the game itself. Donating £60 will get you a boxed copy, and also allow you to add a skater name to the in-game roster. Donating £200 will garner a host of goodies (limited edition art, t-shirt, badges), the ability to add a skater name to the roster and, most importantly, Beta access to the game, allowing you to provide feedback to the developers and shape the final game. Donating £250 will let you add a league name to the roster of leagues, add 5 skater names to the skater roster and also give you beta access and five boxed copies (this is obviously a significant saving if you know 4 people who want a boxed copy), and £300 lets you not just add a skate name to the game but actually provide photographs from which the developers will recreate the skaters’ likeness ingame (plus that beta access and a copy of the game itself). Finally, for those interested in outreach and promotion (those skateshops out there?), £2500 gets corporate branding added to the game, presumably tastefully done.
All of the higher tier rewards are limited in quantity, and several of them are currently on limited-size discounts at present (once 15 leagues have been added to the game, the price for the next 15 will increase to £350, for example).

Example of custom skater option for funders.

For leagues who are trying to decide where their money should go for the next year, £250 might seem like a lot of money just to get a name in a game, but Iglu’s Jonny Kane was keen to emphasise the promotional benefits of being featured: “This game we expect to reach at least high hundreds of thousands of gamers on the mobile version of the game. This means a huge audience made aware of Roller Derby who would not normally be aware of the sport. This is an tremendous opportunity for leagues to be involved in the funding and development of a great game that will get their own league in front of hundreds of thousands of new fans.”
It’s also worth pointing out that offering inclusion in the game as a high-tier funding reward is a standard practice in Kickstarters for video games, and usually for significantly more money (the Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter, for example, has 41 people currently paying $1000 to have the name and description of a character added to their game).

Even if you feel you can’t afford the high tier rewards, it’s worth donating anything you can to the project in order to help it meet its goals. (I am assured that Belfast Roller Derby will continue to be involved in the game development, so missing out on Beta access won’t mean that there’s no Derby involvement). Remember, if Power Jam: Roller Derby doesn’t reach its £75000 target by the 15th of April, then the developers won’t get any money at all. This might not mean the end of the game, but it will certainly mean a different, and probably smaller, product. If the Roller Derby community believes that it deserves quality representation in the Video Game genre, then there’s no argument for not contributing something to helping this happen.

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Power Jam : Roller Derby will be developed in Unity 3D for release on Windows, OSX, Linux, and mobile. It will also be multilingual, supporting English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian and Spanish. The digital release will be DRM-free.

All images in this article owned by Iglu Media and BillyGoat Entertainment.

The views expressed in this article are those of the contributor, and do not represent those of the Scottish Roller Derby Blog itself.

In The Presence of Legends………

A Personal Reflection of Team Steve vs. Gael Force. 

For the past 2 and a half years derby has been my life, I can honestly say I put my heart and soul into my skating and I’m sure most skaters can relate with this. 2012 saw an amazing year of bouting for me and my team mates and a real year of growth for me personally.

However the pinnacle of my skating career so far happened very recently, March 10^th to be precise. On this date I was honored to have the opportunity to skate with Team Steve, a.k.a The best of the rest in Scotland. I was absolutely blown away to have been selected and to have the chance to skate with some of the legends of the Scottish roller derby scene.

TEAM STEVE (Photo Courtesy of Steven Frew)

In order to actually take this opportunity I had to make it to Birmingham first. So I and some of my fellow DRG team mates who had also made the team, embarked on a 6 hour journey to Birmingham, crammed into the back of a mini bus. Luckily we are used to being in close proximity with each other on a regular and often sweaty basis.

On a completely unrelated but amazing note we ended up in the same hotel as all the Crufts dogs that were competing at the Birmingham NEC that weekend! Seriously best hotel stay of my life. I’d like to think the competitive spirit and prowess of a group of dogs in trainers with rollers in their hair gave me a sense of confidence and drive for the bout ahead…………. (Yes, I just said that!)

After a wholly athletic breakfast of Croissants and pain au chocolate we made our way to The Futsal Arena to take on the Mighty Gael Force. It had not slipped our notice that this team consisted of two Gotham skaters, An LRG skater and some of our own amazing Glasgow girls……Intimidating to say the least. I mean Suzy Hotrod skates with Gotham right? And she’s like derby royalty!

Donning our Gold bottoms and Team Steve vests felt good, I always feel a little more confident when I have my kit on, the floor was ok if a little different but I felt quite good during the warm up. Skating beside Bunny McBones (Gotham) questions raced through my mind, have you met Bonny Thunders!? What does she smell like!? Have you been to her house!?  However I reeled it in and before we knew it the first line up was on track!

Pre – Bout Talk (Photo Courtesy of Steven Frew)

I have to admit I felt a bit overwhelmed but as soon as I got on track I was ready. I’m sure a lot of skaters can relate with this, sometimes it really is like flicking a switch. Now I can’t remember much of the details, At DRG we like to call this ‘Jamnesia’. I do however remember Jamming, Scoring some points and being annihilated at least twice by an amazing Gael Force offense.

Both teams played well, It was quite a strategically minded bout, Steve went out with Defense at first but Gael Force’s offensive play meant we had to hit back with some offense of our own. There were powerjams for both sides and the packs were very fast.

Both Teams started close to the Jam line, adjusting to having the front and back line accordingly. Default strategy was very evident and seems to be making a marked come back since the introduction of the new rule set. Get to the Front; Get a goat, Inside Sausage and Outside Sausage were all in force on the day. We didn’t squeeze a peggasist in but there were some amazing Apex jumps on the day!

The final score saw Gael Force take victory 228 – 154. Feelings were good all around. The bout was completely different to skating in a league game. Different skaters were adjusting to different styles of play and it was all around a very fun bout to play. We wanted to win but there wasn’t major pressure on us.  It was a fantastic experience and I learned a lot from it. I jammed in public and everyone on my team was supportive and amazing! I think it has given me a bit of encouragement in that, even if you don’t think you are the best skater in the world, just try your best and no one can really ask any more of you than that.

It gave me some brilliant experience of exceptional offensive plays. In our home league we are a very defensive team and our currently working on our offense so it was really good to see it in play and also to have a chance to action it myself. I have a lot of things to take back to practice with me.

Team Steve really is a Derby Institution and I hope to be able to skate with them again someday, I really like wearing gold!

I Did Bunny ears to Bunny McBones!! Ha! (Photo courtesy of Steven Frew)

All Photographs taken by Steven Frew.

Happy Mother’s Day!

To all the inspirational Scottish Derby Maws (and Maws-to-be!)

So, this is my 9th Mother’s Day (as a mum, obviously – it’s my 37th one as a daughter!), and all I want from today is peace and quiet! And breakfast in bed. And maybe some chocolates.

Being a mum is awesome! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all breakfast in bed, and cards and chocolates. It’s the hardest, most challenging job I’ve ever had – but it’s also the most rewarding. 9 months of sacrificing all the fun stuff you love to do is well worth it – right? Well, I don’t know about that. My first pregnancy was fairly short – 3 months to be exact. I was 26 weeks ‘gone’ with my son before we knew I was pregnant. So during that first vital 6 months of my baby’s development I was blissfully unaware of his existance and was therefore doing all the ‘wrong’ things. Drinking, dancing, cycling, camping, eating tuna, peanuts and soft cheese (not together – boak), and just having fun. If I’d been part of a derby league at that time I would have been skating, and I wouldn’t have been cautious about it, because I had no idea I was pregnant! Pregancy number 2 was quite different. I knew straight away (at about week 5) and although I had living, breathing proof that you don’t need to wrap yourself in cotton wool during pregnancy, I was a wee bit more cautious.

This rather revealing insight into my private life brings me, tenuously, to the point of my Mother’s Day blog – skating during pregnancy! During the 2 years I’ve been involoved in roller derby, all the pregnant skaters I know stopped skating immediately. I’m of the opinion that this is the sensible thing to do – after all, derby is a contact sport and no-one wants to see a pregnant skater get injured. Roller derby is one of those wonderful all-inclusive sports, so there’s no need for pregnant skaters to disappear off the radar for 9 months. There are so many ways to stay involved off-skates that mums-to-be can remain right in the thick of things for the duration of their pregnancy. Bench, Line-Up, committees, baking – you could well wonder how you ever had time to skate pre-pregnancy!

But what about those who want the best of both worlds? It’s well documented that remaining active and fit during pregnancy is a good thing. In fact, the NHS encourages mums to be to keep up their normal physical activies and sports for as long as they’re comfortable. If skating is part of your normal physical activity, then with a bit of caution, is it necessary to stop straightaway?

I recently had a chat about this with Irn Bruzer from Nasty Nessies who is currently 17 weeks pregnant.

First, huge congratulations on your pregnancy! How did your Nasty Nessies team-mates react to the news?

They were all over the moon for me which was great. I was mostly worried about telling Bee-Yatch and Nat-orious Red as we have all been together from the very start and was worried how they would react. They were so happy for me though so made it a happy time

Have you stopped skating?

I have not stopped skating yet, but I am not on track any more. I am confined to the middle for now. Although I do get a few careful laps in while the others kit up.

Have you done much research into skating (recreationally or derby) while pregnant? If so, has that helped influence any of your decisions regarding on skates or off?

I have spoken to a few other skaters who have become pregnant but they have all stopped straight away  The only person that I know so far who has continued to skate was an American skater. I understand why the others stopped and I understand how people will feel that I have not, but everyone is different. I do not have a time scale when to stop, I think I will know when it comes, but not yet. I’m not trying to prove anything, I just don’t feel that I need to yet. I am not doing any contact or on track, I am not putting anyone in danger and I am very aware of my surroundings. My midwife knows my plans and I was told that starting new exercise routines or sports are not reccomended but just toning down what your body is used to is fine. Well my body is used to skating, and so will my baby hehe.

I know you’re very passionate about Nasty Nessies – how will you be applying that passion to an off-skates role? And what off-skates role (if any) will that be?

For now, I am helping with our fantastic newbies and with coaching. I will take on any role off-skates that I can do in the near future, Hopefully I will bench manage our first bout sometime but time will tell

Have you given any thought to when you’ll return to skates?

I hope to be back on skates as soon as possible, even if its only for five minutes I was chatting to one of the girls last night ans we were joking about an active birth on skates! How awesome? I think the hospital may frown about that though!

Do you think you’ll still be able to commit the same time to derby as before?

I hope to be able to commit as much as I can, I mean, babies sleep a lot right? And you can do lots online and via laptop. I don’t think I can plan how much I can do, best to just take it as it comes, but I still plan to be a very familiar face within the team whatever happens.

Have you chatted to any other Scottish “derby-moms” who have recently given birth? If so, have you been given any good advice that you’d like to pass on to others?

I have spoken to a few of the girls from Dundee who have had babies, just really how they have kept committed to the team and went back when they are ready which is good. I expect there have been many pregnancies in derby where the girls have never gone back from some reason or another and I will make sure that doesn’t happen to me. Even if the worst happens and I cannot skate competitively again, I will still be involved somehow, its too much part of my life now to give up.

Do you have any Scottish “derby-mom” heroes? (Skaters with kids, that still find the time to help run a league, train, coach and bout?) What makes them so inspirational?

I think the one that seemed to do the most up until birth and now back on skates is Crown Jules from Dundee. I went to a bout in November and she was Bench Managing while heavily pregnant. Definitely someone to admire.

 I’m aware there may be mixed reactions to my interview but I feel that everyone is different and what works for you and feels right is always best. But each to their own. I would never put myself or my baby in any danger and I don’t feel that being on skates out of everyone’s way is doing that. Also I’m a clumsy oaf, I can get into more harm walking down the stairs! Also I have a very supportive partner and fantastic team!

Whatever your feelings on skating during pregnancy, there’s no denying Bruzer has really thought this through. And I think that’s the key. Life is a series of risks – some you can control, and others that you can’t. By thinking through the risks you can control and being open and discussing your plans with your league (and your midwife!), then maybe recreational skating is something of a third option. I don’t think anyone would be able to skate for 9 months of a pregnancy - just putting your skates on in the third tri-mester would represent a significant challenge, but in the early days of pregnancy, tentative laps around the track while others are kitting up might be a way to “wind down” your exercise routine.

Next time: I’m looking for skaters who are returning to the track after having a baby. If you’d like to share your story, then please get in touch.

In the meantime – Happy Mother’s Day Enjoy the day with the weans, whether they be kids, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, chickens, fish …

Lets hear it for the boys…..

A female perspective on Merby and CO-ED Roller Derby.

Up until the past couple of years Roller Derby has been a sport ‘rolled’ out on a predominantly female playing field. There have always been men around, be it in an official capacity or those of the infamous derby widow – ship.

However those who wished to play on a competitive level have taken the proverbial bull by the horns with Merby leagues are popping up all over the UK. Scotland in Particular has no less than 4 up and coming all male leagues. Their collective bouting team the Jakey Bites have been established for over a year now.

The arrival of Men’s Roller Derby has been met with mixed reaction on roller derby scene, some embracing it fully and others feeling a little put out that the male specimen are perhaps trying to steal our feminine thunder………God can’t they let us have anything!?

Being part of a league who have taken to Integrating with open arms, I have had a fantastic opportunity to skate and compete with the some of the Jakey Bites in the past year, skating in the Uk’s first ever CO-ED derby bout with The Jakey Tayzers last September.

As a result I have become a keen supporter for CO-ED and men’s roller derby. The thought of this might seem a bit overwhelming for some but I believe it can make you a more rounded and skilled skater in the long run. I have skated for 2 years now, predominantly in all female training and bout situations and I thought I would take this opportunity to answer some of the questions or allay some of the fears people might have about Male and Co-Ed roller derby.

DO THEY HIT HARDER?

I hate to emasculate anyone here but the answer to this is not really. I have found that taking a hit from a guy is no different from being hit by the girls. The fact that they don’t really have hips takes a bit of getting used to but the impact of the hit isn’t as scary as it might seem.  Put it this way, if you have ever been hit by Cider from Auld Reekie then you have nothing to worry about and are fully prepared…

ARE THEIR TACTICS DIFFERENT?

Whenever we first started training for the CO – ED bout this was definitely one of our questions, in all honesty we thought for some reason they were going to be all offence and no discipline (not sure why, guess we were stereotyping). This wasn’t the case at all; for the most part their tactics are exactly the same as what we are doing on the female side of things. They are definitely very skilled and know their stuff; I didn’t find it any different from skating with my female team mates. They have had to adjust to the new rule set exactly the same as we have. From watching various Merby bouts last year there really wasn’t much difference in the tactics played and there certainly wasn’t any less glitter surprisingly.

IS IT AWKWARD?

As we all know, roller derby can be a very ‘handsy’ sport, it is full contact and I suppose it would be normal to wonder if it gets a bit awkward when playing CO-ED. This one is really in the eyes of the beholder to be honest, I personally haven’t ever felt awkward or anything likes that whilst skating. Whether that comes from knowing them quite well or from being in the zone on track I’m not sure but it certainly has never been an issue. You know the bond you have with your team mates on track, well that bond is completely possible in CO-ED as well and it is a pretty gratifying experience.

ARE THEY BETTER THAN US?

The answer to this hangs on the word better; it’s not so much a case of better as different. Roller derby caters for differences; it’s one of the most appealing aspects of the sport which is known for celebrating individuality. In some cases they may be a little stronger and taller than us but……being a big player or a hard hitter isn’t the be all and end all if you are smaller and faster. In truth they are as varied and unique as we are on the female side of things. Tall, small, fast, strong, hard-hitting, positional and/or agile everyone has strength it’s just finding out how they compliment each other.

ARE THEY JUST A BUNCH OF “LADS?”

Cracking dirty jokes and messing around? As for the dirty jokes I know some female skaters who could make them blush……….But in all seriousness the answer here is no. They are 100% dedicated to the sport and the progression of their regional leagues, the passion they have for the sport is no less than we have in the female leagues and the drive they have shown in starting from scratch has been nothing short of impressive. As a female skater they have always been nothing less than welcoming and supportive of me and since skating with them I have seen a real improvement in certain areas of my skating.

From a personal perspective I am fully in support of Merby in the UK. I would urge everyone to support their local Merby league alongside their local derby league, Capital City in Edinburgh, Mean City in Glasgow, The Skelpies in the Central Belt and The Tayminators in Tayside. I have had the pleasure of knowing people from most of these teams and can tell you they are a cracking bunch of guys, we should be proud to have them as a part of the Scottish Roller Derby scene. I hope to see a lot more CO-ED action in the future with my Jakey Tayzers. The Skelpies League, Bairn City are already establishing a Co -Ed league so it is onward and upward.

If you want to make up your own mind or have a male friend you’d like to wrangle into taking up the sport, the Jakey Bites (Comprising of members from 3 out of 4 of the aforementioned teams) have a bout coming up against The South Wales Silures on April the 6^th in Grangemouth. Check their Facebook page for event details and ticket sales. The venue only holds 100 so buy in advance to avoid disappointment. Bairn City men’s team will also be playing South Wales the day after on the 7^th at the same venue, for more details and ticket sales check their Facebook pages.

http://www.facebook.com/events/122071404642449/      (SKELPIES VS. SILURES)

http://www.facebook.com/events/432929060108875/     (JAKEYS VS. SILURES)

Monthly Diary of a League: Fierce Valley in February: Wiggy Stardust

This month’s diary from Fierce Valley comes from the talented Wiggy Stardust, just after the Parma Violents’ first bout of the year, against Preston Roller Girls.

Wiggy Stardust at Fierce Valley’s first public home bout (versus Wirral Whipiteres).

What first attracted you to Roller Derby?

I have Slayherella (GCRG) and Monkey Wench (FVRG) and their facebook status updates to thank for this one, their devotion to the sport was very clear and it had me intrigued. I was really interested in finding a team sport, and liked the idea of getting back into some quads, so following a conversation with my nephew I signed up for fresh meat with FVRG. I was hooked from then.

Who are your derby heroes?

In my early days of fresh meat it was all the trainers and helpers who were patient with me giving me hints, tips and wee confidence boosts, they are my hero’s, without them I would not be skating now. They made such a difference. Frocky Horror has a particular grace on skates and I envied her crossovers so much, the fact she spent so much time helping me to achieve a crossover was helpful. My heroes remain the same, the skaters around me who each week show determination and patience, both in teaching me and learning the drills.

Derby names are an important aspect of the sport, especially when
you’re starting out. How did you choose your name, and how does it reflect your personality on track?

My name ‘Wiggy Stardust’, has had a wee journey. The nickname ‘Wiggy’ has been with me since my high school days when some comical teenage boys decided that I must be wearing a wig. No matter how hard they pulled the hair remained, as did the nickname. I struggled to find a derby name and an alterego so decided to make the most of what I already I. The ‘Stardust’ part was popularly voted for by my friends through facebook and I liked it as my head is so often staring up at the stars. The final vote was made at my first scrim when my team mates agreed on ‘Wiggy Stardust’ over the runner up name ‘Wiggy Pop’

 

What was your biggest initial difficulty?

See above – Cross overs. I really struggled with them. I read blog after blog and asked advice from so many different people. I even took to walking up and downstairs side aways so that I could cross my legs over into a lunge. Eventually it was just repetition, walking with my skates on and lunging round in circles in my kitchen, in my living room, in my garden. I was determined and practice got me there. I did let out a wee cheer when I achieved my first cross over on track.

Lots of roller girls find it hard not to spread the word about their new sport. How have you been spreading the word?

Facebook led me to roller derby and helps me to spread its word. I also talk a lot about derby with my non-derby friends and family, I now have self imposed limits as to how long I talk about derby when I catch up with them. Although I do sneak it back into conversation by talking about fitness.

I think I am achieving something in getting the word out there, even my 99 year old Gran has donned my skate helmet in an attempt to learn more. Although I have asked for her not to be shown videos of roller derby as she might have something to say.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt/ done this month?

Remembering to stay focused on what the goal is, whether that be on a personal level or for the team. I have also realised that there is only the one of me and sometimes you just have to say ‘No’. I want to add that I have just played my third bout representing FVRG in the bout against Preston Roller Girls, the feeling coming off at the last Jam and looking up to the score board, I just wanted to cry with happiness. That was an amazing feeling.

What were the most difficult and the best things?

The most difficult has been balancing derby life with non derby life. It is not easy and I am not sure I will ever get it right. Thankfully I have a very supportive and understanding family and an equally as awesome derby family, and I guess that is the best thing too.

What’s new for the Fierce Valley this month?

In February we had a home bout against Preston Roller Girls. They were awesome to play against. At the end of March we are bouting away to Newcastle Roller Girls Whipping Whinnies.

Nasty Nessies 1 Year Later: Bee-Yatch

After Nasty Nessies founder Irn Bruzer launched our series of retrospective interviews with previous Nessie monthly diarists in Jan, this month we have Bee-Yatch to talk about how her feelings for derby have changed over the past year.

Bee-Yatch (centre) promoting the Nessies at Inverness Comic Con.

Like many skaters, you first encountered Roller Derby through watching “Whip It”. Now you’re mins-passed and scrimming, how do you feel about the reality of derby, compared with the image you first experienced?

The reality of derby is much better than any film! Getting to know a great bunch of girls and to do a sport that I never imagined I would be capable of is great. It’s hard work and requires a lot of commitment but I love every second of it.

Now you’ve been skating and absorbing Derby for longer, have you picked up any Derby heroes or inspirations along the way?

Inspiration for me comes from my own team mates, they share the good, the bad and the ugly and are always there to help you up and push you past the mental block that can prevent you from moving forward. I genuinely couldn’t ask for a better bunch of mishmashed people! As for heroes, well anyone who plays Roller Derby is an instant hero to me!

The last time we talked, you mentioned that the most difficult and important challenges for you had been training related – building endurance and building skills and confidence. Looking back a year, would you give yourself different advice now than you thought then?

My advice to myself would be that everyone learns at a different pace, some people pick things up simply by watching then trying it themselves and others have to break it down more, either way keep on trying and never give up. You just have to learn to get up, dust yourself down and keep on going, you will get there in the end.

And, following on from that, how do you see yourself as a skater now; what are your current challenges and inspirations?

My current challenge is to learn to put together all we have learned in training and apply it to the game. It’s good to build on endurance and skills but you need to know what to do with it all. There’s so much to think about, strategy, where you should be on the track, where’s your jammer, where’s their jammer, who is trying to push you off the track, who is about to land a hit on you….phew it’s a lot to think about/put into action all at once! How do I see myself as a skater now…hmm I think I will always be a newbie at heart!

The Nessies have, of course, recruited more fresh meat since we talked. Being one of the Experienced Skaters in the league, how do you feel about the new blood coming in? (Are they scarily better than you were, do you empathise with their initial problems?)

We currently have a great bunch of newbies, they seem to be so fearless! I see some girls after a few weeks and am so impressed with their abilities. I am not a natural born skater so I think I can relate to the more nervous newbie and keep them going with encouragement and be an example of how perseverance can keep you upright, in derby stance of course

And, finally, what’s new for the coming year with the Nessies?

A few of the Nessies went to Dundee last Friday and did some scrimming with the lovely Dundee Roller Girls. We were made to feel really welcome by all the girls and had an excellent time, we literally buzzed all the way home so thank you Dundee!

As for what we have up our sleeve for this coming year, 2013 is going to put NNRG on the map so keep your eyes peeled.

 

Next month’s retrospective will be by Natorious Red!

Monthly Diary Special: Nasty Nessies 1 Year Later: Irn Bruzer

The Nasty Nessies have been writing to their dear monthly diary on the blog now for more than a year. In the spirit of self-improvement and the new year, we decided to go back to the first ever Nasty Nessies diarist, founder Irn Bruzer, and ask her what’s changed since she was interviewed way back in 2011.

Irn Bruzer (now with appropriately blue hair!) poses with derby-wife Black Death at their Christmas skate.

So: Way back in October 2011, you told us how Whip It had alerted to you to the existence of Roller Derby; how has the past year changed and affirmed your initial impressions of derby?
Well firstly it’s definitely a way to find and make amazing friends. Some of the girls would be the kind you would walk past in the street, but now you wouldn’t know where you would be without them! It’s definitely got the excitement and community that you see in the film, just not as much theatrics.

The Nessies have gotten a lot of local awareness from appearing at various events (the Inverness comic con, for example). How hard is it to organise these things, and what’s the experience and reaction been like from spectators.
Well luckily for us, Comic Con was a huge event already organised. All it took was a few emails and a meeting. It was also even better as we were allowed to skate around the venue which helped greatly with gaining interest. We got a lot of interest but many of them were 16. Hopefully they will keep in the loop for the next two years!

Now the Nessies have a large number of mins-passed skaters, how close do you feel you are to your first bout? Do you have anyone in mind to pop your bouting cherry?
2013 is definitely our year! We have some great newbies who show a lot of potential too. It’s taken a bit of time to find our groove but now we have, there will be a Nessie takeover!

Over the past year, what’ve the best and most difficult things been for the Nessies in general? What advice would you give now to a league just starting out?
The biggest issue we have had is recruitment and keeping people! I know all teams go through this, but Inverness just hasn’t been taken by the derby bug yet which is disappointing. We are planning a fresh recruitment drive and we have a few things in the pipeline so hopefully we can get more people on eight wheels! I think the best advice I could give is just constantly recruit, never give up or push it back for a while. You can never have enough people as you never know who you will lose unexpectedly.

Recently, the Nessies popped up to Shetland to help out Shetland Roller Derby training. How does it feel to be at the level now where you can “pay back” to the community by helping out in the same way that GCRG et al helped you out at the start?
Our trip to Shetland was fantastic; being on the opposite level was great as we could see how far we have come! We saw some great up and coming skaters up there and amazing determination from some newbies!

Finally, the next year looks like being a potentially exciting one for Scottish Roller Derby in general. What’ve the Nessies got planned?
Now that would be telling wouldn’t it! You’ll just have to wait and see!