After several months of getting my track legs, I showed up this afternoon at our local skating rink to join the other women wanting to play roller derby.
One of my friends/colleagues is fresh meat and ever since she got interested in the sport, I was a little green with envy. First, I recalled how much I loved roller skating at at Skate Inn on Saturday afternoons. I won't tell you what music they played then, cause it would really date me. And then Ian and I have skated almost every chance we got on Sunday afternoon or Tues, Thurs, or weekend nights. We love attending bouts and my dad came along to the last local one.
He said, "If I was under forty and female, I'd try out." My dad is so super cool. Sigh.
The bouts are fabulous. You hate it for the skater when they smack onto the concrete floor or fly five feet and then smack. But it's delicious. I find it appealing in the same way that I enjoyed the only professional wrestling match I attended: The athleticism amazes me.
I suited up in my skates, my riding helmet sans visor, and strapped on knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. I don't have my mouth guard yet. Then I glided out to the floor. I'd mastered the T-stop a few months ago, but I can't plough for shit. And I really want to do that hockey stop/turn.Someday.
And skate backwards. I never learned to do that. It's not really part of flat track derby, but I'll work on those skillz 'til I got 'em.
To make the team you have to go around the track 20 times in five minutes. I went around 23 or 24. So I made the first cut. But, that's all I had. I love to skate fast and skate hard. All that other stuff, the drills where you squat and weave and all...I'm so bad. I felt like a fraud. I got speed, but that's about it.
Tomorrow night is another practice. I bought a proper skating helmet, a half-dozen pairs of padded athletic socks, and volleyball kneepads, which you wear under your regular knee pads for double the pleasure.
We bought skates in March from Sin City. Ian loves skating too. If his job allowed, I'm sure he'd sign up to become a ref.
So that's what I'm into. I'm exhausted. I have a big bruise on my shin from hitting a seat twice when I didn't stop in time. Oh, and I sweat like a wildebeest. It was dripping off my ponytail. The sweat embarrassed me. So did my goofiness going through the skills testing. I attribute it to my fast time around the track. I put all my effort into that and had no oomph in reserve for later.
Hope to share photos soon.
