[nattiej1976]

I have just done one of the possibly most stupid things I ever have done as an adult, and gone and signed up to start roller derby with my local league............I really must be eager to break myself or something.........but really am looking forward to the challenge. Any other Derby Girls here???

[Lara's mom]

Not me!!! My old bones are way too brittle for such an "extreme sport." Best of luck to you though. It sounds like loads of fun!!!

[Todd]

Roller derby, lol

Should be fun as long as you don't crack ur skull open. Be sure to wear a helmet. lol

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

I have just done one of the possibly most stupid things I ever have done as an adult, and gone and signed up to start roller derby with my local league............I really must be eager to break myself or something.........but really am looking forward to the challenge. Any other Derby Girls here???

This brought me back to my teen years with Charlie O and the Blonde Amazon Joanie Weston of the San Francisco Bay area Bombers. I watched roller derby every weekend for several years in my teens and loved it. Truth is, I was actually a very good roller skater in my youth and always thought as big as I was it would be a blast but alas no teams in the Northwest and by the time I was ready, they seemed to have disappeared. Oh well.....Hope you have fun.

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by Todd

Roller derby, lol

Should be fun as long as you don't crack ur skull open. Be sure to wear a helmet. lol

They make us wear helmets Todd, even if I didnt want too I have too, along with knee guards, elbow, wrist guards and mouth guards...........hubby is calling it rugby on wheels.....LOL. First training session tonight. I think I might be a bit sore tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Yogi

This brought me back to my teen years with Charlie O and the Blonde Amazon Joanie Weston of the San Francisco Bay area Bombers. I watched roller derby every weekend for several years in my teens and loved it. Truth is, I was actually a very good roller skater in my youth and always thought as big as I was it would be a blast but alas no teams in the Northwest and by the time I was ready, they seemed to have disappeared. Oh well.....Hope you have fun.

thanks Yogi, derby did die out for a long time, amusing to see its recent revival. Will let you know how I pull up tomorrow morning when i wake up.............IF i wake up....lol

[Yogi]

We have a revival here in Seattle now also but only women's league. I don't care for it as the track is smaller and instead of being banked on the corners it is level. So no real speed. Takes the fun out of flying over the guard rails....

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by Yogi

We have a revival here in Seattle now also but only women's league. I don't care for it as the track is smaller and instead of being banked on the corners it is level. So no real speed. Takes the fun out of flying over the guard rails....

LOL the leauge im going into is flat track too, but we are in a smallish sort of town, and only have access to flat track, but if I begin to master it, and want to extend myself further, would love to give the banked track a go. If i live that long.

[reeskujo]

You crazy Aussie woman!!!!...Have fun and can't wait to hear how practice went....Be careful don't need you disappearing to a hospital bed!

[nattiej1976]

One word..........."OUCH"

[nattiej1976]

I has bruises......

[gambler-girl]

Originally Posted by Yogi

This brought me back to my teen years with Charlie O and the Blonde Amazon Joanie Weston of the San Francisco Bay area Bombers. I watched roller derby every weekend for several years in my teens and loved it. Truth is, I was actually a very good roller skater in my youth and always thought as big as I was it would be a blast but alas no teams in the Northwest and by the time I was ready, they seemed to have disappeared. Oh well.....Hope you have fun.

Wasn't there a 'Skinny Mini Muligan' or something like that.... back then?

GG

[Todd]

I used to watch it back in 1999-2000 from time to time when I was really young. The program was called Roller Jam and it would come on Friday nights before ECW Wrestling on TNN (Before it was called SpikeTV).

[Lara's mom]

I remember Skinny Mini! Back in the 60's I believe it was...

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

I remember Skinny Mini! Back in the 60's I believe it was...

Yep, how could I forget skinny mini. It was in the late 60 and early 70's.

[nattiej1976]

well, i woke up this morning...........thats a really good start. :P My golly gosh im sore, from head to toe, but it was soooooo worth it, i think i am going to be willing to put up with this ache every week (hoping it will get better over time anyway as my body gets used to skating again). It was sooooooo much fun, I never realised how much fun it could be

[Todd]

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

well, i woke up this morning...........thats a really good start. :P My golly gosh im sore, from head to toe, but it was soooooo worth it, i think i am going to be willing to put up with this ache every week (hoping it will get better over time anyway as my body gets used to skating again). It was sooooooo much fun, I never realised how much fun it could be

How exactly do you play roller derby? I have heard that the stuff is staged or planned out on TV. Is this true or is it really a competitive sport? Regardless, it's got to hurt!

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by Todd

How exactly do you play roller derby? I have heard that the stuff is staged or planned out on TV. Is this true or is it really a competitive sport? Regardless, it's got to hurt!

The leauge Im learning certainly is not a staged production......lol.I am learning about a full body contact sport. (dont i still know about it today, still sore )LOL
I would suspect for the TV, like the wrestling sort of thing that perhaps there may have been some expectation for spectacular bouts, falls and spills, so there may have been over exaggeration of tackles and falls or extra stunts thrown in!
I have actually not seen any of the TV shows talked about in previous posts, some of them a little before my time, and to be honest I had not ever heard of roller derby until about 6 months ago. I think up until recent years, roller derby was not well recognised outside of the US. I might have to try and find some snippets of these tv shows perhaps


Here is an extract from some of the paper work I got on monday. Might help explain.

"Roller Derby is played on quad skates around a flat oval cicuit. Its an adrenaline-fueled, fast and furious team sport that involve strategic play, knocks and blocks and plenty of booty action.
A RD game is called a bout and is comprised of 2 30 minute periods. Each period is made upf of an unlimited number of jams which last 2 minutes or less. A jam consitst of 2 teams, 5 players each; 4 blockers and one point scoring player, called the jammer. Blockers from both teams skate together in a pack and are continuosly lapped by the jammers, initially the jammers have to get through the pack and then on their second and future trips around the cicuit they get a point for every opponent they pass. Using legal blocks and contact, the blockers in the pack try and stop the other teams jammer from passing"

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

The leauge Im learning certainly is not a staged production......lol.I am learning about a full body contact sport. (dont i still know about it today, still sore )LOL
I would suspect for the TV, like the wrestling sort of thing that perhaps there may have been some expectation for spectacular bouts, falls and spills, so there may have been over exaggeration of tackles and falls or extra stunts thrown in!
I have actually not seen any of the TV shows talked about in previous posts, some of them a little before my time, and to be honest I had not ever heard of roller derby until about 6 months ago. I think up until recent years, roller derby was not well recognised outside of the US. I might have to try and find some snippets of these tv shows perhaps


Here is an extract from some of the paper work I got on monday. Might help explain.

"Roller Derby is played on quad skates around a flat oval cicuit. Its an adrenaline-fueled, fast and furious team sport that involve strategic play, knocks and blocks and plenty of booty action.
A RD game is called a bout and is comprised of 2 30 minute periods. Each period is made upf of an unlimited number of jams which last 2 minutes or less. A jam consitst of 2 teams, 5 players each; 4 blockers and one point scoring player, called the jammer. Blockers from both teams skate together in a pack and are continuosly lapped by the jammers, initially the jammers have to get through the pack and then on their second and future trips around the cicuit they get a point for every opponent they pass. Using legal blocks and contact, the blockers in the pack try and stop the other teams jammer from passing"

Yep, the rules are still the same but without a banked oval track, trying to get up speed is far more difficult. The Roller Derby Todd spoke of in the late 1990's was not as good as the original in the 60's I grew up with. Like wrestling, whether ones believes it or not you have to be an athlete. Anyone who assumes otherwise can and will easily get seriously injured. Many professional wrestler that is around today has suffered broken necks, legs etc. I have seen these in person growing up as well as when my sons were younger on pay per view events. In one case a guy jumping off the top rope came down the wrong way and the lower leg fractured and came through his skin. There was no 5 second delay at the time of that pay per view. Not to mention one of the Hart boys died during an entrance gone wrong. I can tell you from wrestling in school growing up, it does not take much to get injured or injure someone else permanently. Anytime you have a contact sport there is the increased likelihood of serious injury. Mine are all primarily from wrestling and football.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

Yep, the rules are still the same but without a banked oval track, trying to get up speed is far more difficult. The Roller Derby Todd spoke of in the late 1990's was not as good as the original in the 60's I grew up with. Like wrestling, whether ones believes it or not you have to be an athlete. Anyone who assumes otherwise can and will easily get seriously injured. Many professional wrestler that is around today has suffered broken necks, legs etc. I have seen these in person growing up as well as when my sons were younger on pay per view events. In one case a guy jumping off the top rope came down the wrong way and the lower leg fractured and came through his skin. There was no 5 second delay at the time of that pay per view. Not to mention one of the Hart boys died during an entrance gone wrong. I can tell you from wrestling in school growing up, it does not take much to get injured or injure someone else permanently. Anytime you have a contact sport there is the increased likelihood of serious injury. Mine are all primarily from wrestling and football.

Yes, you're right. I myself am actually a big professional wrestling fan. Are you a fan or was it just your sons? I think I remember the ankle injury you are speaking of. I believe it was Sid Vicious who came off the top and landed right on his ankle and broke it on a WCW PPV. I remember the Owen Hart incident too. it was actually his death anniversary last Sunday night. We did a tribute show on the wrestling radio/podcast I do on Blog Talk Radio. Like you said, pro wrestling is staged but the injuries and pain are real. There are also those companies that used all kinds of weapons like tables, chairs, ladders, etc. A lot of this was seen in ECW in the day. Now you've got companies like CZW where they're using light tubes/barbed wire, thumbtacs, and all kinds of stuff on one another. It is staged but the effects are all real. pretty crazy lol. I actually write for a few pro wrestling websites. One is Camel Clutch Blog.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Todd

Yes, you're right. I myself am actually a big professional wrestling fan. Are you a fan or was it just your sons? I think I remember the ankle injury you are speaking of. I believe it was Sid Vicious who came off the top and landed right on his ankle and broke it on a WCW PPV. I remember the Owen Hart incident too. it was actually his death anniversary last Sunday night. We did a tribute show on the wrestling radio/podcast I do on Blog Talk Radio. Like you said, pro wrestling is staged but the injuries and pain are real. There are also those companies that used all kinds of weapons like tables, chairs, ladders, etc. A lot of this was seen in ECW in the day. Now you've got companies like CZW where they're using light tubes/barbed wire, thumbtacs, and all kinds of stuff on one another. It is staged but the effects are all real. pretty crazy lol. I actually write for a few pro wrestling websites. One is Camel Clutch Blog.

I think if you check, barbed wire, tables, tacks etc have been around long before you were even born. Hard core wrestling was around when I was a kid and is not new or recent. In Japan it was a real big deal for many years.

Nattie, here is a link to the San Francisco bay Area Bombers on the banked oval. Check out the video clip....
http://www.baycitybombers.com/