Back in April, our beginning (red) and intermediate (yellow) skaters (collectively called “special sauce”) was given the opportunity to scrimmage for the first time. Sure, we’d done scrimmage scenarios in the past, but never back to back to back to back (you get the idea) jams with teams and scoring and real refs and what not. It was all very exciting! Especially since some of the newer skaters had only been there for a couple of practices, and I would’ve been immobilized with terror if I had been them. But everyone played very enthusiastically, and we all learned a lot! And, no one was injured, so bonus!
Even though this scrimmage was in April, I wanted to post some pictures and video here now because I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately when it comes to derby-land, and I wanted to give myself the opportunity to revisit a derby event that was fun and rewarding for me. I’m not a great skater. I block my own teammates (whoops!) and I’m about as slow as a turtle, but I’ve improved a lot in the year I’ve been skating. And I will get better if I keep working at it. Here are some pictures of the scrimmage, so you can visualize what it was all about.
Now, are you ready to see the actual video footage??? Ah, take a deep breath (and I’m saying this to myself before I actually watch this) and hit play! This video is long, but don’t worry – my epic jam is the first one in the video so you don’t have to watch the whole thing (unless you want to). I’m wearing the black leggings with the silver shorts, and you’ll also notice that I’m wearing the black jammer cap with the silver star on the side. That means I get to score points! I immediately made it through the pack, then again on my second pass. Trouble Axel, my jam coach, just kept telling me to keep going since the other jammer hadn’t even made it through the pack yet. It felt like I went around the track and through the pack like five times, but on my third attempt at getting through the pack, I neglected to slow down as I skated right into them and got a back-block penalty, which sent me to the penalty box. BOOOOOOO!!! Ok, so maybe I deserved it. But still, I scored some points for my team, which happens every time the jammer passes a player on the opposite team.
Scrimmaging was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to doing it again sometime, and in the future, I will try to NOT block my own jammer or take her down. Let’s just work on that. But it’s like I see that jammer cap and I go completely mental…oops, sorry team. Oh well…it happens to…everyone…???
WHEN YOU BLOCK YOUR OWN JAMMER:
Related posts: …And in National Roller Derby News…, Why Can’t I Quit You, Roller Derby?, Getting Beat Up by the Roller Derby Blues
Fuzzy Undertones 
Yay!!! Looks like lots of fun and I’m glad you posted the video! 🙂
Thanks, Nadia! It *was* a lot of fun and I’m encouraging the coaches to let us do more scrimmaging. Thanks for stopping by! 😀
Oh, Marci, I’m totally grinning from ear to ear (and ok a little laughing cuz NO ONE is skating fast; should I be laughing?) but you look SO DAMN cute and WARRIOR like and you are working it!! Who cares if you killed your teammate; YOU ROCK!! I feel like you’re my daughter and I used to watch you on the Kinder Care playground and now I’m watching you on your grownup playground – all proud and happy!!
Keep at it; give it up. Who cares? You showed up, and that’s what matters. Awesome!
Thanks, Sammy! It was a lot of fun and very exciting! It’s funny, so many people commented about how everyone was skating slow, but really, the sport of roller derby has changed A LOT in the past couple of decades…the pack tends to skate pretty slowly; it’s the jammers who need to skate fast! Although, even when I’m jamming I am pretty darn slow 😀 Thanks so much for the high praise and encouragement – I’ll happily adopt you as my Internet Mom! 🐱 ❤
SaaaWEEET JAM!! Well done Gritty Cat! I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. Way to be all cool and rocktastic! Thanks for sharing the derby scrimmage. 🙂
Thanks so much, Ava! Don’t be too jealous…I spent half that sweet jam in the penalty box XD ! I hope we get more scrimmage time – we’ll only get better with more practice (and perhaps I’ll stop taking down my own teammates…) 😉
This is awesome. Looks like fun… in slo-mo 😀 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Elsie! Glad you enjoyed it. Modern roller derby is actually not terribly fast, except for the jammer who has to break through the pack and skate laps. Or, also, if you’re me and can’t skate very fast at all! 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
That’s more like a roller derby I could participate in though you’re still not going to find me on skates. I’d be holding on to the others just to keep from falling. So when are you going to graduate to that rough and tumble fast-paced roller derby on the sloped tracks like I used to see on TV. That stuff was scary looking.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Ha! Actually, roller derby today is not much like the derby of the 70’s and 80’s. Most derby teams now play on flat tracks, and there are stiff penalties for throwing elbows or intentional violence. That stuff was mostly staged like “professional” wrestling! You might not know it by looking at the video I posted of our scrimmage, but roller derby is actually a very athletic sport – just take a look at my post about Scald Eagle (one of the Ladies I Love in my A to Z Challenge posts) and you’ll see what I mean. Thanks for stopping by, Lee! 😀
Marci – On Saturday, I’m doing a “may I introduce you to” shout-out to you – I have been scrolling back through your Ladies I Love and falling in love all over again. I hope some of my readers will enjoy you, too 🙂
Oh my goodness, Internet Mom! That is so awesome…thank you so much! I had a great time doing the Ladies I Love series and hope that your readers enjoy them as much as you did. Thanks for sharing my blog – that means a lot to me! ❤
Yeah Marci! This is awesome. I can’t help to think of you as I think of Ellen Page in one of my favorite movies called Whip It. If only I lived near you. I would sign up to be part of this. 👍 Glad you shared. I’ll be posting soon.
Thanks, Misty! Whip It was an awesome movie – Drew Barrymore is one of my favorite actors and it was the first movie she directed. I’m sure there’s a derby league near you – you should DO IT!!! 😀
I would so love to do it but I can’t even get a moment to finish a post I’ve been working on for over a week now. I really need cut back on other responsibilities so I can move the things I enjoy to the top of my to-do list. How do you do it Marci?
Ahhh…the question of the ages…well, honestly, I have had to cut back on roller derby a bit. It is a huge investment, physically and emotionally! I needed more time to focus on coursework, writing and everything else…so I totally understand where you’re coming from. Sometimes cutting back on responsibilities is the best thing, fo sho! ❤
Super Cool ! Cheers ~
Thanks, Laura! I appreciate you stopping by! 😀
Always a pleasure, wish I had more time to hang out….Tthank you for supporting my art! I really appreciate it :0)) Have a great Monday Marci :0))
I love your art! I hope you saw the first Fine Art Felines post I did – I featured one of your pieces (https://fuzzyundertones.com/2014/03/14/fine-art-felines-friday-gato-de-los-muertos-by-laura-barbosa/), which I fell in love with immediately 🙂 I’d love to have you do a painting for me, but I don’t know what it would be! I will let you know when I figure that out 😉 Have a great week, Laura!