The first bout I ever attended

It must have been 100 degrees inside the Skate-a-Round last night, and the sticky wet air hung heavy around us as we prepared for the bout. My husband carried our 14-month-old on his back as we measured and taped off the track on which my teammates would compete. Volunteers, my husband included, learned how to help out with scoring as non-skating officials. The visiting team prepared in the party room, and both teams took a few laps around the track to warm up.

I was not competing, and I was glad. I am fresh meat, having just begun my derby training less than a month ago, and will not be competing in a bout for a while now. I still have a lot to learn and will have to pass assessments before that happens, but it was a memorable night for me nonetheless. I had never been to a derby bout before. I've done my first crossover. I have skates and pads and a mouth guard. I love skating and being with the team. I even have a derby name--Jenny Two Shoes. But last night, I still wondered... When the time came, would I have the courage to go into a bout?

My friends looked beautiful yet intimidating in their fishnets, short shorts, and dark eye makeup. They laced up skates and strapped on knee pads, and I got nervous. Envisioning myself in their shoes made me feel a little sick, and I had to keep reminding myself that we were not sending them into the Hunger Games. My friend who introduced me to roller derby, Anne R. Ki, was competing for the first time and I was excited and nervous for her. I had watched some bout footage online, but I still wasn't sure what to expect.

They introduced the refs and the players on each team, ran through a short demo, we all stood for the National Anthem, and then it began. Raven Maniac flew around the track in her sparkling twirl skirt, graceful and powerful, racking up points as jammer. I saw most of my team members take a turn jamming, including Anne R. Ki, who scored eight points and got to call off a jam early as lead jammer in her very first bout. The blockers worked together in the pack and did a great job of making a hole for the jammers. I realized what a great job our coaches had done preparing the team. By halftime we were leading by about 100 points.

It was also confusing and took me a while to learn how to follow the game--partly because my sweaty baby was squirming out of my arms as I tried to watch. It was hard to hear and understand why people were getting sent to the penalty box, which happened frequently. There were also a few falls and collisions that necessitated a pause in the game and attention from an EMT. It was a little scary, but scary turned into awesome when Anne R. Ki recovered from a fall that hurt her knee and went back out to skate a few jams later. The bout ended with the URGE having won by nearly 200 points. One girl on our team, Full Metal Arsonist, skated the victory lap holding an ice pack to the side of her face. Hardcore! Inspiring. I knew I wanted to be part of it. And then there was the after-party. And the after-after-party.

Over the next few months I'll post about my journey from brand-new skater to learning skills and passing assessments to eventually competing in my first bout. I'll share why I decided to join derby and the reasons I love it, along with how we make it work with three small children. I know there are people out there like me, longing to be on the inside of an adventure like derby, but perhaps a little scared to get started. Don't be afraid! You'll miss out on so much. Stay tuned for my next post as I share what made me decide to do something no one, including me, thought I'd ever do: Lace up some borrowed skates and hit the rink for my first derby practice.

In the meantime, come skate with us!


~Jenny Two Shoes~