Sorry everyone, we only just got back from the nationals roller derby event Derby Royale in Palmerston North this afternoon so todays blogpost is a little late, but better than never! Come back next week to find out more about derby royale, we'll have something up for you all ASAP. For now, check out this post from one of our amazing freshmeat (soon to be stale meat) who put together this lovely post for you all, on her experiences as a DD freshie.
Hi, my name is Vicky and let’s just say this year I have become all about roller derby.
Hi, my name is Vicky and let’s just say this year I have become all about roller derby.
I initially decided to come along for a
look as one of my friends wanted to join but didn’t want to go alone. I am very
clumsy in everyday life so thought it would be worth a laugh. I showed up at
one of the family skate days and put on some skates, having no previous
experience on skates, I was naive in thinking that it would be easy. Needless
to say a few painful hours later and I had just learnt to stand let alone roll
around the track. I went home thinking that maybe this wasn’t for me, but
decided to come along to the first class of the fresh meat intake and try my
luck.
I was glad to see that most of the other
girls (and boy), that turned up looked just as nervous as I was. The first
thing that I noticed was how the teachers skated around so effortlessly. They
looked like they had been born on skates. After a bit of reassurance that in a
few years I too may be that awesome, I stuck with it. Week by week the group of
us slowly got better. There were exciting triumphs along the way, from the
first time we learned to successfully do a T-stop, to the first time we gave a
whip. I was just as excited to see the progress of my fellow fresh meat
classmates as I was to see my own progress.
There are so many things that I would love to talk about in depth including how exciting it was when everyone started to get their own derby gear. I remember sitting on the benches admiring everybody’s new gear and the “cool colours” it came in. But because I don’t have much time I will talk about my most memorable time. It was going along to watch/NSO my first scrimmage game. I don’t know how good I was at NSOing because I spent half the time gawking at the league girls. The way they would take a hit, be knocked to the ground and get straight back up again, catch up to the pack and give as good as they got. I could see the determination not to let their team members down. The sisterhood I saw between the derby girls is defiantly something I want to be a part of.
Getting involved with Dunedin Derby has
been one of the best things I have done. I have challenged myself in so many
ways this year. I have learned more about derby than I ever thought possible
(WFTDA rules included, sigh). Whether it be talking to someone in the street
about roller derby or telling my friends and family about my progress, I feel
proud to say that I am apart of roller derby in Dunedin and am aspiring to be
part of the league some day in the future.
- Victoria Paul
Check out our latest youtube video for some awesome hits from the Triple Beheader earlier this year in anticipation of our derby royale post next week!
Derby love
xxx
