Bouting Over the Rainbow: LOCO Does London Pride

This upcoming July 28th, LOCO London will be bouting against LOCO Stratford and London's Violet Femmes will be facing off against the Royal City Rollergirls, all in the name of pride. The bout will coincide with London Pride celebrations and proceeds from the bout will go to the London chapter of PFLAG. I've said before that roller derby and queer activism can and should go hand in hand. And I'm am so, so proud that my league is supporting PFLAG.

PFLAG is a treasure. It is on the front lines of community support. It is where confused or scared but loving parents go. It is where friends who are so full of love they want to lend a hand to the community their loved one is part of go. It is where coworkers, educators, clergy and people with questions can go. PFLAG saves lives and families and its existence and success are a testament to the power of love, empathy and community organizing.  Watching members share their stories will make you weep.

PFLAG deserves community support and I hope folks in the London area will join in to enjoy the thrill of the bout and the joy of community involvement. Details below!

Rock the Rainbow
July 28th
Medway Arena,
119 Sherwood Forest Square
London, ON

Doors open at 6:00 pm

Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Another Day, Another Dame: Roller Derby Girl of the Day

Recently, the blog Roller Derby Girl of the Day was drawn to my attention. Still fairly new, the blog features individual roller derby girls, nominated either by themselves or friends, from around the world. Written by Hijinx of the Rollergettes in Toronto, Canada, the blog draws attention to the faces of derby and not just the ones that grace WFTDA's top teams, lovely though those faces are. The blog, wonderfully, aims to feature women who inspire you, for any derby reason. Whether they got you into the sport or they are your secret derby crush, the women featured on this blog are there because they make a difference in the world of derby.

There are a few key reasons that a blog like this is important. We can all benefit from role models. And it's crucial to remember that role models don't just skate the hardest or block with the most elegance and force. Though the blog already features immensely talented players, it's about more than athletic ability. Hijinx's request for nominees called out derby shop owners, bloggers, and any woman who inspires her fellow players to work toward being their best and to get all they can out of this amazing sport. This blog works much the same way that derby does, but on a bigger scale, using the internet rather than sweaty osmosis (inspiration is soluble, you see). There is so much power in the inspiration players give each other and because of blogging efforts like this one, that inspiration can go so far beyond the bench, beyond the rink and all over the world.

Frankly, I wish I'd thought of it myself.

So, my challenge to you is this - nominate someone. Flood this awesome blogger's inbox with a bevy of amazing women, because they are the lifeblood of our sport. When we remind ourselves exactly how someone inspires us, they buoy us up all over again. Do yourself a favour and take the time to be inspired. You are surrounded by sources of strength. Share them.

Some of my heroes - the LOCO VPs, plus our capital P Vansterdamn, who is rather delightfully the very  first Roller Derby Girl of the Day

That's How We Became The Derby Bunch

Yesterday, LOCO held its second annual Skate-A-Thon. I've blogged previously about the event, which features both derby girls and picnics. Together, LOCO's skaters raised $950 dollars, 25% of which goes to YMCA Strong Kids with the remainder going to the league. Skaters from LOCO raised pledges with the promise that they would skate around London's park walkways for an hour, before settling down to eat burgers and remarkably good desserts.

Photo credit: Natalie 'Vegas' Buragina

I myself skated for about fifteen minutes before face-planting halfway down a hill. Most of the folks who saw my left knee afterward asked, “Why weren't you wearing your knee pads?” I was. Friction is a powerful force. Luckily, so are mini cheesecakes. After lunch, I regretted nothing.

Because a lot of our skaters are moms, we had a great deal of derby kids with us yesterday, some well-approaching teenhood and some still learning to toddle. Seeing fellow players with their families is a bit like seeing them off-skate, only more so. One player's son likes to play with derby wheels. Another player can make balloon hats, much to the delight of all of the children and many of the adults. A league is a kind of sweaty, cobbled-together family and events like this remind us that derby leagues are really composed of several families, loaning us their sisters, moms and sons for a few practices a week.

Of course, having children isn't the only defining feature of a family. The league itself is proof of that. I suppose that's why I think social and community-oriented events are so necessary for the health of a league. The kind of bonding derby offers is sudden and intense. It's remarkable how crashing into someone can make you feel like you know them. And you do, in a way. But getting the chance to talk to your fellow players, to meet their friends and partners, to see them out of their knee socks makes the difference between, say, knowing Cthulhu Lemon on the track and knowing Meghan for the rest of the week off-skate.

There are a lot of powerful, hurtful stereotypes about friendships between women. We're often told by entertainment and media advertising told that female friendship is rooted solely in buying shoes together, or in mutual body insecurity or that female friendships whither in the face of the urge to pursue heterosexual bliss. Making friends with other women can be tough. A lot of players I've known have said some variation on, “I've never had many female friends.” When so many of these kinds of women get together, we get surprised by how much we often end up liking each other, even though we're not in a yogurt commercial.

Some players only come to roller derby for the exercise and the physical thrill of playing a fast-paced game. But the majority, I think, end up staying for the family. And the barbecue.