This past Saturday, I joined my fellow LOCO folk and headed to New Hamburg to see London's Violet Femmes go up against Durham Region Roller Derby's Atom Smashers. It was great to see my brother Matt, our Head NSO-in-training in action: he's shaping up to be a great resource for the LOCO family. My partner Antonio also jam-timed, looking strangely official in his tie (for comparison, I was wearing a Tool sweatshirt). The arena was bracingly cold, but spirits were high.
To get used to calls and practice recognizing signals, I had my first taste of penalty-wrangling, running after the pack and relaying penalty calls to the two penalty-trackers (Matt and a new volunteer, Adrian). I felt a bit overwhelmed at first - everyone's-yelling-what-number-was-that-who-am-I et cetera. Soon, I adjusted and actually really enjoyed running in circles, writing things down like "W-360-L" and yelling at the wrong tracker even after multiple corrections. It was interesting how I had to consciously choose to watch the refs, rather than the pack (which is pretty attention-grabbing). It was a bit like trying to unfocus your eyes while girls in hot pants dive for your ankles.
I learned a few things yesterday. One is that four-digit numbers are a pain in the ass and they should be made illegal. With refs and NSOs barking and new penalties coming up fast, there isn't time to say "7635". There just isn't and the added numbers up the chance of a mistake being made. On the flipside, officials also need to be more specific: if a skater's number is 7/8, the officials should establish that this number is properly pronounced as "seven eight", not "seventy eight". Everyone involved in the bout should contribute to its smooth execution, even as early as choosing the number you'll wear.
Most importantly, the skaters seemed to be having a good time and I saw some joking at the jam line, which warms the cockles of my derby heart. Atom Smashers took it home with a score of 223-132, with the Femmes trying to close the gap in the second half.
Afterward, it was time to locate and demolish food, which was done most thoroughly.Then I woke up and it was Monday - surely the sign of a bout well-done.
In other news, two of our skaters made me a ref dress and it it is the best. I will study harder in hopes of earning the right to wear it.
Coming up in future posts: how awesome junior roller derby is and developing a sense of community in your league.
Showing posts with label referees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label referees. Show all posts
Monday, 15 October 2012
Monday, 1 October 2012
Weekend Update: Not Quite SNL
Often, my blog posts consist of short essays, but as I get my behind to practice more often, it's easier to have relevant personal updates, such as today's. Thanks to some great support from league-mates and a recent opening in my schedule, I've been able to make more time for derby-related activities.
On Friday, I had my first evening in LOCO London's new practice space. Because my anxiety and schedule has often led to me having long stretches off-skate, I often hang out with the new skaters, refreshing the skills and body memory affected by my absences. That night, I finally seem to have mastered the proper T-stop and I've had some promising developments toward my transitions. My most commonly used stop is a kind of wonky snowplow with most of my weight on my right foot and resulting in a slight turn to the left. Given the demands of reffing, mastering the T-stop and transitions are a must and I'm happy to have made some progress. London's more experienced refs often double as skate coaches and they're patient, insightful teachers. Getting back to practice was a sweaty pleasure.
On the following Saturday, LOCO Stratford and Kitchener bouted in New Hamburg, Ontario, painting the town pink and green, supplemented by skaters from other LOCO teams. I had to be in London for a birthday party (my own) but checking out the bout photos after was kind of a thrill. The excellent Joe Mac produces great photos and we look pretty darn good.
Then Sunday happened. I tried skating on Sunday afternoon, but was too sore to keep it up. Naturally, I did what any skater does when it's no longer time to roll. I alternated watching other skaters' techniques and form and looking at my smartphone. Realizing how much I've lost from spending so much time off skate has been difficult. I need to rebuild my ankle strength, get back my balance, and work on my endurance for outside pack reffing just to name a few. I'm looking forward to spending more time on-skate and getting those things back.
It goes to show that you don't have to kick your own ass every time you practice (unless you want to) but that maintaining frequent skate time is crucial to avoiding that slow creep of lost skills and physical condition. The derby-ready body is conditioned by the time we spend on skates. Too much time in your street shoes and you'll have to work to win that body back. Luckily, you've got a team behind you, sometimes coming up at fast speeds.
Upcoming excitement includes continuing to study the ref handbook, a bout on October 13th, and a LOCO skater, NSO and ref clinic in November. It's a good time to be back on wheels.
On Friday, I had my first evening in LOCO London's new practice space. Because my anxiety and schedule has often led to me having long stretches off-skate, I often hang out with the new skaters, refreshing the skills and body memory affected by my absences. That night, I finally seem to have mastered the proper T-stop and I've had some promising developments toward my transitions. My most commonly used stop is a kind of wonky snowplow with most of my weight on my right foot and resulting in a slight turn to the left. Given the demands of reffing, mastering the T-stop and transitions are a must and I'm happy to have made some progress. London's more experienced refs often double as skate coaches and they're patient, insightful teachers. Getting back to practice was a sweaty pleasure.
On the following Saturday, LOCO Stratford and Kitchener bouted in New Hamburg, Ontario, painting the town pink and green, supplemented by skaters from other LOCO teams. I had to be in London for a birthday party (my own) but checking out the bout photos after was kind of a thrill. The excellent Joe Mac produces great photos and we look pretty darn good.
Then Sunday happened. I tried skating on Sunday afternoon, but was too sore to keep it up. Naturally, I did what any skater does when it's no longer time to roll. I alternated watching other skaters' techniques and form and looking at my smartphone. Realizing how much I've lost from spending so much time off skate has been difficult. I need to rebuild my ankle strength, get back my balance, and work on my endurance for outside pack reffing just to name a few. I'm looking forward to spending more time on-skate and getting those things back.
It goes to show that you don't have to kick your own ass every time you practice (unless you want to) but that maintaining frequent skate time is crucial to avoiding that slow creep of lost skills and physical condition. The derby-ready body is conditioned by the time we spend on skates. Too much time in your street shoes and you'll have to work to win that body back. Luckily, you've got a team behind you, sometimes coming up at fast speeds.
Upcoming excitement includes continuing to study the ref handbook, a bout on October 13th, and a LOCO skater, NSO and ref clinic in November. It's a good time to be back on wheels.
Thursday, 28 June 2012
The Rules: For Derby, Not Dating
Naturally, transitioning into a trainee ref has offered me some new perspective on the game. What's come to my attention recently is how we, as lovers of the sport, relate to its actual rules. This will naturally vary from league to league - depending on the league's relationship to WFTDA and/or its level of competition, for example - but there seems to be a widening gap as the game spreads. In our rush to don the fishnets and learn transitions, sometimes we forget the particulars of the rules that shape the sport. Roller derby has a complicated rule-set and media coverage often confuses the issue further, but we owe it to our skaters to have them know the sport they're playing. I don't mean this to suggest skaters don't know the game as a living experience. Skaters know the tension at the jam line, the chasm where we failed to block correctly, the sweat and accidental cross-team boob-grabs (which, er, are illegal) that make up the sport.
But the living experience of derby is based on the foundation of the rules. Rules that every skater should be familiar with, beyond the basics. Knowing the rules allows us to play smarter and have a potentially valid reason when calling a ref an incompetent jack-ass (as occasionally does happen). A standard rule-set and equal familiarity with it is what can let a bout occur between any two teams willing to go toe-stop to toe-stop. And let's not forget that the rules do change and that players should be part of that continuing conversation.
So, how do we address this gap? We educate our players. We explain how the handbook affects their life on the track.We increase dialogue between referees, coaches, NSOs and players. On an official level, we require a rules test alongside a skills test if a player is going to be certified as ready to play. More broadly, we start and support efforts to translate the rule-set into other languages.
We owe it to our players and our sport to know the game we love. And if you can access this post, you can read the rules.
But the living experience of derby is based on the foundation of the rules. Rules that every skater should be familiar with, beyond the basics. Knowing the rules allows us to play smarter and have a potentially valid reason when calling a ref an incompetent jack-ass (as occasionally does happen). A standard rule-set and equal familiarity with it is what can let a bout occur between any two teams willing to go toe-stop to toe-stop. And let's not forget that the rules do change and that players should be part of that continuing conversation.
So, how do we address this gap? We educate our players. We explain how the handbook affects their life on the track.We increase dialogue between referees, coaches, NSOs and players. On an official level, we require a rules test alongside a skills test if a player is going to be certified as ready to play. More broadly, we start and support efforts to translate the rule-set into other languages.
We owe it to our players and our sport to know the game we love. And if you can access this post, you can read the rules.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Both Sides Now: Coming Back to Derby as a Referee
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| Dundee Roller Girls Ref Poster |
Perhaps it's bad planning, but I'm restarting a lot of things today. I'm getting back on the studying wagon for my comps exams. I'm restarting this blog. I'm actually trying to get to practice on a Monday. I'm starting my rules studying, which will contrast nicely with all the Plato and Hegel. I'm again trying to unpack my room, which looks rather like an art installation on procrastination and the cardboard box.
But if you're taking one plunge, you may as well really make it count. Reffing is not without its attendant anxieties, of course - I've already had one well-meaning player remind me that female referees sometimes get looked down on for not being players instead, which is a post in its own right. And frankly refs get yelled at by virtue of being refs, pretty much regardless of the sport involved. Derby refs in particular have to know the rules of a very complex game and players, spectators and other officials depend on them to be observant, efficient, judicious, and fair. Reffing is hard work and it's real work. And I will have to discover if I can hack it or not, but I'm excited to give it a try.
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| TCRG 2010 Ref Poster |
And in the mean time, I'll be practicing my ref dance.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Zebra Love
The zebra was one of my favourite animals when I was a kid. It was like a horse, but with a cooler paint job. Today, the zebras I interact with are human ones - the fine referees of roller derby. Assuming you're not playing renegade derby, you need refs if you want to play the game. And derby is a damn complicated game.
Some of my favourite leagues, like Terminal City, list their refs as a kind of team all their own. When it comes down to it, refs have to pass their own skills testing, they have to know WFTDA rules inside and out and they have to deal with derby girls. It's not glamourous, but it is pretty bad-ass. As the Montreal Roller Derby Referees' page says, "No pain and no glory, not vain nor scary, just a simple concoction: Respect, rules and execution." Our zebras are part of what makes the derby machine run. They tell you that you're the lead jammer, they send you and your booty-shorts to the penalty seat.
When I first started practicing, I was struck by the seeming fact that refs were almost always male. Women's derby has two particular roles men can play, namely referees and coaches. At first, it irked me that these positions of authority were held by guys. Couldn't women ref? Couldn't women coach? Wasn't patriarchy one of the things we went to derby to escape, at least for the duration of a two-minute jam? It bothered me that a sport I identified as feminist just seemed to reinscribe tired gender stereotypes by having the women in fishnets and the men in positions of power. I've since learned that lots of women do both of these things, but the majority of women prefer to skate because that's what they came for. Skating is the sexy part. Reffing is a different kind of hard.
My league has several refs we know and love and these range from home-grown officials to volunteers we've borrowed from other leagues. My refs have taught me how to manage the penalty box and my refs have shown me how to handle my gear better. Referees are crucial resources for players, especially new ones, to learn about the game, their gear, and skating technique. So, in short, I say show your zebras some love today and ask them a question. These folks know their stuff.
Some of my favourite leagues, like Terminal City, list their refs as a kind of team all their own. When it comes down to it, refs have to pass their own skills testing, they have to know WFTDA rules inside and out and they have to deal with derby girls. It's not glamourous, but it is pretty bad-ass. As the Montreal Roller Derby Referees' page says, "No pain and no glory, not vain nor scary, just a simple concoction: Respect, rules and execution." Our zebras are part of what makes the derby machine run. They tell you that you're the lead jammer, they send you and your booty-shorts to the penalty seat.
When I first started practicing, I was struck by the seeming fact that refs were almost always male. Women's derby has two particular roles men can play, namely referees and coaches. At first, it irked me that these positions of authority were held by guys. Couldn't women ref? Couldn't women coach? Wasn't patriarchy one of the things we went to derby to escape, at least for the duration of a two-minute jam? It bothered me that a sport I identified as feminist just seemed to reinscribe tired gender stereotypes by having the women in fishnets and the men in positions of power. I've since learned that lots of women do both of these things, but the majority of women prefer to skate because that's what they came for. Skating is the sexy part. Reffing is a different kind of hard.
My league has several refs we know and love and these range from home-grown officials to volunteers we've borrowed from other leagues. My refs have taught me how to manage the penalty box and my refs have shown me how to handle my gear better. Referees are crucial resources for players, especially new ones, to learn about the game, their gear, and skating technique. So, in short, I say show your zebras some love today and ask them a question. These folks know their stuff.
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