Birthday Double Header Fun

Well it was my sweet man's birthday on Saturday and besides having a scrumptious dinner (I had the surf & turf, it was yummy!) we checked this out.

TORD's double header featured a bout between newbie teams Toronto's Dvas and Sudbury's Nickel City, and then headliner teams CN Power and opposition Michigan's Killamazoo Derby Darlin's. These sure were two different games to watch.

Interjection

It was really interesting for me to see the newbie teams play as I hadn't seen this before and it was nice to see that there is a place for starters to ease in if they are not sure enough or skilled enough to be in the big leagues. This will be one of the options open to me when I complete TORD's freshmeant programme.

If I pass the WFTDA sanctioned skillz test (written and practical) I can put myself up for draft or simply choose to enter the Dvas, TORD's newbie team. If I were to put myself up for draft and not get drafted then I also fall into the Dvas to bone up on my skillz and if I want to try again, putting myself up for next draft pick or whenever I feel ready.

I have heard from some cool rollergirls that they did not start out super skaters and immediately pick everything up. A lot of them speak of getting stuck not being able to do certain moves and I've also heard stories of failing their first test and having to skate with the newbie team for two years. This is nice to hear. They make it look so easy it's nice to be reminded that they got that way by working hard; I can do that!

Now Back to the Game

The biggest difference with the newbie teams was in skating speed, so it was sort of like watching a regular game in slow motion. This turned out to be really great because CBB (my husband) had never been to a match before and really didn't know what was going on. He was mostly confused watching the first match, though he did seem to enjoy it. (I knew he would love all the ass, who doesn't?) He asked lots of questions about what was going on in the action and I obliged with the answers I could.

It was actually pretty funny when I was explaining stuff because different people in our vicinity would hear me and then lean in and sometimes even ask some questions. I felt like the information fairy. The game ended with the Dvas kicking butt to the tune of 71-38. Yeah Dvas!

The second game was faster but less gripping because Toronto absolutely trounced Michigan, at the halfway point they led 112-11. Ouch! By the end of the match CN Power had the score at 197-35. The biggest difference between these two teams was the blocking. It seemed like the team from Michigan just had four girls sort of haphazardly trying to stop the other team each with their own idea of how that should be done.

In the first half the Michigan team's coach was asking the team who wanted to be jammer or pivot, like, they didn't even have a real plan of who played what. Didn't they think about each skaters strengths? He was offering them to any takers. It was weird. That's how the blocking struck me as well, like they forgot that it's a thinking game too, they needed some plays. This was VERY different from the CN Power team who had coaches with clip boards with different plays written out with who was in what position, not only jammer and pivot but front blocker, back blocker etc.

Clearly everyone on the Toronto team knew there were different jobs for every part and they worked as a team. This was a great difference in coaching I think and it was certainly evident in their games. The CN Power jammers are superb and their blockers were just awesome at opening up all of the roads for the jammers to just slice through the pack like it wasn't there. They worked like a machine and the score shows just how well.

I loved the crowd at derby games SO much. Have I mentioned that before? I know I have, but it really pleases me. All the mixing. Young and old, gay and straight, boys and girls, punks and conservatives all happy together to appreciate watching girls skate around a track. It's what sports are supposed to do, but so often don't. I'm lovin' the derby kids.

Next up: Back on My Skates