Tag Archives: roller derby

True Derby

POP QUIZ #2 – HOW did DERBY GET STARTED?

(1953 Photo of the New York Chiefs)

Time for another quick derby question to test your knowledge of the sport.

How did roller derby begin? Pick one:

A. Roller derby is a sport invented by the roller rinks in the 1950’s to increase business.

B. The medical community in the 1940’s recommended that girls skate together in a controlled environment to burn off excess energy in a genteel manner.

C. Roller derby began in the 1930’s as a spin-off of the popular dance marathons.

D. All of the above.

Drum roll, please, my dear.

The answer is C.

Skating marathons grew out of the American craze for dance marathons. In 1933 Leo Seltzer of Chicago devised a marathon on wheels whereby men and women skated around a rink for up to 12 hours. By 1940 derby had become a contact sport with co-ed teams and a set of rules, a kind of traveling show across the US.

The sport of roller derby had its ups and downs (so to speak) and was somewhat dormant until 2000, when a group of women in Austin, TX brought modern day roller derby back to life. Derby today features teams across the world and its own World Cup competition.

Now you know, just in case someone asks.

Skate On!

Darla

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE DARLA’S REGULAR BLOGS

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, True Derby

Falling Down

1 Comment

(broken bench in France.  Photographer unknown, but obviously he or she got up!)

Yes, falling down is a good thing.

Ask any newbie skater in  “Fresh Meat” derby training.  The first thing you are taught is how to fall down.  And how to fall down correctly.  And how to get back up quickly without making a mess of everything and tripping everyone else in the process.

Oh, I can hear you now saying,” just keep from falling down!”

Or, second,” just stay out of roller derby”, you may be thinking.

But, as it is said on every derby track across the world, derby is a  metaphor for life.  And you WILL fall down in the process of life.  In business, in love, in parenting, in…well just in everything.

So, best to be ready.  Take some tips from the girls on the track.

GET PROTECTIVE GEAR.  In derby that is knee pads, elbow pads, wrist bands., a helmet.  In life it may be a circle of friends, good investment advice, some research, a good book to read on a lonely night, a little in savings, a faith in something bigger than yourself.

DON’T FALL BACKWARDS.  Keep moving forward.  it’s easier to use your arms and legs to get up if you are not flat on your butt.  And also easier to break something really important (like your back or your tailbone) if you are hanging back.  Easier to recover in life if you are looking forward.

FALL SMALL.  This, my dear reader, is the most important.  If you know you are going down, get ready.  Knees, elbows, wrists (all padded) in a tight ball, and presto…you’re back up in no time.  And you haven’t tripped up everyone around you or pulled them down with you.

And my favorite, THE BEST TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT GETTING UP IS WHEN YOU ARE HEADED DOWN.

In the meantime, Skate On!

Darla

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE DARLA’S REGULAR BLOGS

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk, Political Muck and Such

Hiding Behind a Hashtag

One thing about having a bench chat with someone…

You can’t hide behind a hashtag.

You are expected to have a conversation.  You can’t just hold up a sign, or point to your gimme cap, or utter a couple of slogans or hashtag phrases and sit complacently with your arms folded, knowing you have been heard.

You have to actually talk about something, and preferably something you know about. Your experience. How you fit into the whole fabric of the conversation.  How you feel about it.  And what you think should or could happen.

Because to squeeze that unique mind of yours behind a phrase, a color, a flag, a candidate…well, frankly my dear,  it turns you into a cutout doll.

Blame the mainstream media, the social media, the advertisers, the campaign designers.  It’s in their job description.

But ultimately, it’s your job to break out and have a conversation.

And once you start talking, all those lines in the sand begin to blur.   The blue wavers get to know the surfer dudes out riding a blue wave.  People on their knees praying learn more about people on their knees protesting.  The me’s get to know the what-about-me’s.

And tattoos cross all imaginary boundaries.   Just ask a skater girl.

So give it a try. Have a conversation with someone you don’t know who doesn’t carry your sign.

Get out in front of the hashtag, the candidate colors, the way-too-easy-conclusions.  Just talk.

And with that, I’m off again…

SKATE ON!

Darla

(Bench photo from the Amtrak station in Minot, North Dakota)

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE DARLA’S REGULAR BLOGS

True Derby

Derby Pop Quiz #1

Time for a break in my Bench Talks…enough about what I think.

Let’s talk about Roller Derby.

This highly under-publicized and misunderstood sport is poised to roll out on the international sports stage in a big way.   Best you appear knowledgeable when it does!

It’s Back to School Time, so here is the first of a series of Pop Quizzes, designed to get you up to speed (so to speak).  I’ll take this first answer, then look for some of the officiating pros to answer the next ones.

Q:  “It appears that roller derby is sort of like pro wrestling.  If everyone is just trying to knock everyone else down, how do they keep score?”

A:  Oh, my dears.  Look closer.  While there is a lot of controlled and highly regulated shoving going on, there is truly a purpose.   Think football (although no one carries a ball), and the Quarterback Sneak play.

The Jammer, like the quarterback in football, uses the Blockers on her team to sneak through the lines of the opponent.  The first time she is able to do that, she gets an opportunity to speed around the track and do it again in order to score.  That’s called “lapping” the opponent and where the scores come from (in a pretty simplistic way).

Of course, it gets a little more complicated because each team has its own Jammer trying to get through.  And the blockers on each team are essentially playing Offense and Defense at the same time because everyone is headed in the same direction.

And to add another layer of complication, there are two jammers on each opposing team who can trade off that responsibility to each other during play by changing helmet covers.

But, that’s a good start for the pop quizzes.  And it will give you something to think about during football halftime commentary.

For more detail (and to be ready for the next Pop Quiz) visit the official rules site  for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

In the meantime,

SKATE ON!

Darla

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE DARLA’S REGULAR BLOGS

Art of the Listen - Bench Talk

Word Count Words Count

Oh, how social media has changed the world!

The truncated sentences, the abbreviated words, the absolute disregard for punctuation– because, really, who wants to use up their prized allotment of characters with words that are spelled correctly?

Things have changed now that we have to count words or make sure the best ones appear above the “Read More” line.

Continue reading Word Count Words Count →