Confessions of a rollergirl
It's been over a year since my last post. This is because I have OBVIOUSLY been far too busy playing roller derby to write about it, and not because I am lazy, slack, or forgot about this blog at all. Nope.
A year is a long time in roller derby. Since I last posted, I joined a gym and actually started going regularly; started having regular physiotherapy for my irritating pain condition; got a bad case of the derby meh and nearly quit; got a bad case of missing roller derby and got right back on the horse. Only that's a different sort of derby. and I'm allergic to horses. ANYWAY.
It's been an interesting time for the league too - our A-team went to the US and did some serious ass-kicking, (and got LRG ranked in the DNN top 20) then got stuck there thanks to an overenthusiastic volcano. We completed our 2nd season, with the Suffra Jets the 2nd year running champions, and undefeated at that. We started our 3rd season at Earls Court with a FOURTH team who are totally awesome. The Suffa Jets lost for the first time ever. The Ultraviolents won for the first time in a public bout. The third season is anyone's to take. Our B-team started bouting other UK teams and kicked some ass. We started our recreational league, and held our first try-outs.
I've now been skating for nearly 3 years with the LRG, and the changes to the league, and to me, are huge. To see the league where it is now from where it was when I started makes me so proud to be a London Rollergirl, and so in awe of all the girls in the league that work so hard to keep it all going. On a personal level I am probably fitter and healthier right now than I've ever been. I go to the gym regularly and it shows in my game. I am learning to focus and direct my energy instead of ASPLODING all over the place. Most excitingly, I made it into the top 30 as a b-team sub, and get to play my first ever b-team game in January. Exciting!
For someone who hadn't dreamed of making it to the top 30 on my own merit, this is pretty much a highlight of my LIFE. If you'd have said to me 4 years ago that I would not only be playing an amateur team sport on a regular basis AND going to the gym 3+ times a week but I'd also representing my league competitively within the top 30 I would have laughed you out of the park. Only I wouldn't have been in a park, I'd have been sat on my arse on a sofa eating a king-size pack of revels, and I would have laughed at you from there, but quietly so I could still hear the television. Then I would have written my 30th LJ post of the day to say that some crazy person had told me that in 4 years time I'd be being ACTIVE. With OTHER PEOPLE. My mother would have commented on that LJ post with "who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?"
A year is a long time in roller derby. Since I last posted, I joined a gym and actually started going regularly; started having regular physiotherapy for my irritating pain condition; got a bad case of the derby meh and nearly quit; got a bad case of missing roller derby and got right back on the horse. Only that's a different sort of derby. and I'm allergic to horses. ANYWAY.
It's been an interesting time for the league too - our A-team went to the US and did some serious ass-kicking, (and got LRG ranked in the DNN top 20) then got stuck there thanks to an overenthusiastic volcano. We completed our 2nd season, with the Suffra Jets the 2nd year running champions, and undefeated at that. We started our 3rd season at Earls Court with a FOURTH team who are totally awesome. The Suffa Jets lost for the first time ever. The Ultraviolents won for the first time in a public bout. The third season is anyone's to take. Our B-team started bouting other UK teams and kicked some ass. We started our recreational league, and held our first try-outs.
I've now been skating for nearly 3 years with the LRG, and the changes to the league, and to me, are huge. To see the league where it is now from where it was when I started makes me so proud to be a London Rollergirl, and so in awe of all the girls in the league that work so hard to keep it all going. On a personal level I am probably fitter and healthier right now than I've ever been. I go to the gym regularly and it shows in my game. I am learning to focus and direct my energy instead of ASPLODING all over the place. Most excitingly, I made it into the top 30 as a b-team sub, and get to play my first ever b-team game in January. Exciting!
For someone who hadn't dreamed of making it to the top 30 on my own merit, this is pretty much a highlight of my LIFE. If you'd have said to me 4 years ago that I would not only be playing an amateur team sport on a regular basis AND going to the gym 3+ times a week but I'd also representing my league competitively within the top 30 I would have laughed you out of the park. Only I wouldn't have been in a park, I'd have been sat on my arse on a sofa eating a king-size pack of revels, and I would have laughed at you from there, but quietly so I could still hear the television. Then I would have written my 30th LJ post of the day to say that some crazy person had told me that in 4 years time I'd be being ACTIVE. With OTHER PEOPLE. My mother would have commented on that LJ post with "who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?"