A more detailed write-up of this years Beast of the East, by my friend the Derby Nerd can be found here. Unlike me, he actually remembers most of the weekend.
And it's only a week away for the Sexpos- our game against the Dutchland B-Team. Although everyone played during the Beast weekend, and we'd love to take some time off to recover, there is no time so we are all trucking along to practice and trying to pull it together.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Beast of the East
Well, this weekend was an amazing tournament of roller derby in eastern and central Canada (and some of our closest sisters in Vermont!), the Beast of the East III. Last year playing Beast was my first bouting experience, and I got bumped around like a rag doll most of the time. This year was a totally different story, and while I may not have been the strongest player out there, I did pretty damn well and it didn't go unnoticed.
My team came in 2nd place out of 16, and MTLRD took 1, 2, and 3 out of the 16 teams. We all faced off, either in the finals or the semi finals, and it was a taste of the amazing season to come. There was absolutely some brilliant jams going on, and the come down is pretty tough. Going from being a little bit of a "star" to dialing on the phones today was a little rough on the ego. But the weekend is over, and there are less than two weeks left until my next game, a travel team double-header hosting Dutchland here in MTL. I'm sure we will all be humbled by the experience again.
In the meantime, I'll probably spend a lot of time watching the action from this weekend here.
My team came in 2nd place out of 16, and MTLRD took 1, 2, and 3 out of the 16 teams. We all faced off, either in the finals or the semi finals, and it was a taste of the amazing season to come. There was absolutely some brilliant jams going on, and the come down is pretty tough. Going from being a little bit of a "star" to dialing on the phones today was a little rough on the ego. But the weekend is over, and there are less than two weeks left until my next game, a travel team double-header hosting Dutchland here in MTL. I'm sure we will all be humbled by the experience again.
In the meantime, I'll probably spend a lot of time watching the action from this weekend here.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Montreal!
Well, it was 28 hours of driving time over 3 days to play for 1.5 hours in total against 2 separate leagues, make an epic trip to Target, eat at a sonic, and visit Party City. Totally worth it.
We drove all thee way to Kalamazoo on Friday to arrive at midnight at the hotel, tired but not at all cranky. The next day we wasted our time before playing, making a visit to Target and a nearby mall, where we all rode an indoor, two tiered carousel and went to Hot Topic where we spent a bunch of money.
But on to the good stuff. We got ready and hit the venue for the game. Killamazoo Derby Darlin's were very gracious hosts, and there was a ton of food and treats waiting for us when we arrived. But we all geared up, signed waivers, and hit the track for a warm up. To be honest, the game was a blur, and I was sent out every other jam in the first half. We picked up an early lead but struggled to keep it through the first half, unable to consistently gain the critical lead jammer status. At half-time, the score was something like 46-48 for us, and it was still anybody's game. Our efforts to refocus and regain our positive mojo were only temporary, and though we scrapped it out, penalties crippled our game.
In a cluster fuck on the bench we fielded only 2 blockers on the track for a jam, and some of our greenest at that. As our bench could only look on in horror, one of those blockers took a major, leaving a first time player skating alone on the track. Comical now, it allowed Killamazoo a 25 point jam. But bad luck followed for Killamazoo shortly after, as their jammer lost her wheel in an equipment malfunction and we were able to score a heap of unanswered points. It wasn't enough, however, and at the end of the last jam, the score was 120-97 for Killamazoo.
Good times and hard lessons were had. In a game like we played, we didn't lose because we couldn't win, we lost because we lost our shit on the bench. We'll work on never allowing that to happen again. We should never lose because we can't hold it together, we should only lose because we fought, held it together, and in the end the other team was just better.
Still, we implemented some of the strategies we've been practicing lately, adjusted our style on the fly, and did some great stuff. And to start and end the game, both teams got together and skated in a friendship snake.
Oh, and I won this:
Which was overall pretty rad. The beer did not immediately come in the glass.
The next day we woke up in varying states of hangover and drove our asses up to Grand Rapids where we participated in a half hour scrimmage against their B team. This went a little better for us and we were able to implement our strategies pretty much unanswered by their mostly green team and skated our way to a 149-17 score. So we ended our weekend on a high note and began the 2 day drive back to MTL, where I am very happy to be back to sleep in my own bed.
We drove all thee way to Kalamazoo on Friday to arrive at midnight at the hotel, tired but not at all cranky. The next day we wasted our time before playing, making a visit to Target and a nearby mall, where we all rode an indoor, two tiered carousel and went to Hot Topic where we spent a bunch of money.
But on to the good stuff. We got ready and hit the venue for the game. Killamazoo Derby Darlin's were very gracious hosts, and there was a ton of food and treats waiting for us when we arrived. But we all geared up, signed waivers, and hit the track for a warm up. To be honest, the game was a blur, and I was sent out every other jam in the first half. We picked up an early lead but struggled to keep it through the first half, unable to consistently gain the critical lead jammer status. At half-time, the score was something like 46-48 for us, and it was still anybody's game. Our efforts to refocus and regain our positive mojo were only temporary, and though we scrapped it out, penalties crippled our game.
In a cluster fuck on the bench we fielded only 2 blockers on the track for a jam, and some of our greenest at that. As our bench could only look on in horror, one of those blockers took a major, leaving a first time player skating alone on the track. Comical now, it allowed Killamazoo a 25 point jam. But bad luck followed for Killamazoo shortly after, as their jammer lost her wheel in an equipment malfunction and we were able to score a heap of unanswered points. It wasn't enough, however, and at the end of the last jam, the score was 120-97 for Killamazoo.
Good times and hard lessons were had. In a game like we played, we didn't lose because we couldn't win, we lost because we lost our shit on the bench. We'll work on never allowing that to happen again. We should never lose because we can't hold it together, we should only lose because we fought, held it together, and in the end the other team was just better.
Still, we implemented some of the strategies we've been practicing lately, adjusted our style on the fly, and did some great stuff. And to start and end the game, both teams got together and skated in a friendship snake.
Oh, and I won this:
Which was overall pretty rad. The beer did not immediately come in the glass.
The next day we woke up in varying states of hangover and drove our asses up to Grand Rapids where we participated in a half hour scrimmage against their B team. This went a little better for us and we were able to implement our strategies pretty much unanswered by their mostly green team and skated our way to a 149-17 score. So we ended our weekend on a high note and began the 2 day drive back to MTL, where I am very happy to be back to sleep in my own bed.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Helllllllooooo Michigan
I'll see you tomorrow!
2 games this weekend, one in Kalamazoo and one in Grand Rapids... Wish us luck! This will be the first time I've played with this team and a full roster, even though we borrowed players from the league... Most are former Sexpos.
We go in style, so it's a 12 hour drive.
2 games this weekend, one in Kalamazoo and one in Grand Rapids... Wish us luck! This will be the first time I've played with this team and a full roster, even though we borrowed players from the league... Most are former Sexpos.
We go in style, so it's a 12 hour drive.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Dear Job,
It's not considered work unless you actually give me hours more than one day every three weeks.
Me.
What a struggle, it's pretty poor. Well, I'm pretty poor to be honest. But I've been retooling my resume with the help of an awesome friend for a pretty decent job that I don't think I'll get, but it should help me maybe find something else. This past year of un- and under- employment has been pretty tough. I'd call it my year of loss, for reasons I won't get into.
But on to better things.
Because they are out there...
It's not considered work unless you actually give me hours more than one day every three weeks.
Me.
What a struggle, it's pretty poor. Well, I'm pretty poor to be honest. But I've been retooling my resume with the help of an awesome friend for a pretty decent job that I don't think I'll get, but it should help me maybe find something else. This past year of un- and under- employment has been pretty tough. I'd call it my year of loss, for reasons I won't get into.
But on to better things.
Because they are out there...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
DA 45
Well, since Rollergirl, from Rollergirl.ca, was going to be in the same city as me for Quad City Chaos (awesome!), and my pivot cups did not seem to be arriving anytime soon, we decided to meet at MTLRD's merch table so she could drop them off in person. And that we did! So I carried them home from Toronto, along with my new Smith Scabs knee pads (love at first fitting, I'll be talking about them at some point), as though they were precious gold.
Four tiny nylon white cups.
In the style of most road trips, the ride home took much longer than the required 5.5 hours, and I got in at 2am to go directly to bed. But the next morning, I got up, set up all the required equipment, went to the store for what I still needed, and put on the new DA 45 trucks that make everything worth it. I did take picture, but when I went to post this I discovered that they did not save for me! So my planned detailed post was lost.
Now, I don't have a lot of space in my apartment, so I did what little I could to feel them out before I has a chance to skate them. This included balancing stationary on two wheels, some tight spins, and rolling from the chaotic living room to the kitchen (5 feet, if anything). And I liked them. A lot.
But the truer test came for the derby practice last night. When I first got the skins as a SA set up, it took me a week to skate them as well as I could. But last night, I hopped on and did my thing, no problems.
Now, I'm not saying I can do things with these trucks that I wasn't able to do before... but I *might* be saying that I can do the stuff I could do before a little better, and with less effort...
Time will tell how much of a difference these trucks make, as the cushions need to be broken in and I may actually get a better performance out of some softer cushions, but my current thoughts are that I like them, feel stable, and more like a super star.
And in other news, tonight I will trade wheels with a fellow gear geek, my Omega's for her Jukes, so we can each try them out for a bit and see what we think. Honestly, if these Jukes are everything I've heard, then I'll get a pair and move from a super star to a super hero on skates. Beautiful.
Four tiny nylon white cups.
In the style of most road trips, the ride home took much longer than the required 5.5 hours, and I got in at 2am to go directly to bed. But the next morning, I got up, set up all the required equipment, went to the store for what I still needed, and put on the new DA 45 trucks that make everything worth it. I did take picture, but when I went to post this I discovered that they did not save for me! So my planned detailed post was lost.
Now, I don't have a lot of space in my apartment, so I did what little I could to feel them out before I has a chance to skate them. This included balancing stationary on two wheels, some tight spins, and rolling from the chaotic living room to the kitchen (5 feet, if anything). And I liked them. A lot.
But the truer test came for the derby practice last night. When I first got the skins as a SA set up, it took me a week to skate them as well as I could. But last night, I hopped on and did my thing, no problems.
Now, I'm not saying I can do things with these trucks that I wasn't able to do before... but I *might* be saying that I can do the stuff I could do before a little better, and with less effort...
Time will tell how much of a difference these trucks make, as the cushions need to be broken in and I may actually get a better performance out of some softer cushions, but my current thoughts are that I like them, feel stable, and more like a super star.
And in other news, tonight I will trade wheels with a fellow gear geek, my Omega's for her Jukes, so we can each try them out for a bit and see what we think. Honestly, if these Jukes are everything I've heard, then I'll get a pair and move from a super star to a super hero on skates. Beautiful.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Coolest Skids on the Block
Quad Chaos was awesome. The four biggest leagues in Canada went head to head for honour and respect, and the biggest winners were MTLRD's New Skids on the Block. 3 Bouts in 2 days and they kicked ass in all of them by far. 208-26 blow out first in a private WFTDA bout off the schedule for the tournament against Hammer City who were not expecting nor capable of shutting down the tight defensive work of the pack nor the aggressive, point scoring jamming. Penalties on the part of Hammer City's Eh! Team gave the Skids plenty of power jamming opportunities, and the Skids were able to capitalize them in jams that gave out 13, 14, and even 24 point power jams. Heck, Hammer City's jammers couldn't get a point on the board for the first 15 minutes of the game and until very late in the period looked like they would only manage 3 points against Skids before gaining a little more to end the first half and chipping away a minor gain in the second half.
Next on the chopping block were the Terminal City All-Stars who were a little of an unknown factor in this tournament, primarily because of the geographical derby distance. The Skids had gone up against them a couple of years ago in Vancouver, but so much changes in that time. For their part, Terminal City proved to be scrappy fighters in their first game against Toronto Roller Derby's CN Power, and came the closest in scoring against the Skids, grabbing 55 points and only allowing the Skids to take 160 for the game, which was to be their lowest score in the tournament.
Evidently, ToRD was watching, but not close enough as the Skids made short work against them, allowing 45 points to their pink neon sisters but taking 229. Penalties again plagued ToRD and there were a couple of downed skaters in pink through the game but no major injuries.
An amazing show by everyone attending but the Skids really left their mark as the uncontested queens of the Canadian derby scene, with the only blow-out games for the tournament. Skids t-shirts flew off the merch table, and the buzz was high as the Skids took this opportunity to show the leagues closest to them in experience what they've been working on and what Canadian derby could be.
Way to go, Skids. Well played.
Next on the chopping block were the Terminal City All-Stars who were a little of an unknown factor in this tournament, primarily because of the geographical derby distance. The Skids had gone up against them a couple of years ago in Vancouver, but so much changes in that time. For their part, Terminal City proved to be scrappy fighters in their first game against Toronto Roller Derby's CN Power, and came the closest in scoring against the Skids, grabbing 55 points and only allowing the Skids to take 160 for the game, which was to be their lowest score in the tournament.
Evidently, ToRD was watching, but not close enough as the Skids made short work against them, allowing 45 points to their pink neon sisters but taking 229. Penalties again plagued ToRD and there were a couple of downed skaters in pink through the game but no major injuries.
An amazing show by everyone attending but the Skids really left their mark as the uncontested queens of the Canadian derby scene, with the only blow-out games for the tournament. Skids t-shirts flew off the merch table, and the buzz was high as the Skids took this opportunity to show the leagues closest to them in experience what they've been working on and what Canadian derby could be.
Way to go, Skids. Well played.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
