so happenings!

I finally got around to getting a second ref jersey!  Now I just have to make a name plate and put it on it and put a WFTDA patch on it and shorten it by a few inches because it's so long ACTION SKIRT DOES NOT TWIRL.

Jam reffed last night at scrimmage.  I never noticed just how much you have to avoid falling skaters when you're jam reffing, unless last night was some sort of weird anomaly.  I sort of half-stepped/half-jumped once, ended up having to go onto the track once (all the while saying "I'M SORRY!  I'M SORRY!" to the pack I was invading) and fell either once or twice.  (Everyone was "are you okay?" and I was like I USED TO DO THAT FOR A LIVING. I'M FINE)

I really need to work on my speed - I fell behind my jammer a few times, and I had to cut the track short more than a few times.  Whee?

updating

I was five minutes away from my house, on the way to the game I was going to ref, when I get a call from the school nurse of the high school - Kid Queenie had fallen on his bike out in front of the school and was getting a wicked hematoma and he needed to go to Urgent Care.

Long story short, Kid Queenie is fine (but has a very impressive bloodshot and black eye) and I ended up not reffing on Friday.

I am, however, going to be jam reffing this Friday! EEEEE EXCITEMENT AND TERROR. I was originally asked if I could front IPR (to which my inward response was OH PLEASE SWEET LORD IN HEAVEN NO) but things will be moved around.

So, last night at practice we worked on jammer scenarios.  I got the 6 point scoring pass down cold, but messed up on the "Jammer A knocks Jammer B out of bounds before reaching the engagement zone and therefore Jammer B cannot become lead jammer" scenario.  Oops.

We also worked on Sectional OPR rotation which SUCKS ZOMFG I HATE IT. 

  

"Do you miss playing?"

I get asked this question a lot.

I was never a sports person growing up - orienteering was my activity of choice - but I roller skated a lot as a little kid (a picture of one of my first roller skates), and I was generally sort of weird growing up.

When I started playing back in 2008, roller derby was more about being weird and rollerskating than about athletics.  It was a perfect fit for me. 

In the next six years, though, derby changed, and it became harder and harder for me to keep up with the athleticness that was being required. I started playing when I was 35 - that's a lot of years of inertia to overcome.

In 2013-14, the fates conspired (through surgery and knee shenanigans) to keep me off skates for about six months. Then a few months after that, I found out that the shoulder issues I'd been having for a while were actually due to a torn rotator cuff, and my doctor couldn't recommend me returning to play after that.

All of this is a very long way around of saying I do miss playing, quite a lot, but I wouldn't be able to play the game the way it's being played now.

what's that feeling? the opposite of shame?

This past Saturday was another home doubleheader - B team against a visiting team and then two of our home teams.

Our league has a video camera that usually the Head Ref wears on his helmet. This time, however, for the B team bout, I wore it.

I did not like wearing it. At all. I was always conscious that it was there, recording what I saw, evidence of any calls I should have made but didn't and/or calls I didn't make but should have.  I felt much more comfortable the second bout.

At any rate, we watched the footage last night.

The way we usually view the footage is that someone will see something and immediately ask that it be rewound and replayed [usually at half speed or slower].  We'll discuss it and talk about whether a penalty should have been called, or not, or whatever.  Then we rewind it once more and continue playing the video.

So we would go through this and determine that yes, on XYZ particular action, a penalty should have been called.

Twice when that happened, the continuance of the video playing showed that I called the appropriate penalty on the appropriate player. It was really a great feeling.

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Going to help out the other league on Friday as usual.  Building up my resume - this will be game #17 for me.  Woot!

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Skate reffed a sanctioned game.

Wahoo!

Honestly, it was just like any other game.  I bobbled a few calls (confused my hand signals at first but eventually got them correct - in my defense, the motion the skater made with her forearms was EXACTLY THE SAME as the back block penalty call) but everyone said I did great, so yay me.

I ended up finishing the skirt I'd mentioned earlier.  I didn't put a pocket in it, because I couldn't quite figure out how to get it exactly the way I wanted, but that's something I can add later. It was perfect - flowy and not too heavy. I wore it on Saturday, as shown here:

ACTION SKIRT IN ACTION! (photo courtesy of Dark Images Photo)

You'll notice that my legs are bare.  That's 'cause, well, I kinda forgot my leggings. "NOBODY BETTER RUN INTO ME BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO FLASH* THE FANS," I said in the locker room.

Gilligan Cut to me getting run into by a jammer.

Did I mention that there's a video crew that records our bouts, and airs them on cable access TV?

Ah well.

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*I WAS WEARING UNDERWEAR, DON'T WORRY

and now for something completely different (ref-wise)

Last night there were only four of us, so I was put on back IPR and told to solely focus on pack definition.

Hooooooooooooooly crap does that stuff change fast.

um, zomfg?

January 22, 2015:

Our fearless Ref leaders have asked us to come up with a few goals, and I have.

Readily attainable - to ref in a home team bout this season.
Will take work - to ref in a B team bout this season.
A Ref can dream, can't she? - to ref in a WFTDA-sanctioned bout this season.

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Found out last night that I am OPRing a sanctioned bout on Sunday.

Um.

something a little different

(reffing in a bout on Friday night, either reffing or NSOing a bout on Saturday night. Both games are not local. HOORAY FOR ROAD TRIPS!)

When I played my first bout way back in November 2008, I wore knee-length shorts.  By the time I hung up my playing skates, I was wearing booty shorts with side drawstrings that I'd crank all the way up.

My ref attire is a little different - I wear a skirt.  Unfortunately, it's a hair too short for my comfort, so I'm constantly pulling it down as I skate along.

I'm somewhat handy with a sewing machine (I've made many helmet covers for our league and for others) so I've decided to try and make my own skirt.  Normally I wouldn't have a problem, but I want to put a zippered pocket in it (for my finger whistle - I'm always leaving it in random places) and my experience with pockets and with zippers is non-existent.

Oh well.