“Official” Official for the MRDA

by Lethe L. Ejection

On January 23rd, I became an MRDA Official. I posted about it on Facebook and the comment was “liked” over 60 times in less than a day.

On January 27th, this was emailed to me:

Currently hanging on my office wall

It’s hard to describe what it’s like to say that I’m an “official” official for the Men’s Roller Derby Association. I get to wear a patch. I get to put it on my officiating résumé. I get to declare myself as an MRDA official when applying to tournaments.

But it isn’t just the patch. And it isn’t just these other things that are so exciting. There’s so much more to this.

This is a new and incredibly exciting step for the MRDA. It’s a step that has come out of months of discussion. We’re still a small group of officials compared to the WFTDA—but we’re an amazing group!

You know the best thing about this small group of officials? I know them. I can look at the list of officials and not just say, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them!”

These are the people I work with all the time. These are people I respect and admire who have spent years working to enrich all of roller derby. These are people who have never looked down on me for officiating men’s derby because they also appreciate the beauty and challenges of all types of play. I could not be prouder to stand with referees like Miss Trial and Anne Persand (and everyone else that it would take too long to list).

I cannot express what an honor it is to be the Head of Officiating for the league that started the Men’s Derby Coalition (now the MRDA). PVRD wants everyone to “do derby!” Whether you play, officiate, or spectate, your gender doesn’t matter—for six years now, PVRD has been bringing derby to everyone!

But on a more personal note, PVRD brought derby to me, and I’m going to continue rocking every bout I can.

Now, I get to rock it with a patch, a certificate, and the knowledge that the MRDA recognizes the hard work I put in to be the best ref I can be.

Tags: Lethe L. Ejection, Men's Roller Derby Association, officials, Roller derby, wftda

Chick’s Mid-Aventure Log

We are about halfway though our trip and it continues to be an amazing derby adventure.

Let me just say that the roller derby community has incredibly kind and generous to us. There are very special qualities that I have found in roller people. One is that they are nuts over this sport. Anyone that shares in that same enthusiasm for derby can be an instant friend. This quality has allowed perfect strangers to invite us into their homes and take care of us!

I have to ask myself could this happen with any other sport or interest group where two strange people are traveling around the country and welcomed with open arms to the track, hang out spots, and skater’s homes. It blows my mind. I am ever so grateful for how flippin’ awesome the roller derby community is. So, a big giant THANK YOU to all of you that have helped us along the way so far.

Here’s what has happened since the last post.

Sprints with Panama City 

After our stay in Jacksonville, FL we started driving west. We made our way though the panhandle of Florida to the Panama City Roller Derby practice. We burned off the daylight hours by walking the beaches of Panama City. It was most definitely their off-season. Even big chain fast food restaurants were “closed for the season”.

The Panama City Roller Derby Gang

We made it to practice with plenty of time to spare and meet some of the roller gals that had invited us. Unfortunately, there were a group of ladies that were sick or injured that could not make it, but that did not stop us from us having a kick-butt practice lead by Scarlett Letter Have It. Planks and sprints left my body sore for days.

Tags: Chickadee Struction, derby tourism, juraskick park

Announcing PVRD’s 2012 Home Team Rosters

The home team rosters are always a good indicator of the season to come. So, when co-captains Pink Panzer and Celia Casket unveiled the 2012 Florence Fightin’ Gals and Quabbin Missile Crisis rosters on Feb. 13, Casket said she was particularly excited.

“There are some amazing lineups to be had on each team,” Casket said. “I think this should prove a challenging and fun home season.”

Quabbin Missile Crisis

Captain: Pink Panzer
Legend of the Hit ‘n’ Trample
Cali Burr
Kataklysmik
Gnome Ercy
Coors Lightening
Chewbecca
Molly Musket
Hothead Paisian
Lis Macrum

Florence Fighting Gals

Captain: Celia Casket
Lady Hulk
Chickadee Struction
Courtney von Wolfe
Tramplesteelskin
Discipline & Punisher
Slam Dinista
Bitches Bruize
Hell & Degenerate
Nina
Sinister Sweetness

We want to know: What do you think of the QMC and FFG matchups? Who do you think will be the breakout skaters this season? What colors will you be wearing on April 1?

Add your two cents in the comment section below!

Tags: FFG, Florence Fightin' Gals, PVRD home teams, qmc, Quabbin Missile Crisis, Roller derby

Derby 101: Skate Edges

Mars Travolta, of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby’s Dirty Dozen, talks about inside and outside edges, how to use them, and how to improve your footwork.

(With heavy breathing by Slam. I had a cold, sorry.)

Tags: Dirty Dozen, footwork, Roller derby

Roller Derby Is Like a Greasy Pole…

As a mantra during Gloucester’s Greasy Pole competition goes : “Focus, Footwork, Flag.” The basic concept of the contest is to reach the end of a forty-five foot long grease-covered telephone pole that is hovering over the ocean walk-the-plank style. Grab the flag nailed to the end and win!

During this past leg of the trip, I kept returning to that mantra. “Focus, Footwork, Flag.” Although a little awkward for a direct translation to derby-ese, the simple message speaks to the elemental conditioning that can carry a skater through a lot of war zones on the track.

Bruise of the Month: Winter Break Edition

There is snow outside, but that doesn’t mean that the skaters are PVRD are taking it easy in the Bunker. The winter means months of layering, training and hard-hitting scrimmages (especially as we perfect those new moves for the 2012 bouting season).

Who pulled off the best cold weather bruises so far? Take a look below and vote for your favorite: Router Girl (“Does this Roller Derby World Cup bruise look like France to you?”), Pink Panzer (“The power of splits meets wheels”), or Nina (“I hit the floor and the floor won”).*

Think you could pull off a better black and blue? Join us Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. for our next Fresh Meat Night!

*The quotes are an editorial invention, but they might have crossed their minds. -Ed.

Week Two: On the road and on the track

Hey, y’all. Chickadee here. We are about 12 days into our road trip and I’m writing this from Norfolk, VA.

Picking up from where we left off, we went from the Garden State to Charm City. There, we had a serious leg workout at the Charm City / Harm City practice led by Holly Go Hardly. It was a real treat to skate with the men and women at practice that night—including familiar faces such as Rambo Sprinkles and Logistic Aggression, who took us in for the night. (Thanks!)

Rambo, Chick, and JP in Bmore

We woke in Baltimore and hit the downtown for groceries  and a walk around Fell’s Point, which made us realized how Baltimore got the nickname Charm City. It got cold and rainy while we were touring around the harbor so we ditched the sight seeing for some lunch and internetting.

About a Name: Erich “Dr. Spankenstein” Bennar Answers MRDA Questions

Editor’s note: Yesterday, MRDA president Erich Bennar presented his reasons for dropping “Dr. Spankenstein” from his name. Today, he answers questions from MRDA members about his decision and what it means for men’s roller derby.

Jack Rabid wrote: The pun-tacular names are one of the things I love about derby, and something that really makes it unique. I know there’s a big push to gain recognition as an authentic athletic pursuit, but I think using our real names doesn’t necessarily legitimize anything – it just takes some of the fun out of it. We earn those names and become part of a community.

EB: Well, to be clear, I’m not mandating that people take their own names. There is room in roller derby for people to have aliases and for people to have their real names. That’s the beauty of roller derby. I’m sure many people agree with you on the draw of aliases. And I say go forth! Do what makes sense for you and your team.

This is simply my decision to take my own name. I feel like its the right thing for me to do and, if other people have feelings about it, I encourage them to share their reasons.

Tags: Dirty Dozen, Dr. Spankenstein, MRDA, Roller derby

About a Name: Why Dr. Spankenstein Now Skates as Erich Bennar

Photo courtesy of Hispanic Attack

Editor’s note: Erich “Dr. Spankenstein” Bennar has been a member of PVRD for six years. As a skater for the Dirty Dozen, Bennar was nominated on DNN as a jammer/blocker “Best Double Threat” in  2011.

Bennar co-founded the Men’s Derby Coalition in 2007, a national governing body of men’s roller derby which became the Men’s Roller Derby Association in 2011. He currently serves as the president of MRDA. For 2012, Bennar has been exploring ways to develop a sustainable infrastructure for MRDA’s future.

In the following piece, Bennar explains one of the changes he believes will help MRDA grow and thrive.

Beginning this season, I will be skating under my given name, Erich Bennar (rather than my derby alias “Dr Spankenstein”). I’ve been thinking about it for several months now. Here are my reasons for doing so.

Tags: Dirty Dozen, MRDA, Pioneer Valley, Roller derby, Spankenstein

Ask The Team: A Small Mouth and Other Mouthguard Questions

So, I’m rejoining my derby league after a year-long LOA. Since I left, everyone’s gotten all in Protech Dent Mouth Guards! Question is, has anyone from your league with a smaller mouth used the child’s size? I’ve done it with other mouth guards, but these are new to me. -Aleta Maria

Choosing a mouthguard is one of those personal preference questions that almost every skater can weigh in on. We liked the twist that you put on this choice—adult or child sized?—but decided to put a more general question to the league.

(Don’t worry, Aleta, we’ll come around to your specific problem in a minute.)

At practice time, we asked PVRDers what their favorite mouth guards were and whether there was anything about their mouths that made them chose that kind.

The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of Protech Dent, a brand that has become the clear favorite among our skaters in the past year or so. (Ever since Spring Roll. Thank you, Spring Roll.)

Protech was the clear winner for biters and chewers. It was also favored by those who had a hard time with larger mouthguards and wanted to leave it in while doing other things.

As Legend of the Hit ‘n’ Trample said, “I love my Protech Dent mouthguard. I can breathe and talk with it in. I don’t even think about taking it out because I forget I have it in. It’s that awesome sauce.”

Here’s a what other skaters had to say about their mouthguards and why they use them.