< a bout of derby >

Yesterday lunchtime saw me & the boys racing down the highway to try & make it to the Derby Depot for the last half of the Wasatch Roller Derby bout against Las Vegas. The teams playing were Midnight Terror and the Sin City Rollers. We made it just in time to watch some hooping then settled in for the main event & it did not disappoint. It was fast, it was rough, it was loud & there were some big spills! 

You might be wondering just how it works, taking two very busy little boys to a derby bout... well it's busy & interesting to say the least. I had told Jamin leading up to Sunday that we were going to go to watch some Roller Derby & he was very excited. I'm not sure if he knew the in's & out's of Derby but for some reason he decided to throw a toy car at Kael that morning, giving him a lovely black eye. Getting into the spirit of things maybe?

For the 1st 5 minutes they were both riveted but then the novelty of girls skating round a track wore off & they were off. The stands offered a lot of amusement but unfortunately they were not the safest of playgrounds. I let them go, keeping 1 eye on the game, 1 hand out to help them jump off the top of the stands & the other eye on the disapproving fans sitting by me. What can I say... it's hard juggling 2 little boys & still fulfilling the purpose of the outing, getting to watch a real derby bout. Anyway we survived & the boys both only hurt themselves once, a good play session in my world :)

Here's a video that does a great job of showing just what the afternoon was all about!

And my purchase from the merchandise stand!

I was a lot tireder at the end of the afternoon but it was definately worth the effort. Maybe next time I can leave the kids at home & actually get to watch the bout & learn a few new things.

:: i heart roller derby ::

The time has come to share my new love with you. For the last 6 weeks I have been taking off on a Thursday night down to the Derby Depot, home of the Wasatch Roller Derby, to learn the ins & outs of Roller Derby. Ever since Derby came back on the scene a few years ago I have wanted to play but it has not been so conducive to growing & having babies. Most reactions I have had from people back home in Australia when I told them I have started derby have been, "What?! I thought Roller Derby is really rough & people get hurt! You're so little!" Well... yes, it is rough & I am little but it's also a really fast game which requires a lot of tactical & quick thinking. Plus, its a really healthy way to get some aggression out, and I have always had some of that! 

Our track on one of my 1st nights.

Here's how I found out about the Red Rockette's. I was sitting in a coffee shop down the road & picked up a free magazine, In This Week. I turned to this article about the founders of the Red Rockettes & thought, "Wow. I have always wanted to do this!". The next morning I was showing Danny the article & I looked at the starting date for the new sessions. It was that night and if I wanted to start then I would need skates & pads. Hmm... my quick thinking kicked into gear & I was at the computer researching where I could get them from. I jumped onto Ksl.com & unbelievably there was a set of skates in my size with elbow, knee pads & wrist guards, basically brand new, just an hours drive away. So that afternoon I loaded the kids in the car & took a drive in just about the worst weather ever. When we got there I had to  wrestle the boys out of the car just as it started snowing. Inside the house the gear looked great & fit perfectly, so I took it home, very happy but just a little nervous cause now it meant that I had to go & give it a try. 

6 weeks later & I feel like I am doing great, considering I hadn't been on skates for a good 10 years. Every week I get more comfortable with the skills & just a bit faster around the track. There is really nothing better than getting a little bit of speed on some skates, dodging other girls, then having to pull out some tricky moves so you don't land in a heap on the track to be run over by whoever is behind you. In a few weeks we will get to have our first scrimmage, which should be scary & amazing. I might even be able to swing a babysitter so that Danny can come out for a look. 

As far as outfits go, I think that Jamin is looking a whole lot cuter than me, but he's 3 so I guess that's ok.

My derby name... Salty Vandal

So that is my new love. If you wana know more you can read some of these articles/blogs.

Red Rockette, Babe Rainbow's blog at In This Week
Wikipedia's take on Roller Derby