Thursday 14 March 2013

Roller Derby Wishlist

So, you know how I mentioned a few posts back that I'd dipped my toe into the world of roller derby? Well, now you could kind of say that I've fully taken the plunge. But with arm bands. Nice safe floaty arm bands.

After 6 months of training I've managed to pass my minimum skills (a skills and rules test to ensure that you've covered the basics), attended a bootcamp and a few bouts and joined the PR committee for the league. Exciting stuff! Despite the late nights (sometimes I don't get home from training until 10:30pm) I'm really enjoying it, although I can't wait to be as nifty on the track as some of the amazing skaters in the league.

As with many sports, but in particularly roller derby, it's not just about the game that's played on the track or the field, but the whole culture that surrounds the sport. One of the things (there's many) that I love about roller derby is the clothing and equipment. The 14-year-old emo girl in me is so excited at the prospect of leopard print shorts, heavy eyeliner and plastic jewellery. Although like most (decent) sports equipment and safety gear, it's EXPENSIVE, so like a good little blogger I have created a wishlist of items that I would buy if some money happened to fall from the sky.







1. Gumball toestops - Into the Nitemare // 2. Leopard print shorts - J.Crew // 3. Kryptonics Helmet - Skate Attack // 
4. Scabs elbow pads - Skate Attack // 5. Rainy City Roller Girls t-shirt - RCRG

I think I've been quite conservative in my choices. A lot of these things I actually need, but I can't wait to get my hands on one of my league's merch t-shirts. How cool is the slogan? I'm sure in the coming months I'll go all out and create some crazy costumes for my first game, but at the moment I'm all about the functional side of things. There's so much gear out there though, it can be a bit overwhelming. 

Me to Google: Tell me which wheels to buy for roller derby
Internet: Have you thought about the tread, the dimensions, the bearings, your weight, the floor?
Me: I JUST WANT SOME WHEELS 
Internet: But have you thought about pricing, colour, brand, durability?
Me: OH GOD *attaches oranges to skates*

Anyhow, if you're around the Manchester area next weekend and fancy something different for your Saturday night, come watch our Travel Team take on the Crime City Rollers from Sweden. Doors open at 5pm and tickets are £6 in advance. 

Also, if you know of any other lifestyle/derby blogs that I should be following, please hit me up.

Now I'm off to nurse my open blisters. Ouch.

7 comments

  1. I shall be keeping track of your progress on this one. Roller Derby is one of those things that only ever seems to come up in American TV shows, so knowing some one who actually does it should be interesting.

    As for your wheels dilemma, sounds VERY much like the first time I tried to buy skate board wheels WWAAAAYYY back when. So good luck with that one! Haha!

    Good luck and happy skating.

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  2. Roller derby! I LOVE the sound of it, and like you the leopard print and eyeliner thing really appeals to the grungy teenager within. I'm certainly angry enough but something tells me I'd wimp out on my first bruise!

    Good luck x

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  3. P.S. I thought the elbow pads on no.4 were a bum guard! Haha. Would be probably be a good thing to have though x

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  4. I wish i could play, it looks like so much fun i never knew you could do it in the uk i always though it was an American sport !

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  5. Yay!!

    Gumballs are the best things money can buy, especially if you want to learn derby/tomahawk stops.

    Also buying wheels is a very VERY confusing game, my first new pair were Hyper Witch Doctors, they were pretty reasonably priced (£40 for 8) and were 93A duro.
    Basically durometer is how sticky/slidy wheels are, and 93's are a little on the slidy side.

    Another good starter wheel are Radar Tuners, I think they are a pretty good price too.

    I'm now on a mixture of Atom Lowboys (95's) and Poisons (88's), the softer wheels provide a bit of grip.

    Basically it's all a case of trial and error, you just need to try some and find what works best for you!

    xx

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  6. Just realised this post is from March! Bet you've found some by now :) haha

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    1. Hehe, yes I now have gumballs and a Heartless wheels mixed set up , which I think is 88 and 92 (the black and yellow ones). I got the hang of the wheel numbers eventually but I'm not much of a gear nerd, as long as it does what I want, that's cool with me!

      xx

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