Monday 25 July 2011

Derby Spotting: Point Differential

The most important thing about roller derby is point differential. The team with the most points wins, but it’s not just about racking up as many as you can in each jam. What you need is to get the largest difference between your points and theirs. If you both get 4 points you might as well not have bothered – you’re level & knackered.

There are many ways you can ensure the point differential is high and they’re things that both jammers & blockers can think about.

1. First and foremost for jammers is knowing when to call it off. I’ve already talked about this at great length here.

2. Second is something that sometimes sounds simpler than it is…. get to the front! Whoever is making up the back of the pack will be scored on first so make sure it’s not you. Being at the front has many other advantages too (such as controlling pack speed) so it’s a great place to hang out.

3. Burn time if you need to. If your jammer is starting in the box – don’t cross that pivot line! Kill as much time as you can before the jammer whistle goes and you might have your jammer back in time to get some points.

4. The opposite of #3! If the opposing jammer is in the box then there’s loads of things you can do to get your player off the line ASAP. You can all take a knee – this means there’s no pack from the start forcing the jam whistle to blow right away. You can run off the line forcing the other team to chase you. You can try and split the pack by starting two blockers waaay back and hoping the other team mark you (this has the same effect as taking a knee). Take your pick.

5. Don’t give your point away. Try to keep in mind if the jammer has already passed you, or if they’re on their scoring pass or not. Then choose your block carefully. If the jammer hasn’t passed your hips then your best bet is to try and positionally block and keep them behind you for as long as possible. If they pass you, then it’s the perfect moment to race forward and whack them in to the crowd!

This is just a small selection of strategies you can use, keep your eyes open as well as the score in mind and a close loss could turn into a close win!

You can find more info about Manchester Roller Derby at our website www.manchesterrollerderby.co.uk

I's got's new's skate's!

Birthday Skates! (mp3)

Monday 18 July 2011

Ten ways derby has helped me in 'real' life

Roller derby is more than a sport; it's a way of life. Roller derby people will take every opportunity to enthuse about this rapidly-growing sport because it is life-affirming and awesome and everyone should give it a go. See what I mean?

Since I started playing last year, I'm finding that things and experiences gleaned from derby often crop up in everyday life and this has prompted me to make a list of ways in which it has helped me. I hope I'm not the only one out there that has experienced this!

1) Getting through a crowded club to get to the toilets = lots easier when you put yourself in jammer mode and seek out those little gaps and nimbly hop between pint-wielding obstacles.

2) In a similar vein, ousting the six-foot person who has just stood in front of you right as your favourite band take the stage. Now, I am not advocating rudeness in anyway and this will only work in a tight crowd but get your foot and shoulder in front of theirs and you will pop back to your rightful position in time to see Eddie Vedder belt out 'Even Flow'. Win.

3) Walking into things doesn't phase you. I walk into things a lot, usually a mixture of daydreaming and clumsiness. I used to stand about looking all hurt and sorry for myself but these days, after many evenings when I first started playing of being hit by people I didn't see coming, I just carry on like nothing has happened.

4) Bruises are no longer a trauma. I don't bruise very much at all but the old me would have sat around worrying about bruises and how long they would last for - whereas now if I get a bruise, I just rue the fact that I wasn't playing derby when it happened.

5) Confidence is less of an issue. After you have walked round a town in sweaty kit and fishnets with helmet hair, walking into a meeting of people you don't know seems a lot less daunting. It's not that I don't care about my appearance, but I know WHEN to care about my appearance and when to just not. Case in point below.



6) Opening doors when my hands are full is no issue at all, so long as they open outwards. I've sadly moved offices so am no longer able to startle my work colleagues with my hip check entrances.


7) You will meet so many people when you start playing derby that as well as making lots of lovely new friends, you will no longer be lost for someone to advise you on practically everything. I've had advice on all sorts, from derby stuff to gigs to check out.


8) My stamina has improved lots making long walks, sprints to catch the bus and unplanned exercising much less of an issue these days.


9) I have muscles that I never used to have which have come in very useful when having a clear out and lugging stuff to the tip, shovelling snow, pushing cars to start them and all sorts of similarly unladylike activities.


10) I stress less. Honestly. I've had to work really hard at getting my head round the fact that once the jam is over, there's nothing you can do to change it. I find myself dealing with other stressful situations in the same way and am much happier for it.

* * *

Feel free to add to this list in the comments - I'm sure there must be some I've missed out! How does roller derby help you in 'real' life?

And speaking of ten more good reasons to come and join us, our Zero2Hero intakes are now nice and regular so get your name down and give it a go - info on our Join us page. If you want to see how it's done, our guys' team (men's derby = merby) are playing in Manchester on 30th July 2011 at CARRY ON JAMMING, with an extra treat of seeing our ladies' team play Newcastle beforehand.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Derby Spotting: Pack Speed

For part 2 of Derby Spotting I'm going to deal with Pack Speed. One of the most common chants of fans at bouts is 'Speed up!!' 'Slow Down!'. Now most people understand speed up, but why would you want them to slow down? Derby's a race right? Wrong! Derby is about helping your jammer whilst hindering theirs. So derby girls are always ready for situations which require them to change the speed of the pack:

1. Your team is winning by a LOT of points.
Speed up! If you’re winning, a great way to hold on to your lead is to tire the opposing jammer out. Yes, your jammer will get tired too, but all you need to do is hold on to the lead you already have.

2. Your jammer is in the penalty box.
Speed up! Your only concern in this situation is to get away from the opposing jammer. If she doesn’t even make 1 pass through the pack then so much the better.

3. You’ve caught the opposing jammer in the pack.
Slow down! If you’re doing a great job of trapping their jammer behind a wall then you probably want to slam the breaks on. This breaks her momentum making it harder to get past & at the same time allows your jammer to fly round with ease. This often happens when you have more blockers on the track than the opposing team.

4. The opposing jammer is in the penalty box.
Slow down! In this situation you want to almost come to a complete stop giving your jammer a chance to score lots of points for as long as possible.

The reason it’s possible to speed up or slow down is because there’s a rule prohibiting ‘intentionally destroying the pack’. If you deliberately speed up or slow down so much that there is no legal pack, you get a penalty, so both teams *have* to stay together or there’s a ‘no pack’ situation. If the refs shout ‘no pack’ no one on the track is allowed to help or hinder anyone else until they’re all back together again. So if you need the pack to slow down & you gradually glide to a meander the other team have to stay with you – they can’t just race off. If you want the pack to speed up, you have to get the opposing team to chase you as you race off in to the sunset.

A more sure-fire way of getting the pack to slow down is to catch one of the opposing blockers behind a wall & slow down in front of them. This is known a catching a ‘goat’. Check out this video of Sun State Roller Girls Vs Victoria:



Skip to 1.15 & watch the Sun State blockers (yellow & black) forming a wall, trapping an opposing blocker behind them. Because they are the largest group of blockers from both teams on the track, they are the pack & the Victoria blockers must either stay with them or help their trapped blocker to escape. Meanwhile, the Sun State jammer is able to get round a lot more times than she would if the pack was moving at a much faster speed.

You can find more info about Manchester Roller Derby at our website www.manchesterrollerderby.co.uk

Tuesday 5 July 2011

A Midsummer Night's Scream write-up

I'm not going to lie - I don't think many MRD skaters were feeling particularly confident prior to our second home bout, 'A Midsummer Night's Scream'. A leak in our training venue The Arcadia's roof meant that a number of sessions building up to the bout had to be cancelled or cut short thanks to Manchester's relentless rain. Some of our stronger players were unavailable to play or had opted not to play to give newer skaters a chance. And then there are the usual organisational stresses that occur whenever hosting an event of this size - our first ever home bout sold out Manchester's Academy 1, with 600 people turning up to watch - and this time around it was to be broadcast live by rduk.tv.

'A Midsummer Night's Scream' had ruffs, ivy, fairies and even a real-life faun. It also, bizarrely, had a rather eighties themed playlist - but we discovered that worked pretty well! 

To kick things off the Montagues took on the Capulets, aiming to end their age-old feud 21st century style in a cherry popper bout featuring new skaters from across the North of England.
Montagues v Capulets
Photo by Jason Ruffell
It was a great bout to watch, and if any of the skaters were nervous it didn't show. The score was finally settled with the Montagues slaying the Capulets, 149 - 92.
Photo by Jason Ruffell

To the header bout...

Feeling the love...
Photo by Jason Ruffell
Given our leaky practice space woes, the day of the bout was the first time we had skated together in a couple of weeks and as this team.  The Central City Rollergirls 'Slay Belles' from Birmingham were our opponents and we had resolved to give it our best shot. 
Sui-Cider looking fierce
Photo by Shirlaine Forrest
The opening jams saw both teams fairly matched, but a gap soon began to appear with CCR taking the lead thanks to stunning jams from Madame Flutterby, Lethal Sizzle and Agent Dana Skurry. The end of the first half saw that lead increase to make it CCR 61 - 29 MRD, and we really had our work cut out in the coming half.
Lex Brawl and Gerty Go Go gang up on Manc Zappa
Photo by Shirlaine Forrest
I don't remember any specific team talk or strategy during half-time, everyone was very calm and collected - which made a nice change! We started the second half without a jammer, but secured our own power jam shortly after. 
G Whizz and Joanna Clout on the offensive
Photo by Shirlaine Forrest
From that point on we fought hard, and began to close that gap with lots of tactical play and awesome jams from Polly Killer and Vic Tori Bee. The second half flew by, it seemed that CCR's announcer Rolls Voyce had informed us there were 25 minutes left and then all of a sudden it was the last jam.  It's trite to say but given a couple more jams, I think we could've pulled it back.
Final score. Well done to The CCR!
Photo by Jason Ruffell
It felt as though we played our hearts out as a team, really gelling and working together instead of just trying to stay on our feet as we did when we first started playing together towards the end of 2010. In some ways, it seemed that the very things that had caused us to feel anxious in the run-up to the bout had actually ended up helping us. We weren't all trained out or relying on stronger players - and any organisational stresses turned into big fat blocks on the track.  CCR are a brilliant team, it was a pleasure to have them and MRD is chomping at the bit for a rematch!
Feeling the love... again!
Photo by Jason Ruffell
In the meantime, however, we can look forward to hosting our third home bout at the end of this month.

Lots of love,
Kate Push

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Carry On Jamming will take place on Saturday 30th July, and Manchester will get its first taste of MERBY. Do not miss this. More details on Facebook or if you're already sold, tickets on our website.