A Quick Update

Team Photo taken for Portsmouth News 15.01.11

So since the last post on here was almost two months ago I thought it was way due an update on here, even more so when the team continues to go from strength to strength, to the point were we have been forced to setup a waiting list for potential new skaters, with the interest in the team only growing since the team got featured in two local papers, with “R.I.P McMurphy” even becoming our first featured cover girl (or should be Cover wench?) for "The Daily Echo". Needless to say it was an interesting conversation trying to explain what derby was to my Grandparents, much less my Granny Mac referring to me by my derby name, after I sent them copies of the articles.

R.I.P McMurphy - The Southern Echo 15.01.11

Still while we might have a girls queuing up around the block to earn their place, sadly the same cannot be said for our hunt for Referee’s which so far has only attracted a couple of people, which in a way I can understand, especially as being a ref might not seem like the most exciting role to play seeing how you have the dusty tome, which is the rules of Roller Derby to memorise while the derby gals are having all that fun, skating hard and knocking lumps out of each other, but I’ve been honestly surprised by how much fun being a Ref is, especially seeing how fast paced this sport is, just calling penalties and looking out for misplays is strangely exhilarating and with stripes being so sliming what is there not to like about the role?

As part of my on going training regime for the role, I have frequently found myself sponging whatever tips and info I can off the ref’s from other more established teams, especially seeing how I’m the first ref this team had, so lacking in any form of senior ref to learn from, which only makes it all the more amusing when I have my fellow ref’s advising me to speak to the team’s Head ref, which via the process of elimination would mean that person is….err well me and seeing how talking to myself didn’t seem overly constructive, I have spent most of these last few months, no doubt bugging the hell out of any ref, willing to field my numerous questions. One person in particular I can credit as being a big help would be “Scoot’her” who is currently a ref with the “Brighton Rockers” and who was also nice to come and run a training session with the team, which was not only great in terms of giving us new drills to try, but also helped re-inspire my Derby Ref dream by helping me to refocus my efforts and to also show me a standard to aim for, which honestly really helps especially with not having a more senior ref in our league.

Outside of training it’s safe to say that my attempts to complete “The Roller Derby Challenge” failed miserably, thanks to various events which meant that I not only fell behind, but was left completely unmotivated in terms of running drills or anything else concerning the challenge, but I guess there will always be next year. Still in the meantime I’m still skating hard, even though I’m finding now that my gear is holding me back, in particular my skates, which are currently still the same Roller Derby M1 Vipers I started with, which I know a lot of skaters frown on and generally write off as being crap, but they have been good skates to learn with but now I generally find myself needing the next level of skate, so hence the reason I'm currently working stupid amounts of overtime in the forth circle of hell, better known as my day job (who contractally can't be named), trying to scrape the extra cash together to get myself a pair of Riedell’s, which would ideally be my next skates and which currently continue to elude me, thanks to bills mysteriously appearing as soon as I get close to the funds I need, so looks like I’m gonna be with my current skates for abit longer, unless some nice person at Riedell’s decides to send me a pair (hint hint).

Still with so many of the team getting close to passing minimum skills and hence allowing us to field our first team in the derby leagues, I’m only working harder to cram these rules and learn the various hand signals and whistles, so here’s hoping that it all eventually slots into place, otherwise I guess their might be more than a few confused folks, wondering what sort of confused version of the YMCA I appear to attempting on skates, which while no doubt amusing as hell, really isn’t constructive in terms of reffing.

The Roller Derby Workout Challange Begins

So the holiday season has been and gone and what would normally be a season spent in a food induced coma, while attempting to get the blood alcohol level up to the point were you sweat wine, was sadly not to be this year thanks to catching a darn cold, leaving me feeling half dead and totally drained most of the time, which honestly isn’t the most fun way to spend the holidays. Hopefully you guys had a better time of things than me while the Derby world continues to beckon as the Roller Wenches enter a new year, with the goal of getting basic skills passed, so that we can finally get out there and start making a name for this team and carving out our own derby legacy and it’s clear already that in the months since the team formed, who the core team members are and the ones who really want this, especially with several of the team including myself signing up for, what could be seen as the derby version of a post holiday detox, known simply as the “Roller Derby Workout Challenge”.

The challenge is essentially an intense (read insane) eight week program combining both exercise routines and meal plans, designed specifically for Roller Derby skaters, with the intention of taking your regular training routine to the next level. This is also the kind of program which really tests were your breaking point is and forces you to push on through and this is just the feeling I’ve got just from reading through the exercise and meal plans…it’s safe to say this is going to be a tough eight weeks.

Why am I subjecting myself to this? Well partly it was being spurned on by several of the wenches taking part, which knowing other people going through the same thing, tends to make these things easier as you can spurn each other on, to go the whole distance rather than just giving up around week two. The other main reason is just down to the desire to get better at my chosen sport; despite currently training as a ref at the moment, I still feel that same desire to push myself to get better and plus it’s a whole lot more fun than just joining a gym.

So over the coming weeks I will be posting how the challenge is going, if only as a further inspiration to keep going, especially when things get tougher, as we move into the later weeks of the challenge (joy), but then I guess this why it’s a challenge, rather than a giveaway.

As part of this challenge I will be also be required to complete Homework assignments, the first of which I have completed below.

1) What do you think will be the hardest nutrition guideline for you to follow?

No doubt reworking my meal plans, so that it’s more centred around certain foods rather than set meals.

2) We want you to think before you eat, do you think before you shop?? Name three derby owned businesses.

Blood and Thunder Magazine, Wicked Skatewear and Derby Vixen who is truly the queen of custom toe guards.....do any of those count??

3) What is one thing that you have in your fridge or pantry that you thought was healthy but may now be rethinking?

Noodles though honestly it’s probably for the best, seeing how my attempts to use them in stir-fry in the past, have usually ended badly, as a greasy cold mess…yummy.
Honestly though I not sure how the meal plans will play out, seeing how I currently have around £20 a week for food, so will do my best to stick to them or at least rework my existing meals to be more inline, with what I should be eating, so if any part of the challenge which I’m going to fail I think this will be the part I do. Still surely it’s better to make some kind of change to what your eating rather than no change?

4) Do you know your league history? Who founded your league and in what year?

The “Portsmouth Roller Wenches” were formed in June 2010, by Laura “Luna Lolly” Burrell (though don’t quote me on her being the founder). The team inspiring the short lived men’s team “The Scurvy Dogs” who also came together that same month, though despite the best intentions, fall apart in September due to lack of interest. I signed up with the Roller Wenches as their first ref (in training) around late October with Michelle AKA “IC Hell” also signing up for ref duties shortly afterwards. The team now roll onwards with their training with the intention of getting the team to bouting standard.

5) How did you come up with your derby name?

“Rudyard Crippling” was the result of much scrawling down a huge list of names and then being forced to eliminate 99% of them, due to someone else already having claimed them. It ended up being almost by accident that I stumbled across the name, having picked up a copy of “The Jungle Book” and suddenly realising that “Kippling”, sounded a lot like Crippling and hence the name was born.

6) Attach a photo to your note that conveys how you feel going into this challenge. It can be of you, or of an object, or something you find on the web.

When ever I think of this challange I keep thinking of Rocky style montages.......so on a similar tact here's "Montage" from "Team America World Police"

So that's the easy part done, now onto the not so easy part, which will not only be sticking to the exercise plan, but doing it every day which seeing how I'm having to give up caffinee as part of this challange, it's gonna be real intresting to see how this goes.