Take 5 with...
July 1, 2010 | TALLAHASSEE
Written By: Professor McGonnaKill
We here at TRG HQ want to introduce you to as many people involved with TRG as we can. We hope you enjoy the “Take 5 with…” series. 5 minutes, 5 questions, 5 people from around TRG. Aren’t we clever?
Introducing #11 Pixie Pounder, #517 Nikki Nailer, #JLA8 Martian Manhater (who would like us to remind you she is NOT a Black Lantern), TRG announcer extraordinaire Showtime, and NSO Auntie Bellum.
- What is your favorite thing about roller derby?
PP:I love sports and have played sports my entire life! I love derby because it allows women to be strong physically and mentally along with be sexy all at once. You don't get that in many sports. I also love the family atmosphere in the league. We really are on giant extended family!
NN: The crazy hard workouts and super fun bouts!
MM: It's very social, yet lives outside of societal expectations.
ST: The sheer enthusiasm of the skaters and the fans. So many hours of training for a 60 minute bout... yet not only do they participate... they pay to train.
AB: Before every practice we are all sitting around getting our gear and our skates on. We all greet people we haven’t seen in a while, hug people who might need it. We make sure anyone new has skates and gear and try to all say hello. And there is chatter about our lives and our team and skates and wheels and boys and shorts and such. It feels a little like a family dinner; all of us coming together from all sorts of paths in life and putting on our gear and becoming skaters that together form a team. - What is your favorite position to play or move to make on the track?
PP, NN, &MM (all smiling): BLOCKER!
PP: I don't care what position I'm in as long as I'm a blocker. I love to hit girls!
AB: During a bout I am usually in the middle of the ring keeping track of things like penalties or the score or the penalty box time. I love and admire the girls on skates but my role has moments were I feel awesome too. Like when you have two refs shouting about different penalties and you manage to capture both. Or at the end of the game when you look back on your work and feel like you caught what happened which is not as easy as it sounds in a game that moves as fast as derby.
ST: Not applicable for my job in derby, but I love it when an fast opposing jammer blasts into the pack only to be stymied by a well practiced core of skaters. - What do you appreciate most about our fans?
ST: Their continued support and energy!!!
MM: Our fans are pretty classy ladies and gents. I've found them to be rather thoughtful and creative.
AB: I love that they come to have fun, not just to sit and watch like we are playing golf. It gives the room such wonderful energy when everyone is out for a good time.
PP: Their dedication and love for the sport. We wouldn't be able to do this without them. They have grown and learned roller derby right along with us. It is really true that the harder they cheer the harder we play. My chest gets full of pride when I knock a girl down and I can hear the crowd cheer.
NN: The amazing support they give whether we are in town or out. - Why should someone come to a bout?
PP : To see local women working hard to give Tallahassee a roller derby team they can be proud of. There is a lot of jam packed action and sexy ladies on skates...I mean do I really have to say more then "sexy ladies on roller skates and fishnets beating the mess out of each other.
NN: Why wouldn't you? You've never had so much fun!
AB: It is a beautiful game and the more I watch it the more I love the strategy and the skill, but it is the sort of thing that starts off visceral. Derby is fun, we are having fun and we want you to come and have fun with us.
MM: Derby is an amazing, fast paced game and TRG has some incredible athletes!
ST: Its not your mommas roller derby! Modern Flat track Roller Derby is fast paced, highly skilled and motivated all bouting to a rockin soundtrack! - Anything else you want to add about derby, TRG, etc…
MM: Be nice to the ladies in your life, they might have an alter ego.
PP: We are some of the strongest women I have ever met. Period.
ST: It's the fastest growing team sport in the world!!
NN: TRG is fantastic not only because we are a bunch of athletes but because we are friends too. I believe we play together as well as we do because we like each other and when you see someone hitting your friend, OF COURSE you're gonna go after them!
AB: It sometimes seems like every woman I see is being squished. They hunch over like they are carrying something heavy, they squeeze in like they are ashamed that they have to take up space and they want to be as small as possible.
I see girls like this come to derby practice, timid and apologetic. Then they learn to skate, and to hit. They learn to make space for themselves on the track, to make space for others, to slip by a wall meant to keep them slow. And it changes them. After a while they start holding themselves straighter, taking up space without apology. Sometimes whispery little voices get louder. They get harder to ignore. I don’t know where that magic comes from, but it is beautiful and I want to do my best to keep it alive. Derby is fun to watch, but the derby transformation- that is something that really gets to me.
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