A Taste(r) of Things to Come

If all that Big O action has been whetting your appetite for destruction (and why wouldn’t it?), you’ll be happy to know that you can learn the hits, blocks and jams of roller derby at one of our regular Taster Days. ‘What’s that all about, eh?’ we hear you ask. Well, ask no more.

Our most recent Taster Session took place on Sunday May 1. The day started out with an off-skates introduction to derby (the whats, the hows, the whos and the whys), led by our fabulous league member BA Humbug. Then, thanks to our intermediate and advanced pals who lent their kit, the newbies got a look at all the gear and protection that goes into derby: skates (obvs), knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, helmets and mouth guards (brought from home, because nobody wants to share those). While they were doing this, they were sharing a hall with our brand-new ad hoc team, the WarriARRGS, a challenge team made up of mixed level skaters to play closed, friendly games with local teams, and got an up-close look at a scrimmage situation, plus a sneak peek at what to expect from roller derby once they pass their mins.

Thankfully, nobody was frightened off, and the group got down to a warm-up, before strapping on their skates and having a go. Everyone goes through a wobbly beginning (eight wheels is very different from two feet), but soon the group were having a go at doing a few laps of the track. This was followed by trying stopping for the first time (always important), and T-Stops were the order of the day. Balance exercises and skull crushing followed (skating without lifting your legs from the ground, using your thigh muscles to guide your skates in and out, right foot mirroring left foot, in order to keep moving forward in a pack situation).

After all that hard work, the group decided it was time for some fun: Hot Dog Tag, one of ARRG’s fave on-track games. Two skaters are assigned to be ‘mustard’, and have to tag the other skaters on track. Once tagged, the skater (or ‘hotdog’) must lie down on the floor and can’t get up until two other skaters lie down, one on each side of her (creating a ‘bun’). The game is a bit of fun, but works wonders for creating awareness of who’s on track, being aware of your own position on track, and, of course, dodging and skating quickly away from opponents. The last exercise of the day was crossovers – an imperative skill when it comes to getting quickly around the track.

Taster Day leader, Aisa Typhoon, said:

‘Everybody tried really hard and improved a lot in the session: the start was pretty wobbly, but they were all showing lots of stability by the end! Really good work – we’re looking forward to seeing them all in the next Skate Skills 101.’

The hope is that our taster pals will have enjoyed their time so much they’ll sign up to do our Skate Skills 101 programme – a 14-week course that teaches everything newbie skaters need to know to complete their minimum skills tests and progress to competitive skating, or refereeing!

Our next Taster Session is on the 4th December and the next intake begins on 15th January 2017! Email [email protected] for a place on the course!