We had another scrimmage. I Jam reffed the first scrimmage, then pack reffed the second.

It is utterly amazing how an otherwise intelligent individual with some small understanding of the rules can totally screw up on the most basic things in the heat of making the call. I think I put two or three skaters on the bench over a minor.

 

At least I can laugh at myself. 

Our league generally has a Q&A at the end of each scrimmage, which is usually a civil conversation about the rules,(by usually I mean it can easily become a total shitshow if someone want's to throw anger around.) and frankly, an opportunity for skaters to call us on our bad calls. Generally speaking it's a great practice and it helps everyone learn more.
 

During our Q&A someone observed that a skater had been benched for a minor back block, to which I stated: "That was a mistake on my part...and I stand by it!" 

I think that is (in my noobie paridigm) quintessentialy derby reffing. Shit happens. Mistakes can be made, and you try your best to avoid making them. The more you make, the more you learn and grow, but standing by your calls is imperative. Yes, it was a shitty call. Yes, I see my mistake and will try my damnedest to not do it again. Thank you for sitting on the bench knowing full well I screwed the pooch, and not complaining. 

I think I was probably 60/40 on my calls. and 40% error is really unacceptable to me. I wonder how a zebra kicks itself.  I missed making a tripping call, and I saw the coach signing it to me. Sadly even though I saw the skater go down... even though I saw no one but my jammer was near her at the time, I still had a skater blocking the view of my jammer's legs. If I can't see her legs make contact, no matter how obvious it was, I can't call it. *sigh* The obvious call, is sometimes more like the "oblivious call."

On another note: If you are a ref and you wear glasses, losing them might not be a good idea. I wore my prescription sunglasses and the "blind ref" jokes never ended. I like to be th one to make fun of me, so I will keep the damn sunglasses and I will acquire a white cane. Yes. I am an attention whore. If I am going to miss calls while I tackle the learning curve, I may as well inject a little humor into the situation.


Sincerely,

⠠⠃⠁⠃⠽ ⠠⠵⠑⠃⠗⠁

Well derby fans, it's been a while. I've missed a lot of practices because they were cancelled. We've had a good bit of snow here in the northwestern states.

My inner man, (who has a 4wd for winter) really was annoyed by the cancellations, but my inner ref approves whole heatedly. Safety first!

Our local Derby Enforcement Agency had a practice which consisted mostly of track layout, signaling and some rules discussion. I was sad we didn't get to do any skating, but the whole group has to function as one unit. With the potentially chaotic mix of visiting refs and NSOs it's vital that we all communicate in a certain way.The time was better spent working on the basics, standing on wheels is easy, communicating with other human beings (and zebras) is hard.

I went to a practice this evening, which as usual had one skater on the ground with a trashed knee cap and ankle. Get better soon B!

Did I mention I was the only Zebra at practice? It makes me sort of sad.









Of course one the coaches invited me to make calls as I skated with the players, which was almost impossible. There are three teams in our league, and with at least 14 skaters in groups of three playing "14 jammers go through a pack all at once" it was a lot to keep up with.




(O.k. I admit it, there were so damn many elbows, back blocks and so much track cutting I could have more penalty calls in one night than I had POGs in my childhood)

I didn't call anything, being the lone zebra.  In retrospect, I suppose being the only one, and making bad calls mixed with some good ones is better than not making calls at all. Damn I have a lot to learn. But hey, a guy has to do something for free beer!

 Well, I had my first practice session as a skating official.  For the first scrimmage I shadowed an experienced Jam ref, annoying the living shit out of the guy with questions, pointing out calls he missed, and generally being a pest. (I kid, I kid, he was happy to teach.)  It was a bit confusing, as I had forgotten a few of the fundamental rules, and of course the officiating guide can only cover so much material. (and let's be real, I can't remember all that shit yet!)

Shocker #1: It's harder than it seems to avoid the 6 other officials in the middle of the track.
Thankfully we didn't slam into each other.

 For the second of the scrimmages I shadowed the head ref and did the same thing. I had less questions about pack reffing, and caught a few missed calls.

Shocker #2: I've known it for a while, but before I ever stood in the middle of a track I wondered how it was they needed so many refs, and how the hell they missed so much. It's easy to miss a ton of calls, the view from the inside sucks, and you really have to judge so many things, distances, center of body mass, timing for contact, amount of impact, zones of impact... It can make your head spin.  I think this explains it well:
Roller Derby - The Smartest Referees in the Whole World

Not to mention that having a hell of a case of bronchitis, or something like that, today it feels like I contracted some form of plague.

On the last scrimmage I really really wanted to pack ref. (I secretly want to be an outside pack ref. yes, I know this qualifies me as a masochistic fool, and everyone tells me not to do it.)   Instead I was assigned to follow the jam ref again. When I got there he pushed me out of my comfort zone and told me I should jam ref and that he would back me up.

Nerves aside, I realized I had to get out of my comfort zone and give myself permission to make some epic mistakes, miss 1,000 calls, and piss some skaters off.

and I did all of those things beautifully. By the end of the scrimmage I knew I had driven them all absolutely insane, The coach wanted to kick me in the balls, and the captain was probably too busy checking out my butt to care.  I did know that all of my penalty calls throughout all 3 scrimmages were 100% spot on, so I guess my failures (learning experiences) elsewhere were forgivable.


Other random shit: We had a visiting skater from New Zealand and she did her kiwi sisters proud. (We are in Washington state.) A skater cracked some ribs, (get better L!) EDIT: and I just found out another skater broke or fractured her ankle that night too. (take care of yourself P!)  this season we have had some brutal practices, resulting in a few knee and ankle injuries, 2 broken ankles, and a busted tibia IIRC.


 Derby really isn't a sport for the timid, you don't get that many broken bones in the NFL preseason.




P.S. This is about right:

Fuck Yeah, Roller derby Zebra (meme tumblr)

So, What is this roller derby shit?

I used to go watch every other bout, wondering what was going on as a bunch of chicks in knee pads rotated in a clusterfuck of spandex, nylons, sequins, and leather. Sounds like some amazing porno right? Well, to some fans I'm sure it is. To me, it was exactly what it is: A contact sport, played for position and speed, and beer, all on quad skates. (o.k. no beer on skates, there's a rule on that.)

Could it get any cooler? contact sports on skates.  In short: Yes, it can get cooler. You can get to know the players. If you want it to remain cool as possible, avoid learning all of the rules. For nerdy types, who like to understand things check out "my website" and favorite books for the rules of the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association. I for one, am a nerd, and have no shame.

I had a few friends who were WFTDA skaters, and after seeing me skate after a good 14 year brake, they kept telling me I should come ref. I was apprehensive, but my family pushed me too, reminding me I had wanted to get involved for a long time.

So here I am, I went through "booty camp"(not as sexy as it sounds, trust me.) did about 4 or 5 scrimmages (that's a practice to you total noobs) worth of NSO (non skating official) work  and got my insurance for the 2012 year. Tomorrow will be my first scrimmage as a skating official.

I'll leave you folks with that as an introduction, I could probably write a novel, but I'm pretty sure "A clockwork Orange" is taken, and nadsats is almost as confusing as derby lingo.

-Baby Zeeb



P.S.