First bout!

Our league had it's first bout of the season. It was not a sanctioned bout, but it was still a blast!
We had some refs come visit, and a 10 year veteran and founder at a nearby league was our head skating official. 

I worked the penalty box... Piece of cake!(mostly) I like the Pbox. You can actually watch most of the action (although you should really watch the skating officials closely each time they blow a single long whistle for a major, or 4th minor, just in case they are signaling more than one minute must be served.)

The bout was tons of fun, and one of my close friends retired from derby. This makes me a bit sad, but I am glad she retired for the reasons she did. All the best to you M.

No one broke any bones. YAY!!!

And the after party was a good bit of fun. I talked to coaches, skaters, and fans. Which leads me to this little meme I threw together:

I think it's pretty honest. Your mom always sees you as a kid, your buddies assume you are in it for the booty. The fans think you are blind, the skaters think you kick them while they are down, and you are never as cool as you wish you were.  (Plus, the drinking after the bout is good fun.)

The two that really get me, is how the refs are perceived. I heard a lot of complaints, and a little praise.

Some things fans and skaters need to know.

#1, refs are unpaid volunteers, who pay a lot of travel and gear expenses to be able to help out. very seldom does any money go to anything for the refs, unless you buy them a drink. (I have to state that our league gives $ for visiting ref gifts, and paid half of our insurance this year, so they are awesome!) 

#2, when you sit in the stands you can see the entire stadium, you can see the whole track, the benches, the penalty box, the other side of the stadium with the creepy guy eyeballing you in the beer garden.... The refs can see what is 2-6 feet in front of them. Their field of vision is limited to about 2 or 3 skaters at a time, and only 1/3 of their body height. If I look at skates, I can't see above the hip. If I look at hips to head, I can't see the feet. 

A jam ref, for example, is usually watching the center mass of a jammers body during a scoring pass, and it's amazingly easy to miss them crossing the line.

Am I justifying? No. I am explaining. To the fans (my friends included) who want to ref from the stands, I would encourage you to find a time where you can skate with a pack in proximity, video tape it from the outside, and see how many calls you can make Vs. the number you will miss.

I don't want to miss any calls at all, I want to see it all, call it all, and assure the safety of the skaters to the best of my ability, but the reality is you have to forgive yourself for missing things, even if they are obvious from the beer garden.

#3, Well, sometimes we do kick you while you are down,(figuratively) it's just a part of the sport. I don't think anyone does it out of malice.

#4, The perceived division between refs and skaters really annoys the hell out of me. If we didn't like the sport, or the skaters, we wouldn't volunteer to do it. We don't think we are better than anyone. In the past I suppose most refs where I am at didn't hang out with skaters a lot. The fear of appearing biased, or the fact that some skaters hold a grudge over a bad call has prevented that. I don't really care if someone assumes I am biased. I am just as honest and harsh with my friends as I am with strangers in my life, and no matter what you do, someone will always believe what they choose to believe.




Enough of that crap, lets chill, have a beer, talk plates wheels and boots, and whatever else. I like the kind of people with the gusto to play this game. You can be strange( I know I am), but don't be a stranger.