Hello again web-stalkers and readers.

 I apologize for my long absence from this blog.
I was behind on this blog by a ways as we were approaching bout 2 of our season, and after a ref only practice I was traveling to a local restaurant to have dinner with the other refs and NSOs (remember them? you know, those invisible people in the bright fuckin pink shirts? The ones who make derby possible just as much as any ref.)

  Anyway... I digress, where were we?  On the way to dinner! and I stopped at a stop light... Now I'm not one of those guys who needs a giant truck to feel cool, in fact I feel the need to under compensate for my awesome NSFW ................



attitude, so I tend to drive very small European cars.
 

So as I was at a stop light I was Bro-dozed by a driver in a S.U.V. who has no business on 4 wheels.

Oh yeah Derby... So I was injured, and can't skate for a while.
It was very close to bout 2, and I wasn't in any condition to help with non skating official work. I stayed at home swearing at the low quality web stream until I could handle it no longer and resorted to chewing up some cherry flavored children's opium based pain pills to ward off the headache caused by annoyance with the situation.

 I've been going to scrimmages to learn more N.S.O. tasks, and I am looking forward to bout 3, coming up in 4 days!

Anyway, what was I getting at?....

Something entirely different.

 It's actually been near a year now since I joined the booty camp!

and thankfully I can say, although I have slowly become part of our little derby family, and we are of course a dysfunctional family, I want to rant a little about what seems to be a common issue in  derby.


Bullying, and other unsportsmanlike conduct.
I'll preface this by saying what I have witnessed of bullying behavior in our league has been minimal, but it has existed.

 It hasn't always been the classic version of bullying, nor has it been all that bad. It's been more of the variety of emotional blackmail, snide comments, personal smack talk, and quite frankly, what I find to be fairly normal in any large social dynamic.

(Readers: Don't ask me for specific examples, it's not going to happen. I don't owe it to anyone to explain what I have observed, but if you know what I am talking about, I encourage you to address the issue. I might be family, but if I am still not, nor will I ever be a league member. )

Team attitudes, and skater attitudes can vary, and at times I wonder if we aren't sitting on some sort of social powder keg.

I'm the sort of person who likes to figure things out, so I'd rather light a fire under this keg and see how much powder is in it now, then wait until it gets much more full and blows.

 Maybe it's because I am a man.. I will never fully understand the minds of women, and I don't want to. A full understanding of the feminine psyche might cause my head to explode.









While a healthy team and individual rivalry is good, this is derby, you have an alter ego for a reason.
Put it on the track, play the bout, then put it in your pocket and don't be a bitch.
Yes... I actually said it... DON'T BE A BITCH. 

Someone has to say it, and not behind the backs of everyone in a hushed whisper to a friend. I don't really have any derby friends at all. I have a derby family, I didn't pick them all, and they didn't pick me, but there's some love there, and the best thing about family is you can tell them when they are fucking up.

Main Fuck up:

We are still a very new ref crew, and the other night at scrimmage two of our newest refs (female refs I might add, which explains the social dynamic a bit more) skated their first scrimmage, trying to learn the ropes.

#1 When a ref is new, and you realize you can get away with breaking the rules, it's not an excuse to hit high, skate unsafe, trip, or otherwise be a BITCH. This is how injuries happen, and I don't frankly give a shit if you hate that other skater, respect the game.


#2 When a ref is brand new, there is no need to argue with them in excess, when they are new, as I know from experience, odds are good that half the time they did make a mistake in their call... And the other half, you are dead wrong. Refusal to recognize that one can be wrong makes one a BITCH. (this goes both ways, I'm not just picking on skaters...or my own family here.)

#3 This is Derby, not a hit squad. Smashing on your opponents is encouraged, but not when the end goal is to put her in th ehospital, disable he,r or otherwise knock her out.

I understand the strategy, and yes it makes sense, but Derby is played for the points, and that skater might be a bad-ass in a helmet right now, but in 2 hours she's probably going to be a mother with a job, kids to feed, and a life of her own.

#4 I enjoy a drink too. Sometimes I can embarrass myself. But I never cause embarrassment or injury to the league, or my crew of Zebras. While this is a very rare occurrence, I have seen it on 3 occasions in a year (hell, that's less than 1% if you were out ever day of the year.) If you can't handle your drink and conduct yourself, don't make other people babysit you... Grow up!

That concludes this rant. I hope it doesn't garner hate because it isn't personal, and you don't have to agree with it. It's just an opinion, and you know how those can smell.

Think about what sportsmanlike conduct is... Do it! Represent the league.
And lets keep a positive attitude. We all love this sport, lets love the sport and respect each other.