This Is Roller Derby.

Darby, by Myka Jelina

Today was the day. Today, I became part of something bigger than myself. Today I started roller derby.

The Geelong Roller Derby League had their sign-up day today, so at 4.30pm myself and about 10 other women were sitting in the sweltering heat of the big blue Barwon Valley Activity Centre shed, listening to some of my derby heroes talk about what we are going to work through during our Fresh Meat course. Can I just say, Ace of Hearts, Eva War, and Boneyard Betsy are really wonderful in person, and I now respect them even more than I did for their on-skate performances.

The tenish of us are all different. I didn’t get a chance to really talk to anyone before everyone left, but we’re all different ages, have different body shapes and sizes. Some have piercings and tats, others (like me) had none. Some came in full make up, hair up etc, some didn’t. And pretty much everyone signed the form to start training. I like that we have such a diverse group, and look forward to getting to know the other women in my intake, as well as the rest of the league, in the weeks to come.

Fresh Meat starts on Sunday in 2 weeks time, and will include both off-skate fitness & strength training, as well as learning how to skate safely, fall, lean and all the other fun derby stuff. Some people looked surprised at the prospect of having to do push-ups and sit-ups, something which I was already anticipating from years in other sports, and from my research of derby. Being honest, the prospect of the fitness training excites me, as I’m really looking forward for a new opportunity to push myself.

And I am going to have to start pushing myself. Over the two months since I left on conference leave, I’ve been very very slack with my physio, and it’s starting to show. If I’m going to be any good at derby, and avoid needless injury, I have to start getting back in to it, so that’s what I’m going to do. As of right… NOW! I’m going to work hard, train hard, and get back to my peak. I’ll be aiming to run through my full physio program twice a day, as I was when I hurt my shoulder this time last year. I’ll also be aiming to spend at least 30mins on my skates every day, even if it is only around the house, as I was doing before I went overseas.

I’m very excited that I am finally able to make a start in the sport of roller derby, after a couple of years of waiting, watching, and wishing.  Bring. It. On.

Neysa xo