Tonight the Rose City Rollers league teams played each other in the second day of the "Season 6 closing scramble": the High Rollers (HRMF) defeated the Guns N Rollers, and the Heartless Heathers defeated the Break Neck Betties. And let's not forget the Vagine Regime exhibition match: they divided into 2 halves and then played themselves, which felt ... both comfortable (although when women do this politically I get all cranky) and of course hot. The thirty minute bouts were short enough that some players could be in two of them.
I am very much in awe of the physical ability required to play derby. Plus the thing I would find most difficult would be skating while looking behind to see who's trying to come through, which is roughly what the pivot has to do the most of. The last time I went skating (after which I decided to get back to the gym) I found it hard to skate forward and talk. So my hat is off to all the players.
Being a nomad doesn't mean "hanging back because I don't know anyone." It means, "plunging in now, because I might not be around that long," and, "seizing the moment." Mary McCartney turned me on to roller derby and the only derby shirt I have with me says "Boston Massacre" but I wore it anyway. I'm recording my nomad guidelines here and so one of them is: don't worry if you don't have the right shirt. In fact the chances of a nomad having the right shirt (with a local team logo, I mean) are low. This is one of the things we can give up on.
Trying to be festive, I did bring a sequined shawl to throw on and wave. Unfortunately because it was (New Orleans) Mardi Gras colours, during the bout between the the green team and the pink team I was sending an ambiguous signal.
The two things I have problems managing, as a nomad, are my costumes and books. I've left bits of my costumes (mostly given away on purpose; let's keep things moving!) around the world. I only regret one specific pair of greaves that I gave to an airline employee in Florida, sort of as a thank you gift for helping me get my broadsword onto the plane, and sort of because the Holy Spirit suggested that her daughter would like to dance in them, and sort of because making the human connection was an adventure. But they were the pair everyone wanted to borrow (featured in several photos from the first Nimbus) and were great tools for connection generally.
Baggage to drop:
- Worrying about having the right clothes
- Waiting until you know people to plunge into a situation
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