Knitmare?

Delta Force Dawn? Babe Basher? People, I need a derby name!

Tuesday night were the tryouts to become a CT RollerGirl. I've wanted to go to tryouts ever since I found out there was a league here. I LOVE to roller skate. My mom had my siblings and I in skates basically from the moment we could walk. We used to go to the local rink every Thursday night when they would have free skate. I loved it. There was always this REALLY tall guy (and he wasn't just tall bc I was young and short...I saw him a couple years ago and he's still roughly 20 feet tall) who was amazing to watch on skates. He was effortless, turning and gliding, switching feet and going forwards and backwards. He was simply beautiful, Fred Estaire-like...slightly eccentric, though; he used to talk to his danish and coffee all the time. My mom would sometimes skate with him. Man, I miss going to free skate and doing the Alleycat skated at the end of the night. Those were some good times.

But back to tryouts. I was super nervous about it and I totally thought I would chicken out and skip on going. People have told me before, when I've mentioned that I wanted to be a RollerGirl, that I couldn't hack it and that I'm too much of a baby to be able to deal with the abuse the girls take. I used to agree, I still kinf od do but I've finally said "Fuck it" with regards to people saying these things to me and after a slight workout after work, I drove my ass to Waterbury to skate my heart out.

All the girls were super nice and helpful. Some of the refs were there too and I was, suprisingly, very comfortable with everyone once I got over my initial shock of "What the hell am I getting myself into?" It was weird though, I always root for the Elm City Bone Crushers...they're my team! So when I had a girl from an opposing team come teach me stuff my initial reaction was, "I hate you, you're not on my team." So silly. She was wonderful and explained how to fall and what "derby stance" is and how to do T-stops really well. She broke things down to me in ways I understood. It was great. T-stops will take me a while to get the hang of; oh, how they frustrated me. So after I was taught some basic things, I went over to Pearl Jammer with another girl who was trying out for something of an evalution. I guess to see how easily we picked up the moves and how well we skate and such. I can't tell you guys how nervous I was throughout the night. It's weird to have people watching you skate when you know they're disecting everything you do. I'm not used to skating in the squating position but man, did I try.

So Pearl had us go around the rink falling, jumping, stopping, etc. She then showed us whips (grabbing a girl by the waist and using her to project yourself forward) and pushes. I really liked doing whips. I felt really powerful. haha I was so beat at this point...it's been probably close to two years since I've skated. Then we were told we needed to do 5 laps "at your own pace". I knew that it was do or die at this point. She wanted to see what we could do. I needed to really push myself and go as fast and as seamless as I could. I did it. I did well. I was proud of myself and if you know me, I'm my own worst critic. I really felt so good after tryouts. I think had they hated me, I still would have felt amazing for even going out there.

Right...because I was nervous, and not even sure I would go tryout, I told almost no one about it. I told a couple people I work out with bc at that point in the night my mind was made up to go no matter what. The guys laughed and thought I was crazy. They still do, but they wished me luck anyway. I got some really good encouragement from one friend and I love him for it. I needed the positivity. A bunch of people I work with said they wanna know when my first bout is bc they wanna come and see what derby is like. I'm hoping to have my own cheering section for my first bout. I'm sure it's a long time away, but I'm planning ahead. haha

Now my mind is racing with all sorts of questions regarding gear and dress and such. Thank god for the Hard-Hitting Knitters group on Ravelry. I got some awesome encouragement from the girls on there as well and I'm thinking they will be a good resource in addition to the chicas in the CT league. Can you tell I'm excited?

I kinda wanna have the fiber arts in my name somehow...