WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK ROLLER DERBY MAGAZINE ISSUE 22, WINTER 2013
proud partner of the WFTDA
fiveonfivemag.com
fiveonfive contents 34-35
4-5 advice
ask ms d’fiant and suzy hotrod!
WFTDA Even the all stars were once rookies. We reached out to some members of this year’s Championship teams to find out how they discovered and fell in love with our sport.
6-7 business do you know your rights?
8-11 health and fitness sports enhancement drinks shin splints
14-23 games and coaching
44-45
order of operations: the cutting edge roller derby – the sport 2013 WFTDA championships recap
general anxiety disorder and roller derby
26-28 gear
Culta Skaro of State College Area Roller Derby shares how roller derby helped her overcome a lifelong battle with anxiety.
38-41 junior derby junior derby gear
42-43 rookie
Preflash Gordon
a guide to derby gear
52-53 secrets of an overachieving derby girl
54-55 international derby 56-59 art and media
Derby, work, family, school, etc... it all can be too much. Cat Owta Hell explains how she manges it all.
Jules Doyle
CUP
health and fitness
shin splints GYPSY BONES (JENNIFER HRONKIN MD), BOULDER COUNTY BOMBERS
what are shin splints? Shin splints, otherwise known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), is a broad term for pain in the front of the leg anywhere between the knee and the ankle that occurs with exercise. They are most commonly located on the medial side of the shin (toward the inside of the leg along the tibia, known as medial shin splints), but can also occur toward the front outside part of the tibia (anterior shin splints). They tend to be a generalized pain (occurring over an area of several inches), as opposed to a pinpoint pain. Shin splints are a result of cumulative stress rather than an acute injury, and the symptoms can develop and increase gradually. The cause of shin splints is multifactorial and often debated. The muscles on the front of the shin that work to lift the foot are encased in fascia, a tough non-stretchy tissue. With exercise, the muscles also will naturally swell inside the fascia and this can cause pain. The underlying bone as well can develop microscopic stress fractures that can contribute to the problem. who is prone to shin splints? Athletes that rapidly increase the amount of training they are doing, or change the surface or footwear that they use, can be prone to shin splints. Overpronators (people with flat feet) Walter Romero / Hispanic Attack can be at risk as well, along with people with weak ankle muscles or a tight achilles tendon. Derby players are at particular risk due to excessive stress placed on one leg and hip from always skating the same direction around the track. treatment and prevention Any athlete hates to hear this advice, but to heal ongoing problems with shin splints, it is often necessary to rest
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and even take some time off from your sport. Relative rest or “active rest,” switching to an activity like cycling or swimming that does not cause the shins to hurt, may be a good way to go. Ice and anti-inflammatories can help, as well. Some skaters use foam or plastic rollers (like “The Stick”) to stretch the affected muscles. If you are an overpronator, an orthotic in your skates can help the problem. There are also neoprene compression sleeves that are sold to wear on the lower leg that some athletes have found useful. Tape or an Ace bandage may also be used to wrap the lower leg. Physical therapy and stretches can help. Stretch the achilles and calves on a regular basis. Some have advocated walking on your heels for 30 seconds, alternating with walking flat footed for 30 seconds, repeated for four or five minutes, several times a day, as both a treatment and prevention strategy. Another stretch to try involves kneeling with the toes pointed straight back, then sitting back onto the calves and heels until tension is felt in the shins. It may be difficult to spend a lot of time in derby skating in the opposite direction, but trying to do so for cooldown at the end of a workout might help to even things up a bit. when to return to activity? Skaters with shin splints may need to take two to four weeks of relative rest to allow the chronic stress of shin splints to heal. They may take three to six months to heal fully. When resuming activity, it is important to do it gradually: start at less than 50% time and intensity, and work up slowly to your normal schedule. If pain resumes, it’s a sign to notch back. Warming up and stretching before exercise, and icing immediately afterward, can help, as well. Not intended as medical advice. Consult your doctor with any problems.
Happy Flavors Rice Pilaf Catholic Cruel Girl, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls photo by Jean Schwarzwalder ingredients: 2 cups brown basmati rice 2 cups dried apricots cut into medium sized chunks 1 cup dried tart cherries 1 cup dried coconut flakes 2 cups slivered almonds 2 tablespoons coconut oil 2 cups chopped yellow onion ½ cup chopped red pepper ½ cup chopped yellow pepper
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 teaspoons curry powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan bring the rice and 3½ cups water to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmmer until rice in tender (about 45 minutes). Combine apricots and tart cherries in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let soak until fruit is plump. Put coconut and almonds on two separate baking sheets. Bake until golden (coconut – about 3-4 minutes, almonds – 6-8 minutes). In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt coconut oil. Add onion and peppers. Cook for five minutes. Add ginger, garlic, curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper cardamom, orange peel, lemon peel and cinnamon. Stir for about one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in rice, dried fruit, toasted almonds and toasted coconut. Spoon mixture into a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until mixture is hot in the center.
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wftda
how did you discover roller derby?
Masonite Burn
Watching the amazing talent on display at the 2013 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championships in November, it’s easy to forget that all of these skaters were were once brand new to the sport. Leading up to Championships weekend, the WFTDA asked a few of the participating skaters to share their stories of how they discovered and fell in love with the sport of women’s flat track roller derby.
The Smacktivist in her very first game, a themed intraleague bout called “Skatemare”
Mick Swagger in her first season on the Rose City Rollers travel team
The Smacktivist #365
Mick Swagger #53
Ohio Roller Girls
Gotham Girls Roller Derby (Formerly Rose City Rollers)
When I joined the Ohio Roller Girls in August of 2011, I had no
When I was Rose City “fresh meat” the WFTDA Championships
idea how the league and the sport would become a catalyst for
were held in Portland. I was mesmerized by the ability of the
positive changes in my life. I also had no idea what an intense
skaters at the top level of the sport. I knew I wanted to be there.
and dedicated league OHRG was.
The following week at practice before we started our timed sprint
I feel like I was definitely set up for success with a league
laps, our coach yelled, “Who watched Championships and wants
that plays so many games, having played very competitive
to be there next year?” I immediately raised my hand and yelled
travel hockey throughout high school. My first season was such
“I do.” No one else raised their hand or yelled like me. I felt a little
a whirlwind and I jumped right into playing with the Charter Team,
dorky, but that was what my heart wanted. I vowed to never stop
as well as with our B team, Gang Green, that I didn’t even have
working until I got there. Within eight months, I was bouting with
time to feel much like a rookie.
Rose City’s travel team. Every moment on RCR TT when we
If I had one piece of advice for new skaters or folks thinking about skating it’s be kind to yourself. Give yourself time to learn and develop as a skater and don’t be hard on yourself if you aren’t getting things right away! It will come with practice! Derby should be fun!
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advanced in ranking to Regionals and then to Championships was a significant, cry like a baby, joyous occasion.
Neal “Hassle Brad” Humphris
Bloody Mary and some of the Texecutioners at the West Region Playoffs in 2008
Raw Heidi #357
Bloody Mary #30
London Rollergirls
Texas Rollergirls
I had heard of these mysterious ‘rollergirls’ in London before but
The first glimpse I got of roller derby was on a poster at
had assumed they were some kind of vintage hipster types, so it
Rock ‘N’ Roll Rentals, where my boyfriend at the time worked.
wasn’t until my pal invited me to “drink beer and watch girls
The rollergirls were coming in to rent their PA there, and they
smash into each other on rollerskates,” that my interest in derby
gave us tickets. The program said, “Want to be a rollergirl?
was really piqued. But boy was it piqued!! I worked myself into
See Melicious.”
a fever pitch leading up to the bout, and of course we were late,
These are the moments that change your life, right? I didn’t
and of course we got lost, but when we finally got into the sports
know how to skate before roller derby – in fact, I had two plates
centre, I was immediately struck by that derby bolt that got
in my arm from a terrible broken arm at a childhood skating party,
so many of us.
and I had been certain I never needed to roller skate again. But
How could this game even EXIST without me in it? How had it
something happens when you see yourself reflected in roller
thus far escaped my attentions? And how could I charm or trick
derby. Before I could flinch, I was carpooling to a skating rink
my way into skating ASAP with these kind of tough, scary looking
twice a week and trying to learn to skate backwards, on brown
cool chicks? I breathlessly told one of the skaters I wanted to join
rental skates, in a corner of roller derby practice.
in one of the breaks (remember three periods? Remember?
I still can’t backwards skate.
Huh?). And she spoke to me in a way that would become second nature to me in time, wanting to be polite to someone in the break but head really still in the game. ... She foolishly gave me the info I needed, mind you. I borrowed the whole kit and kaboodle from friendly rollergirls and was skate-ready in less than three weeks. I pretty much was more scared than I had ever been of anything in my life, but after discovering I could still put to good use some of my misspent rollerblading teenage skillz and entering into a fierce competition immediately with the other newbies, my time at LRG had begun. Little did I know how life altering that decision to brave going to a crappy little gym in East London on a grey Saturday afternoon would be.
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