Emma on Roller Derby Names

With my rec session starting up, I feel like I can finally give some more serious thought to what my derby name is going to be, instead of feeling like a daydreaming school girl about it. To be perfectly honest I am really having a tough time. People have told me that it'll "just come to me" but it seems like it's taking forever, and Emma wants her derby name! So if anyone has any suggestions for derby names for me then I'd be so grateful! Comment below if you have something!

Since I seem to have some form of derby name block, I think I'll stop thinking about it so hard and maybe that'll make it easier. In fact, as I've been thinking more and more about my own derby name, I've also been thinking about how there are some skaters out there who would prefer not to use derby names to make the sport more legit. Now it's true, everyone has their own opinions.....so here's mine :)

When I fell in love with roller derby, I fell hard...really hard....like annoy-the-crap-out-of-everyone-I-know-because-I-can't-stop-talking-about-roller-derby kind of hard. I fell in love with roller derby for many reasons but the main reasons were mainly that it was an athletic sport, but it was also edgy, feminine, and full of glitter. A sport where skaters were more than just teammates that you see once a week for practice, they were a tight-knit bunch of ladies who would do just about anything for one of their own...all while sporting fabulous derby names and awesome knee socks and tights (seriously, my knee sock/tight collection has almost tripled since I started roller derby).

People want the sport to be more legitimate. I get that. People want roller derby in the Olympics, on a major sports network, etc...I get that. And some people feel that we need to drop the derby names, the makeup, the glitter, the boutfits, and just be more.....normal. I however, do not. I think it's great that people are invested in making derby more popular. It's skyrocketing in popularity as I type. But there's a fine line between the quest for "legitimacy" and becoming like every other sports team out there. I was first attracted to roller derby BECAUSE it's slightly off-kilter, it's not like any other sport out there. In the uptight world that I live in, I oftentimes feel that I cannot express myself, and be the weird, creative, and spunky person that I know I am on the inside, but with roller derby, I can.  I worry that if we were to drop the boutfits, the glitter, the names, the glorious insanity, in the quest for legitimacy, we would lose everything that make derby so unique and so different and we'd end up like every other sport out there. And I would lose that special place in my life where I feel like it's totally okay to just be me. When I skate, I feel like I've come home, I feel like I've found the place where I belong in the slightly abnormal, glitter-filled world that is roller derby. So all in all, don't change to fit the mold, you'll just end up erasing the parts that make you different, the parts that truly make you sparkle.

I know this post was pretty deep, I'll post about food next time, for something a bit more light-hearted! :)

Until next time.....Watch Emma Try to Pick A Derby Name!

Woot for Derby Friends!

Hi everyone! I've been having a very good week this week, mostly because I recently met some derby girls at a roller rink that I've started to become friends with. Being that I am a complete newbie to roller derby and given the fact that my rec session won't be starting up for a while, I thought I'd get some skate time in by going to a local roller rink. The group of girls I've met are great, there are a few newbies like me, so we can learn things together, and then there are a few trying to make it to boot camp that are more experienced and  fun to learn from.

Obviously once you make it to boot camp and hopefully get drafted, your team will become like your family and you'll share close bonds of friendship. However, for those girls (like me) who aren't quite there yet, and are still waiting on their rec session to start, I highly recommend going out and meeting some other derby girls. Hang out at the local roller rinks, try and find out where they hang out, pluck up your courage and try to talk to them. It's really great to have some girls you can call up to go skating with or just hang out with and talk derby. Who knows, you might meet someone who's looking to join the same league that you are, and at least for me, knowing at least one person when starting something new really boosts my confidence. The message of the day, as cliche as it might seem, is to just be yourself and to put yourself out there. In my experience, derby girls are very accepting, but tend to be very honest and direct with their words and feelings and often don't care for pretenses.

And finally, if you are like me, who tends to be the one who asks friends to go out rather than being invited to go out, having one of my new derby friends invite me to go skating was possibly the highlight of my week!

That's all for now! Comment below if you have anything to add!

Until next time,

Watch Emma Skate....and Make New Friends!