r/rollerderby

Sorry if the opening post doesn't give much to go on, but this has always been a challenge for me because of the additional barrier put in place by being autistic, and I've not found much on the subeddit about being better at comms on track.

I've always struggled to have a voice generally. There's always been that delay between acknowledging a game state, processing it and then speaking what I'm doing or what's going on. Add processing any contact on top of that (strength training helps but my ability to shrug it off and not let it affect thinking is still very fickle).

Any ideas from other ND skaters (especially autistic skaters with similar struggles) on what I can work on to address this? It's one of my barriers to playing/bouting at a higher level, which I'm trying to work towards.

TLDR: We bought T-shirts instead. 

One of our skaters does market research for a living. She reached out to 40 random teams and asked them who they were using for jerseys and to give an honest opinion on them if we promised to keep everything anonymous. We heard back from 33 teams, and I would say the overall majority of teams are whelmed / to slightly unhappy with their jerseys. 

Common issues were long lead times, poor quality, lack of reversible jerseys, and companies just not delivering on their promises. A few teams said they were worried that their current provider would go under if they got more popular

Three teams we spoke to had been completely ripped off and had put out money for jerseys that never came. More than a few teams HATED who they went with and were actively looking for a new company.

Ultimately, we decided that basic t-shirts was the best solution, though not the one we wanted. I wish other teams the best of luck if you're going through this. I'm just glad to be done with it. 

Hi there! Skater vet, new head medic. I just recently took on (voluntold more or less and I'm completely okay with it if it means keeping everyone safe, home team and visiting teams) the role of head medic for my team and I'm wanting to get our medic bag up to par. I have found the recommendations per WFTDA website but is there anything else one could think of that would be helpful? I plan on reaching out to other leagues in hopes they have good resources but I thought I would ask the lovely people of reddit as there's often wonderful advice and words of wisdom here.

I’ve only been skating for under 2 years and lately i’ve been getting in my head a lot or feel embarrassed by still not being able to do some skills, overly relying on my toe stops or doing something wrong in the middle of a scrimmage. I know this is not the point and actually hinders my ability to learn so i’m curious to hear from
others what you do to get out of this headspace. any affirmations or tricks you use?

i’m annoyed at members who say “ugh discord is just too overwhelming!!!😢” it’s not. check your notifications at a specific time of the week and complete the forms/do the things your league asks you to do and get over it. it will take ten minutes at most. let’s all be adults and learn to read and stay updated. no one is going to dm you personally and constantly remind you of deadlines. it’s your responsibility to stay updated on your leagues activities and emails/notifications. it’s giving very “omg you people can’t do anything” vibes when grown adults can’t be bothered to read emails. i know i’m gonna get “wahhh im adhd” comments. so am i. learn to manage your symptoms so you’re not a liability. rant over.

Hi everyone!

I've been asked to give a short presentation during an officials' training session about the role of the Inside Pack Referee (IPR) and how they communicate with the Penalty Lineup Tracker (PLT).

I'd love to hear from experienced officials:

• How would you explain the core responsibilities of an IPR?
• What information should an IPR communicate to the PLT during a game?
• What communication is essential, and what is considered best practice?
• Are there any common mistakes new IPRs make when working with PLTs?

I'm especially looking for practical examples or situations from real games rather than just what's written in the rules.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve been thinking about buying the full custom hybrid carbon fiber Bonts. But I keep getting overwhelmed with all the choices and how little information the website provides.

My biggest hang up is figuring out the difference between performance fit vs comfort fit? Practice is usually around 3 hours, so I need them to not crunch my toes. But I absolutely hate heel slippage. I just don’t want to regret my purchase.

In general, does anyone have any regrets about their full custom skates? Anything you wish you knew before ordering?

honestly i’m struggling to feel included in my all white league, i’ve had a few incidents where im told by friends that other players i thought were my friends had made outright racist comments, as well as many many micro aggressions. My team sent out a suggestions form and i asked if we could start making a post once a year to say happy black history month, as we do the same for pride month, women’s month, etc but not bhm and i heard nothing back from them. i’ve had to complain to advocates about team members refusing to learn the pronunciation of my (not that complicated) name. And one of the people involved in one of the outright racist incidents i mentioned has just been appointed head of the diversity committee so idek who i can talk to on the team atp.

I feel as though the more time that goes by the more uncomfortable i feel, i’ve hardly shown up to training the past few months and im at the point where im considering quitting until i move away for university in september. Any advice on what to do moving forward?

Jk, but one of the spectators for Swan City v Tampa posted this YouTube video of one of our bouts. My wife (who skates for the team) and I (medic) are tickled pink about it. Mad shout out to him and his editing.

Also in addition: I applaud each and every individual who makes this sport awesome across the country. The time spent by players, officials, and all the volunteers make going to bouts an awesome experience. It’s truly a team effort to get a bout on the books and make it a reality. We found community within our roller derby team, and our lives are so much fuller for it.

Posted with love for all the roller derby communities out there.

I’m derby fresh meat and have been struggling with foot pain since I started. I have wonky feet where my arches collapse and causes over pronation. I used to used a worn out orthotic that’s beat to hell but sometimes since it’s separating from the foam. The hard plastic arch and heel support would pinch my arches during laps. So I put in a new orthotic insole but it’s too thick and caused toe cramping and I couldn’t quite feel my edges right. So I ordered the riedell r fit insole kit and I can’t get a comfortable fit with that either! The green wedges cause my feet to push into the outside edges causing pain there and the arch support is either too much or not enough.
These insoles are expensive and I’m getting pretty discouraged. I’m going to put my worn out orthotics back in for now. But another issue is now im used to the thick insoles so these thin ones are pissing off my feet something fierce.
Is it just something I have to get used to and my feet will adjust after using them so many times? I’m starting to feel at a loss and getting pretty annoyed and discouraged. Please help. I don’t want to keep complaining about foot pain and or toe pain to my league members.

Hiyas! I’m gearing back up to get back into derby after recovering from spraining two ankle ligaments in March, and recovering from long term iron deficiency. I skate in a Solaris boot and with my bad ankle it fills up the whole heel area, as there’s scarring and continuous swelling, but my good ankle there’s lots of space.
I don’t know if taping or if an ankle brace would be a better idea than nothing - those that have been in a similar situation, what did you do that worked? Are there any products that might reduce ankle injury in the future?
Cheers :)

Hey all!

My league is lucky enough to have a dedicated practice space in a converted warehouse.

Our small locker rooms are very boring right now. I have some ideas on how to spruce them up but I'm wondering what your leagues' locker rooms look like! Pictures would be lovely, but I'm down for ideas too.

Just a random observation, those that play WFTDA ruleset, why are there so many clear forearm penalties that never get called? And I mean like CLEAR follow through from shoulder hit to hand push. Why man?? It's so frustrating to see! Is that allowed??

soooo. i need some big sibling-ing here - i started seeing someone recently, and coming from a history of not so great relationships i kind of want to make sure i do things in a normal way. namely introducing this person to derby.

so gimme all the deets please :) how soon into dating did you bring your person into the derby world? what kind of event was it? (just the game? just the after party? both? some secret fourth option?) my mom and a family friend come to all my games, and i wouldn’t want them to meet too soon - but i dont want to hold off on inviting this person until we’re ready to meet parents because that makes it seem like derby is the same level as meeting the ‘rents and feels odd.

i know i’m overthinking this btw. i guess more importantly i’m just trying to sus out what other people do :)

Alright I am coming out of retirement and with that comes with replacing some gear and a few other things. I am finding some of my go to companies are not making a lot of my go to gear or apparel anymore. I would love some recommendations on some good wheels (my last set where the Radar presto teal wheels) ((I know it’s been awhile)) knee pads ( my last se where the smith scab elite and where amazing) and derby shorts(I use to wear derby skins). Any recommendations are appreciated!?!?!

Super hard wheels recs? the wooden floor in the rink was resurfaced and now it’s horrible and even 101 Turbos are sticky and have no slip so I’m looking for something harder than the halo range of wheels