Posted on by Pamie · 6 Comments

How Roller Derby Prepares You For Motherhood (The Crossover)

Dear Pregnant Derby Girl:

Much like roller derby, you probably approached motherhood as something you’d seen before, mostly on TV or the movies, and you felt like you’d be pretty good at it. It does look like fun.

But then you went and did it and just like during your first week of roller derby, you’re thinking, “WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS? IT IS HARD AND THERE’S ALL THIS PAIN. LOOK WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY BODY OH MY GOD ARE THERE DRUGS I CAN TAKE?”

The good news is that because of roller derby, you’re already used to thinking of your body as something other than just your “self.” You know what it’s like to have donated your entire life to a higher calling, a greater good. This prepares you well for both pregnancy and delivery, and eventually for motherhood itself.

You are already used to people – sometimes strangers – poking you, pushing you, touching your boobs and your butt. You don’t even blink when someone puts a hand between your legs and moves you to the side. Weird bruises don’t faze you, neither does blood coming from parts of you that don’t normally bleed like that. You go to the doctor more often than most people. You know it’s just a matter of time before you rip open something important. But this time, girl, that thing you’re ripping open will be your taint. Read more

Posted on by Pamie

Oprah.com: Show Me Who You Really Are — How Roller Derby Can Save Your Life

I got so excited about this I screwed up the update twice.

When times get tough, tough girls get rolling. At least that’s what Pamela Ribon says. The author of Going in Circles (which she affectionately refers to as Eat, Cry, Shove) extols the virtues of roller derby, why it worked better than therapy when her marriage ended and what she learned along the way.

Read the article here. Hope you enjoy. Please forward, Tweet, Facebook, email and/or share it with your favorite roller girl.

Posted on by Pamie

Possibly the Only Perk About Not Being Allowed to Play Roller Derby.

[scripty]
PAMIE
A quick impression of the lady who just gave me a pedicure. She was like, “OH.” Held up my foot. “OH. THIS. OH. YOU NEED. OH. YOU WANT. OH. CALLUS. OH, CALLUS. I CUT, YES?”

JASON
That poor woman.

PAMIE
I know. She put on latex gloves. Nobody else was wearing gloves. It was embarrassing. She thought I had some kind of foot condition.

JASON
Did you tell her how you got those feet?

PAMIE
I just went, “Yes, please. I know. I’m sorry. It’s… it’s from sports.” And then she went, “SPORTS. OH. OH, BOTH FEET. OH.”

JASON
And then strapped on those gloves.

PAMIE
Yes. But look! Cute feet!

JASON
Cute feet. Pam, I don’t even recognize those feet.

PAMIE
I know.

JASON
Those look like someone else’s feet. Whose feet are those?

PAMIE
They’re mine!

JASON
You know, I’ve never seen you with cute feet.

PAMIE
Yeah, I guess that’s true.

JASON
It is true. I’m used to “Feet that belong to a Ukranian man who’s been working in the trenches.”

PAMIE
OKAY, I GET IT.
[/scripty]

Posted on by Pamie

Even More Roller Derby: May 9th, LADD All-Stars Ri-Ettes Take On KC/DC from Kansas City and Albuquerque

Recently honored as a Treasure of L.A. by the Central City Association, the L.A. Derby Dolls prove their worth with another spectacular evening of music, mayhem and, of course, banked track roller derby at the Doll Factory (1910 Temple St., L.A., CA 90026) on Saturday, May 9.

The L.A. Derby Dolls (LADD) all-star team, called the L.A. Ri-Ettes, battle a hybrid team made up of two of the best flat track leagues in the nation called KC/DC. Both the Kansas City Roller Warriors (KCRW) and the Duke City Rollergirls (DCD) are ranked among the top 15 leagues in the country and belong to the Womens Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). To date there are more than 360 flat track leagues in the nation. The LADD are one of only four leagues skating on the spectacular banked track.

The hometown Ri-Ettes feature the best of the best in LADD, with explosive fan favorites like Mila Minute and Broadzilla and quiet superstars like Haught Wheels and Paris Killton alongside imposing captain Krissy Krash. KC/DC will look to steal the jewel from LADDs treasure and are bringing a battalion that includes captains of their respective travel teams, Bruz-Her (KC) and Kamikaze Kim (DC) and the fast and furious jammer Muffin. Does it take two to take down the Ri-Ettes?

Buy Tickets Here

Posted on by Pamie · 13 Comments

Pun Masters! Help name a derby team.

Something fun for your Sunday night:

[readermail]
Pamie,

So, you’re the main reason I started playing derby. I’ve been following your blog for 10 years or whatever, and Going in Circles happened to coincide with a Derby league forming in my area. Fast forward almost two years later, and I was just named captain of a newly-forming fourth home team.

Since you’re my derby inspiration and you gave your stamp of approval via Twitter to my derby name (Shevil Dead), I was hoping you would have some team name ideas.

Our three current home teams are;

The Vineyard Vixens
The Beltway Betties
The Backwoods Rollers

My colors will be black and gunmetal grey, and I want us to be dark and scary, to set us apart from the other teams.

Some ideas I’ve been kicking around:

The Night Terrors
The LoCo SuperScars (LoCo is a nickname for our county, Loudoun County)
The Nightmare Machines
The LoCo Terrors

If you have any divine inspiration, I would greatly appreciate it!!!

Thanks!

Shevil
[/readermail]

I’m partial to the LoCo Superstars, myself. Have at it in the comments, wonder killers.

Posted on by Pamie · 2 Comments

Please Help the Bay Area Derby Girls

[readermail]
Dear friends:

Saturday, July 9, was an evening of mixed blessings for the B.A.D. Girls. After a successful Championship event at the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond Harbor, league members who were transporting the money raised from the event were robbed at gunpoint.

Thankfully our league members were not injured. However the robbery was not only a shock to our community, but it took our entire financial reserve and profit for the event, totaling thousands of dollars that would have gone towards both future events and our practice venue.

The B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls is a 501(c)(3) and has been entirely volunteer-run since inception. To be robbed of badly needed funds is devastating; to have our league members’ lives threatened is irreparable.

Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot release further details on the case but we have absolute confidence in the San Francisco Police Department to bring us justice.

While the SFPD works on the investigation, the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls are in dire need of fundraising. We have always depended on the kindness of our fans and our community. In this time of need, we are reaching out for your generosity once again. Like the strongest jammers, we do not fall after one hit, and we have no intention of allowing truly despicable scumbags who would steal from a non-profit organization to stop us from rolling. If you can please donate to the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls to recoup some of these financial losses, we would greatly appreciate any amount. Your donation will be fully tax-deductible. In addition, if you can donate items for us to raffle or venue space for us to hold a fundraiser, we promise to make it worth your while and continue to bring you the best roller derby in the Bay Area.

Like the community that we all practice and play in, we are strong. We have always been a league of extraordinary women who are undaunted by obstacles.

Roller derby is a sport that embraces challenges, enables resiliency, and celebrates the spirit of the best in humanity. We intend in honoring that spirit and moving forward from this crime toward a much brighter future with all of you. Thank you again for your support. It means more to us now than it ever has before.

To support the B.A.D. Girls, please donate by clicking the “Donate” button on
our home page. Your donation is tax deductible.

To donate a product or venue space, please email pr at bayareaderbygirls dot com

For press inquiries, please contact Katy Lim at katy at bethechangepr dot com
[/readermail]

Posted on by Pamie

so much derby, not enough skating.

Okay, so maybe I’ll just be writing every weekday. It was just about impossible to get to this thing over the weekend. Sorry about that. Even Dewey got a little quiet after that late-night dance party fun. We’re almost at 100 donations, so please continue to spread the word. I think this book drive will only be for another week, and we’re about to hit 300 books sent. We’ve emptied out three wishlists, which is fantastic, but they still could use some children’s books and YA. Won’t you send a book? Just one book? Look what a difference just one book makes in their after school program! Read more