Trying out for Roller Derby

On January 11th, I tried out (with 42 other girls) for the Denver Roller Dolls Flat Track Roller Derby League. Tryouts were well-organized and only a bit intimidating: we were assigned numbers (written on our arms and on nametags on our backs), and given a series of different drills to perform.

I was glad to have strapped on the skates and practiced a bit, because a month ago I didn’t know how to do cross-overs, and they flat-out stated that they would not accept anyone who didn’t know how to do them.

I played recreational ice hockey in college and was a big roller-blader afterwards, so the skating itself was not a problem. My endurance obviously helps, and when time-trial time came around, my only regret was that the track was too short to actually get any real speed up.

We also had drills on stopping and agility (using pylons – orange cones, for you Americans). I felt pretty good through the tryouts. There were a few girls evaluating us, and even more skating around to offer advice or guidance. That was a big help: you got a sense of what they were looking for.

I overheard some of the current dolls mentioning how impressed they were at the caliber of the girls trying out: they said that in past sessions, girls had been shuffling along, holding onto walls. They seemed impressed that everyone there has a certain basic level of proficiency.

We were also subject to a personal interview where the questions were a mix of background (“what other sports do you play / why do you want to join”) to understanding (“which are legal in derby: clotheslining, pushing…” ) to just silly niceties (“if you could have a superpower, what would it be”).

The tryouts were also interesting in that there weren’t a set number of slots they were filling. As a result, there wasn’t a really competitive sense between the girls trying out. We were all going through the same thing, so many of us chatted together through the drills.

As I left after tryouts, I felt pretty good. I know I have some improvements to make, but overall I felt like I did well.

And so did they, because the next morning I received the official email notice that I’d made it! (They accepted 29 of the 43 of us)

The stages between now and when I’ll actually get to be in a bout are pretty lengthy, and I’ll save that for a future post. But suffice to say that I’m very excited to be exploring a new sport!