Chinook City Roller Derby

It’s that time of year again! Roller derby is coming to Calgary!

Sparkle, a Kill Jill and coach of the Glenmore Reservoir Dogs, has asked us to pass this along to the world: _______________________

Dear Derby World,

I've already talked to my team. I've talked to my league. The news is public. That doesn't make it any easier to say.

I am hanging up my skates.

This season, I sustained multiple concussions. The most serious was during the Jills trip to Montana in September. I am still experiencing post-concussion syndrome from that concussion, although it is much better now than it was.

No, I'm not ready to stop playing. I am retiring ungracefully, aggressively, kicking and screaming the whole way. This is an incredibly emotional and difficult decision for me. I live to skate. I have been a proud Jill, a proud Thriller, a proud Belladonna. It means the world to me that I got to skate with and against some of the best skaters out there.

But this is not goodbye. This is a rebirth.

As many of you know, derby inspired me to change my career. I love being a Strength and Conditioning Coach at The Athlete Factory. I have learned so much, and grown in unexpected and wonderful ways. I love coaching the Glenmore Reservoir Dogs. The silver lining here is that I can now redirect all of my energies and passion into coaching.

I want to help produce derby skaters that make the world take notice. I want to help Canadian derby take over the world. I want derby skaters to train like athletes. To train like Olympians. To see the potential of this sport develop into something that even the most dedicated of us never dreamed about.

My skills as a coach are on offer. If you want me to run a practice, a workshop, a seminar, I can do that. Skate skills, strategies, strength and conditioning: talk to me. I will be working with Nerd Skates to run more webcast seminars for the derby community as well.

And if your league does not have a concussion protocol, write one. Not later, not tomorrow, right now. I will help, if you'd like. I've done a lot of research. Concussions are deadly serious. They accumulate, they can change who you are, they can change your capacity to work and think. Even as I am angry at my new limitations, at the twitch in my eye, the headaches, the brain stutters, I know how lucky I am. I'm getting better all the time.

Derby love always,

Sparkle Motion aka Claire Lacey [email protected]

Concussion is a much discussed topic in contact and collision sports. The rate in concussion in ice hockey, football, and women's soccer has lead to an incre...

Want some action?

Try roller derby! It's a fast, fun, ferocious full contact sport! Chinook City is recruiting men and women to join our teams.

No experience? No problem! Fresh meat practices start September 28th, and run every Sunday from 8:30-10am at Beltline Gym (221 12 Ave SW).

You need:

Skates Helmet (skateboard or hockey) Mouth Guard Wrist/Elbow/Knee pads A sense of adventure

If you are missing any of this vital equipment, contact Chinook City on Facebook and we will do our best to locate gear of appropriate size for you to borrow.

Need to buy gear? Check out Calgary's local roller skate shop Nerd Skates, or shop electronically at Nerd or Rollergirl.ca (Vancouver).

Sparkle Motion and Dev Null get dunked to support ALS research!

ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a progressive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed. Every day two or three Canadians die of the disease.

On May 23rd-25th 2014, Chinook City Roller Derby will be hosting the third annual Flat Track Fever, one of the largest roller derby tournaments in southern Alberta! This year, the tournament will take place at the Optimist and George Blundun Arenas in SW Calgary and we're featuring 8 women's teams from across Alberta and 8 men's teams from across North America.

For only $30, you can get an adult weekend pass that will let you take in all the derby, vendors and excitement that you could ever want! Get your tickets before they're gone from brown paper tickets! http://flattrackfever2014.brownpapertickets.com/

Want to see some of Calgary's own derby-playing men play on Team Canada in England for the world championship? Join us and watch the first official men's championship! Cheer on Team Canada as the take on teams from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, USA and Wales. Your $20 ticket gets you a bacon cheese burger, fries, beer and helps our own Glenmore Reservoir Dogs cover travel expenses for the 2014 season. We open the doors at 10:00- just in time to catch the semi-finals with the finals at 1:00 pm. Tickets available starting Friday Feb. 7, 2014 at Nerd Roller Skate, at the door or you're friendly neighborhood CCRD member!

Come join Chinook City at the Cat and Fiddle (540 16th Ave NW) at 10am! 

https://www.facebook.com/events/584446051645973/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Did you set a fitness related new years resolution? Do you want to kick some butt with an amazing group of people? Or maybe you're just looking for the next cool thing to make your friends say "you ACTUALLY do that?"

Then come join us at our fresh meat practices! Even if you can't skate, that's no excuse! We'll teach you! Then you'll move on up with with practice. You could even play for Team Canada one day!

Our Fresh Meat practices are starting up this Sunday March 2 at 8:30 am to 10:00 am! We're at Beltline Aquatic and Fitness Centre, 221 12 Ave SW and for a $5 drop in fee you can come skate with us!

Don't have gear but still want to try roller derby? We can sort it out! Shoot us an email and we can help find you some loaner gear in your size so you can give it a try!

The Glenmore Reservoir Dogs are looking for help getting to Colorado! The Dogs are a roller derby team of enthusiastic, dedicated men from Calgary, Alberta. They have worked hard to obtain their MRDA status, and now they must travel to play other MRDA teams.

Please donate to help these athletes reach their goals, and if you can, please share this post. Every little bit counts, and is deeply appreciated!

by Jenn U. Whine (Officials Co-ordinator, Chinook City Roller Derby League)

  1. Roller derby needs you!

  We're entering a golden age of roller derby. New leagues popping up everywhere.  Multiple bouts every weekend. The problem? All those leagues are making lots of new skaters but only a few new refs. Existing ref crews are stretched to the point of burnout and exhaustion.  Derby is an officiating-intense sport (NHL hockey can run with four skating officials, but we need seven?!) and bouts with short ref crews can get sloppy and unsafe.  You want to play derby, you need refs.  It's time to step up and give back to the sport you love and give others the chance to play. While most leagues would love more folks who prioritize officiating, you can be both a player and a ref. If you're a woman, you can officiate men's derby.  If you're a man, you can officiate women's derby.  If you're a travel-team player, you can officiate B-team bouts. And so on.

  2. Get MORE DERBY!

  You love derby so much, your team's season just isn't enough?  Every jam that you're on the bench you wish you were on the track?  Every time you don't make the roster, or that invitational you wanted to attend fills up, you cry a little inside (or outside, we're not judging)?  Become a ref, and you can have as much derby as you want.  Even when you're a brand-new baby zebra, there will be leagues glad to have the help.  You'll get more bouts and you'll skate every jam. You'll get more time on your skates, a better understanding of the rules, and an up-close view of many different teams and their different styles and strategies. This will all make you a better player.

  3.  Get better derby.

  The huge growth in roller derby, and the corresponding demand for officials, creates the opportunity for rapid progression as an official.  To use myself as an example: I'm not the greatest skater.  As a player, I'd seldom make a roster and I'd spend most of my time on the bench. But as an official, doors have opened for me readily.  In my first year of officiating, I've worked a national championship as an NSO, reffed top 10 in Canada women's teams and a ranked MRDA bout in the U.S., and been on crews with some of the best officials in the sport.  It's unlikely that I'll ever be a good enough skater to play with a team like the Belladonnas or Terminal City.  But I can be an essential part of their bouts as an official, and that's really awesome. Let's be clear: you still need to skate well, work hard and be dedicated, to be a good ref.  But if you are willing to put in the time and effort, the road to the high end of the sport for officials is wide open and calling your name.

  4. Less risk of injury.

  You love roller derby, but get the heebie-jeebies every time someone leaves a bout in an ambulance.  You have a job that you couldn't do with a broken leg and that thought stresses you out every time you put on your skates.  Derby is a contact sport and it gets rough.  Not everyone is up for that, and that's okay.  Being an official lets you be a crucial part of derby with a lower risk of injury.  Please note, lower, not zero. A derby track is an intense place and refs still need to be physically fit, agile and able to handle some contact; they face risks of colliding with out of control players or other refs.  In one of my recent bouts, a whopper of a legal hit on the jammer sent her right into me (the outside pack ref) and both of us into the suicide seats. But on the whole, injuries to refs are rarer than injuries to players, and you're certainly less of a target with stripes on your back than stars on your head.

  5.  Team Zebra is a team too.

  Perhaps what you love most about roller derby is being part of your team.  The rituals, the friendships, the cameraderie.  Good news, you don't have to give that up to be an official.  You'll just gain another team and a whole new group of friends.  Even with all the growth, derby remains a small world and you'll soon get to know not only your own league's officials, but all the officials in your region and many from beyond. This is a great group of people genuinely interesting in helping make the best and safest derby.  Team Zebra is the third team on the track, and the team that wins when we make a safe, fun and competitive bout for the other two teams.

***