LKRG Bout Report (Player Report - Admiral Painway)
First-time bouter Admiral Painway’s account of her first bout.
(Slay Guevara, Admiral Painway and LouLou Black’n’Blu in action against Belfast. Pic courtesy of Lisa Whelan)
LKRG versus BRD was my first sports game ever. I had never been the sporty type, never one for team endeavours at all, yet as I sat on the bench, awaiting the first jam, I realised how far I had come since joining Limerick Roller Derby eight months ago.
I won’t reminisce about how for the first two months I struggled to stay upright and to learn the rules, the many, many rules. Or, about how I became friends with the most amazingly diverse, brilliant people and how roller derby saved me from the depressive state of unemployment I have found myself in. Instead I’m going to tell you what it was like to play my first sports match, how I fell more in love with this sport, and how I cannot wait for our next match against the Dublin Roller Girls reserve team.
We were training pretty hard in the run up to our game, but the bout started for me about a week before the actual event. In the run up I gave up caffeine, replacing it with two litres of water a day in an attempt to make my body a derby blocking machine. While I didn’t feel much of a difference with my body, my mind was another matter. The caffeine deprivation was hard and my mind snapped the day of the bout. Apparently I was flitting between moods, being angry one minute, laughing hysterically the next and sometimes I was just downright silly. I would have done anything for a cup of tea or a glass of diet coke, but no, I had to wait until the match was over. So I gathered up my crazy and took it out onto the track, and guess what, it worked. Every Belfast jammer, blocker and pivot was keeping me from my addiction, and I had to stop them.
It is difficult to remember exactly how things went on track. At first I was confused because I got sent off for a major penalty and I didn’t know what I did. Apparently we were failing to reform the pack quick enough and I was the poor sucker closest to the ref who was getting called on it. I did get called on other penalties, and for the life of me I cannot remember what they were, all I knew was that I was in the box four times and that was not good. Three more majors and I would be expelled from the game like our player Shelbe Achin’ who had to remove her skates and leave the arena.
No one was more shocked than our team to find ourselves in the lead at half time. For a rookie team going up against what was mainly the Belfast A team this was a major achievement. We didn’t expect to win the game, we never expected to lead. Sure we lost the game in the second half, but that achievement alone is something to be proud of.
The one thing I do recall from the match, is bowling my teammate Slay Guevara, who I now refer to as my bowling ball. In the second half many of our blockers were sent to the bench meaning we only had about two blockers of our own on track. All we could do then was make life difficult for the Belfast jammer, and boy did we do that. At one point I predicted which path the Belfast Jammer would take from the first whistle, I looked to Slay Guevara and she knew what I was going to do, she nodded, accepting her fate as my bowling ball. As the jammer came up the outside I pushed Slay as hard as I could and to my surprise and everyone else’s, she hit a Belfast blocker who knocked their own jammer out of bounds. I think that was my proudest moment in the game, apart from seeing my Mom in the balcony watching me play my first sports game at 28 years of age.
I expected the game to be really hard, to struggle to keep up my endurance and recover from hits, but I found that didn’t happen. Maybe it was the super healthy state all that water gave me. When the bout was over I felt like I could play another one, despite the injury to my ankle in the last jam. I guess it was the adrenaline pumping about my system and the lack of caffeine making me hungry for more blood.
I came out of the bout with much more focus and determination to perform well at our upcoming Dublin match. I know there will be another week of hell when I cut off the caffeine supply, another morning where I will feel like I am losing my mind, and another match where I will be so happy to play with the best group of women I have ever had the privilege to meet. Win or lose against Dublin, I am just happy to be a Derby Girl, learning new things about myself every day and pushing myself to new levels of fitness and crazy. And I think this is why I love derby so much, it is an adventure, you never know what will happen next, but I know I am ready for the challenge.
Admiral Painway
In advance our our next intake, we are inviting people to come and watch our training from 11am to 1pm on the 28th April and then have a go themselves from 1pm to 2pm. If you wish to attend then you wil need to email us to register. This is so we can try to have the correct gear available for you on the day. Cost €5 to cover cost of hall. Must be over 18.
For more information or to register contact: limerickrollerderby@gmail.com
The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. But in roller derby, everybody wins when they play because everyone in roller derby are friends and they all like to hang out with each other.
Everyone is so proud of all their friends on their team and on the other teams that they are playing. That is what makes Roller Derby fun and that’s why I want to play it when I grow up.
This awesome description of roller derby comes from The Adventures of a Wondergirl, which is the blog of Caitlin, the daughter of LKRG’s ElitaOne. She wrote an excellent report of our first bout yesterday. Even though we have to wait a good few years before Caitlin joins her Momma on our roster, we are so glad to have her as a fan, and can’t wait til she starts playing derby with us!
More reports on LKRG’s first bout to come over the next few days!
Jewel Suffer gets Stalked
Earlier this year LKRG’s Captain, Jewel Suffer, was interviewed as part of Kate on Skate’s “Stalking your Favourite Rollergirls” series. Check her out, the big legend!
We really should have told you about this one earlier :)
Limerick Roller Girls on twitter
If you’re going miss the bout on Saturday but are just dying to find out what’s happening, keep an eye on the Limerick Roller Girls twitter account on bout day. The ever-so-useful Mean Seberg will be livetweeting the bout for the no-shows, no matter how over-excited she gets.
Of course, attending the bout will be the only way to get your hands on some awesome LKRG merchandise, so you’re definitely better off attending!
If you don’t do twitter, we’ll try to work out some technical jiggery-pokery to send updates to facebook too. We’re at www.facebook.com/limerickrollergirls if you’re not already our fans. (What do you mean you’re not fans, GET ON IT!)
Here’s the LKRG Roster for Saturday’s bout against the Belfast Banshees. We’re so grateful to Cork City Firebirds for releasing Bride of Chucky and to Dublin Roller Girls for releasing Cleoraptor to play with us.
Limerick Roller Girls first ever bout THIS SATURDAY!
The awesome poster is by Lisa Falzon of the Firebirds.
Skater Profile: Bootyful Disaster
What is your derby name? Bootyful Disaster 
How long have you been playing roller derby? Since the club was started - April/May 2011
Where did you hear about derby? My sister showed me a flyer for the Limerick Roller Girls.. Since watching “Whip It” (I know, cringe!) I had been going on to her about how awesome and novel roller derby looked!!
What appeals to you about roller derby? Silly Question - You get to hit people! Kidding :) While that is part of it, derby is much more than launching a few shoves at scantily clad ladies skating round a track! The skill, agility and endurance that’s required is nothing to be scoffed at, it’s tough but still fun and always rewarding! Also, most derby teams, including our own, are made up of dynamic women from very varied backgrounds. I’ve met some of the nicest girls that I possibly never would have never crossed paths with if it hadn’t have been for roller derby!
Are there any derby players or other sports people who inspire you and why? I am in awe of people like Atomatrix… this woman is roller derby! Champion speed skater, turned derby player with her own wheel/skate manufacturing business; I mean she lives it every single day… hell I’m slightly jealous even!! I am very much inspired by all of the ladies that make it possible to even have a roller derby league in Limerick :D I also have great admiration for all of the people working hard to get the Irish roller derby scene up and running! It’s at a stage now that it’s really starting to gain momentum, very exciting times!
Do you do anything else besides roller derby? While training takes up a few days of the week, I still like to go out jogging with my doggie. I work in a lab, a very sedate environment compared to derby!!
What are your derby strengths? Ack! It’s still too early to say what position I’m good at/like best! Aiming to be a good all-rounder.. that’s nice and vague right?!
What do you hope to get out of roller derby? Arms like Suzy Hotrod!!! That would be a nice consequence, but I would love to be part of a competitive bouting team, as part of a steady league.
Why are Limerick Roller Girls so damn awesome? Because they are all bananas!! And lovely to boot!.. And even if we don’t win the bout we’ll make damn sure to do our very best to win the after party!
Roller Derby – A Freshmeat Perspective.
Jen Ronan is one of LKRG’s newest batch of Freshmeat. She wrote this piece for us. Thanks also go to Nigel Shinnors for his pic of LKRG celebrating their 1st birthday on Monday (Jen’s on the right, in front, in the lovely frock)
Being labelled ‘Freshmeat’ upon entering a new sport is probably the best way to weed out anyone with precious notions about themselves. If you’ve decided to enter into the beauty and madness of the world of Roller Derby, the term ‘Freshmeat’ gives you a giddy little thrill as your adrenal glands scream “Challenge Accepted!”
On Monday 6th Feb, I grabbed my black and pink disco skates, told my innate laziness to find something else to do for a couple of hours, then ventured out into Rollerjam on the Ballysimon Rd to see what this Derby madness was all about. I was one excited bunny. I’d done a bit of research, which for me meant watching Whip It and faffing about on YouTube looking at the impossibly cool Derby girls the world over and how they could probably kill me with a single flick of the hip. I was hooked. I’d never set foot in a rink before, but I was sold. All those years spent in the 80’s skating up and down my parent’s hallway and carrying my walkman in my arse pocket while listening to Madonna’s True Blue album were finally about to count for something.
Ballistic Whistle visits LKRG
Admiral Painway sent this article in in loads of time. Blame me (Cleverly Crusher) that it hasn’t been published until now. Huge thanks to Nigel Shinnors for permission to use his photos.
Limerick roller girl hearts were set aflutter a number of weeks ago with the announcement that the London Roller Girls and Team England Coach, Ballistic Whistle would be coming for an extended training session. On Sunday 19th February Ballistic rolled in with Dublin Roller Derby’s infamous Shref and Jessica Rammit.
Ballistic’s lesson was a deconstruction of the jam, focusing on the different phases of a two minute jam and the various situations both jammers and blockers can find themselves in. Suddenly most of us were panicking, “Should we be taking notes?” There was so much to take in, many different types of walls such as the web, the philly (which I kept calling the picadilly), bus, two-one anchor, one-two reverse and probably some more I have forgotten. Yet, with Shref’s and Jessica’s guidance we were able to get the hand of these wall types quickly.
We then went through a couple of jam drills, with everyone getting a chance to improve their blocking/ jamming and their “derby brain.” “What the hell is derby brain?” I hear you ask. Well I have been informed it is not driving like you are in a jam, looking for gaps in traffic and trying to hip check overtaking bikers with your car. That I am afraid is just dangerous and I really should stop it. Derby brain is the ability to identify the strategies employed by the other team or the situation on the track and being able to pick a play to adapt and thus gain advantage.
After the three hours we understood why Ballistic is the big coaching name in England. His approach is respectful and fun but he also has an ability to clearly and concisely explain the drills and plays that we were unfamiliar with. Everyone in LKRG felt they got so much out of this session. We learned a lot, fell a lot, and then had a lot of fun at the unofficial after party at the Kilmurry Lodge, complete with cat show!
We at LKRG wish Ballistic all the best in the future and look forward to another visit in the future. Also a big thanks to Shref and Jessica Rammit (who we all developed big derby girl crushes on). It’s great to meet up with other derby nuts from Ireland and abroad. It develops the sense of community and cooperation between leagues while also developing our derby skills, which is the most important thing of all. Big derby love to you guys!
P.S. Personally, I want to know how Jessica is bruise free because on Monday morning I had 40 separate bruises on my body. Sure I’m proud of them, but summer is coming and I look like a shaved dalmation!
Admiral Painway
