1. sports
2. skating

Dub City Derby Girls for beginners
Q
Q
What’s all this meat talk?
New Meat, Fresh Meat,
Grade-A Meat...
“Meat” is just the way we
categorize levels of
accomplishment.
A
When you’re new to derby, you are considered
“New Meat”. Once you learn to skate, have some
of the basic skills down, and show dedication
to the team, a coach gives you a Fresh Meat
packet and Shazam! You are now Fresh Meat
and a rostered member of our team! Sure, it
sounds great and you’ll probably want to get your
packet as soon as possible. Be patient. Some
of the veterans you see skating now were new
meat for several months before getting their first
packet. You need to trust the coaches and their
assessment of you. Just because you think you
can skate doesn’t mean you are ready to practice the advanced skills required to participate in
regular practice and work on your packet. Safety
comes first! We want to be sure you aren’t going
to endanger yourself or those skating around you
before we advance you to the next level. Don’t
worry, you’ll still have fun :-) Everyone advances
at their own pace – don’t worry if someone who
started with you becomes Fresh Meat before you.
What happens once you finish your Fresh Meat
packet? You get another packet. (Hey, we can’t
make it that easy, right?) And, you are allowed to
scrimmage with the team during practices.
Q
Are all of you
related in some way?
I heard talk about wives,
daughters, and mother.
A derby wife is kind of
like your best friend
on the team.
This sounds like a lot of
work. Is it worth it?
Ask a Veteran Skater
A
You look out for each other. If one of you has
been missing for a while, a teammate may ask
your derby wife about you and it is expected that
you keep in contact with her and know what’s
up. She should know your emergency contact
and where you live in case something happens.
It’s probably a good idea to wait on picking
your derby wife until you both have been skating together for a while and have similar derby
aspirations. After all, it’s a marriage! Don’t let
your nonskating significant others worry though,
it’s only legal under the eyes of the derby gods.
Boyfriends and girlfriends of derby players are
often fondly referred to as derby widows…
You usually get a derby mom while you are
Fresh Meat. A derby mom is there to show you
the ropes and help you out in the early stages
of learning the sport. Sometimes it takes a while
to find the right match for your derby family, so
don’t rush it. And none of this is required! If you
want a derby mom, let someone know; if you
don’t want one, that’s okay too. Same goes for
derby wives.
A
You will probably get an answer like: “I can’t
imagine my life without derby. It’s fun, it’s
tough, and it’s a big part of my life. My team
is my family, my friends, and my support
system. I love this sport and these girls.”
Q
I need to try this out.
What do I do next?
Come to Practice
Join us the first Wednesday of the
month. We practice at SkateZone,
Monday and Wednesday from 8-10
pm and Sunday 10 am-12pm. Dues
are $40 per month.
A
derby myths & facts
Myth
Derby is where you skate
around and elbow and trip
other skaters.
Fact
Tripping and throwing elbows are
not allowed! We play by WFTDA
(Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) rules. You can read them
at www.wftda.com. Don’t worry if the rules
seem confusing at first, we’ll teach you rules
throughout practices and scrimmages.
Myth
Gearing Up:
You can borrow gear from the team’s gear bins
for the first few practices, but you should get
your own as soon as you can. Research before
buying anything. Ask several skaters what they
recommend and try on options before you buy.
Buy a mouth guard (you can get a cheap one,
but most of us like SISU brand because they’re
low-profile - you can drink/talk with them in.)
Derby is for punk rocker-type
chicks who want to prance
around in fishnets.
photo by Ken LeBleu
Roller derby is for women (and
men) of all ages, backgrounds, and
body types. Some of us wear skirts
and fishnets because we want to,
but you should wear whatever you
feel safe and comfortable skating in. There really
is no one type of roller derby girl.
Fact
Myth
Dub City Derby Girls
Roller derby is dangerous!
You’ll get beat up
Maybe this one isn’t 100% myth.
Roller derby is a fast-paced, fullcontact sport. You’ll get bruised
and sore, but hopefully not broken
(although injuries do occur). Our first
priority when you join our team is to teach you
how to properly fall, stop, and avoid hurting yourself and others! Of course, accidents happen,
so you are required to have WFTDA insurance
to be a part of full-contact activities. You should
also have personal health insurance. The more
you practice and the more stable you are on your
skates, the less likely you are to be injured.
Fact
photo by
Ken LeBleu
Skates: Keep in mind
some brands only offer
men’s sizes so if you’re
a size 8, you may be
a size 6 skate. These
should fit snuggly.
Skates are the last thing
you put on and the first
to come off!
Knee pads: Spend
a little more and
protect your knees
– you’ll need them
for the rest of your
life!
At Practice: Push yourself, but don’t go crazy. If
there’s something you don’t feel comfortable with,
step aside and take a break or ask for help. You
aren’t expected to do everything right away. Try
your best and be pro-active in learning new skills.
Welcome to
roller derby
We promise we won’t bite but we do hit. Hard.
Derby is not a super popular sport yet, so
there are a lot of misconceptions about what
roller derby is, and what it is not.
Remember the film Whip-it? While we thank
Hollywood for bringing derby back into the
mainstream… the movie probably left you
with some questions concerning the real
sport of roller derby.
Here’s a handy little pamphlet to get you
started. Of course, don’t by shy! Questions?
Ask a coach, board memeber, or veteran.
We’re here to help you!