Reid BRAvo!

Our next home bout is fast-approaching and we could not be more excited--not only because we get to play derby, but because we are playing for such a wonderful organization, Reid BRAvo!.

BRAvo! holds a bra-decorating contest each year in order to raise awareness about this serious issue. As noted on their Facebook page:

"Each bra decorated by a community member tells a story – strength, survival, memory, or humor – but all will catch an eye and remind women to be proactive when it comes to breast cancer.

We hope you will join our cause. Proceeds will provide free digital mammograms for uninsured women and financial assistance for patients in need. "

And the need is real. As noted on the BRAvo! website, the American Cancer Society recommends women over 40 get a screening mammogram once a year as long as they are in good health.

Their website provides further context for the need for screenings:

So please join us on November 15th at 6pm at the Kuhlman Center as we play to raise money for this great organization. We have so much fun stuff planned:

• Impressions Photography will have a photo booth full of pink accessories set up at our bout. You can take photos with your friends or your favorite roller girl! The photos will be posted to the photographer's Facebook page.
• Big Dawg Brewhaus will be serving our Dire Skates-exclusive beer, helles on wheels.
• The Test Middle School drum ensemble will be performing at half time.
• And ROLLER DERBY!

 More info about the bout can be found here--let us know you'll be there and be sure to spread the word!

Silliness

American Cancer Society recommends women over 40 get a screening mammogram once a year as long as they are in good health. - See more at: http://reidbravo.org/no-excuses/#sthash.eYYNZbPm.dpuf

Get the Facts

• 567 women are diagnosed in the U.S. – per day
• 109 breast cancer patients die in the U.S. – per day
• 37% of women over the age of 40 in our area have not had a mammogram in the past 12 months
• In Indiana alone, 4,350 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
• Approximately 53 women in Reid’s service area die each year of breast cancer.
• The American Cancer Society recommends women over 40 get a screening mammogram once a year as long as they are in good health. Schedule yours today by calling (765) 983-3358.
• If you cannot afford a mammogram, BRAvo! can help. Call 983-3358 and ask about the Community Benefit mammogram.

- See more at: http://reidbravo.org/no-excuses/#sthash.eYYNZbPm.dpuf

Get the Facts

• 567 women are diagnosed in the U.S. – per day
• 109 breast cancer patients die in the U.S. – per day
• 37% of women over the age of 40 in our area have not had a mammogram in the past 12 months
• In Indiana alone, 4,350 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
• Approximately 53 women in Reid’s service area die each year of breast cancer.
• The American Cancer Society recommends women over 40 get a screening mammogram once a year as long as they are in good health. Schedule yours today by calling (765) 983-3358.
• If you cannot afford a mammogram, BRAvo! can help. Call 983-3358 and ask about the Community Benefit mammogram.

- See more at: http://reidbravo.org/no-excuses/#sthash.eYYNZbPm.dpuf

Away Games: Gem City and Mortal Kombout

In less than two weeks your Dire Skates will be hitting the road to bout in St. Clairsville, Ohio against Ohio Valley Roller Girls!

But seriously, look at this flyer! It is full of WIN!

FINISH HER!

This will be our first overnight bout in awhile and we can't to spread the Dire Skates love across the nation! Or at least Ohio.

You can see more info on the event page.

Last weekend we played Gem City in Dayton and though they took the win, we played hard. Your Dire Skates is a growing team and we are getting stronger each game! Thanks to the Dire fans who made it over to Dayton to cheer us on!

Yeah, we know we are awesome.

After all of this traveling we will see you all at home in May during our special Mother's Day event on May 10th! More details to come--stay tuned!

--Bilbo Stabbins

Diary of a New Recruit: Passing Laps and Getting Bout-Ready

As we have previously written about, going from being a new recruit to a full member of the team is complicated. The place where all of us new recruits have been "stuck" for a while is laps. This is one of the WFTDA minimum requirements--it requires all skaters to be able to skate 27 laps in five minutes on order to be able to play. Recently Jenocide passed her laps and in this past week Smack Widow and I, Bilbo Stabbins, also passed our laps, which means we are technically bout-ready!

Bilbo Stabbins passes laps and immediately needs a nap and afternoon tea.

Look at Smack Widow go! (Photo courtesy of Tuscan aka Honey VooDoo)

Saying we were excited is an understatement.

There were lots of hugs and everyone was (and is) so proud of us! But now what? We had been so focused on passing laps (which required gaining strength, endurance, and even agility), but now what are we working toward? Oh yeah, playing derby!

Smack Widow and I will both be playing our very first bout, which is coming up quite soon!

If you don't know this already, you have some catching up to do!

We are technically bout-ready, but are we really bout-ready? I am already nervous! How can I cope with my anxiety if I am already feeling like this? My co-lap-passer, Widow, came to the rescue when she sent me this blog, which outlines everything a skater should do to prep for bout number one (and probably for future bouts too!).

 "First, take a deep breath."

Oh, this is good stuff! I hadn't thought of that! What else? *takes deep breath*

"Get your boutfit together – make sure you have the appropriate jersey and that your number is printed at least 4 inches tall – make sure you have the right bottoms, tights, socks – find these items early so you can have a couple dress rehearsal practices (it is very annoying to be pulling at your clothes during the bout)

Tell EVERYONE you know that you will be skating so they can clear their calendar"

These are just a few of the many things the blog tells us to do. Most of it is common sense to a skater and many of the things we have to do even just before a practice (hydrate, make sure you have all your gear, eat healthy, etc.). But I am certainly going to reference this blog often in the coming weeks.

So here I am getting my Map of Middle Earth pants ready, channeling my inner Suzy Hotrod, and telling of you, derby fans, to come support your Dire Skates, new and old. We can't wait to see you!

--Bilbo Stabbins

It's 'Bout Time

Editor's note: welcome back Jenocide and be sure to congratulate her! We are all quite proud of her. Also, be sure to read her previous post about passing her lap requirements.

Now that the crazy holidays are over, I finally have time to sit down and reflect on what is one of the coolest nights of my life. On December 8^th, I actually got to skate in my first bout, which was a mixed scrimmage with the Gem City Roller Girls. For those of you who were there, a HUGE thank you for supporting the Dire Skates. For those who weren’t there, SHAME ON YOU!  Just kidding.  The weather was pretty crap-tastic that day, so you are forgiven.

So many words come to mind when I think about the day: excited, pumped, and stoked are just a few. I had looked forward to this day for a long time.

One other word also comes to mind: N-E-R-V-O-U-S. Being a new skater out on the track with ladies who make me look like a baby deer on ice was more than a little intimidating.

I can totally see the likeness.

Upon arriving at the event location, I could feel the nerves settling in. Sweaty palms? Check. Tight gut? Double check. Doing my best to shake the nerves, I went and began to gear up. Looking around at my teammates, I realized that I was the only person on my team who didn’t have my skater number on my jersey. Cue panic in 5..4..3..2..1!  Thanks to the always wonderful BadAZZ Mothercutter, who quickly found a Sharpie and hooked a sister up. And with that, I was ready to hit the track.

Boom!

The bout was such an amazing experience. It was great to have my husband, kids, and parents in the crowd cheering me on. I actually got to play quite a bit and surprised myself with being able to keep up with veteran skaters. Also, I was on the winning team, which made it that much more awesome.  I am looking forward to our February bout already.  Be there or be square!

Jenocide

2014 Schedule!

We have (mostly) finalized our 2014 schedule. We hope to see you there!

Home Bout Dates:
Feb 15th Kuhlman Center vs. Bone City Rollers
May 10th Kuhlman Center vs. Battle Creek Cereal Killers and
July 19th Kuhlman Center Team vs. Lafayette Brawlin' Dolls
November date and team TBA



Away Bout Dates:
March 22nd @ Gem City Rollergirls
April 12th @ Ohio Valley Rollergirls
May (date TBA) @ Naptown Third Alarm (scrimmage)
September 6th @ Bone City Rollers 

P.S. I LOATHE YOU

Our first bout of 2014 is fast approaching!

Awesome flyer courtesy of GOREgon

We will be bouting for a new local non-profit organization, Richmond Shakespeare Festival! As posted on their Facebook page:

The mission of the Richmond Shakespeare Festival organization is to produce and promote an annual Shakespeare festival of the highest quality, including theatrical performances and educational opportunities, based in Richmond, Indiana.

We look forward to helping bring the arts to Richmond and we hope you'll be a part of the event.

Also courtesy of GOREgon (though it's a variation on this)

Roller Derby and Charity: We Hit for a Cause

The economics of roller derby is a vast, complicated thing. And involves numbers, something I am not really good at--but I will try for your sake. Because not only do we pay to hit people, we pay to help people.

Let me explain.

We pay to play, we rent local facilities, we travel to other cities to play and stay in hotels, we have insurance, we buy gear, and we replace gear.

As Hard Dash, a writer and derby girl, explains:

"OK. Now, let’s do math. Blog followers know how I love math. According to a study by WFTDA last year, skaters spent an average of $622 on skating equipment and gear in 2011, along with $656 in travel for roller derby and $223 in other support costs (dues, tickets for events). That’s $1,500 a skater. If there are in fact 39,239 skaters that is $58,858,500  — yeah, about $59 million a year from just the skaters — not the fans, the referees, the support staff, bout venues, rinks. That $59 million goes to local skate shops, local rinks, American skate companies, local hotels."

The economy of derby is huge. And it's only growing.

One other important financial component here is that the money we make from ticket sales goes to charity. This is the derby standard. Each bout raises money for a specific charity or non-profit organization. As derby grows, so does derby's ability to give back to the local communities in which the teams reside.

Dire Skates are no different.

In the past we have bouted for BRAvo and HELP the Animals among others. Our next bout on December 8th will benefit Sunrise, Inc., a therapetic riding center. As their website states:

"Sunrise, Inc is a not-for-profit corporation, established in Wayne County in 1980, whose purpose is to promote the health and social development of physically, mentally and socially disabled people through therapeutic horseback riding."

We are so excited about being able to help fund this organization and we hope you are too! Come on out on December 8th, support local derby, and support this amazing cause!

Featuring Dragon Ballzy, Terahrizin, and classdisnissed...and is the Mr. BadAZZ NSOing?!