Welcome to my first instalment of Talk Derby To Me! Roller Derby is one of the biggest parts of my life and is something that takes up so much of my time. So I'm asking derby questions to a different derby doll a week! I'm starting with Too Tall from Newcastle Roller Derby League. Without this lady I would never of had the confidence to get my behind on skates.
How did you find out about derby and what was it about derby that attracted you to the sport?
Derby is in my family. My aunt played Roller Derby in the 60 and 70's, and my mum was a skate teacher, so i was bought up on skates. Because of this I was always attracted to skating sports and was going to take up ice hockey until i found out that it isn't full contact for women. So when i found out that roller derby was making a come back well i signed up with my local league straight away.
I think many people’s first impressions of derby is the movie Whip It. What’s the difference between the movie version and the real derby?
"Whip It" was a great advertising and history lesson for mainstream society that either didn't know anything about roller derby or didn't know that it had been resurrected and evolved into the sport it is today.
The movie of course is not completely true to what derby is today due to the typical Hollywood dramatisation but the team spirit and comradery is very much the same.
Can you explain the term derby wife to people who don’t play derby?
A derby wife and its purpose is basically a "buddy" system, that if someone is hurt on track the medic and "wife" are the only ones allowed near that girl, if you are out on the town and your wife is under the weather its your job to hold her hair, you basically look out for each other.
A lot of people see short skirts, fishnets and girls falling over. But it’s actually a really physical sport. How much training do you usually put into derby?
A lot of "oldskool" people especially those who used to watch derby on t.v ask me how "fake" it actually is now days. I can tell you now there is NOTHING fake about it. Derby is a serious sport that has a very hard training schedule. The Representative team has a 12week training booklet and is expected to do at least 15min a day 3 days a week on top of their skate training which is a min 2 days a week, but most girls do a lot more then that. Training is held over 4 days a week so its no walk in the park. The entertainment aspect is the bonus part of derby where we get to dress in short skirts and fishnets coz with all the training we do, well we look freakin HOT!!
What’s your favourite aspect of roller derby?
My fav part of derby (apart that it has me on skates) is the family that iv gained. The girls are so accepting of everyone and for someone who has always felt judged due to my "alternate" look on life ie tats piercings music etc its been the one place i can be myself and have girls left and right of me that are very unique yet exactly the same. I love derby and i will be doing it in some shape or form for the rest of my life.
Do you have any advice for girls who are interested in playing roller derby?
Girls if your looking at derby as a possible sport be prepared for a massive change in your life for the better. Where in the world can you combine sport leisure and lifestyle all in the one category.
Derby til Death xoxo Tootall
