So yeah, Derby happened throughout those last two years. Travel bouts (now games, my bad) took me as far east as Maine, as far south as Virginia, as far north as... Alliston, ONT (North of Toronto), and as far west as... London, ONT. ;)
Had my fair share of Jam Reffing, including JR in a tournament in MA (and the following year being Crew HR for a game at the same tournament), HR'd a few home games (home teams and B travel team), and front IPR'd for a sanctioned game. In 2013 I participated in 1 tournament (All 8 on the Floor - Worcester, MA). In 2014 I our league hosted a WFTDA Officiating Clinic (and had a Sanctioned game that Sat night, what a great feeling having fellow Officials in the stands!!), and participated in 2 tournaments (the Fresh and the Furious - Toronto, ONT and All 8).
I did quite a bit, but I plan to do a whole lot more. I am going to be working towards my WFTDA Certification this year, I'm pretty much decided if it doesn't happen this year, that's it. Not quitting refereeing; but not bothering to pursue the Cert. I'm getting older and more brokener and it's getting more difficult to commit to doing so much while actually maintaining some semblance of a life outside of Derby (such that it is).
That being said, I am working towards actually rebuilding myself as a skater and official. My skills are adequate and I can "get by," but certification or not it isn't enough if I intend to do my job well. There's a long road ahead of me, and a lot of work to do along that road; but so far I'm off to a pretty good start and keeping a steady eye on realistic, obtainable goals. First step: update the skates!
My first year at All 8 did a number on my R3s (a little issue with over-rosining the track), and I decided to go ahead and invest in new skates. I got a pair of Riedell 765s, which I thought would be amaze-balls awesome for my sometimes weak ankles and the like. They were HORRIBLE. Way too roomy in the ankle/Achilles heel area, the padding on the tongue was too thick and the faux leather was hard and unyielding. I experimented with doubling socks, in-skate padding, and finally bought a pair of Ezee Fits to help reduce some of the cavernous space between the skates and my ankles. They were functional, but I know it had a continuing impact on my agility and skating skill. I was unsure on my skates, I was uncomfortable on my skates. I was a sad little Zebra.
So, after some diligent budgeting and research I contacted Ilana at Turnaround Skates and we worked out a skate package; which needed to be altered a bit because the boot I wanted was out of stock. The final result: Jackson Competitor boot with Pilot Viper plate, Bionic XS Stoppers, Atom Poison Slim wheels (they came with Bionic abec 7 bearings, but I had a brand new box of Bones Reds at home, so she left the wheels and bearings in their packaging and tossed them in the bag).
I tried them out at our first scrimmage of the season. I nearly killed myself on the rounded toe stops! (yeah, I know, not the most intelligent move... but I survived). I tried a new-to-me lacing scheme that didn't work so well (took too long to gear up), and took a bit to get the trucks right; and the toppers bit into my ankle somethin' fierce. I swapped out the Bionic toe stop with my old Gumballs, and pilfered the toe guards from my outdoor skates as I scuffed up one toe during scrimmage :( I tried them at ref practice (the night after the above pic was taken), and between my long feet, flat arches, and skinny ankles... my heels were once again flopping around the skate :( So last night I stole the padded laces from the 765s, and dug out the Ezee fits, relaced the skates and tried them on and snug as a bug in a rug; and no skate top digging into my ankles. We'll see how that works at tonight's scrimmage.
I know new skates won't equal instant Supah-stah Skater Skillz... but I do know that poor-fitting skates were definitely a detriment to what skill I did have.
My plan is systematically replacing some of my gear (tho as of Sunday's scrimmage knee pads have moved up on the list... one of the straps is now hanging from 3 threads... WTF?), and when I picked up my skates I also picked up a SISU (low profile) mouth guard, and am going to try to start reffing with that tonight.
Another item on my list is coming up with a new approach to studying, comprehending, and adjusting to the newest (Dec 2014) ruleset. I'm just not as good at book learning in my adult years as I was in school; but in the past I've kind of shrugged it off and let "experience be my teacher." As a deputy Head Ref for our group; and occasional "senior" official on the track I should probably know my shit... so that is another challenge for me to tackle; successful learning methods that work for ME.
Ah, and of course, a new item for the list is actually keeping this blog updated more than once a year. I know it rarely gets read, but besides pandering for attention my blogging is good for personal accountability; so here we go. No regular schedule, no particular themes for the moment. This blog was started to document my journey into becoming a Roller Derby Referee. The journey isn't over, by any stretch... there's still more story to tell.
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