Roller Derby Skates

Derby Demons on Wheels

About Roller Skate Shoes

Posted by admin on September 13, 2009

Feeling tired to walk across the street to get the grocery?  Roller skating to the grocery store?  Anyone?

In short, it can be a good form of exercise and no one can give any lame reason for not doing it. Using roller skate shoes has its own health benefits as they prove to be a very useful form of cardio exercise and beneficial in arthritis problem.  Just like buying a pair of shoes, a few things should be considered, like the size of the shoes.  It must fit!  Make sure that the feet do not get cramped up otherwise it will be difficult to skate, and you are most likely to get blisters and some feet!

The inner sole should be soft and slightly cushioned so that when pressure is applied while skating, applying brakes or taking a turn, the toes should not be under undue pressure and cause added stress to the toenails. Added care in the fitting of the shoes, keep the feet strong and healthy to skate in the future. If there are ankle straps, roller skates should be strapped to the ankle properly. Roller skate shoe can either have two wheels, four wheels, fixed wheels, or detachable wheels.  It is completely your choice which you choose to start with.

The shoes also need to be tough and strong to be able to do roller skating and bear all the added stress which might occur while skating. You get a lot of colorful variety in shoes, designer shoes, and special shoes for kids, women, and men.

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Posted under roller derby, roller derby history, roller derby skate shoes, roller derby skates, roller derby teams

Looking for Inline Skates? Some Things to Consider

Posted by admin on August 28, 2009

Anytime is the perfect time to put on those skates and groove to your favorite tunes! If you already have a pair of inline skates just brush them off and get going!  But if you do not have skates,  you definitely need to get them.

Before you proceed, it is important to know that there are various types of inline skates, like inline hockey skates, roller skates, fitness skates, specialty skates, aggressive skates, and recreational skates. The best option if you are just starting, are the recreational skates.  They are easily managed and durable.

In purchasing the basic skate, the most important thing to be considered is the comfort and support that the skates will offer. After all, it is only if you are comfortable that, you will enjoy this exciting and thrilling sport. Take time when purchasing the skates.  Some stores suggest that the best time to buy skates is after a physical activity or after a busy day of work.  You will be able to determine if they give you the needed comfort, in terms of weight and size. The size should neither be too loose nor too tight because the feet tend to swell after skating.  There should be enough room to expand but not too loose that you might trip or have difficulty to balance yourself. Your feet must be snug in the skates without casuing any cramps and foot sores.

Once you fidn the right fit, the next important thing is the support and the type of support. Initially the only support offered was laces, and then it was buckles, then straps and Velcro.. One must carefully see which type of support system is suitable to him in terms of time, ease, fit and at the same time give the luxury of easily adjusting the straps either loose or tight while skating.

In purchasing skates, you will need to also look at brand and the cost. This will depend on your skating goal, which means whether you aim to pursue a career in skating, or as a fitness source or for pure recreation. The price will vary not only with the styling, the comfort, the weight, the support, but also the brand,.  You will pay for the name but you alos buy the reputation of the brand.  Choose wisely.

Try on different types of skates, check which one gives you that feeling of comfort and support.  Consideer the brand and the price.  You can get alot of assistance in many of the sporting equipment stores in your local area.

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The Wild Wonderful World of Roller Derby

Posted by admin on August 11, 2009

Believe it or not, this is a sport born and bred in the good ol’ USA.  It is an All American phenomenon!  It is a high velocity sport that takes roller skating from the average neighbourhood street to an indoor oval track.  In its early years, roller derby was a professional sport played by both men and women. Today it is a primarily amateur sport that has teams and circuits all over the world and has becomes predominantly a women’s sport.  Hoo Rahh for the hard hitting women of roller derby USA!

Historically, the term Roller Derby was first coined in 1922 in the Chicago Tribune.  It was used to describe flat track roller skating races. Leo Seltzer a promoter and sportswriter, Damon Runyon have been credited with impacting the competitions in the 1930’s by making it focus on the physcallity of the sport and the spectacle of it.  Seltzer actually trade marked the term “Roller Derby” and used this to promote his professional teams as they toured through the US. Roller Derby became a part of pop culture as the matches took place through the US.  The matches were broadcast on radio in the early years and later became a television phenomenon with an increasing fan base.

Great ideas never stand alone.  Competing organizations such as Roller Games, burst onto the scene.  But as many fast rising stars often do, the sport had to ride out many ups and downs.  The mainstream event finally fizzled in the 1970’s.  Much of the interest over the next few decades were fueled by the veterans and die hard fans.

Today’s Roller Derby has re-emerged.  In fact 3,700 fans attened the debut of the 2007 Minnesota RollerGirls season.  Rooler Derby has entered into next era.  This sport has spread beyond its American roots and leagues have poppeed up in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.  It has reconencted with today’s hard hitting women and captured not only the athleticism but acquired a “campy” personality all of its own.

The revival is attributed to the non-affiliated DIY young women who took on the sport with guts and gusto. Roller derby is a contact sport and injuries range from common bruises and sprains to broken bones and beyond. No wonder that EMT’s are often on hand at the matches.  These injuries become the well documented and discussed “battle scars”, to be flaunted and exploited as a part of the culture that follows this growing sport.  Safety equipment such as helmets, elbow pads, knee pads are required.  Roller derby skates have to be built for the rigors of the face paced track.

The Derby demons of today’s Roller Derby has its own look and feel.  The look is often inspired by  rockabilly or burlesque fashions.  Cool tattoos and tutus are a part of the Derby style.  In some leagues, “Larger-than-life” on-track aggressive behavior, the half-time entertainment and “penalty games” provide the “entertainment” in this sport.  It is attitude and velocity combined wth the griity fast paced excitement that draws fans all over the world.

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Posted under roller derby, roller derby history

Roller Derby Workout

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

The Derby Diva’s advocate any sort of skater. Even if the Roller Derby is not exactly your thing, but you like to skate, you may want to consider trying a Roller Derby Workout as part of your endurance training. Every person that roller skates should know the proper way to do a Roller Derby T-Stop. It is a simple way to slow down or stop completely. Simply drag your back skate perpendicular to the front skate. See how easy? and pretty effective on the street, ice or on the circular track.

Another fun think to do at the Roller Rink is to practice building up your legs and endurance doing some Roller Derby Drills. My favorite is called threading the snake. This is a great Roller Derby Drill that is more for the jammers then anyone else, but even leisure skaters can have fun with this simple drill. All you need to do is line up and start skating single file, then when you get some speed the last skater will start to weave in and out between the other skaters, when that skater is in front the next one at the end goes. It is really fun but I warn you, it takes a lot of effort not to shove an elbow in someone back. But hey if you are really adventurous you can try a Roller Derby Drill called Blood and Thunder, the rules are simple, the last one standing wins. Visit The Derby Diva’s on Face book and share your favorite Roller Derby Skate Drills.

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Roller Derby Video Game

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

I could not help but chuckle when a friend of mine asked if there were any Roller Derby video games. You would think there would be at least one right? Well as near as the Derby Diva’s can tell there is actually no such game. I think that is pretty surprising actually. That is definitely a shame because there seems to be games available from anything from duck hunting right out to golf and tennis. My grandfather might find golf exciting but I sure don’t. Maybe the thought was this was to niche of a sport and there would not be enough interest to garnish sales. If the software companies had ever been to an actual Roller Derby Exhibition they would see that the sport has been and still remains very popular. I can imagine it in my minds eye, much like the WWE games, you could build each member of your Roller Derby Team, select the hair color, body type position and even the over all personality. Can you imagine what fun it would be to have video Roller Derby Tournaments.

It seems back in 2009 Blast magazine promised all us Roller Derby Fans that there was a Roller Derby game in development. Guess it just never happened, or maybe I am looking in the wrong places. If that should be the case drop me a Tweet at Derby Diva’s Twitter and set the record straight. Hopefully there is some developer out there that will get on this. I have every reason to believe it would be popular.

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Roller Derby Track Dimensions

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

Roller Derby tracks can be varied. There are some teams that prefer the flat tracks and there are others that prefer the banked tracks. The Roller Derby Diva’s don’t really have a preference, we will skate anyone anywhere. Just in case you are not sure of the differences let us tell you a bit about it.

Flat tracks can be any suitable skating surface. Roller rinks of wood or other materials, sports courts and even concrete. The track has to be flat, free of obstruction and of a size sufficient for a course. The flat tracks will have some sort of marking usually no higher then .25 to 2 inches so it is not a safety hazard. Sometimes small fiber optic light stings are used, sometimes it is just colored tape. The idea is to have it low enough so it is not a safety hazard to the skaters. The pivot start line, the jammer start line and usually 10ft intervals are marked. If this is a temporary track it is probably going to be marked in colored masking tape, permanent tracks have these lines painted. About the only difference in the banked track is that it slopes upward at a 35 or 45 degree angle. Most banked tracks are 77ft x 101 ft. There are some plans available online if you think you would like to try to build a banked track. If you know of great areas for practice or play drop me a tweet at Derby Diva‘s always happy to pass on great locations to others.

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Roller Derby Terminology

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

Earlier we had some fun with some of the Roller Derby Lingo, but in all seriousness there is some Roller Derby Terminology that is important to know. It does not take long before you know what a Roller Derby Jammer is, and a Roller Derby Blocker is just common sense. But do you know what it means to be cutting the track? Before you go off to get an axe listen up a moment to The Derby Diva’s you really can nt take all Roller Derby Lingo as a literal meaning. We promise you, if you take the time to listen or ask you might get a kick out of what the Roller Derby girls are really talking about.

If your cutting the track you are rejoining the pack by crossing the field after a fall. See when you know what it means it isn’t as scary as it sounds. The pack is your defensive skaters, it consists of your lead pivot and three blockers. Some of the gals may act like wolves, maybe that’s why they are called a pack. But if you hear the the call to pack’em up don’t unlace your skates just yet. To pack’em up is an indication to start the fight before the jam. You remember jam right? that stuff that was on your toast. Derby Diva’s like to tease! But hey why not stop by for a visit to our Face book page. Who knows maybe we can get together and pull a chola some night. I’ll tell you what that means after a few drinks.

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Roller Derby Teams

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

There is no shortage of great Roller Derby Teams in Toronto. You can find out a great deal of information about what is going on in the Roller Derby Toronto area by going to the league website and checking the events from time to time. If you do not want to wait contact the Roller Derby Diva’s and we will let you know about some of the activities that are happening in Toronto.

In fact as I check out all different kinds of web pages of people that are dedicated to Roller Derby I am always finding more and more teams from many different places. It seems there’s International Roller Derby Teams. Ireland, Switzerland, Britain and Germany all have Roller Derby Leagues. Don’t feel left out as there are Roller Derby Teams in Mexico and of course in the States. Each Team brings its own flair, but all of the Roller Derby Teams will tell you they are in it because they love the sport. The vast majority of Roller Derby Teams are all women, but occasionally we see male Roller Derby Teams.

Roller Derby Leagues and Roller Derby Teams are a great way to make friends and network. You get a chance to work on your own physical fitness, slam a few drinks and maybe if you want to do something charitable that opportunity can come up from time to time. Roller Derby Team Spirit can not be beat, after awhile the other gals will seem like they are your family, in fact when you are in competition they will be your family for the most part. But overall Roller Derby skaters everywhere seem to share a bond. Drop me a tweet at Derby Diva‘s

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Roller Derby Tattoos

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

There was a time in the not so distant past that you would never see a lady with a tattoo. Unless of course she was a Roller Derby Diva Now a days it seems like woman have tattoo’s of all sorts. Body art can vary from a discreet little tat barely visible to some pretty extreme works of body art. If cute little butterflies and flowers are not your thing, maybe you can find inspiration from some of the amazing tattoo art that has a Roller Derby Flair. I have seen tattoo’s the depicted skates on fire, seriously amazing Roller Derby Team tats, and some pretty darn cute Roller Derby Queen tattoo’s. Hey even Pixie Acia of LA Ink fame gets her skate on!

I would love to hear about your Roller Derby Tattoo’s. Most gals I know start off with a pair of skates, from there all sorts of things seem to happen. It just has to do with your personality and your taste. I personally like the more artistic renderings that include a nice title rocker of some sort. I can not think of a better way to immortalize such a great sport. Tell me where you got your Roller Derby Tattoo and your story of why. Some of the Roller Derby Stories are far more amazing then the art If you would like to share your picture of your tat, or just talk about it you can visit us on Facebook to drop us a Twitter at Derby Diva’s Twitter

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Roller Derby T Shirts

Posted by RollerDiva on August 16, 2010

About the only Roller Derby Clothing that I have more of then Roller Derby Socks are my Roller Derby T-shirts. I have several skater inspired T-shirts, but I can’t say I treasure them as much as my Roller Derby T-Shirts. Some of them are Roller Derby Vintage style, others are more modern day skater influenced. I have a few that are body fitting and several that are oversized. A Roller Derby Diva can never be to certain what situations may arise that need a special Roller Derby T-Shirt. I especially like the Roller Derby T-shirts that are in bright colors and have an the true Roller Derby Attitude. Roller Derby Team T shirts are great collectable, if you are lucky enough to find them. There is always a chance to get a Roller Derby T-Shirt at some of the bigger events if you look around.

I like to search online for a lot of the Roller Derby Gear I have picked up along the way. Ebay is much easier then searching antique markets for Roller Derby Memorabilia, if you are looking for true Roller Derby Vintage Collectables. There are some newer T-Shirts available that are silk screened with vintage inspired Roller Derby Prints. Thy look very nice and do capture a certain Roller Derby Inspired nostalgia. I do know of a few Roller Derby Diva’s that have managed to find some great vintage collectables. Tweet me up and tell me of any new T-Shirt places that might be worth a mention.

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