We are super excited to announce that this month is the beginning of our intra-league HOME SEASON! This is an amazing time for us, as not only do we get three amazing home game days, but every single one features all ARRG skaters!

So, in excitement for this, we would love to showcase one of our brand new home season Skaters – Bunsen Burnher! This season will see Bunsen play her first ever home season, and first ever game for ARRG. Seeing new skaters come up the ranks and improve so quickly is one of the most exciting things about home season, and as a new skaters, being on a team with (and playing against!) advanced level skaters is such an amazing development opportunity, not to mention just so much fun! In ARRG, we are all pals but we don’t always skate together, so this is why we love home season so much.

Over to Bunsen, to tell us about her roller derby journey:

Joined ARRG in:

I started Fresh Meat in September 2013, graduated to Inters 2.5 Fresh Meats later in May 2014.

Role in ARRG:

On skates, I train with the Intermediates and am working towards my first Home Season this year, for which I’ve just been assigned to The Skatefast Club. I’m super excited! It felt like such a far off dream when I first started.

Favourite Position to Play:

I love to jam when I can but I’m becoming more confident blocking now that my feet listen to those instructions a little bit more, so anywhere really!

Your Derby Story – Why Are you Here?:

I moved to Edinburgh for a new job in July 2013 and knew no one so was looking to make new friends, and to entertain myself out of hours. I’d heard a few friends back home talking about derby so I went along to a Fringe bout to see what it was all about and was hooked. They were handing out flyers for a Fresh Meat session starting the following week so I signed up and haven’t looked back. Between work and training, it quickly helped make the city more homely.

Best Derby-Related Advice:

Don’t compare your middle to someone else’s end, or your journey there. Everyone progresses differently and it doesn’t make you or them better or worse. I’ve found that so helpful outside of derby too. Also, listen to your injuries and give yourself time to heal or you’ll miss more in the long run.

What you Do for the League Aside from Skating:

Off skates, I’m on the merch committee. I also NSO when I can, which is a lot of fun.

Any Funny/Embarrassing Derby Stories?:

With 8 wheels strapped to my clumsy feet, the embarrassing ones are numerous!

Derby Hero:

Too many to list! So many people give so much of their time and energy, are passionate in their training, and help others along the way. They’re all just amazing.

What Do you Do Outside of Derby:

Ponies! And eggs. By day, I’m a chemistry postdoc in the University of Edinburgh, which involves more eggs than I thought I’d ever want to see. I also have a horse back in Dublin whom I regularly travel home to see (the rest of my family can always get on plane to come visit, the 4 legged members can’t!), and, until derby took over everything, I was a field hockey goal keeper for about 20 years. Travelling, reading and whisky get a fair look in too.

Fun Fact About you:

I lived in Paris for 2.5 years prior to Edinburgh, where I lived almost entirely on baguette in a 20m^2 studio and camped in a blanket fort in it for a week when I couldn’t get my sofa bed to return to bed shaped. I adult good.

This month’s Featured Official is the wonderful Dead Metal. Another skater/NSO hybrid, DM is working her way up through the skating ranks, alongside working tirelessly as a NSO, both at our practices and on game days. Doing a dual role is not easy, but the payoff is totally worth it when you realise you know more about the rules than some of the veteran skaters! We are really grateful to everyone who NSO’s for us, so DM – we thank you!

Joined ARRG in: I came to an ARRG taster in June 2014 and signed up that very day to join the next Fresh Meat.

Role in ARRG: Intermediate Skater, NSO, Membership wrangler.

Favourite Position to Officiate: I fell into scorekeeping a lot, but my favourite position is Scoreboard Operator. It’s so satisfying when it all goes smoothly! You have to be very on the ball, but you do get to watch a lot of the game too.

Your Derby Story – Why Are You Here?: Roller Derby basically just looked like the coolest sport ever, and way more fun than going to the gym. I barely knew anything about it, but it just seemed like an awesome, welcoming community of people of all different skill levels. My very first go on skates was a little like Bambi on ice, but despite the near-constant bruises (and oh man, are they ever still constant) i’m still excited to go to every single practice.

Best Official-Related Advice: Keep calm, communicate loudly and clearly, and if you think you’ve made a mistake don’t be afraid to ask for a timeout!

What You Do For the League Aside From Officiating:  I’m involved in the membership side of the secretarial committee, and I occasionally make shiny merch with laser cutters! I also take (the highly important) Sunday Pub Club very seriously.

Any Funny/Embarrassing Officiating Stories: I’m touching wood right now when I say not yet. This clearly means I’m going to fall face-first into something/somebody the next time I NSO and I’m going to go ahead and blame this question for it in advance.

Derby Hero: All the guys I joined with in Fresh Meat are my heroes. There are still so many of us here, and every day I’m amazed and proud of how much we’ve all progressed since we joined. I’ve seen people struggle and push and just get better and better. You’re all awesome.

What Do You Do Outside of Derby: I currently work at Edinburgh College of Art as a jack-of-some-trades technician. This has involved such tasks as helping to make a pink leather jacket with boobs engraved all over it (I know, I want one too), and 3D printing a lemon.

Fun Fact About You: I can do three different types of welding! I hope this means I can join ARRG Welders Club, as I hear there are a few of us…

WE have seen our All Stars team take on Glasgow Roller Derby twice this year, and be defeated both times. Now, it’s time for our Reserves team to give it a go – can they succeed and come out triumphant?

Both teams will be fighting hard in the capital in just over a week, as they prepare for the ultimate challenge. The teams are old rivals, and with GRD taking the number one spot in the UKRDA rankings from ARRG, it’s going to be a rough battle, as we see which team can take the crown. Can ARRG bring home a much needed win? Or will GRD be pulling out all the stops to ensure they are the best A and B team in Scotland. It’s going to be a pretty exciting game – not one to miss!

Watch the love-hate rivalry cause a spin at Meadowbank Stadium on London Road on Saturday, August 8th, at 2pm.

Once again this month we are proud to show off one of our skater officials! Dual role members are really special, and bring so much to the league whilst also hugely benefitting themselves, as they have the insight to both roles. It’s something everyone should get involved with to some degree – even if you just NSO one game a year!

We’d like to introduce Jane Eerie – we won’t go on about her for ages; her words can speak for themselves.

Joined ARRG in: I joined in September 2013 as a transfer skater, having formerly skated with the rocKArollers from Karlsruhe, Germany.

Role in ARRG: Pivot/Blocker for the Cherry Bombers as well as ASR during the last season, dedicated NSO.

Favourite Position to Officiate: I try to be as well-rounded an official as I possibly can. I tend to get really engrossed in the ins-and-outs of the particular roles so I want to perfect all roles. I do love Penalty Tracking, however, as you are close to the action. It can get pretty busy and I get to be loud and assertive which is always fun. I’ve also recently gotten into Penalty Box Timing which is a role I used to underestimate. Working the position at A Skate Odyssee 2015 in Gent was absolutely amazing. Challenging, awesome, stressful but just so much fun – especially when you’re doing the paperwork and only have a single stopwatch to work with!

Your Derby Story – Why Are You Here?: I first read about it in 2010 in a blog and I was intrigued. At that time there were only a few leagues in Germany and none in feasible travel distance. A couple of years later my friend got involved in a new league and I joined. In the first couple years I commuted twice a week, up to two hours each way, to make it to practice. I took a fairly long time learning how to skate so NSOing was a way to feel involved. I also wanted to know the rules as they were something tangible I could master while my feet were still being skated by my skates. I travelled occasionally to other leagues’ games but what really got me hooked was my first tournament experience in December 2013 at the Dutch Champs. There is nothing quite like officiating a tournament. You’re on site from 8am to 10pm, usually working one-on, one-off so you quickly become like a little family amongst all the Officials. Between games you get high on sugar and coffee, do Journey sing-a-longs, and dissect world politics (or just geek out about derby). It’s honestly amazing, I can only highly recommend it.

Best Official-Related Advice: Take pride in your work and be humble. Take the time to perfect what you are doing. Ask for feedback and learn to accept and apply it, even when it feels harsh. The rules are your friend, as are your standard practices so study and appreciate them. Help others – officiating is team work! Travel as much as you can – officials work slightly differently everywhere and staying put leads to strange little oddities so get out of your little bubble as much as you can. And most importantly: enjoy yourself – officiating is hard work but it is also a hell of a lot of (no) fun.

What You Do For the League Aside From Officiating: Quite a few things. I’ve been a skater (blocker/pivot) on the All Star Reserves as well as the Cherry Bombers during the last season. I am also the bout liaison for the All Star Reserves and, most recently, have become the Co-Spokesperson for the NSOing side of the Officials Committee, with the wonderful Kirds’n Slay as my Co-Spokesy. I also tend to bake a fair bit for the cake stall.

Any Funny/Embarrassing Officiating Stories: During the last game on Saturday of SKOD we had just gone into a pretty long official time-out and I wanted to stretch my legs, having stood in the penalty box a long time. So I kicked up my heels and of course caught the chair behind me on which I had put my phone and water bottle and kicked it over with a loud bang – my stuff flying everywhere. While I sheepishly picked everything back up the Paris girls (their team area was right next to me) were cheering and tutting and “issuing penalties:” “Official – Misconduct, Low Block” with the appropriate hand signals. Apparently I blushed so violently that I’d have been visible in the dark.

Derby Hero: Anybody who gives up their time, money, and sanity for this sport. It’s a pretty amazing thing to see the dedication of people for the sake of the love of the sport. Officials are really more of a family and I’ve learnt from so many people along the way that it feels strange to single people out. However, I reckon I have to credit my deep appreciation to hard work and knowing the rules to Der Könich, my old league’s Head Ref who in his ever so blunt way really instilled a deep-seated respect for that side of Derby in me. Another major influence has been Record Breaker, my sister from another mister, who tends to give me perspective on most things derby and life. And the amazing and fabulous Pussy Panzerfaust of Metz – NSO extraordinaire and probably the only person I really do idolize a little.

What Do You Do Outside of Derby: I am a full-time PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. I write on New Zealand war literature, specifically on gender, national identity, and trauma. I also like to create things and to that end do a fair bit of crafting, writing, and baking amongst others. I also like long walks on the beach, poking dead things with a stick…

Fun Fact About You: I have a deep love for languages and have approximate knowledge of Te Reo Maori, Dutch, Spanish, and Latin and have given up on trying to online learn Cherokee and Tibetan just because, somehow, derby tends to eat all of my time… oops.

This months featured official is the wonderful referee – Mags Payne!

Mags started out as a skater, but quickly realised that her real skills lay in the world of officiating. Not only is she a great referee, but she’s also a big part of the league – including contributing her amazing Rule of the Week, which you can find here: link to ARRG forum .

Joined ARRG in:  2010! Which seems like a MILLION years ago!

Role in ARRG: Referee.

Favourite Position to Officiate: I love pack work, so OPR/IPR.  I love the intensity of having to pay attention to 9 million things at once!

Your Derby Story – Why Are You Here?: I started derby because my best friend wanted to start a sport. She was a natural. I *really* wasn’t! It took me a year and a half to get out of fresh meat!  Seriously, the first time I tried to do 25 in 5, I got SEVEN. When I started people tended to assume that women would be skaters, unless they were injured, and men were refs. So I tried to become a skater. Sadly, it just wasn’t for me and I didn’t enjoy it. But I loved being a rules nerd and NSO’d a lot. I took a 6 month break to work out what to do and during that time Cherry Fury cornered me on a bus and basically prodded me (literally!) until I agreed to give reffing a try. The moment the stripes went on 2 years ago, I never looked back!  Refereeing is definitely the path for me!

Best Official-Related Advice: One of my favourite referees says “Every day is a school day”. And I think that’s really important.  You never stop learning or wanting to improve. Always ask for feedback and use every mistake to make yourself better. And remember to have fun! I know we have our official faces on a lot, but really, we do it cause we love it – don’t forget that!

What You Do For the League Aside From Officiating: I am a WFTDA Officials’ Rep and writer of our Rules of the Week forum posts. I also drive fellow referee Kirds ‘n’ Slay about a lot! (A big part of being an official involves road trips – my little zeebmobile is often full of officials!).

Any Funny/Embarrassing Officiating Stories: Ha, so many! A skater once transitioned into me when I was OPRing and I put my hands up to stop us colliding and I accidentally grabbed her boobs. She found it hilarious, I was mortified! Also, at my first ever game the referees sat in the penalty box until the skate outs were over. When everyone stood up to start equipment checks, I fell off the bench! Not a particularly auspicious start!

Derby Hero: Ugh, so many.  And I know everyone says that, but it’s true – there are so many awesome people in derby! I mean, there’s all the ARRG Officials, who just make it an absolute joy. There’s the refs and officials out with the league that I look up to and learn so much from (Righteous Oxide, Ella Bella Bang-Bang, Cherry Fury, Candy Moho, Danger…the list is HUGE and is basically every official). There’s so many skaters who have supported me along the way. It’s everyone.  And that’s the best thing about derby – you’re someone’s hero. Everyone is. There’s always someone looking up to you and learning from you, and that’s amazing.

What Do You Do Outside of Derby: I work in video games, so I do spend quite a lot of time on my consoles even when I’m not at work! Every year I do a ‘gaming marathon’ playing for 24+ hours non-stop to raise money for the Edinburgh Sick Kids’ Hospital. I am a massive ice hockey fan (Go Jets Go!) too, although due to reffing I can’t get to many live games.  I’m also studying for a degree in Psychology with the Open University. I have a lovely boyfriend who is willing to travel internationally to watch me ref and I’m also a crazy cat lady.

Fun Fact About You: I once appeared on Crimewatch! (In the background – not as a wanted person!).

Diamond is one of our most recent skaters to move into advanced level training. She is proof beyond doubt that hard work and perseverance pay off. Not only is she is crazy hard hitter, but she has some excellent banana catch skills and is always the last guy on the jammer! Never gives up, hits like a truck. That’s our wee diamond. She’s also lovely as hell and a fierce member of team aftARRG pARRGty. Read more about that…

Joined ARRG in:

Eventually in October 2012.

Role in ARRG:

I am an advanced skater.

Favourite Position to Play:

Offensive Play is my favourite, although I love being a blocker in the wall. There is nothing better than holding a jammer for long periods of time.

Your Derby Story – Why Are you Here?:

I first heard of Roller Derby though my uni pal Lisa (Teenie Bash) and she tried to convince me to give it a go. At that time I was too afraid of getting injured so I became a regular spectator to pretty much all the ARRG games and a few in Perth too. The need to try this sport got too much and I just wanted to get rolling. So I ordered my skater starter kit and signed up to fresh meat and off I went on the 21st October 2012. I have never looked back as I got completely addicted to this amazing sport.

Best Derby-Related Advice:

Never give up. Believe in yourself. No matter what is going on or has happened, you can always get to where you want, it is your journey so just enjoy it and don’t compare yourself to others.

What you Do for the League Aside from Skating:

As a member of the Training & Progression committee I am the absent fairy/returning skater liason. I am also a member Sponsorship and Advertising committee.

I injured myself pretty bad at an after party. It was early on in the evenings festivities and Alba Roma were playing so it was pretty hard not to be dancing. There I was jumping and dancing about one minute the next I was on the floor. Doh!!! I managed to get up and remove myself from the room. I lost a favourite pair of socks that night. The glowed in the dark!!!

Derby Hero:

My derby hero has to be our very own Crazy Legs……..is there anything this lady can’t do?!! The time, commitment and focus that she puts into the league and her own game is amazing. Seeing her development within the time I have been skating is inspiring and real joy to watch.

What Do you Do Outside of Derby:

I love to just spend quality time with my friends and family. Doing other activities such as cycling (now that I have a new bike, thanks Toni :-D) or going for walks. Can’t beat an occasional trip back to my homeland.

Fun Fact About you:

I am a keen golfer and used to compete at high amateur level. Oh and I LOVE curry! 😀 not related to golf whatsoever but I do!

ROLLER derby will roll back into the capital next month in a central belt battle of all-female fitness, strength and speed on skates.
Edinburgh’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls (ARRG) will take on their greatest Scottish rivals Glasgow Roller Derby (GRD) at Meadowbank Stadium.
The latest roller derby game will see ARRG fighting to regain their crown from GRD, who came out on top in their last battle.
GRD are the finest they’ve ever been right now, having swept to the top spot in the latest UK Roller Derby Association rankings for the first time too.
The slip from #1 ranking for ARRG has seen them training harder and smarter than ever in the last few weeks to be on peak form to snatch back the gold.

Watch the love-hate rivalry cause a spin at Meadowbank Stadium on London Road on Sunday, June 28, from 2.30pm.

Image Courtesy of Floyd King

We are back on NSO watch this month, as we take some time to recognise our amazing NSO, Blind Io!

Io has been with us for nearly 18 months, and has really cemented himself as a huge ARRG brick. He’s dedicated, meticulous and keen, and is always ready and willing to lend a hand to NSO’s in training. He’s our first ever UKRDA affiliated NSO and we couldn’t have ARRG without him.

Joined ARRG in:  I started NSOing for ARRG last year in January, and became a full member several months later.

Role in ARRG: I’m a Non-Skating Official! Keep those skates away from me.

Favourite Position to Officiate: I’ve always liked Penalty Wrangling, although it’s an endangered role across most of Europe. As a Penalty Wrangler it’s your job to make sure the Penalty Tracker records every penalty that the referees (and NSOs!) hand out, which means you have to work closely with all of the referees and constantly be on your toes during the game. It’s busy work but so very satisfying when it goes well.

Your Derby Story – Why Are You Here?: I saw my first roller derby game during the Fringe Festival in 2012: I wanted to see if it was as fun a sport as ‘Whip It’ made it out to be! After that I watched as many local games as I could, when during ARRG’s last game of 2013 someone handed out forms to the crowd to ask if anyone wanted to NSO. I said yes because frankly I needed a new hobby, and wanted to see as much derby as possible. But after a few months of NSOing Friday scrims and Home Season I was *hooked*, and have been a devoted NSO ever since!

Best Official-Related Advice: It’s very easy to get pigeon-holed into doing the same one or two NSO roles every game, because that’s all you have experience in! To break out of it you need the confidence to say “let me try this role, I’ve read up on it, practiced it at scrims, I can do this”.

What You Do For the League Aside From Officiating: Anything I can to help ARRGies (ARRGers, ARRGos?) become good NSOs! I’m on the NSO sub-committee and I help out at Friday scrim practices.

Any Funny/Embarrassing Officiating Stories: I almost drunkenly fell into a giant road works pit outside the bar at the West Track Story after party! One step backwards and my foot went slipping down this steep gravelly slope… luckily I recovered quickly and everyone else was drunk enough to not notice. I then had the joy of 4 hours’ sleep and 10 hangover hours to get back to Edinburgh, well worth it though 🙂

Derby Hero: Andy Clockwise! It’s thanks to him that I’ve made it this far as an NSO. Also ‘I am Groot’: a Dutch NSO who gave me the idea of printing out a copy of the WFTDA rules and giving it a permanent place in my bag, because you never know when you might need it 😉

What Do You Do Outside of Derby: Between my job working for a radar company and NSOing most weekends, I just about have enough time to cook dinner and sleep.

Fun Fact About You: I used to have shoulder-length hair until just a few years ago, and I always keep a photo on me to prove it!

We know there will be people wondering if all the hype is really worth it, and really, what can be so good about the School of ARRG Knocks bootcamps.. surely a roller derby bootcamp is a roller derby bootcamp, right?

Well, in short, no! We at the SOAK pride ourselves on putting on the absolute best bootcamps we can. So, not only do we provide a full day of intense drills, skills and tactical learning with some of the best coaches in Scotland, we also provide a choice of off-skates classes, a bout for all levels, and personalised feedback opportunities.

We also don’t teach you how to coach other people, which is a common bootcamp practice. We teach YOU. Every single person that comes to a SOAK bootcamp will leave with at least one new skill, tactic or trick. Most leave with a whole load, because we focus on coaching you individually, and not blasting through drills so you can practice them later. This is a full day of training, for you.

In addition to all the amazing skatey time, we also have so many wee extras that make the day even more fun. We have special merchandise designed and printed for attendees only, we do special lunch packs so you don’t have to bring your own sandwich with your sweaty kit, there’s a gift for every attendee, and we provide water and snacks all day long.

I know, sounds too good to be true. So, to back up these wild claims, we asked an attendee from last year to give her side of the story:

Enter, Klara. We asked her to start off by explaining what she enjoyed best about the School of ARRG Knocks 3?

DD’s warm up. DD’s hair. DD’s leg warmers..so to narrow it down probably DD.

Okay then. Well, excellent news! You’ll all be very pleased to hear that the fabulous DD will be doing another legendary warm up this year. What will this outfit entail?! We wondered if Klara would be coming this year, and she assured us she was. We asked her why:

Because SOAK 3 was absolutely awesome and The HungARRG Games sound even better! Last year I was in the beginners group so we went through the basic skills you need to pass your minimums. The skills I did not know how to do I managed to do by the end of the day and the ones I could do improved loads.

Absolutely! Being on skates for the whole day gave enough time to practice all the new skills/drills and get some immediate feedback from the coaches or assistants on what I was doing wrong or how to improve.

What about improvement, what level were you at before the bootcamp, and what level are you at now?

Before the bootcamp I was still in Fresh Meat, now I train with the ARRG intermediates.

So, there you go. Proof straight from an attendee that the School of ARRG Knocks 4 – The HungARRG Games is worth going to!

Tickets are selling really fast, but there are still a few available for both levels so get in fast!

As you know, we have the super exciting BRITISH CHAMPS (tickets still available..) in Edinburgh tomorrow, and you’d think this would be taking up all our time – but here at ARRG we are busy bees, and we never stop working at roller derby things.

So, we have a NEW COMPETITION! For the past two weeks, you’ve seen us announce two of our most incredible, world renowned coaches; Crazylegs and Ciderella. Now, we have a prize for you.

Having been skating for ARRG for 14 years collectively, Crazy and Cider have been through everything roller derby can throw at you. This makes them akin to victors, and you, as tributes, deserve such mentors. That is why they have offered to mentor TWO lucky winners of our competition!

At the end of next Friday, exactly one week from today, another reaping will take place. This reaping will be different – we will be selecting two tributes, who will win a mentor each. Those mentors will be watching them during the Quarter Quell scrimmage, and will provide them with personalised feedback. This is an amazing opportunity to get complete one to one feedback from our most experienced coaches – a once in a lifetime opportunity! They will watch you, take notes and chat to you afterwards, and then provide you with comprehensive and detailed feedback via email within a week of the bootcamp.

This opportunity is open to every level skater of who buys a ticket between now and next Friday. Tickets are on sale now so DO NOT WAIT!!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1429029