We are excited to start the year by showcasing one of our most important league members – and it’s a non skater! Officials are SO important to the running of Auld Reekie; they contribute so much time and effort to make sure we can skate in the best conditions (because otherwise we would be officiating ourselves and that can get messy!) so it is with total delight that we introduce to you Andy Clockwise – a dedicated NSO for ARRG and a frequent Head NSO not only for us, but all across Scotland. He is also a great teacher and has taught many a skater and NSO how to use a stopwatch and whistle with ease!
Joined ARRG in: April 2010
Role in ARRG: Dedicated Non Skating Official
Favourite position to officiate: Definitely Jam Timer as you can see the whole game unfold doing that role. It’s such an integral position to the whole game and you can see the entire officials crew doing their wonderful stuff. Useful if you’re Head NSO!
Your Derby story – why are you here?: It’s all Blackjack Belle’s fault. She’s a skater with Newcastle Roller Girls now but was one of the founders of the Granite City Roller Girls and skated with ARRG sometimes too. She dragged me and my wife (Faerie Nuff) along to see this sport we had never really heard of back in 2010. There we were just the two of us (Blackjack was on the ARRG team), sat in the bleachers confused and wondering what the hell was going on but loved the atmosphere and slowly began to understand the game. We knew then that we needed to get involved! I decided I would try to be a referee as that was the only way for a guy to get on skates back then. There was no men’s derby round here then. My skates took forever to arrive because there weren’t really any UK based skate shops at the time that I could get a decent skate package from and eventually I was starting Fresh Meat. That was huge fun, despite me being the only guy. It was kind of akward at times but never to the point it was a problem. Refereeing was fun and I did a few games, but after about 18 months I badly injured my arm at work and had to hang my skates up or risk irrepairable re-injury and be unable to work. I settled into NSOing and really enjoyed it. I quickly realised the need for more dedicated NSOs as the sport was growing so much and so I set about finding some. We now have the ARRG NSOs, probably one of, if no the largest collective of NSOs in a league in the UK! We’re here to officiate games to the highest standards possible because the sport deserves it.
Best official-related advice: Officiate scrimmages like games and the games will seem like scrimmages!
What you do for the league aside from officiating: I’m on a couple of committees apart from the Officials. I’m in Bout Management Committee and organise footage recording/sharing with the captains for all home games, I make sure the PA is booked and someone is there to operate it. I get water for home games too. I’m also on Secretarial Committee and admin the leagues Google Drive account.
Any funny/embarrassing officiating stories: Getting a brain fart whilst score tracking is kinda embarrassing! Always have a calculator on hand if you’re doing that for a potentially high scoring game!! Getting food rage in a hotel lounge and going on a rampage for takeaway in Guildford was kind of funny! Maybe the most embarassing story was the time I gave myself food poisining whilst driving a minibus for the Jakeys Bites who had a game on in Hull one weekend. I had bought this reduced egg sandwich from Tesco for 10p the day before. SUCH a bad idea! I was determined not to let it stop me as I was also Jam timing that day and I have never been so relieved as when I blew the end of period whistles and could sprint away…
Derby Hero: I can’t think of any one person to be honest, everyone in Derby is a hero in so many different ways. I do find myself in total awe at skaters who return from injury though, to work hard to regain fitness and get back on skates again after a bad injury is hard mentally and physically.
What do you do outside of derby: Not a lot to be honest, I’m a pretty awesome procrastinator! I work as a delivery driver all over the lower half of Scotland and that keeps me pretty busy. Anyone who sees my facebook check-ins will see that, you never know where I’ll pop up in my wee truck! I love old cars and have a Rover Mini Cooper that I love to drive in the summer months. It’s no use for hauling Derby kit though so never makes it in to Edinburgh sadly.
Fun fact about you: I can hum and whistle at the same time. A very useful skill to have.
This months featured skater is the incredible Block Rockin’ Feet #514! Rocki is one of our All Star Reserve skaters, and she is a triple threat; skilled in blocking, jamming and pivoting. Not only is she an incredible force on track, but she is also a formidable member of team party ARRG, always keen to show off her afterparty skills. She also probably has the longest legs in the league.
