DerbyTude

I know I’ve talked about Etsy before, but here’s a new profile that I didn’t have back then.

efairy is selling her wares in an attempt to raise money to get her to RollerCon. She only has a few months left to raise money, so pop on over to her Esty Store and check her out! 

“Five days of roller derby mayhem. You think Las Vegas in summer is already hot? Just wait till hundreds of rollergirls from across the country descend on Sin City for workshops, scrimmages, partying and a whole lot more.”

-From RollerCon’s Myspace Page

RollerCon is Fast Approaching. It will be held in Las Vegas from July 30, 2008 - August 3, 2008. I’d post all the info here, but there’s just way too much!! Just know that it’s a fantastic opportunity for you to meet Roller Girls from across the country, and mingle with some of the best in the Nation. If you’re able, be sure to go. It will definitely be a great experience!!

Rich-Joseph Facun
Check out the portfolio titled “Rollin’ Revival” on this site. There are some amazing shots on this site.
Rich-Joseph Facun is the husband of Sweet N’ Lowdown of the Dominion Derby Girls and he’s a professional photographer as well. Here’s part of Sweet N’ Lowdown’s message about the book:

His goal isn’t just to capture great action shots, but also to accurately represent the unique culture surrounding the sport, from the mascots and fans to the announcers and referees.
And, being a Widower, he understands the camaraderie developed between derby girls. He sees the resurgence of roller derby as a historic phenomenon and his goal is to represent us in this light. The work focuses on women’s flat track leagues, primarily those of WFTDA.

The images from the website and the myspace page are just a few of the thousands of photos that will eventually be edited down into a photo book, titled “Rollin’ Revival.” The body is a work-in-progress, as he is still continuing to shoot at least through this year.

There’s a myspace page for the book here: www.myspace.com/rollinrevival

This is unfortunately something that I have, that affects my skating at every practice. It sucks, it hurts, and it causes me to drop out of practice. It’s uber frustrating, since most people don’t understand it and think I’m just dropping out from endurance, muscle weakness, laziness, etc. They think I should work through it and build up my muscles so I don’t have to drop out next time. CS (compartment syndrome) doesn’t work that way. It’s not a matter of buidling up the muscle or training through it. And it is NOT shin splints. It’s a biological thing with the way your body was made, and it takes surgery to correct it.

 I’m going to try and explain it here, but if something is unclear, please feel free to ask questions.
What generally aggravates it for me is:

• anything dealing with cross overs (like pace lines, which is why I do not do cross overs)
• Two stepping
• Toe Stop Running/Walking
• Being in a fast paced jam with lots of falling & hitting

Now I’ll try and explain why that happens…

Compartment Syndrome is something that can affect people in various areas of the body. It’s something that is relatively uncommon, but is mostly related to carpal tunnel in the wrists. In athletes though, it generally appears in the lower leg. Compartment syndrome arises when the pressure inside this enclosed space increases to the point where it interferes with the blood supply to the structures. There are two types of CS, one being Accute, and the other being Chronic (this is what I have).

Accute CS is usually caused by some type of trauma to the leg and should be treated immediately, as it can cause permanent damage rapidly.

I’m going to focus on Chronic CS, because that is what I suffer from.
Without getting into all the medical terminology (it just confuses me and most other people), what happens is this:
You have the muscles in your leg. The muscles are encased by a ligament. Muscles can enlarge during activity - from the extra blood flow - And normally, the ligament allows for this expanding. Ligaments, unlike muscles, do not expand. With Chronic CS, the ligament does not allow for this expansion. So the muscle gets larger, but has no where to go.

Think of it like this:
The ligament is a piece of plastic pipe. The muscle is a dry sponge within that pipe. When you add water to the sponge (or blood to the muscle), it naturally expands. In most cases, the pipe is large enough to accommodate the expansion of the sponge. With CS, the pipe is too small and the sponge can only expand so much before it fills the pipe, which causes pressure on the pipe walls.

Does that make sense?

What comes from that pressure, is an intense pain in my shins that is not alleviated by anything other than ice. If I try to keep skating, I eventually lose all control of my feet. I get, what they call “Drop Toe”. Where if I lift my foot up, my toe just drops. I cannot physically lift my foot because the muscle will not allow it. The pain is, at times, so intense that the only way for me to get off the track or to my ice is to crawl.

There is no amount of physical therapy that can treat this. Like I said : Ligaments do not stretch. The only treatment, aside from ice (which cools the muscle, and causes the expansion to go down), is surgery. They will basically go in and slice the ligament, which will open it up and allow the muscle to have the space it needs. It’s a pretty black and white process. You go in with the ailment, have the surgery, and come back without the pain. But, as you know, surgery does have its risks and also can be expensive. Which is why I opt for the ice.

Now, some days it’s worse than others. If I’m tired, it seems to affect me faster. Which I assume has to do with my form while I’m skating. I have tried new wheels which don’t have me sliding as much as before, and that has helped immensely. I still can only do so much though. I just wanted to cover this because a lot of people don’t understand that it’s not something that gets better with more activity. Nor with working out and building the muscle. It’s basically Ice or Surgery.

I hope that helps some people understand it a little better. Again, please feel free to ask me any questions. I’ll try my best to answer them.

For More information, please see this article.

Help a Fellow Roller Girl out!!!
www.helptequila.com

Chicago Filmmakers is located at 5243 N. Clark Street
Charlie’s Ale House is located at 5308 N. Clark
Park once, stay all night long!

Then sign up for Twitter!

 I’m terrible with online technology. I have a blog, but I have no idea what an RSS Feed is. I thought Twitter was out of my league as well, but it really only took a minute to sign up and start Twittering. It basically functions the same as setting your “Status” on Facebook or Myspace. You know, the part where it says “Tom is: _______” and you fill in whatever you’re feeling or thinking. This way, though, people can subscribe to your twitter if they want. And you can subscribe to others. Then, you can set your settings to notify you by text message whenever it is updated.

 Well, Hurt Reynolds of the blog Have Derby Will Travel, A has a Twitter page! So you can have all those scores sent right to your phone as soon as they update their page! Just go to HDWTscores on Twitter and request to “Follow” this page, and turn your notifications On. It’s that simple!

Hey Kiddies,

I haven’t posted anything in a while for my off skate training information, and I figured now that we -The Ohio Roller Girls - just had our First Bout of Season 3 (WooHoo!), now is the perfect time to talk about muscle Soreness, and things you can do to help ease the pain.

What is muscle soreness?
Being moderately sore after a hard workout tells you that you worked your body, which is a great feeling. But not many people know what the feeling actually comes from. It is the result of Minor Damage to your muscles, ligaments, and tendons, caused by stress to your body. Sounds bad, but it’s actually good! Your muscles will rebuild slightly stronger than before.

How Long does it Last?
It can generally last 2-3 days, and is usually worse on the 2nd day after the workout.

Does it mean I shouldn’t workout during those 2-3 days?
Heck No! Your soreness should not be a sharp pain, but more of a dull nagging pain (think: like a badly skinned knee that you’re always aware of when you move). Go ahead and ease into your workout, and don’t do anything that is truly painful, but you are fine to get back into training. The movement is actually good for the muscles.

What can I do to ease the pain?
There are a few answers to this question.

• Something preventative is to Get into the gym!! The more you do weight training, the more used to intense activity your muscles become. After a few months, you will see more soreness after your weight routine, and very little after practice or a bout.
• Water & Vitamins: Make sure you’re getting everything you need! Make sure you’re getting Vitamin C (found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and green peppers), Potassium (whole and skim milk, bananas, prunes, raisins, and meats), and Zinc (meat, liver, eggs, oysters, peanuts and whole grains). Studies have also shown that Taking Vitamin E everyday for 7 days before your strenuous exercise can minimize muscle soreness.
• Ice and Ibuprofen: That’s pretty self explanitory. If you ice, try to stick with 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
• Hot Bath with Epson Salts: Add 1 to 2 cups to your bath. Epson Salt is magnesium sulfate which work together to help heal your body.

Hey Guys, wanted to update you on a Derby related Writing contest. Here’s the info From barrelhousemag.com:

That’s right: roller derby! Send us fiction, essays, poems, whatever you got. Barrelhouse will select one winner who will receive original art created by Cory Oberndorfer, a genuine roller derby artist. Finalists will be published in our Very Special Roller Derby Section, which will be included in our next print issue. DETAILS: Starting date: If you’re reading this, then it’s started. Judges: It’s just us, your humble five-person Barrelhouse Editorial Squadron. Criteria: We’ll pick the one we like best, and a bunch of others that we like almost as much. What Should You Send Us? Anything literary and about roller derby. Fiction, essays, poems, whatever you’ve got, we’ll read it. What Do You Get? The one we like best (aka, “The Winner”) will recieve original artwork from Cory Oberndorfer, who creates (among other things) roller derby related art. Cory’s piece will take it’s inspiration from your work. This essentially means that you will become immortalized in two formats: your roller derby writing will appear in the pages of Barrelhouse, and will also be celebrated in or serve as inspiration for Cory’s work. Which will also be the cover of the next issue of Barrelhouse. So essentially we’re offering to make you a stone cold Mona Lisa style roller derby literary god or goddess whose roller derby writing will live on for all eternity. Other stuff that we like will appear in the Very Special Roller Derby Section, thus making it’s authors a form of lower deities. How Much to Enter? Free. How Do I Enter? Go to the online submissions center to submit your entry. You’ll have to register (but its easy, and we promise never to email you with hot stock tips or comments about the size and capacity of your penis). You’ll need to have your work saved as a word or rtf file. Then make sure you select “Roller Derby Contest” from the list of genres. Ready to Roll? Get it? Enter today at our fancy online submissions center (choose “Roller Derby” as genre). Deadline: The deadline to will be March 17th, because we like Saint Patrick’s Day. Simultaneous Submissions: Really? There are other literary magazines actively seeking roller derby related writing? Well, okay…we will accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere. If it is (and for any other reason), you can withdraw submissions at any time prior to the contest deadline on our online submissions manager. Previously Published Work: Sorry, no previously published work. Seriously, Use the Submissions Manager: Send all submissions through the submissions manager. Even if you do find a mailing address, we will not accept paper submissions, or stuff emailed to our various accounts. If you have any questions, please email <!– var prefix = ‘ma’ + ‘il’ + ‘to’; var path = ‘hr’ + ‘ef’ + ‘=’; var addy78936 = ‘webmaster’ + ‘@’; addy78936 = addy78936 + ‘barrelhousemag’ + ‘.’ + ‘com’ + ‘.’ + ”; document.write( ‘‘ ); document.write( addy78936 ); document.write( ” ); //–>\n webmaster@barrelhousemag.com. <!– document.write( ‘‘ ); //–> This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it <!– document.write( ” ); //–> Thanks, and happy skating!

The Ohio vs. Michigan sports rivalry will reach a new level when the No. 25 Ohio Roller Girls All Stars take on the No. 8 Detroit Derby Girls Travel Team Jan. 19 for another explosive interleague bout of flat-track roller derby. The Ohio Roller Girls will be primed for a rematch against the Detroit Derby Girls and avenge a close loss last January.

The game against Detroit will be held in Columbus, Ohio, at the Lausche Building of the Ohio Expo Center (717 E. 17th Ave.). Doors will be open at 6 pm and the game starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 at the door or $10 presale and can be purchased now at www.ohiorollergirls.com.

Artwork by Joel Jackson