USARS announces background checks for officials

According to a recent announcement, USARS will begin doing background checks for coaches, officials and judges! I personally see this as a AMAZING step towards.... (drum roll please...) OLYMPIC CAPABILITIES!! I am only assuming this is being done to make a team more official and show a appropriate legal status of officials in order to make a point to the Olympic board! Lets keep our fingers crossed that the 2020 Olympics will include this amazing sport. (The article from USARS.com follows!)

"In 2013, USA Roller Sports took important steps to ensure the highest level of safety within our programs.  One of these steps was the implementation of a standardized approach to background screening through the National Center for Safety Initiatives for all USA Roller Sports member coaches and international staff as recommended by the US Olympic Committee's Safe Sport Initiative.  This included a screening using the Center's Check it Twice^TM product and a simple "Red Light/Green Light" clearance report issued in accordance with the Recommended Guidelines®published by the National Council of Youth Sports.  This is part of a national movement towards the standardization of safety programs for youth-serving organizations in this country.  USA Roller Sports has worked with National Center for Safety Initiatives to ensure that this process is convenient, secure and confidential.

In 2014, this program will be expanded to include all USA Roller Sports member officials and judges as well.  When applying to become a member coach or official, you will be supplied with the information necessary to complete the online background check via the NCSI website.  Red Light/Green Light" Results will be sent to USA Roller Sports.  The National Center for Safety Initiatives will contact you directly if there are any questions, problems or issues related to your specific information.  Upon receipt of your "Green Light" clearance, your coach/official membership will be updated for 2014.  USA Roller Sports would like to thank you for your continued participation and your cooperation in this important process.  More information is coming soon for coaches, clubs, athletes and parents.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your appropriate sport director at the USA Roller Sport National Headquarters."

It's never a if......

It's a when.

Any and all sports have one major thing in common. Injuries.

First I want to list a few sports that injuries occur in. I am doing this because I think a lot of people are blind to the fact that so many of the sports people partake in, can lead to injury. We don’t play these sports because we WANT to get injured; we play them because we have a passion for them. You can never enjoy life until you start living, and some of these sports bring life back to people.

Cheerleading, Bull Riding, Gymnastics, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Motocross, Rugby, Soccer, Boxing, Parkour, Karate, BMX, Softball, Wrestling, Ultra-Marathons, Mountain Climbing, Roller Derby, and the list can go on and on including EVERYTHING!

Each sport starts with the basics for that individual sport. (lets look at Soccer and Derby)

• Soccer starts with how to kick the ball, and then you begin to aim that ball into the net. You progress to keep the ball away from players and running while kicking the ball towards the goal.
• Roller Derby starts with teaching skaters how to fall correctly and stay in a specific stance to reduce injuries. Then it progresses to basic skating techniques and how to perform the properly. Then skaters are taught how to properly give and take blocks, using the falling techniques if needed.

So knowing that each sport takes measures to protect the team, why is it harder during any sport when you injure a team-mate? We all understand it is NOT intentional. We all practice our best so that we can learn what we must do in a real scenario.

In Roller Derby, we begin blocking with a small amount of force and slowly build up. Over time, we GROW as a skater and are able to utilize that growth in our skills. If I hit my team-mate too hard and she gets hurt, I feel like shit. I want to cry, I feel like I shouldn't do this sport because I didn't want to hurt my sister. I have sincerely felt this, and I KNOW all skaters in this situation feel the same.

Any of us who have been injured during practice also know what it’s like to be on the other side. We don’t blame ANYONE, we can almost immediately see what we can do to avoid that situation in the future. We take our time off, support our team and come back!

The ability to GROW as a skater and a teammate means possibly getting injured and injuring others. It also means that you must learn from that (whether it’s a bruise or a concussion or anything else that can happen). Learn how to fall instead of trying to recover, learn how to keep your peripherals open for all other blockers, learn how to judge a pack, learn how to stand properly. All this is possible because of things that go wrong.

The last thing I want to say is something that my Coach Bits has told me over and over. This is a accurate statement and I want to share it. I would rather have my derby sister hit me as hard as she can, so I can learn how to take that hit, or learn from the fall. I would not like it if my derby sister babies me and does not hit me hard, because I will never learn from it. If my derby sister does not help me learn, the other teams will, and I will get hurt even worse.

I love all my Derby Sisters and I am proud of all of you. You guys make my life better. Derby saved my life and I am proud to call you my teammates. 

I want to have a invisible toilet.....

Derby Stance

Over a amazing after practice get together the other night, I was listening to one of our very seasoned skaters talking about exercises to build the back of our legs up, to encourage a better stance. That super stance that not all derby-folk have... the crazy “looks like they are literally riding an invisible toilet around the track stance”. Thinking about that stance, drives me crazy because I can’t imagine it is comfortable. BUT I guess that’s because I don’t have the correct muscle strength yet. So below are some links and ideas to build our amazing backs and our amazing legs to get into a better stance. So we all ride that amazing and mystifying invisible toilet around our tracks.

Dynamic stretches

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQfjEPKNcys

Backs

Russian twist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeAtimSCxsY

Plank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHQmRINu4jU

Plank for beginners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DK544iPMW8

Combo Bridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeccCVsJHpM

Knee to Chest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVZ4rc2_3Y

Extensions while Lying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQv7MM3XmIs

Tilt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTX15Qk1xTM

Hip Rolling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl2Y2UJqUFg

Legs

Skater

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6l-806JV5o

Group of great workouts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW2HoZRUms8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOyJpLNoTcA

Just fall already!

This is written as an opinion of a derby girl. This is my opinion; not my teams or a doctors’ so don’t go cray cray!- "Sue"

Most of us are partly drawn to this sport because it is full contact. We all have a small piece (or larger) that needs to let loose and legally smack a bitch. So with all the legal smacking (and hopefully not much illegal smacking) we will come to a point where we get injured. All of us will fall, get bruises and be seriously sore; but many will have bruised tailbones or broken wrists, ankles and torn ligaments. If I had to guess what the number one injury is that could end a skater’s career, I would guess knee injuries. Torn ligaments leave us in braces or in line for surgery. Many skaters draw a line and say “That’s it... I’m done” others may decide to truck on. No matter the choice, I wish the injuries didn't happen as often as they seem to.

Why are we getting injured so often? We are all competitive and want to excel where our coaches place us. This competitive nature may encourage us to push through instances that we are not as comfortable in, which could lead to injuries. Whatever our job is for the jam, we want to complete it. If we are a jammer, we want to get through the pack and accrue points; if we are a blocker, we want to stop that jammer by any means legal. We are all bull headed and strong willed and I believe all these awesome traits are what are hurting us.

I have talked to a few people and I feel like the consensus is in on when and why we are getting injured. Of course I am not talking about the times it is obvious, like when we get slammed by three awesome blockers and fly through the air into a wall. I am talking about when our knees give out with what seems to be no reason at all.

So think about this...You are skating along, doing whatever job you are supposed to do in a jam. You become a little unstable on your feet so you recover. As you are recovering your joints are at risk. Now you are suddenly in a position that you need to stop quickly, or jump over someone, or block a jammer coming through, or maybe take hit. We are all trained on falling properly. Are we using this tool correctly? The falls that we do take properly end up with a few bruises. The falls we don’t take properly (while trying to recover from) are causing improper landings and major injuries.  

My thought process is, why not fall? Let’s try to fall down while practicing, scrimmaging, and bouting. Let’s fall properly if we become unstable, we will get right back up, run on our toe stops, and get our jam on. If we do this properly we will continue on through the next jam. We will get stronger and better and not have as many injuries. This is not a new thought process for derby, so why not fall already!

We knew Washington ROCKED!

2013 USARS ROLLER DERBY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

November 1, 2013

2013 USARS ROLLER DERBY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

USA Roller Sports and the Tulsa Derby League hosted the 2013 USARS Roller Derby National Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend.

The competition ran Friday, October 25 through Sunday, October 27, 2013. Eight women’s teams from around the country gathered in Tulsa for a chance to win the Seltzer Cup. The final results in the women’s division were:

1st place – The Oly Rollers from Olympia, WA

2nd place – Port T’Orchard from Port Orchard, WA

3rd place – Antagonist Roller Derby from Renton, WA

Other teams battling for the cup included the Chicago Red Hots from Chicago, IL, Suburban Legends from Merced, CA, the Port City Roller Girls from Stockton, CA, the Tall City Bombshell Betties from Odessa, TX, and the host team, the Tulsa Derby League All-Stars from Tulsa, OK.

Three men’s teams competed in the first Men’s USARS Championships. The results in the men’s division were:

1^st place – Oly Warriors from Olympia, WA

2^nd place – Your Mom Men’s Derby from Des Moines, IA

3^rd place – Tulsa Derby Militia from Tulsa, OK

Applications to host next year’s tournaments are available online at:http://usars.info/forms/2014/2014%20Official%20Derby%20Hosting%20Requirements%20&%20Application.pdf

For more information regarding hosting, please contact AJ at 402-483-7551 ext. 11 or send email to aepp@usarollersports.org

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USA Roller Sports (USARS) is recognized by the Federation Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as the national governing body for competitive roller sports in the United States