News Roundup :: March 31st, 2011 | Roller Derby Inside Track

My, where has this month gone? I’ve been living under a rock the past 3 weeks so bear with me as I get back up to speed. I’m bound to miss something fun and/or exciting in this latest collage of derby news so be sure to tell me about it in the comments or via the contact form.

WFTDA Releases Results from 2nd Annual Demographic Survey. Most fans are women aged 44 and younger? Shocking! Where’s the stat showing how many of those are also players?
“It’s important to us to explain how good the sport is for women and for girls in the junior league — for health, fitness, well-being and self-esteem.” –Dangerous Leigh A’Zon

State of Colorado recognizes the “leadership, development and empowerment of women that the sport of women’s flat track roller derby promotes” in a senate resolution. An interesting approach to gaining recognition for the sport.
Flat Track Stats gets a new look, a new ranking system, and some new features. And yet the WFTDA 2011 Champs are still ranked #3. Don’t worry FTS, you’re still my favorite ranking site from a purely technical perspective.
DerbyGirlsBlog teaches us how to keep a sane bench. Some good tips for finding focus and achieving Zen during play.
Rev. Riot talks about his experience as a Head Referee during the 2011 WFTDA Championships. Don’t miss day two. Really interesting to get some insider perspective from the otherwise tight-lipped world of WFTDA officials.
Suzy stays with Gotham. Looks like all the hubbub last fall was just a cry for attention. Quit messing with our emotions Miss Hotrod!
Diary of a Roller Girl talks rules & safety making some good parallels with hockey.
Some glorified blogger in Phoenix created this link bait about men’s derby. Then the Rattlesnakes responded. Seems to me most derby players are proud of their awful smell. All in all, not worth your time- but it did remind me my pads are rotting in the back of my truck…
Roller Derby: The Board Game has 69 more days to raise $4,000.This will likely go down as the board game with the most confusing & convoluted rules in gaming history. Like D&D with official timeouts!
More than you wanted to know about what’s up with Salt City’s changes. One would think a proper business owner would use her real name in an interview. Quotes from “Ha ha” make me chuckle.
Brothers and Sisters “on a roll” – two completely separate but very similar articles published on the same day. Weird. It’s like we could coexist playing the same sport in our own ways. What’s this world coming to? Or maybe writers have just run out of title puns.
Across the Pond:Roller Derby in Korea!
Because internet petitions get things done, “WFTDA needs a policy on trans-girls” was created on the Facebooks. And a whole 20 people like it. 7ish years in the making and 20 supporters, I’m sure the policy is right around the corner…
Randomness:Drew Barrymore to follow up directorial debut Whip It with another film… that could probably also be about roller derby: “How to be Single” which “chronicles the break-ups and make-ups of a group of New Yorkers as they groove to the love fantastic across 10 years.” Sounds like several leagues I know…
Derby Drama goes too far: Pipe bomb = jail time for derby “fan.” Remember that weird story about the friend of a skater who bombed the rink in retribution for the friend not getting picked for the team? Yeah, me neither.

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Also be sure to check out SFGate’s “Six decades of roller derby in the Bay Area” gallery release. No helmets! Men! Banked Tracks! Oh my! Bonus: General skating gallery.