We're still looking for more ladies to fill up the roster. You must be 19, have medical insurance, and a very good sense of humor. Flat track Roller derby is a full contact sport. Injuries happen. Protective gear is a must: skateboard helmet, knee and elbow pads, wrist splints, and a mouth piece. These are all readily available at larger sporting equipment stores or skateboard shops.
You will also need to be able to make a serious time commitment to the league. Don't let that scare you off! It's a great way to drop that leftover baby fat and make new friends. We might even take ya out for a beer after practice to soothe the pain.
We have Derby Practice on Monday evenings, 7-9pm at Plaza Roller Rink in Hampton. These are closed sessions and not open to the public! If you are serious about joining, you may come by and take a look at what you are getting into and talk to some of the girls before signing the injury waiver, but we're pretty sure you won't want to be on the sidelines very long!
You're probably asking yourself, "What's it going to cost me?"
A good pair of speed skates will set you back about $90 to $150. This is not something you want to go cheap on as your skates are going to take a lot of abuse. Check your size before you buy online by asking if yo can try on someone else's skates. You can find cheap skates to get you started in thrift stores and on ebay. Some girls like to keep their old cheap lace-ups for outdoor use. Helmets run around $25 to $35, and a full set of inline or skateboard pads are anywhere from $15 to $50 bucks. Mouthpieces can be made by a professionally by a dentst for around $40, or you can get a "hot water bite" at larger sporting stores for about $12 to $25. They're usually near the hockey stuff.
There is a quad skate that is available in retail stores that is sold under the name "Cobra." Please do not buy these, they have been nothing but trouble. They do not have adjustable trucks which makes maneuvering through the pack and tight u-turns extremely difficult (remember the Suzuki Sidekick? It's that bad.) You will be replacing these skates in a matter of weeks, so save your money and buy what you really want at a rink or online!
You might want to head over to your local skating rink and spend a few sessions in rentals to get some basic skating skills down: starting, stopping, crossover stepping, and turning. This usually takes about a month. Next, once you are comfortable and are completely hooked on roller skating, it's time to get a jones for speed. We recommend you spend your next three months training with a speed skating team. You will need your own skates and a helmet to participate. Chesapeake Bay Speed Team practices three times a week and are a lot of fun to train with. You should make at least one of their training sessions once a week as well as skating on your own outdoors or at public sessions.
Now you're ready for derby. The last pieces of equipment that you need to procure is your mouth guard and your knee, elbow, and wrist pad set.
