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Freshmeat, huh? Great image: glistening, fresh, bloody and raw. Quite apt really. As one of the 20 who signed up for the inaugural Freshmeat course, I was ready for action and we got three full hours of it every Sunday.

Having been nervous after watching my first bout, there was no way I was going near the game until I felt comfortable. It was a relief to know there was no way I would be ALLOWED until the league coaches confirmed I was safe enough to - I can't think of anything worse than a newbie taking to the track and getting injured straight off the bat just because they didn't know what they were doing. Well, the newbie being me would be worse...so this course was looking to be an answer to my fears. We hit the basics. I'm talking stops, falls, skate form, crossovers, blocking, taking a hit and learning some rules. Talking derby.

So, I was reading articles online to procrastinate from the mundane job that was slowly killing me when I came across this.

A wee flicker of excitement lit up. A quick Google search whipped it into a frenzy, as I found the Richter City Roller Derby site. This amazingness was in Wellington too. Argh! Further scanning revealed a Freshmeat and Greet was happening the following evening, so it seemed luck was on my side. (In all honesty, if it had been in a week or so, my initial enthusiasm probably would have been worn down by self-doubt and "reality checks" that would have me believe it was a stupid thing to look into, I could never do it and to just move on.)

I just want to write this bit down, because it scares me a little: I voluntarily ran today. And not just for the bus! Oh no. I ran for fitness. I think we should pause now while I resuscitate anyone who has known me any time at all. Because - I have always hated running. I've hated it ever since I was made to run around and around endlessly for the sick amusement of teachers at the primary school cross country event. And I hated it when I was playing Danish rounders or Kiwi Cricket on the field. And then, at secondary school, I hated it when we were made to participate in the Beep Test. Consider this litany of hatred merely "Ginger Hates Running: The Early Years", because many years of hating running followed. Suffice to say: I HATE RUNNING.

so it's halfway through the afternoon and i have a bad case of the Meh (see http://forum.londonrollergirls.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=9516 ) it's four hours till team training. three weeks out from the season decider bout between Smash Malice and us. Somewhere in the back of my mind i am shitting myself and amping to gogogogogogo!! but for some reason my biggest impulse today is to go back to bed and read about the Ocktober 17 revolution. Or anything that involves being back under the duvet.

< insert break to make hot cup of milo here >

but if i can just manage to throw my gear in the car and head down into the city to meet the girls, somehow, magically, everything changes and i'll emerge like some "Stars in their Eyes" contestant smiling, laughing, full of energy and optimism about life, the universe and just about everything!

SO, the people are asking "how was it?" PEOPLE: it was AWESOME. Of course, it would have been more awesome if Brutal Pageant had won but: c'est la vie! Also it means that the final will be a decider and that will be super extra fun to skate in. Oh, and also super extra nerve wracking and super extra good for PR.

A rundown: basically, Smash Malice dominated for the whole game. Coming out of the first half we were close enough in points that we could have made up the gap but we didn't - Malice were really tactical with their speed and control of the pack and we ended up chasing them in an attempt to play their game when we should have played our own. What else... there were some really big hits and I know that members of our team were a bit shaken at the end of the first half. I ended up in multiple pile ups and did one quite spectacular leap over/into a three or four person crash right near the benches (Jed Soane got a good picture of it). I think that it's fair to say that in the end we were simply outclassed by Smash Malice who had a heap less people skating than us and used their resources really, really well (don't kill me for writing that, Pag).

So, quite exhausted but also super enthusiastic after a derby packed Sunday. The excitement is good as the week ahead is completely full of training sessions! I can't speak on behalf of Smash Malice, but I can tell you now that Brutal Pageant is going to be Crazy Good'n Ready when it comes to the bout on September 19th. We're going to wipe the rink with their arses. Hah!

Sad news that our beloved Sneaky Darkie has left the league. All the best Sneaky! We'll miss you long time - and come back whenever you're ready xxx

I (personally) haven't heard from Goregasm since Tuesday last, but given that she was heaving one of those enormous temporary casts around she was in remarkably good spirits... truly, you can break the bones of the Derby Girl but you cannot break her Spirit. I think it would be 10,000 times awesome to have a Recovery Blog kept by Gaz... it's defo something we should look into bullying her into doing.

Finally and perhaps most excitingly, Skate of Emergency tickets are on sale from today (Monday 17th) at Under The Radar (http://bit.ly/ol0HG). The poster is in it's final stages of approval and I'm super looking forward to revealing it in it's all it's glory as soon as I can. I had a sneak peak and I'm rather in love with it.

Righto, must fly and eat something so I can train like a maniac tonight.

xxx Ginger