This Happened:
(The resizing on here sucks, so here's the link:
WFTDA 2012 Tournament Officials
What this means is my application was selected to work 2 of the Big 5 tournaments.
I applied for 3, the only one I wasn't selected for was Championships (this year :miao
My goals as an official for this year:
For myself-
1-Grow as an official (I have, but there is still room for more)
2-Get certified. This was put on hold because the WFTDA has restructured the certification process, for the better in my opinion. NSOs have 5 levels-like referees do, rather than the same test and certification but being eternally stuck at Level 1 because they don't skate. There is still time to achieve this goal this year. I just have to wait for the test to come out, I have all the evaluations I need and one letter of recommendation.
3-Get accepted to work one of the Big 5 tournaments. For those of you not involved in derby, this means I am working 2 of the four playoff tournaments--internationally (granted it's mostly teams from the US , but of the 40 teams participating in the regional playoff tournaments, London and Montreal will both be there, which makes it a worldwide tournament).
I CAN"T EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THIS!!!!
Also I am sooooo nervous! In a good way, but WHOA!!!! Little Betty gets to play with the big kids!!!!
In all seriousness, I've worked really hard for this and I am thrilled that enough people are impressed enough by how I have done at the various tournaments and games I have worked so far this year.
I started derby at the very beginning of January 2010.
In mid-February I broke my ankle.
In April I started officiating.
In November I started skating again.
On February 11 2011 I fractured my elbow (minor hairline fracture, but still)
I managed to survive this past Feb second week of February with no bones breaking
In March of last year I decided I was going to be the best effing NSO I could be, period.
In 2010, I worked 9 games from May-October
In 2011, I worked 31 games (1 tournament)
To date, this year, I have worked 49 games (after this weekend it will be 51, by the time I go to work Westerns, it will be 54, and by the time I finish this year I imagine I will be close to 75-80 games in one year).
In less that 3 years, I imagine I will have worked somewhere around 120 games.
There are only 52 weeks in a year.
I must love this, because I don;t get paid to do it and I keep going back for more.
Also, this year is the first year I have started to understand why officials burn out so quickly, and why 5-7 years seems to be the average shelf-life of a roller derby official.
That's not me bitching, it's just realizing how much you put into it and how draining it can be.
Still, I am so so excited about this.
If someone told me 3 years ago that I would be this excited to wear a fucking pink polo shirt, I NEVER would have believed them.
Also, on a completely unrelated note:
I got a new kitty.
And he's naked and looks like a wrinkly old man that is judging me:
I'm tired and elated. Dust Devil went well, way better than expected. I worked 11 games in 3 days, and was selected for the 3rd/4th place game, later I was told I was selected for that over the championship game because the two teaks playing were both Arizona teams, it was expected to be loud and a lot of pressure, and they needed officials who could handle that.
This weekend will be another non stop tournament, I'm excited but holy hell I need more sleep!
Anyway, I actually came to write a new blog and cross post something I posted on Facebook, cause I think it's valid and important, and it ties to the whole roller derby theme.
Non-derby people often ask why I do what I do, especially as an official, who doesn't get paid.
This is part of the reason:
This is being reposted mainly for outside of derby friends but also for derby friends (because I know you all will relate). Thank you for sharing Ema [she's a non-derby, life-long friend] !
This article is more or less how I was raised. I played with barbies, I also made mud pies and climbed on the jungle gym that my father made out of wood posts and beams. I cried more when my feelings were hurt than when I was physically hurt. I still do that. I am a girl but I am not overly "girlie" and no one will ever get me to apologize for that. It's taken me a long time to be as comfortable with myself as I am now and the fact that our devaluation of women is so deeply embedded into our culture that it is woven into the fabric of our language saddens me. Why do I love roller derby and the community and culture? "Skate like a girl" is a compliment of the highest degree in roller derby. Men strive to skate like some of the women in this sport. Some may (and have) argue that the balance is off here as well, but sometimes you have to claim something as yours to bring everything back into balance. Sometimes you have to learn to love yourself and find your own value and power before you are able to say "fuck 'em". Roller Derby is a community full of people who never quite fit into the little boxes they were asked to compartmentalize themselves into, plus it's a kick ass sport, and THIS, my friends, is why I love it. It's why I give up my weekends, and why I use vacation time to work games and tournaments rather than taking an actual vacation. Call me nutty, but I've never been happier.
♥
Here is the article, I am talking about (Seriously read it, even if, no especially if you are not a woman. If you have a daughter, a sister, a mother, a girlfriend, a wife, you should read this article. Period.
Dear Daughter...
Have a great weekend everyone!
BB
