Fresh Meat Diary: Scornflake Grrrl

As I write this, it's been 6 months since I joined the Minxters last Fresh Meat intake and in a few weeks the next intake will join us. I'm excited to see them begin the journey which has become an integral part of my life more quickly than I expected.
 
Six months ago I had only the haziest idea of what Roller Derby was about--my husband had bought me a pair of skates for Christmas, "because this sport looks like it's exactly up your street". Not that I was ever much into sports, especially team sports. I was way too worried about not being good enough to even try. What if I'm too old?  What if I'm too slow? What if nobody likes me? But now that I had a pair of skates, I thought I might as well try, and so I did. I was really quite nervous, especially because I didn't know anyone else there, but quickly realized that my fears were unwarranted. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful.
 
One of the first things we were told was not to compare ourselves to anyone but ourselves. People have different backgrounds with more or less skating experience, and it's pointless to compete with someone who might have started from a completely different baseline.
 
So, while Coots and Stagger B:

- ​who joined at the same time as me just played their very first bout as mins-passed skaters, and others are close to passing their mins, I’ll probably still need quite a while to get close--but I’m not worried. Six months ago I could barely skate in a straight line, let alone stop in a controlled manner. After the first (and second, and third...) session, muscles ached that I didn't even know existed. What kind of sadist came up with sticky skating? Or worse, going backwards? 27 laps in 5 minutes? You have to be kidding me!
 
Despite this, I realised l enjoy working towards something and measuring my own progress, cheering on others for theirs, and being part of a team of wonderful people. Until I'm good enough to skate for them, there's still plenty of other ways to be involved. 
 
When I started, I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it to the end of Fresh Meat. The commitment just seemed so much. But very quickly I realised that this was something I wanted to do as often as possible. I found myself putting wheels on my feet at any opportunity (including doing housework, because, why the hell not?) and I wasn't the only one. 
 
I'm excited for the next intake and hope they'll fall for this awesome sport as hard as I have. 27 in 5 still seems like a ridiculous idea to me, though, but that won't stop me trying.

- Scornflake Grrrl x