Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

I haven’t really been updating my measurements and weights lately.. and I’m not going to lie.. it’s been hard to get motivated to do it.. but I will update my weight and measurements on Monday again! I promise!

I wanted to post about my 2011 year in derby… a year full of many defeats, but more importantly many personal victories. The OKRD’s 2011 season has begun to wind down, and now we focus on training our new skaters and setting our league up for a bigger, and better 2012.

What has this 2011 meant to me? well.. first, and foremost.. the growth and evolution of the OKRD into a real league with 3 house teams an an All-Star team. I had the amazing good fortune to be placed on the K City Rollers this year, likely the BEST house team I could ask for. Their encouraging words and smiles keep me skating, I know that we’re going to be amazing in 2012!

Hype Machine: Best of the West

Looking for your Favorite Peach Tarts? Has it been a while since you’ve seen that awesome sport on 8 wheels? Well, this weekend is your weekend! The OKRD along with the CWRDA (Canadian Women’s Roller Derby Association) present the BEST OF THE WEST! This is the first event of it’s kind in Canada (taking place at the exact same time as the Bloodspill on the Hill – The Eastern tournament) bringing together 8 of the best teams West of Winnepeg.

I’ll just leave this here…

Blair’s a Jammer?

Although not as awesome as the 34 point Jam previously posted… Here’s a video from the Saturday Scrimmage where I first Jammed!  2 Whole minutes and a grand slam 🙂 I couldn’t have done it without the awesome blockers on my team. woo, go OKRD!

Hype Machine: Various OKRD related items!

1.) Brand New OKRD Logo – How awesome is this logo? I think it reeks of Awesomeness!! Designed by the lovely OKRD Prez, Boom Boom Buttercup, the logo embodies the spirit of the Okanagan with the Ogopogo, Sunshine, a pretty lady.. and ROLLER SKATES. Which leads me to the next awesome thing!

Derby Love Doubleheader Delivers

The past Saturday, the best Derby players from British Columbia and Alberta met within the confines of the Hassen Arena in Armstrong, BC. The big names from Okanagan Roller Derby were present.. OKRD’s (Okanagan Roller Derby) own Robin Banks, General Discomfort, Karmekaze Carma, Six-Pac and Mille Voltz, the OSRDA‘s (Okanagan Shuswap Roller Derby Assocation) ever awesome Haren Mahkeester, blocker Lady Fawndle, the A Team, among others. Even the CRDA (Calgary Roller Derby Association) has representation as Mamasita made the trip.

Team White, Team Black and Team Zebra

Hype Machine: Derby Love Double Header – Saturday, Feb 5

The Case for Watching Derby

This past Sunday, I had a few derby girls over and we played some games, but best of all.. we watched some game footage. Not just our own, but a few gems that we found on youtube.

Watching ourselves play, as well as watching different teams really set off a lightbulb in our heads… and so I plead the case for watching Derby.

The biggest thing you can garner from watching Derby footage is to finally see your strategies that you practice in.. well, practice. You can see how effective it is to run the line, or to get a goat.. or how highly important it is to be able to control the pack speed. You see how your jammers move so that you too, as a blocker  can understand how to assist your Jammer.. or as a Jammer, where your blockers typically are and where the “friendly” zones to pass in are.

The origin of Blair Block…

It took me a while to decide on what my derby name should be,  I went from Mitsu-Bash-She… to the Ragin Asian, to Naturally Aspirated.. and finally settled on the very simple… Blair Block.

March 6, 2010 – The Raggedy Rollers vs. Peach Tarts

It was chaos. It was nerve wracking. It was an utter adrenaline rush. It was the very first Roller Derby event planned and executed by the OSRDA (Okanagan Shushwap Roller Derby Association). On March 6th, fans, families and roller girls converged on the Hassen Arena in Armstrong to lay witness to some mayhem, and lots of pain.

Haren MahKeester breaks through the pack