Posts by Ben Chapman
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"Lucy Jawgone (though I don't get the name, is it like Hugh Jorgon?)"
Lucy Jordan, made famous by the ballad?
And her number is 37.
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This is Hadyn's blog so he can write about what he likes, but I find his constant reporting of this really rather minor and amateur roller darby stuff about as interesting as he would find me writing up my indoor netball team every week or two.
i.e. Not very.
Only one more bout in the season Tom. Then Haydn can get back to dismissing cricket and reviewing sport uniforms. (Although if we're lucky we'll get a bonus post about the uniforms for the intercity bout.)
By the way, Field Theory is the place to come if you want to talk roller derby. Haydn is doing the sport a great service.
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The AW's had an open training session in Porrirua from 2.30 - 5.30 yesterday, so most likely there was a media session after that. So instead of sending the reporter to a studio for a live cross, they'd do it in the field. Where the reporter was
That makes sense. Though it still looks like they just showed up too late.
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Off topic a little, look at this on the All Whites build up
About 2:20 into it.
Watch the pushchair. Watch the pushchair
Little hooligans!
(Is TVNZ news often like this? "We now pointlessly cross live to Porirua where some kids are playing cricket to talk about football.")
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And Ben, come have a beer next time!
I will, cheers.
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From the WFTDA rules:
Points are announced, verbally and by hand signal, once the Jammer has cleared the pack.
That's something I am going to have to look out for at the next bout.
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Is there anywhere you can point me for the rules Hadyn?
Here are the rules, though I don't know how easy they are to follow in this format.
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I think roller derby works great as a sport myself.
Another couple of things that really grab me about derby as a sport:
Firstly, it is such high intensity. There really is no let up right throughout a jam. Even when the jammers are away from the pack and not doing much to look at, there is still stuff going on in the pack that it worth following, so you know what the jammers will face when they get round.
Secondly, derby rewards a variety of different skills. I was talking about this with my friends after the last bout and we noted how the approaches of some of the players had changed as they worked out what they were good at. Punk Panther for example was more effective in the last bout as she was better at avoiding physical confrontation, showing some patience and waiting for gaps in the pack. Suffer Jet in contrast, does well as a jammer by getting into the pack and mucking in shoulder to shoulder with the blockers.
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For me it was confusion. I didn't understand what was going on, and it seemed that some of the time the officials didn't know either.
I've been to four bouts now and most of what happens is a mystery to me. However, each bout I go to I find myself picking more up. In the first bout, all I could manage was to keep my eyes on the lead jammer, but by the fourth I could follow both jammers and a bit of what was going on in the pack.
I still can't follow the penalties or much of the scoring, but I am getting more used to not following it. (Which is a bit of a cop out I admit, but in a similar way, I've been following rugby for years and don't know why the whistle is blown half the time.)
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Tutus and sequins and faux tantrums are fine, but that has to be supported by athleticism to work as a sport, and not just showbiz.
I think roller derby works great as a sport myself. I'm far less interested in the costumes and attitude. It's the actual competition that I'm looking at and I found every jam to be exciting. It is also a really good sport in that skill and strategy make a real difference. And with 10 players on the court at a time, it is certain that there'll be someone with skill on the track in any jam.
Perhaps it was just a matter of expectations however. I went along to my first bout expecting to see something very amateurish and was hugely impressed by what I saw.