Who Wants To Be A Rollergirl?	18 Oct
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If you see this flyer pay it no attention or think twice before joining.

I once was a rollergirl and that experience has now been soured by the league’s mode of operation among other events. It all started when my friend, Natascha (the owner of the league) got an idea to start a rollerderby league to bring some new excitement to the city. We talked at work about how fun it would be to have a lot of outcasts and rebel chicks coming together to play a hardcore sport that the city would also enjoy. Me, being a rebel myself, thought it’d be a great idea and I told her that if she started a league to please include me.

A few months later, the Tornado Alley League was born. It began with a small group of girls practicing at Miles’ Rollaway Rink a few nights a week and then expanded to about 70-80 girls which eventually ended in 4 teams: Cell Block 9, Victory Dolls, Valkyrie Vixens, and Homewrecking Harlots. I was on Cell Block 9.

Cell_Block_9

To make a long story short, everything was going great until I got injured in February 2007. I had a partial tear of my ACL.

I was still involved in the league preparing the music, frequenting parties and helping out where I could. Then ensued my resignation.

“When I originally joined rollerderby, I thought it was a great opportunity to get out of the house, meet some new people, play a team sport (which I’ve never been apart of) and have a good time while getting a little exercise. Yet ever since my injury and bouts with sickness I feel like I’ve been needlessly targeted, apparently, for my attendance and lack of participation. The instances that I did miss, I either sent a text message to co-captain, had a doctor’s note or my captain said that the practice wasn’t important (Mondays after the bout and/or Thursday practices). Once I was released by my doctor, if I did miss a practice I tried to go to a Saturday practice with Natascha to make up for it. If I was late, I usually called someone and if I left early somebody had to lock the door after I left so its not as if no one knew that I left. The only times I left early was when my knee was seriously bothering me and I felt I could skate no more but I’m expected to skate as if nothing’s bothering me. My doctor told me to sit down if my knee starts popping or if pivoting hurts me and that’s exactly what I did, which didn’t seem to make my coach to happy. I even came to practices at times when I couldn’t skate. I’ve been to many practices and have seen many absences yet I am the only one who gets cited for it. It’s unfair. I have been approached about this on two different occasions. It has yet to be proven how many days I’ve actually missed and I feel that it was unfair to have me sign a statement when there was no clear evidence that says so. However I did sign the statement. But if I have to sign a statement, so should everyone else that missed practices.

As far as my participation goes, I’ve donated hours of my time to downloading music and making CDs for the entire league. I’ve also spent hours promoting the bout and asking to help out where I can. I show up to some of the team “bonding parties” if I’m able to attend and usually stay for hours. I go days without sleep just so I can fit rollerderby into my schedule. I’ve made many sacrifices and it’s not important to me that they’re noticed but it’s important to me when someone feels that I “don’t care and lack enthusiasm” and it turns into a problem. I typically do not show emotion but that doesn’t mean that I have no enthusiasm for skating.

Recently I’ve had problems with my insurance company that makes it a disadvantage for me to skate (because I’m no longer covered) and I told my captain and Natascha within 48 hrs of me finding all of this out. I’m struggling to pay my hospital bills from strep throat, 2 days of hospitalization from having meningitis, I have to pay for my knee injury amongst other medical bills and I can’t afford another injury at this time. No one tries to understand my situation and instead of sympathy, I get accused of lacking enthusiasm because I won’t allow myself to get hurt. My captain gave me no alternatives and made me feel like I either had to bout or quit. The second time I was pointed out for my attendance, I took all of this to Natascha and she told me that I had many alternatives (unknown to me) and that I could be floor manager, or I could clean up the warehouse or anything else my team needed done. Natascha also told me that she was working on getting insurance for the girls that didn’t have any insurance and I could sign up for that once it was in place.

Instead I was put on the spot and asked to sign a statement about my attendance and the only person that offered me an alternative in that particular situation was my co-captain; she said that I could be floor manager, which I was perfectly fine with. Soon after my captain, co-captain, and I discussed this my captain started mentioning that she wanted me to bout in June regardless of my insurance situation or my physical condition. I refuse to bout. Apparently there is nothing else that I can do to rectify this situation other than to file a formal complaint, which I feel will not solve the situation.

Derby is now a source of stress for me, I feel like I’m getting next to nothing out of it, I feel like I’m being singled out instead of making friends and I no longer want to be a part of Cell Block 9 or the league. I value the friends that I have made and I feel like I have gotten a lot out positive things from being in this league.”

I was not the only targeted in this way. Turns out that even a group of “outcasts” and rebels have cliques too. If you weren’t in the clique, you were targeted.

Soon after I gave a copy of my resignation letter to my captain, co-captain, and the league owner (and after being talked about like a dog in a closed meeting), they brought me back as an aide to the finance committee head. I offered hundreds of ideas (none of which were used to help the organization make money) and I was assured that if I stayed in the finance committee, my MRI bill would be paid by the league. I only had to serve this position for a month and then the season was over. My entire team (except for 2 other people) quit and at the last game I made it known that I would not be coming back to skate because of the previous way I had been treated.

All of that ended in August and now it’s October. My bill still hasn’t been paid. I received a doctor’s bill yesterday and the last payment cited was a payment that I made so my credit wouldn’t be tarnished. I’ve made several payments and was told that I’d be reimbursed. I’ve contacted the league owner, Natashca and the co-owner, Amanda several times and asked them if they were going to pay the bill and they kept telling me that they were paying it. Lies. I’ve contacted them over 5 times on this issue and they’ve made little to no effort to solve this problem. In the last email I sent a month ago, I was told that they simple “forgot” the bill and would pay it that day. They’ve simply forgotten it for damn near a year and I’m the one left holding the bill.

I want to go to school to study pharmacy, I want to have a real vacation this year, I want to spend time with my fiance’, and I want to be able to pay my own bills but since this bill keeps popping up it keeps me from being able to do most of those things. And the worst part about it is that I will NEVER join another team sport for as long as I live. They fucked that up for me. Any mention that I was even in the league has been erased and I no longer keep in contact with any of the girls I met while skating. Time to burn bridges.

Repost as you wish

In the next month or so, you will see me change or delete the rollerderby category and all related posts.

October 18th, 2007

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Filed under: rollerderby