September 14, 2021 • 49 mins
Our Sport in Focus this week is Roller Derby and among us are Gotham Girls Roller Derby Blocker & Pivot Danielle Flowers, aka OMG WTF, Finnish player Joanne Koskinen and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) Marketing & Communications Manager Jenna Cloughley.
Host: Chris Stafford
Sport in Focus is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Spreaker, Podbean, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer and other podcast apps.
Host: Chris Stafford
Sport in Focus is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Spreaker, Podbean, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer and other podcast apps.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I think we're redefining what it isto be women and what is actually being
ladylike. And that's something that Ithink everyone really liked that we feel like
we get to make history. Thatwas finished. Roller derby player Joanna Koskinen,
who will tell us about the sportin Europe on this week's Sport in
Focus along with Danielle Flowers aka OMGWTF from Gotham Girls Roller Derby. Hello
(00:32):
and welcome to this week's program.I'm Chris Stafford, and we begin with
a closer look at the sport ofroller derby with the marketing and communications manager
from the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, Jenna Clofley, who is based in
Toronto, Canada. Jenna help,popular is the sport north of the border?
Fly track roller duby is very popularin Canada. There is a league
(00:54):
in almost every major city across thecountry. I'm traveling. I also participate
in the sport and I'm actually travelingto Vancouver later this year to participate in
the Canadian Tournament there against Calgary andVancouver. So you are the governing body
then at the WFTDA, and doesthat mean that like any other sports governing
(01:18):
body, Jenny, you set therules, the structure of competition. Give
us an overview of your role.Yes, So, Women's Flat Track Derby
Association is an international membership organization forwomen's ruler derby leagues, and the WFTDA
developed and maintains the rules and safetystandards for the sport, and we sanction
play between member leagues. We alsomaintain the official rankings of our member leagues
(01:42):
and we organize, as you mentioned, our playoffs and championship tournaments every year.
So you pretty much do everything thatis needed for the sports structure and
presumably the rules themselves. You applythe rules basically, who is behind the
rules setting for the sport nationally andinternationally? Jenna. The WTBA is unique
(02:05):
in that the members generate our rules. So whenever we have a rule change
or we're implementing new rules, it'sall been developed by membership and then voted
on by membership. So we're reallywe really live by the mantra of by
the skaters for the skaters. Now, talk a little bit about the actual
structure of the game, and youknow, the players give us the elevator
(02:29):
picture of what the sport actually lookslike. For those that are not familiar
with it. Jenna, Yeah,a roller derby game is made up of
two periods that are thirty minutes inlength, and in those two periods we
have kind of like Mani mini periodsor many sections called jams, and those
(02:51):
jams can go up to two minutes. And the jam is is set up
with two jammers from each team andfour blockers from each team, and the
jammers score points by passing the opposingblockers. The four blockers from each team,
their job is to stop the opposingblocker while helping their jammer get through.
So we like to say it's oneof the only sports where you play
(03:13):
offense and defense at the same time. In the first lap or where the
jammer is coming to the pack ontheir initial pass, they earn the designation
of lead jammer, so the firstjammers through legally gets lead jammer, and
lead jammer can call off the jamat any time, so they can either
let the jam run for the fulltwo minutes, or they can call it
(03:36):
at any time that's advantageous to themor their teams. On the second pass
through is when the jammers start toscore points for a passing the hips of
the opposing blockers. So that's beena nutshell what rollers or be is and
then the jam ends will start allover again and you play how many on
each side players on the track atany time? Yes, you have five
(03:58):
players on the track, four blockersand one jammer, okay. And it's
really very much a contact sport,isn't it. You know that you really
got to get stuck in there becauseit's about speed and the skill whilst you're
at speed, as well as acombination of skills, isn't it. Absolutely,
it's agility, balance, strength,and it is a full contact sport
(04:21):
where all of the skaters participating areeither blocking an opposing blocker by using legal
contact zones which are outlined in therules of flat check roller Derby, or
you know, holding them positionally tryingto knock them out of play, talk
them out of the tracks, whethertheir gammer can pass them easily. So
(04:42):
yeah, it definitely is a fullcontact sport. Now, what about refereeing
them, because obviously with such aclose contact sport there must be a fine
line sometimes between what is allowed andwhat could be a foul. Definitely,
the rules of flat check roller derbyare very l fee to demonstrate what's legal
and what's not legal. And you'reright, our referees have a lot of
(05:06):
training. Those clinics that we puton for our referees so that they can
get the training on what these penaltieslook like in roller derby, so they
know what to call. So yeah, it definitely requires a lot of training
and a lot of referee participation inthe program so they know what it looks
like. Well, North America obviouslyis one leader I suppose in the sport
(05:28):
internationally, so we'd imagine there's alot more opportunities. How easy is it
for people for young people, younggirls that want to get into the sport
genera What kind of network do youhave out there for access? Oh?
Absolutely, and almost every major cityin the world, North America, Europe,
everywhere in the world there are thereis a roller derby league to participate
(05:51):
in and those are what makes upour membership based. So leagues apply for
membership within the WFTDA. Then thoseleagues host their own entry programs for new
skaters to participate with them. Soa lot of leagues call it a fresh
meat program where they'll bring in newskaters, they'll train them on what it
takes to skate and then to playroller derby and then generally those new skaters
(06:17):
go through some sort of tryout processto get placed onto teams. And there
are lots of different structures in individualleagues that they could adapt. So one
of them might be a home teamstructure where there might be a couple of
teams that play against each other locally. There might be travel team structures where
(06:38):
teams participate against other teams from othercities or other countries. And then there
is the WFTDA level, which isthe charter team level and those teams participate
against each other for rankings which gointo the playoff structure. And what about
the accessibility financially for people to getinto you need a pair of roller skates.
(07:01):
What else do you need? Becauseit looks like you've got to have
quite a bit of safety equipment aswell, definitely full safety equipment, so
this an average skater will need.They need to have their helmet, their
mouthguard, their risk guards, elbowpads, kneepads, and roller skates and
roller skates come in all shapes andsizes. Nowadays you can get any kind
(07:24):
of skate that you might want,a low profile skate, a higher skate
that supports your ankle, and thenthere's things like different plates for your roller
skates and different wheels and bearings,so there's all sorts of fine teaming you
can do when you get to theactual skate. And the prices range really
across the country and across the worldactually on what skates cost for the average
(07:50):
participant, but most leagues have programsthat help their knee skars acquire gear and
roller skates before they put that investmentinto the sport. And what about costs,
then, what would it cost meto get started, Jenna? I
think if I'm talking in like Americandollars, it would probably be around three
(08:11):
hundred to five hundred dollars to getyour full kit, to get the full
set of tads, helmet, mouseguards and basic pair of roller skates.
And how about club membership that variescross leagues. Some leagues don't have any
membership, see some do so reallyvery depending on your city. And this
(08:31):
presumbity is a sport you can playall year round and probably why it's gathering
the momentum it has done for popularityno matter where you live. Absolutely Flatchack
Roderby can be played on any flatsurface and all the specifications for our track
layout are all on our website atUFPDA dot com, so you can if
you're interested in starting a league,if there's not one in your city,
(08:54):
you can go there and find itall the information on putting together a league
or how to play and to setup the track. So that's one of
the actual foundations of our sport hasbeen, you know, by the skater
for the skater. Almost every leaguehas been started by a skater. They
have been started by a skater,and it's part of our membership requirements as
well that the you know, fiftypercent, I think we're more owned and
(09:20):
operated by skaters, So we reallyare revolutionary and that the athletes own their
sport and the athletes do the workto put their sport on and they read
those awards as well, So itreally begins at the grassroots all the way
up to those championship tournaments. Talkabout that because that seems to be your
showcase gender of the sport, thatthe international playoffs and championships tournaments. Yeah.
(09:46):
Absolutely. We have six playoff locationsacross America, and those six playoff
locations include two Division two playoffs andfour Division one playoffs, and the top
team in each one of those playoffsall go to championships to compete for number
one in their division. So talkabout the timing then for this year.
(10:07):
But the course is this, overthe course of a calendar year, then
a new lead up to the championshipitself. Well, over the course of
the year, the charter teams ofour member leagues compete for rankings and then
we put together those rankings for them, and the teams ranked one to forty
as of June thirtieth are seated intothe four Division one playoffs, and then
(10:31):
the teams ranked forty one to sixtyare seeded into the two Division two playoffs.
It's really quite complicated. Now howmany teams then in total would start
this process, Jenna. So theseare teams from all over the world.
So we have Helsinki coming London,Victoria and Roller Girls Glasgow participating like internationally,
(10:52):
teams participate in this tournament or thistournament structure. So we have sixty
teams in total that are seated inour tournament structure, and then in each
bracket there are ten teams that competeagainst each other. Well, it really
is a major competition. Then whenyou're bringing in teams from around the world
like that, Now, who wouldbe the favorites? Then going through these
(11:16):
playoffs, who would you say wouldbe the teams to watch? Jenna,
Oh, I mean, this isthe hardest part of my job, would
be trying to predict what's going tohappen. I mean, Gotham Roller Girls
have been one of our top teamsin our ranking system since the invention of
(11:37):
the ranking system, but last yearRosity almost defeated them, came within like
near points of defeating Gotham, whichwas huge and very impressive. Victorian from
Australia has been making waves throughout thetop ten and they look amazing and superposition
to take the Hydra which is ourtrophies this year. London Roller Girls are
(12:01):
also someone that we should not beforgetting. They are one of the best
teams in our membership and it's justreally there's really no one that I can
highlight. Everyone has like key playersand really brings the best teams possible to
that. They've been preparing all yearfor this event, so this is like
(12:22):
the big show for them. Tellus about the financial structure of this then,
Jenna, who funds the tournaments,the playoffs, the tournaments and the
team's getting to these competitions and comingover here for the finale, if you
will, and what sort of prizefunds or you know, rewards are there
for them for their effort. Theirrewards for their effort is the ability to
(12:46):
say they are the champion, asI mentioned here by the skater for the
skaters. So everything we do wedo ourselves. So the money that's put
together to put the tournaments on isfrom the WFTDA, the governing body is
putting that money towards hosting and puttingon these tournaments, and then it's up
to the teams to put together theirfunding to get to those events. So
(13:07):
as you can imagine, especially forour international teams, there are a lot
of fundraising and kickstarters and go fundnews that they put together to try to
get their teams to these locations.Amazing. Now, what about the coverage
of the competitions? How can wefollow this? Absolutely? You can follow
(13:30):
us on WFTDA dot com slash tournaments. All of the information on our tournament
locations, our ticket sales, thebrackets for each location are up on that
site. You can also watch liveon WFTDA dot TV. We broadcast a
pay per view stream of each eventon that site, which we produce ourselves,
(13:54):
self produced and starts all of ourwonderful skaters and teams. It's really
exciting, um and yeah, thoseare the two best ways to get involved
with that, but you can alsofollow us on Facebook. Just look for
WSTDA on Facebook and on Twitter atWSPDA. Terrific well, lots of ways
(14:16):
to keep up with what's happening thatbecause really is an exciting competition by the
sounds of things, with so manycountries from around the world taking part in
this, and there's such a passionand a culture behind this sport. Now,
Jen is tremendous wave that's following youbuilding up momentum. Yeah. Absolutely.
I mean this is our tenth yearfor the WSPDA and we're really excited
(14:37):
about this year and obviously sometimes whenwe look back, we're just like,
this is this is exactly where wewanted to be and this is exactly where
we want the sport to grow.And we're so proud that we're by the
skater for the skater, and ultimatelyfocused on the athletes, the athletes experience
and really what our athletes want outof this program and really, you know,
(14:58):
I mean that's the DASA farge justsince is giving her athletes a voice.
Well, it certainly is doing that. And as you said, people
can find out more about what youdo by going to the website at WFTDA
dot com. Jennet, thank youvery much indeed for coming on the program
and the best of luck with theplayoffs and championships this year. Thank you.
(15:18):
And now Joanna Koskinen from Stockholm inSweden joins us. She was part
of the winning team at the Swedishroller Derby Championships this year. She also
won the two thousand and fourteen rollerDerby World Cup with Team Finland and the
two thousand and thirteen Finnish roller DerbyChampionships with the Callio Rolling Rainbow Team.
Do you are finished, but you'veslipped across the border there and you're living
(15:41):
in Stockholm. Tell us a littlebit about what you do there and why
you made the move. I workas a kindergarten teacher at a Finnish Swedish
school. I moved here because mypartner lives here. She's also a roller
derby player, and we decided tolive in Sweden. Dot com because I've
never lived abroad since I was akid, so it was really exciting to
(16:04):
make this move into a little biggercity and I was thinking a little bit
further away. Okay, so youdo all of your Rollo der being then
in Stockholm or do you travel aroundSweden as well, Joanna? Basically we
have all the practices here in ourhome town. Board all the competition is
(16:26):
abroad. Mainly we just came backfrom a US tournament from Philadelphia and then
we had the Swedish Championships in studentsVale, which is in north of Sweden.
But mostly our team actually travels abroad. Rollerderby is a very international sports
soul. Our team is very luckyto able to be one of those teams
(16:47):
that gets to travel a lot.Yeah, that's fantastic that it is so
international, because you can't make aliving out of this, so you mentioned
that you have that day job.Now, it's not a sport where you
can actually have a livelihood out ofit. Tell us a little bit about
the sponsorship or any prize money thatthere isn't the sport, Joanna. When
you're both at home there in Scandinaviaand when you travel well there is no
(17:12):
prize money. I have never heardthat anyone has been paid in roller derby
to win any tournaments or anything.But I think there are maybe a handful
of people in the whole world thatget to live by this spoort, but
mostly people have to get another jobto be able to provide for themselves and
pay for the trips and of coursethe gear, which is really expensive.
(17:37):
We get sponsorships for the team,which is really awesome, but they don't
cover for the whole cost of thetrips, so it's a big it's a
big financial investment to play this sporton a high level, but in a
way it kind of you know,pays for it, and it's really worth
it because we love it so much. Yes, you clearly are passionate about
(17:59):
it. You mentioned that there's sponsorshipmaybe for the teams, but then does
that mean there's no sponsorship for individualskaters. We do, and they're like,
we're really happy to that. They'relike very rolladory orientated. Big companies
like skate companies that can sponsor skaterswith equipment, which is really which is
(18:21):
really awesome, and and there aremany skaters that get individual sponsorships. I
have a sponsorship to a local trainingstudio, which is really convenient for an
athlete to be able to train free. And we have skaters in the team
that have that have other like kindof equipment sponsorships also. Okay, so
(18:48):
this is a sport that you cameinto just four years ago, I believe
in so as a young adult.Was there some sports that you know that
you involved with before that gave yougood preparation for going into this? I
mean, what was your turning point, if you will, that made you
decide to take this up. I'vealways played sports, especially team sports.
(19:10):
I started playing soccer when I wasI think I was five or six,
and then my family moved to anothercity, to a city that they didn't
have a girls team for soccer,so I changed to basketball. I played
basketball until I moved out from myparents' place, and then I was studying
(19:30):
in university, so I didn't havethat much time to be into really competitive
sports because when I played basketball,I was playing in a high competitive level
and that kind of had to likeI had to step away from that when
I went studying. But then Ifound roller derby and I felt like I
just had to try it. Andwhen I tried it, I couldn't stop.
(19:51):
I've always been really into sports andI've always been very athletic, so
I felt like roller derby was somethingnew and something that I really needed in
my life, and it has paidquite well. What was it about it
that appeal to you, then,Joanna? When I started roller derby was
very new, it was kind oflike it had this underground feeling to it,
but it was it was the factthat you could kind of own the
(20:14):
sport yourself and you could do,like, really do a lot in the
sport yourself. And roller derby isa very do it yourself kind of sport
and even though it's getting more andmore professional, like you can still decide
a lot on the rules and everythingwith people you skate with, and it's
a it's a privilege really to beable to really own your sport. And
(20:41):
I think that was something that reallyreally called for me. And of course
it's because it's very high intensity,and it was just a new challenge,
I think because I like to challengemyself and I'm really competitive, especially towards
myself, So I think that waskind of something that I wanted to prove
myself that you know, is thisa new thing that I'm probably if I
(21:02):
tried, I have to really doit one hundred percent, and I think
I haven't stopped kind of like showingto myself that I can do this because
I just can't seem to get enoughof it. And you've become very successful
winning the Finnish Championship two years ago, and as I mentioned, the Swedish
Championship this year. You played numberfive last year in the roller Derby World
(21:23):
Cup with Team Finland. So yeah, you a member of different teams then,
Joanna. Yes, when I wentat one of the Finnish Championships,
I was playing with the first teamthat I've ever played with, Like,
it's a team from Helsinki called GalaRolling Rainbow and now here in Stockholm.
I played for the Stockholm team calledthe Stockholm roller Derby and then I play
(21:45):
for our team Finland. Well,it is as you say, it's a
very physical game. It's very mucha contact you girls really get into it
with each other. So what kindof training do you do before you scape?
Mean, what sort of fitness programdo you have every day? And
you know with cross training and thatsort of thing, Joanna, we do
a lot of functional training, trainingthat really strengthens the body and helps a
(22:12):
lot with injury prevention. That's veryvery important when you play a very heavy
contact board. A lot of thegirls go to the gym or they run
and it's basically just a lot ofcross training. Roller derby practice is of
course really important because you have tobe able to perform this board on your
(22:34):
skates. So to be able todo that, you have to be on
your skates a lot. So wefocus a lot on individual skating skills and
then team strategies and our team isactually very lucky to have a venue during
summer that we can basically use everyday. So that's that's how we do
it. How often would you trainas a team, then, Joanna,
(22:56):
three times a week it's normal threeto four Yeah. And do you have
a coach or is it very mucha team effort? How does it work?
We have a few designated skaters thatcoach the team. I'm the head
coach for the Stockholm roller Derby,and then we have a few other skaters
(23:17):
that are also responsible responsible for coaching. But then we also have a lot
of skaters that are because we're allvery athletic, we help each other out,
so it's basically it is a teameffort to get better. Well,
you use the word underground in theearly days of the sport, which I
think, as you say, ithas an appeal. I think a lot
of people got into it because itjust it developed a certain culture, didn't
(23:38):
it. But now it's become sopopular worldwide, and we put it in
context in terms of the other sportsin Scandinavia Joanna and the kind of opportunities
there are for people to get involved. Right now, there is basically if
you want to if you want todo roller derby, like every major or
(24:00):
mid major city has a roller derbyleague that you could join. So it's
becoming more and more popular. Andthe good thing about roller derby is that
you basically don't have to have anykind of sporting background that you can seriously
start from zero, because this sportis so engaging and people get really into
(24:23):
it so without even noticing, youget better all the time. And this
is the fastest growing sport in thewhole world, and you can really see
it in Scandinavia because the amount ofskaters that do this in in Scandinavia grows
all the time. I think there'slike multiple leagues growing every year. And
(24:45):
do you get much media coverage?Do you get TV or live streaming of
your events? Yes, like moreand more. We used to start to
start at the entertainment section of theof the newspapers, but now we are
getting more and more coverage on onthe sports action, which is really really
good. The national championships in Swedenwere actually broadcasted live on the biggest national
(25:08):
television channel, which was huge forus, and we have gone a lot
of media coverage for obviously our victoriesand successes are abroad. Why do you
think it has that kind of appealthen, Joanna, that it is growing
as fast as it is. Idon't know. I think it's I think
(25:29):
it's just because it's so fun andit's so interesting, and I think I
also think that if you meet aperson who really likes roller derby, you
kind of understand that it's the peopleget really into it. The sport is
very different from other sports, likethe whole gameplay differs so much, and
I think it's also the whole aspectthat it's mainly a women's sport, so
(25:53):
it's very different from the traditional sportingcultures and roller Derby has always promoted this
very open kind of approach to people, so I think that's also something that
makes it easier for people to kindof get involved because they feel like,
okay, again, just come andbe me and that's enough. Well,
(26:14):
you mentioned that you don't necessarily haveto have done any sports or have an
athletic background getting into roll a derby. But what would the requirements be if
you were telling young people, youknow, these are the basic requirements of
the sport. If you're going tostart, just get your own skates.
I think that's the only requirement.And then a good requirement is to have
(26:36):
a really good attitude towards the sport. That it's a team sport, so
it's really important that you get alongwith other people, and because it's a
do it yourself sport, it's reallyimportant that everyone is very involved in making
the sport and helping out. Butotherwise there is no requirements, like like
for our league, you basically justneed to own your own skates, and
(27:02):
then we always invite people to thisit's called the Freshmat program, which means
that if you haven't skated, youhave to pass these kind of minimum skills
that we teach, and that's basicallythe only requirement that we have. That's
it is. It will clearly youneed to be pretty good on your roller
skates to start off without imagine goodbalance and good speed because it is about
(27:25):
speed, isn't it. Yes,it's very much about speed, but also
controlling the speed. We have,like we have skaters that have different roles
on the track. The people thatscore, the jammers, they obviously have
to be able to be very fast, and then the blockers, who are
kind of like in charge of thedefensive play in the game, they have
(27:49):
to also be very good at controllingthe speed and going from fast to slower
and really owning the other team bycontrolling the speed. You mentioned that you
need a pair of skates, butyou also need the protective gear as well.
Because it is high contact. Itcould be said that it's not very
ladylike as a sports. You reallydo push it somewhere around, don't you.
(28:11):
Yeah, but that can also beconsidered ladylike, you know, owning
your space. I think I thinkwe're redefining what's what it is to be
women and what is actually being ladylike. And that's that's something that I think
everyone really likes that we feel likewe get to make history. And I
think that the women in sports aregetting more and more coverage in the global
(28:34):
news and everything, and I feellike, like personally, for me,
like I've been super happy about howthe US women's soccer team is getting so
much coverage on UM, in socialmedia everywhere. It feels like everyone is
in love with like women in sports. So I think we're kind of real
defining what is ladylike and really tryingto show that you can be lady like
(28:56):
even if you have all these likebig gear around your around your body and
you're slamming it into other people.That is a great way to describe it.
You really are because it's all aboutempowering women, isn't it. I
mean, you know, when weuse the term ladylike, that's in the
traditional sense that we you know,we can be very polite to one another,
but when it comes to sport,it's competition. So yes, I
(29:18):
think that's a very good point thatyou are redefining what women are all about
and empowering women. Just as youmade the comparison, there were the US
soccer team and other soccer teams andother sports. Of course, because women
really are, you know, reallymaking a name for themselves as women in
US in the different sports that areavailable to them now and that they can
do more sports. And clearly withrollerblading, you're making as you say,
(29:42):
you're making history. You're paving theway for generations to come on how this
sport is defined, don't you Yes, And that feels quite unbelievable, but
at the same time it feels reallyreally awesome. And growing up, I
had like I was really athletic,but there were not a lot of women
in sports that that were considered rolemodel role models. But now I feel
(30:06):
like there are so many women insports and they're getting more and more recognition.
So it's kind of like it's reallyhard to comprehend to leave this kind
of age now when she's like maybelike fifteen years ago. When I was
younger, I didn't have anyone toreally like like this female athletic idol,
and now I feel like I seethese people all that like everywhere, So
(30:29):
it's it's really awesome. Who areyour role models than Joanna? Well?
Right now, I'm just like I'mreally psyched about the women's soccer team in
US, So I'm really really likestudying and reading about Abbi Wanpach and yeah,
yeah, she's she's really get greatand like this whole she has like
(30:52):
this amazing team sport attitude. Andthat's something that I really really like about
that women like women in sports likethere, even though they can be like
huge international stars, they always bringout the importance of valuing everyone behind you,
like the whole team and the managementand your club teams and everything,
(31:12):
and that's something that really inspires me. Yeah, great leaders, yes,
inspiration well, looking at the spotand the way you push each other around,
you know, great contact sport.What sort of injuries do you mostly
sustain? I think mostly it's actuallysomething that comes from unfortunately from gear.
(31:34):
Bruises are obviously something that everyone hasall the time, but ankle and knee
injuries are very common and they canbe pretty bad, like they can take
you off from the track for manymonths. But breaking your ankles and concussions
are also something that because you youcome with high speed and then you might
(31:55):
fall and even though you have ahelmet, the impact might be so hard
that people might get concussions. Butvery fortunately that's not very common, especially
in our team. We've been veryvery fortunate not to have a lot of
big injuries. Well, it's thesame as really any team sport, isn't
it. There there's a risk involved, but the pleasure and the participation in
(32:19):
the sport far outweigh those injuries thatmight happen. So I'm thinking you've got
a long future ahead in the sport. Joanna already got off to a great
start in the short time you've beenplaying. What would you like to achieve
in it? I would like toachieve the being the international champion. There's
basically one team in the world atthe moment that is like holding the title
(32:42):
for the International champions and it's theteam from New York City and our team
is as the second team in Europe. Ever we're going to that. We
were qualified to go and play forthat this September, so we're really excited
about that and winning that would beobviously really amazing. And other competitions this
year, what are youmage looking forwardto? That is our main competition,
(33:06):
Like we had the Swedish Championships nowand we were very very lucky to win
it and it was a great tournamentwith great competition and that was kind of
like that was the other big achievementthat we wanted to achieve. But now
we're focusing on the tournaments in Septemberand if we qualify from the playoffs,
(33:27):
we get to go to the championshipswhich are in November. So that's our
main focus for this season now.And the playoffs are they're in US.
There's four different tournaments, okay,so you get to come over to the
US quite a bit. Then.Yeah, the main arena for this sport
is at the moment in US,but I think it's changing. Maybe hopefully
next year we're going to have onebig tournament in Europe. Also, that
(33:50):
sounds like you're building it up overthere in Scandinavia for sure. Who knows
you might have some major championships inStockholm. Yes, hopefully. All right,
well, the very best of lookwith it, Joeanna. It sounds
thank you've found your passion there withRoller Derby, and I hope you have
a great season and it goes theway you want it too. Good luck,
Thank you. We're joining me nowfrom Brooklyn, New York is Danielle
(34:12):
Flowers, who is now becoming aseasoned veteran. Almost Danielle, aren't you
with rollerblading. This is correct.Yeah, I've been playing for seven seasons
now with a Gotham Girls roller derbyand it's summer and it's something that you
came to later in life, soI'm whe it was I say later.
I mean, you didn't start thisas a youth. What do you think
(34:35):
it is about the sport that appealsto people that maybe have done other sports
and then discover rollerblading so they cometo it as an adult. I mean,
I think for you know, peoplewho are finding roller skating and roller
derby, I think that for rollerderby and specifics, it's a full contact
sport for women to play. Alot of us who are playing grew up
(34:55):
playing other sports. You know,We've played soccer, we played rugby,
we played softball, we played youknow, you name it, and you
know, people pretty much have playedthe sport. So once you get to
a certain age, there's not alot of really highly competitive, you know
sports to play unless you're involved atthe highest highest level, which you know
(35:17):
in the United States, there's nota ton of options. There's you know,
a professional basketball league and a professionalsoccer league, but other than that,
there isn't really that you know,there's no option to play that really
high contact sport. So for me, that's definitely one of the things that
drew me to the sport. Imissed that team environment, I missed the
(35:37):
full contact environment of playing sports withother women. So for me, that's
sort of what draw me there.Well, yeah, yeah, as you
said, is a full contact sport. So what element of that is appealing
to you then, Daniel, Becauseclearly when you get out there, you've
got to be quite aggressive to besuccessful in the sport, which I'm presuming
(36:00):
then you know, off the fieldof play, so to speak, you're
not that type of person as wellat all, but when you get on
the track there it brings that outin you. I mean I think,
yeah, the full contact aspect,it definitely. I mean, I'm not
a big person by any means,so I love the physicality of the sport
(36:22):
because I with the physicality comes thestrategy that is involved in, you know,
trying to not get hit. Sothere's a lot of different aspects to
the sport that I think, youknow, really really make it attainable and
interesting for a wide variety of people. You know, our sport is pretty
(36:43):
unique in that, you know,you don't need to fit into this one
mold, one body type to succeedat our sport. You know, I've
got a girl on my team rightnow who's about sixty three, and then
I've got another girl on my teamwho's got five foot So you know,
there is a spot for anybody toplay in the sport and to succeed and
to do well and to feel confidentabout themselves and their body. So,
(37:07):
you know, because of that,I do think that you know, that
is just another reason why it drawsso many people to the sport. Yeah,
it gives you sort of a senseof you know, give you confidence
you know in your life that maybeyou're not experiencing elsewhere. You know,
it shows you that you can succeedregardless of you know, what your body
looks like, what you feel likeyou're capable of, because you know you
(37:30):
are capable of a lot, sofor sure. Now you talk about different
positions there, you're a blocker anda pivot. Explain what that is done?
You're what your role is. Soin our sport, we have blockers,
and then we have a position calleda jammer, and then there's a
position called a pivot. So thejammers the person in the pack that's going
(37:52):
to be scoring your points. Theblockers are going to try and stop the
jammer from getting through the pack scorepoints. In the pivot, there's somebody
who's a blocker who can wear alittle hat that essentially means that they can
receive a star. So the jammerwears a star on their helmet so they
can receive a star pass and becomethe jammer if necessary. I would prefer
(38:15):
that not happen because that means Ihave to jam and and do all that
stuff. But that's not my strongpoint. However, I am there if
I need, if I'm needed,so yeah, So the biggest differences in
my position is, you know,my role is more about playing offense and
defense at the same time. SoI'm trying to help my jammer get through
(38:38):
the pack, and I'm trying tostop the opposing jammer from getting through the
pack. So it is a reallyunique sport and then no other I don't
I can't think of another sport.Maybe you can help me that does play
offense and defense at the same time. So because of that, I do
think there is a like height andawareness that needs to happen with roller to
repeaters. Yeah, you've got tobe very finely tuned to that and chew
(39:00):
because it is a fast paced gameas well. What sort of training do
you do, Danielle to get youfit for the game? Well, in
for my team, we do myteam's skates about three times a week,
and then many of us do offskates training outside of our skating practice.
Um, there is a massive,i would say movement right now within roller
(39:22):
Derby for people to be doing offskates training and you know, posting about
it on Facebook or on Instagram,which is really awesome. I think,
you know, it's it's been away I've seen. I've seen some skaters
in leagues really just transform into anew person, you know, like they
figured out what works for them asfar as exercise, and they're doing it
(39:43):
on a regular basis. Um.So yeah, So I would say we
do about two days of off skatestraining. Um sometimes it's right before our
skating practice and then about three daysof skating right now. And you're,
as you say with the Gulf andGirls, you're pretty dynamic team. You're
one of the most successful in thecountry, aren't you in the world.
(40:06):
And I'm sorry, excuse me,let me get that right. It's important
to say in the world because it'simportant to know that, you know,
roller derby is you know, sopopular internationally. It's not just the sport
that's popular in the United States rightnow. You know, we've really seen
the sport blossom all over the world, you know, all throughout Europe,
(40:29):
throughout South America, and throughout Australia. You know, you name it.
There's teams in Japan now, there'syou know, there's teams all over the
place. So it's it is.It does make me. It makes me
excited when I have people who comeinto my business and they say, oh,
you play roller Derby, you know, is it is it? Do
you only have teams in New York? You know, it's it's exciting to
(40:50):
say, no, actually, there'steams all over the world because it is
such a huge thing right now forwomen um to play. So all right,
so the Gotham Girls should take tobill there and you've got a busy
season ahead. Tell us about themajor competitions that you're looking forward to,
Danielle, Well, we just wereit was just announced are to our governing
body, the WSTDA, just announcedthe playoff tournament seedings for all of the
(41:16):
top forty teams who qualified to playin our playoffs tournament season. So that
was just announced yesterday. So myleague was placed in a tournament we're playing
in Omaha, Nebraska on October secondthrough fourth, and we'll be playing We'll
be competing against ten other team ornine other teams to try and earn a
(41:39):
spot to qualify for the WFTDA Championshiptournament, which will be held in Saint
Paul, Minnesota in November. Sothose are two big tournaments that we're looking
forward too. And then we haveone other game that we're playing in preparation
for that August first against the Denverroll Roller Week and that will be called
(42:04):
in Coney Island in New York.So so to me, yeah, but
this is all out of pocket foryou guys. I mean we've heard from
the other guests about you know thatthe fact that there's not in the prize
money, there's not the sponsorship thatcan sustain you guys individually to make a
living out of this. You haveto go elsewhere to make your living.
Yeah, that is true. Solike any other amateur sport, um,
you know, you're foot in thebill to go anywhere and compete um against
(42:30):
teams, you know, and it'sit's pretty frustrating, I would say,
because you know, there are skaterswho just they can't afford it anymore.
It, you know, really canhold up their career um. And you
know, you see skaters who arevery skilled, very talented, who just
have to put ROLLERD or B asidebecause they can't they can't commit to paying
(42:51):
you know, all of the costit, you know, for traveling you
know, throughout the United States orinternationally, depending on how competitor their team
is. Well, we've heard ofhow this sport has really got its own
culture. It's come from a placewhere it's developed if unique culture. I
mean, I know many sports dohave, but there's something very different about
(43:13):
this sport. And one of thethings that I think is distinct is that
you all have a game name.So tell us you got to your game
name, Danielle. Yeah, myroyby name is omgwts, So all my
teammates call me olgum. Honestly,you know a lot of times names just
(43:36):
sort of get given to you.So I when I first started skating,
you know, when I lived inMontreal and I was practicing with the league
there they some of the I usedto just use the acronym og all the
time and it's sort of stuck.So that's how I got my name.
I don't have a fantastic story oranything, but that's for my games.
(44:00):
You know, you have people whoare it's inspired either you know, a
favorite band or the profession. Butthat's for nine king from not very exciting.
All right, Well, let melet me just elaborate on that a
little bit so people put this incontext. There are things like Molly flog
a Miss Team Maven, Lucky ScarsLow Men, a Nail Diamond. So
(44:22):
I can see where you're coming fromwith it with the favorite rock star Penny.
But I wonder what it tells youabout that player though, Daniel,
what does this tell you? Whatdoes your game name tell you about yourself?
Oh? My game name? Imean part of it. The reason
why I was like, yeah,I'll go with that one is, you
(44:43):
know, when I heard in myhead, you know, I was thinking
about what an announcer was going tosay, and and I wanted to hear
them say, oh, I'm Jesustook out you know, Bonnie Thunders or
whoever it is, so I thought, you know, play along with it
and it makes it exciting for usands and and they enjoy that. So
so is it compulsory then you haveto have a game name to do roller
(45:06):
derby. No. I actually onthe on our All Star team. I
actually skate under my real name.Um So, I switched to my real
name last season because we were therewas a World Cup that happened. Um
So, we've had two World Cupsso far, which is hosted by It
was kind of sponsored by one ofthe magazines that writes about roller derby,
(45:30):
and so they hosted a big internationalWorld Cup and for us, that's the
most um you know, that's thebiggest international team where there's national teams that
competes. So for me, Iwas thinking it would be nice to sound
like a more legit athlete. SoI switched over to my real name for
(45:52):
that. Um but you know,people still skate with their their derby names.
They skate with real names. There'snot really We're moving, I think
more into a direction of people justcoming in and having a really strong athletic
background and and then just you know, using their given you know, their
government name as their derby name.So well, given the growth of the
(46:15):
sport, Danielle, the popularity which, as you say, it is worldwide,
and there's just so much participation inthis because it's very accessible. Where
would you like to see the sportgrow too? Saying you know in five
or ten years time. I really, honestly, you know, there's a
all the debate I think right nowand conversation about do we want to be
(46:37):
in the Olympics, do we wantto have an X game type event?
Do you know what do we wantto do? You know, And I
don't think you're going to meet oneperson who's going to say I don't want
to be in the Olympics. Youknow, obviously that would be an incredibly
prestigious thing, you know, areally amazing thing to be a part of.
(46:58):
But for roller derby, I don'tknow that that's really us. You
know, we are a really diyorganization. You know, our sport has
been built from us, which isreally different than any other sport out there.
You know. That is why it'sso unique, That is why we
have such the community that we have. It's because we've created it. Um.
(47:19):
I don't know that there's any othersport that can really say that Um,
so for us, it feels like, you know, I see us
more going in the route of maybebeing a part of the X Games,
something more like the skate like whatall skateboarding and BMX and all those styles
more extreme sports are doing. Youknow, they've sort of created their own
(47:40):
thing and they've you know, madeit something awesome that they all love and
are a part of. So that'swhere I want to see it go.
Um whether that happens, you know, it's gonna it's it's I think it's
really up in the air right now. Honestly, I think it can be
you know, is the Olympic communityand take interest in our sport, I
don't know, you know, likeif they do and they want to,
(48:04):
you know, come an approach theWFTDA, I think that would be great.
You know. I just think wewe want to have a say in
what's going on with our sport,and we just don't. We don't want
to have somebody come in and say, hey, Okay, we're gonna take
your sport and we're gonna, youknow, go make it what we want
to make it. So you know, there is that you know, we
were very we're very close to itbecause we created it, so I do
(48:29):
want to see it go somewhere thatyou know, our members of our sport
want it to go so well,it's clearly you're going to continue to grow
in popularity as as as it is. It's a hugely popular and community sport.
So the very best of luck then, OMG with the rest of your
season with the playoffs and all theway to Minnesota, isn't it? So
(48:51):
enjoy that and thank you very muchfor coming on the program. Thank you
so much for having me and mythanks again too, Jenna Clough, Lely,
Joanna cost and Danielle Flowers. You'llfind links to the WFTDA and the
Gotham Girls in the show notes accompanyingthis episode. You can join in the
conversation, post your comments and questionson our Facebook page at Women in Sport
(49:13):
Podcast and follow us on Twitter atWHISP podcast. We would love to hear
from you about your sport and includeany stories you think we should be covering
here at Women in Sport Media.So until the next time, thank you
for listening, goodbye for now.
I think we're redefining what it isto be women and what is actually being
ladylike. And that's something that Ithink everyone really liked that we feel like
we get to make history. Thatwas finished. Roller derby player Joanna Koskinen,
who will tell us about the sportin Europe on this week's Sport in
Focus along with Danielle Flowers aka OMGWTF from Gotham Girls Roller Derby. Hello
(00:32):
and welcome to this week's program.I'm Chris Stafford, and we begin with
a closer look at the sport ofroller derby with the marketing and communications manager
from the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, Jenna Clofley, who is based in
Toronto, Canada. Jenna help,popular is the sport north of the border?
Fly track roller duby is very popularin Canada. There is a league
(00:54):
in almost every major city across thecountry. I'm traveling. I also participate
in the sport and I'm actually travelingto Vancouver later this year to participate in
the Canadian Tournament there against Calgary andVancouver. So you are the governing body
then at the WFTDA, and doesthat mean that like any other sports governing
(01:18):
body, Jenny, you set therules, the structure of competition. Give
us an overview of your role.Yes, So, Women's Flat Track Derby
Association is an international membership organization forwomen's ruler derby leagues, and the WFTDA
developed and maintains the rules and safetystandards for the sport, and we sanction
play between member leagues. We alsomaintain the official rankings of our member leagues
(01:42):
and we organize, as you mentioned, our playoffs and championship tournaments every year.
So you pretty much do everything thatis needed for the sports structure and
presumably the rules themselves. You applythe rules basically, who is behind the
rules setting for the sport nationally andinternationally? Jenna. The WTBA is unique
(02:05):
in that the members generate our rules. So whenever we have a rule change
or we're implementing new rules, it'sall been developed by membership and then voted
on by membership. So we're reallywe really live by the mantra of by
the skaters for the skaters. Now, talk a little bit about the actual
structure of the game, and youknow, the players give us the elevator
(02:29):
picture of what the sport actually lookslike. For those that are not familiar
with it. Jenna, Yeah,a roller derby game is made up of
two periods that are thirty minutes inlength, and in those two periods we
have kind of like Mani mini periodsor many sections called jams, and those
(02:51):
jams can go up to two minutes. And the jam is is set up
with two jammers from each team andfour blockers from each team, and the
jammers score points by passing the opposingblockers. The four blockers from each team,
their job is to stop the opposingblocker while helping their jammer get through.
So we like to say it's oneof the only sports where you play
(03:13):
offense and defense at the same time. In the first lap or where the
jammer is coming to the pack ontheir initial pass, they earn the designation
of lead jammer, so the firstjammers through legally gets lead jammer, and
lead jammer can call off the jamat any time, so they can either
let the jam run for the fulltwo minutes, or they can call it
(03:36):
at any time that's advantageous to themor their teams. On the second pass
through is when the jammers start toscore points for a passing the hips of
the opposing blockers. So that's beena nutshell what rollers or be is and
then the jam ends will start allover again and you play how many on
each side players on the track atany time? Yes, you have five
(03:58):
players on the track, four blockersand one jammer, okay. And it's
really very much a contact sport,isn't it. You know that you really
got to get stuck in there becauseit's about speed and the skill whilst you're
at speed, as well as acombination of skills, isn't it. Absolutely,
it's agility, balance, strength,and it is a full contact sport
(04:21):
where all of the skaters participating areeither blocking an opposing blocker by using legal
contact zones which are outlined in therules of flat check roller Derby, or
you know, holding them positionally tryingto knock them out of play, talk
them out of the tracks, whethertheir gammer can pass them easily. So
(04:42):
yeah, it definitely is a fullcontact sport. Now, what about refereeing
them, because obviously with such aclose contact sport there must be a fine
line sometimes between what is allowed andwhat could be a foul. Definitely,
the rules of flat check roller derbyare very l fee to demonstrate what's legal
and what's not legal. And you'reright, our referees have a lot of
(05:06):
training. Those clinics that we puton for our referees so that they can
get the training on what these penaltieslook like in roller derby, so they
know what to call. So yeah, it definitely requires a lot of training
and a lot of referee participation inthe program so they know what it looks
like. Well, North America obviouslyis one leader I suppose in the sport
(05:28):
internationally, so we'd imagine there's alot more opportunities. How easy is it
for people for young people, younggirls that want to get into the sport
genera What kind of network do youhave out there for access? Oh?
Absolutely, and almost every major cityin the world, North America, Europe,
everywhere in the world there are thereis a roller derby league to participate
(05:51):
in and those are what makes upour membership based. So leagues apply for
membership within the WFTDA. Then thoseleagues host their own entry programs for new
skaters to participate with them. Soa lot of leagues call it a fresh
meat program where they'll bring in newskaters, they'll train them on what it
takes to skate and then to playroller derby and then generally those new skaters
(06:17):
go through some sort of tryout processto get placed onto teams. And there
are lots of different structures in individualleagues that they could adapt. So one
of them might be a home teamstructure where there might be a couple of
teams that play against each other locally. There might be travel team structures where
(06:38):
teams participate against other teams from othercities or other countries. And then there
is the WFTDA level, which isthe charter team level and those teams participate
against each other for rankings which gointo the playoff structure. And what about
the accessibility financially for people to getinto you need a pair of roller skates.
(07:01):
What else do you need? Becauseit looks like you've got to have
quite a bit of safety equipment aswell, definitely full safety equipment, so
this an average skater will need.They need to have their helmet, their
mouthguard, their risk guards, elbowpads, kneepads, and roller skates and
roller skates come in all shapes andsizes. Nowadays you can get any kind
(07:24):
of skate that you might want,a low profile skate, a higher skate
that supports your ankle, and thenthere's things like different plates for your roller
skates and different wheels and bearings,so there's all sorts of fine teaming you
can do when you get to theactual skate. And the prices range really
across the country and across the worldactually on what skates cost for the average
(07:50):
participant, but most leagues have programsthat help their knee skars acquire gear and
roller skates before they put that investmentinto the sport. And what about costs,
then, what would it cost meto get started, Jenna? I
think if I'm talking in like Americandollars, it would probably be around three
(08:11):
hundred to five hundred dollars to getyour full kit, to get the full
set of tads, helmet, mouseguards and basic pair of roller skates.
And how about club membership that variescross leagues. Some leagues don't have any
membership, see some do so reallyvery depending on your city. And this
(08:31):
presumbity is a sport you can playall year round and probably why it's gathering
the momentum it has done for popularityno matter where you live. Absolutely Flatchack
Roderby can be played on any flatsurface and all the specifications for our track
layout are all on our website atUFPDA dot com, so you can if
you're interested in starting a league,if there's not one in your city,
(08:54):
you can go there and find itall the information on putting together a league
or how to play and to setup the track. So that's one of
the actual foundations of our sport hasbeen, you know, by the skater
for the skater. Almost every leaguehas been started by a skater. They
have been started by a skater,and it's part of our membership requirements as
well that the you know, fiftypercent, I think we're more owned and
(09:20):
operated by skaters, So we reallyare revolutionary and that the athletes own their
sport and the athletes do the workto put their sport on and they read
those awards as well, So itreally begins at the grassroots all the way
up to those championship tournaments. Talkabout that because that seems to be your
showcase gender of the sport, thatthe international playoffs and championships tournaments. Yeah.
(09:46):
Absolutely. We have six playoff locationsacross America, and those six playoff
locations include two Division two playoffs andfour Division one playoffs, and the top
team in each one of those playoffsall go to championships to compete for number
one in their division. So talkabout the timing then for this year.
(10:07):
But the course is this, overthe course of a calendar year, then
a new lead up to the championshipitself. Well, over the course of
the year, the charter teams ofour member leagues compete for rankings and then
we put together those rankings for them, and the teams ranked one to forty
as of June thirtieth are seated intothe four Division one playoffs, and then
(10:31):
the teams ranked forty one to sixtyare seeded into the two Division two playoffs.
It's really quite complicated. Now howmany teams then in total would start
this process, Jenna. So theseare teams from all over the world.
So we have Helsinki coming London,Victoria and Roller Girls Glasgow participating like internationally,
(10:52):
teams participate in this tournament or thistournament structure. So we have sixty
teams in total that are seated inour tournament structure, and then in each
bracket there are ten teams that competeagainst each other. Well, it really
is a major competition. Then whenyou're bringing in teams from around the world
like that, Now, who wouldbe the favorites? Then going through these
(11:16):
playoffs, who would you say wouldbe the teams to watch? Jenna,
Oh, I mean, this isthe hardest part of my job, would
be trying to predict what's going tohappen. I mean, Gotham Roller Girls
have been one of our top teamsin our ranking system since the invention of
(11:37):
the ranking system, but last yearRosity almost defeated them, came within like
near points of defeating Gotham, whichwas huge and very impressive. Victorian from
Australia has been making waves throughout thetop ten and they look amazing and superposition
to take the Hydra which is ourtrophies this year. London Roller Girls are
(12:01):
also someone that we should not beforgetting. They are one of the best
teams in our membership and it's justreally there's really no one that I can
highlight. Everyone has like key playersand really brings the best teams possible to
that. They've been preparing all yearfor this event, so this is like
(12:22):
the big show for them. Tellus about the financial structure of this then,
Jenna, who funds the tournaments,the playoffs, the tournaments and the
team's getting to these competitions and comingover here for the finale, if you
will, and what sort of prizefunds or you know, rewards are there
for them for their effort. Theirrewards for their effort is the ability to
(12:46):
say they are the champion, asI mentioned here by the skater for the
skaters. So everything we do wedo ourselves. So the money that's put
together to put the tournaments on isfrom the WFTDA, the governing body is
putting that money towards hosting and puttingon these tournaments, and then it's up
to the teams to put together theirfunding to get to those events. So
(13:07):
as you can imagine, especially forour international teams, there are a lot
of fundraising and kickstarters and go fundnews that they put together to try to
get their teams to these locations.Amazing. Now, what about the coverage
of the competitions? How can wefollow this? Absolutely? You can follow
(13:30):
us on WFTDA dot com slash tournaments. All of the information on our tournament
locations, our ticket sales, thebrackets for each location are up on that
site. You can also watch liveon WFTDA dot TV. We broadcast a
pay per view stream of each eventon that site, which we produce ourselves,
(13:54):
self produced and starts all of ourwonderful skaters and teams. It's really
exciting, um and yeah, thoseare the two best ways to get involved
with that, but you can alsofollow us on Facebook. Just look for
WSTDA on Facebook and on Twitter atWSPDA. Terrific well, lots of ways
(14:16):
to keep up with what's happening thatbecause really is an exciting competition by the
sounds of things, with so manycountries from around the world taking part in
this, and there's such a passionand a culture behind this sport. Now,
Jen is tremendous wave that's following youbuilding up momentum. Yeah. Absolutely.
I mean this is our tenth yearfor the WSPDA and we're really excited
(14:37):
about this year and obviously sometimes whenwe look back, we're just like,
this is this is exactly where wewanted to be and this is exactly where
we want the sport to grow.And we're so proud that we're by the
skater for the skater, and ultimatelyfocused on the athletes, the athletes experience
and really what our athletes want outof this program and really, you know,
(14:58):
I mean that's the DASA farge justsince is giving her athletes a voice.
Well, it certainly is doing that. And as you said, people
can find out more about what youdo by going to the website at WFTDA
dot com. Jennet, thank youvery much indeed for coming on the program
and the best of luck with theplayoffs and championships this year. Thank you.
(15:18):
And now Joanna Koskinen from Stockholm inSweden joins us. She was part
of the winning team at the Swedishroller Derby Championships this year. She also
won the two thousand and fourteen rollerDerby World Cup with Team Finland and the
two thousand and thirteen Finnish roller DerbyChampionships with the Callio Rolling Rainbow Team.
Do you are finished, but you'veslipped across the border there and you're living
(15:41):
in Stockholm. Tell us a littlebit about what you do there and why
you made the move. I workas a kindergarten teacher at a Finnish Swedish
school. I moved here because mypartner lives here. She's also a roller
derby player, and we decided tolive in Sweden. Dot com because I've
never lived abroad since I was akid, so it was really exciting to
(16:04):
make this move into a little biggercity and I was thinking a little bit
further away. Okay, so youdo all of your Rollo der being then
in Stockholm or do you travel aroundSweden as well, Joanna? Basically we
have all the practices here in ourhome town. Board all the competition is
(16:26):
abroad. Mainly we just came backfrom a US tournament from Philadelphia and then
we had the Swedish Championships in studentsVale, which is in north of Sweden.
But mostly our team actually travels abroad. Rollerderby is a very international sports
soul. Our team is very luckyto able to be one of those teams
(16:47):
that gets to travel a lot.Yeah, that's fantastic that it is so
international, because you can't make aliving out of this, so you mentioned
that you have that day job.Now, it's not a sport where you
can actually have a livelihood out ofit. Tell us a little bit about
the sponsorship or any prize money thatthere isn't the sport, Joanna. When
you're both at home there in Scandinaviaand when you travel well there is no
(17:12):
prize money. I have never heardthat anyone has been paid in roller derby
to win any tournaments or anything.But I think there are maybe a handful
of people in the whole world thatget to live by this spoort, but
mostly people have to get another jobto be able to provide for themselves and
pay for the trips and of coursethe gear, which is really expensive.
(17:37):
We get sponsorships for the team,which is really awesome, but they don't
cover for the whole cost of thetrips, so it's a big it's a
big financial investment to play this sporton a high level, but in a
way it kind of you know,pays for it, and it's really worth
it because we love it so much. Yes, you clearly are passionate about
(17:59):
it. You mentioned that there's sponsorshipmaybe for the teams, but then does
that mean there's no sponsorship for individualskaters. We do, and they're like,
we're really happy to that. They'relike very rolladory orientated. Big companies
like skate companies that can sponsor skaterswith equipment, which is really which is
(18:21):
really awesome, and and there aremany skaters that get individual sponsorships. I
have a sponsorship to a local trainingstudio, which is really convenient for an
athlete to be able to train free. And we have skaters in the team
that have that have other like kindof equipment sponsorships also. Okay, so
(18:48):
this is a sport that you cameinto just four years ago, I believe
in so as a young adult.Was there some sports that you know that
you involved with before that gave yougood preparation for going into this? I
mean, what was your turning point, if you will, that made you
decide to take this up. I'vealways played sports, especially team sports.
(19:10):
I started playing soccer when I wasI think I was five or six,
and then my family moved to anothercity, to a city that they didn't
have a girls team for soccer,so I changed to basketball. I played
basketball until I moved out from myparents' place, and then I was studying
(19:30):
in university, so I didn't havethat much time to be into really competitive
sports because when I played basketball,I was playing in a high competitive level
and that kind of had to likeI had to step away from that when
I went studying. But then Ifound roller derby and I felt like I
just had to try it. Andwhen I tried it, I couldn't stop.
(19:51):
I've always been really into sports andI've always been very athletic, so
I felt like roller derby was somethingnew and something that I really needed in
my life, and it has paidquite well. What was it about it
that appeal to you, then,Joanna? When I started roller derby was
very new, it was kind oflike it had this underground feeling to it,
but it was it was the factthat you could kind of own the
(20:14):
sport yourself and you could do,like, really do a lot in the
sport yourself. And roller derby isa very do it yourself kind of sport
and even though it's getting more andmore professional, like you can still decide
a lot on the rules and everythingwith people you skate with, and it's
a it's a privilege really to beable to really own your sport. And
(20:41):
I think that was something that reallyreally called for me. And of course
it's because it's very high intensity,and it was just a new challenge,
I think because I like to challengemyself and I'm really competitive, especially towards
myself, So I think that waskind of something that I wanted to prove
myself that you know, is thisa new thing that I'm probably if I
(21:02):
tried, I have to really doit one hundred percent, and I think
I haven't stopped kind of like showingto myself that I can do this because
I just can't seem to get enoughof it. And you've become very successful
winning the Finnish Championship two years ago, and as I mentioned, the Swedish
Championship this year. You played numberfive last year in the roller Derby World
(21:23):
Cup with Team Finland. So yeah, you a member of different teams then,
Joanna. Yes, when I wentat one of the Finnish Championships,
I was playing with the first teamthat I've ever played with, Like,
it's a team from Helsinki called GalaRolling Rainbow and now here in Stockholm.
I played for the Stockholm team calledthe Stockholm roller Derby and then I play
(21:45):
for our team Finland. Well,it is as you say, it's a
very physical game. It's very mucha contact you girls really get into it
with each other. So what kindof training do you do before you scape?
Mean, what sort of fitness programdo you have every day? And
you know with cross training and thatsort of thing, Joanna, we do
a lot of functional training, trainingthat really strengthens the body and helps a
(22:12):
lot with injury prevention. That's veryvery important when you play a very heavy
contact board. A lot of thegirls go to the gym or they run
and it's basically just a lot ofcross training. Roller derby practice is of
course really important because you have tobe able to perform this board on your
(22:34):
skates. So to be able todo that, you have to be on
your skates a lot. So wefocus a lot on individual skating skills and
then team strategies and our team isactually very lucky to have a venue during
summer that we can basically use everyday. So that's that's how we do
it. How often would you trainas a team, then, Joanna,
(22:56):
three times a week it's normal threeto four Yeah. And do you have
a coach or is it very mucha team effort? How does it work?
We have a few designated skaters thatcoach the team. I'm the head
coach for the Stockholm roller Derby,and then we have a few other skaters
(23:17):
that are also responsible responsible for coaching. But then we also have a lot
of skaters that are because we're allvery athletic, we help each other out,
so it's basically it is a teameffort to get better. Well,
you use the word underground in theearly days of the sport, which I
think, as you say, ithas an appeal. I think a lot
of people got into it because itjust it developed a certain culture, didn't
(23:38):
it. But now it's become sopopular worldwide, and we put it in
context in terms of the other sportsin Scandinavia Joanna and the kind of opportunities
there are for people to get involved. Right now, there is basically if
you want to if you want todo roller derby, like every major or
(24:00):
mid major city has a roller derbyleague that you could join. So it's
becoming more and more popular. Andthe good thing about roller derby is that
you basically don't have to have anykind of sporting background that you can seriously
start from zero, because this sportis so engaging and people get really into
(24:23):
it so without even noticing, youget better all the time. And this
is the fastest growing sport in thewhole world, and you can really see
it in Scandinavia because the amount ofskaters that do this in in Scandinavia grows
all the time. I think there'slike multiple leagues growing every year. And
(24:45):
do you get much media coverage?Do you get TV or live streaming of
your events? Yes, like moreand more. We used to start to
start at the entertainment section of theof the newspapers, but now we are
getting more and more coverage on onthe sports action, which is really really
good. The national championships in Swedenwere actually broadcasted live on the biggest national
(25:08):
television channel, which was huge forus, and we have gone a lot
of media coverage for obviously our victoriesand successes are abroad. Why do you
think it has that kind of appealthen, Joanna, that it is growing
as fast as it is. Idon't know. I think it's I think
(25:29):
it's just because it's so fun andit's so interesting, and I think I
also think that if you meet aperson who really likes roller derby, you
kind of understand that it's the peopleget really into it. The sport is
very different from other sports, likethe whole gameplay differs so much, and
I think it's also the whole aspectthat it's mainly a women's sport, so
(25:53):
it's very different from the traditional sportingcultures and roller Derby has always promoted this
very open kind of approach to people, so I think that's also something that
makes it easier for people to kindof get involved because they feel like,
okay, again, just come andbe me and that's enough. Well,
(26:14):
you mentioned that you don't necessarily haveto have done any sports or have an
athletic background getting into roll a derby. But what would the requirements be if
you were telling young people, youknow, these are the basic requirements of
the sport. If you're going tostart, just get your own skates.
I think that's the only requirement.And then a good requirement is to have
(26:36):
a really good attitude towards the sport. That it's a team sport, so
it's really important that you get alongwith other people, and because it's a
do it yourself sport, it's reallyimportant that everyone is very involved in making
the sport and helping out. Butotherwise there is no requirements, like like
for our league, you basically justneed to own your own skates, and
(27:02):
then we always invite people to thisit's called the Freshmat program, which means
that if you haven't skated, youhave to pass these kind of minimum skills
that we teach, and that's basicallythe only requirement that we have. That's
it is. It will clearly youneed to be pretty good on your roller
skates to start off without imagine goodbalance and good speed because it is about
(27:25):
speed, isn't it. Yes,it's very much about speed, but also
controlling the speed. We have,like we have skaters that have different roles
on the track. The people thatscore, the jammers, they obviously have
to be able to be very fast, and then the blockers, who are
kind of like in charge of thedefensive play in the game, they have
(27:49):
to also be very good at controllingthe speed and going from fast to slower
and really owning the other team bycontrolling the speed. You mentioned that you
need a pair of skates, butyou also need the protective gear as well.
Because it is high contact. Itcould be said that it's not very
ladylike as a sports. You reallydo push it somewhere around, don't you.
(28:11):
Yeah, but that can also beconsidered ladylike, you know, owning
your space. I think I thinkwe're redefining what's what it is to be
women and what is actually being ladylike. And that's that's something that I think
everyone really likes that we feel likewe get to make history. And I
think that the women in sports aregetting more and more coverage in the global
(28:34):
news and everything, and I feellike, like personally, for me,
like I've been super happy about howthe US women's soccer team is getting so
much coverage on UM, in socialmedia everywhere. It feels like everyone is
in love with like women in sports. So I think we're kind of real
defining what is ladylike and really tryingto show that you can be lady like
(28:56):
even if you have all these likebig gear around your around your body and
you're slamming it into other people.That is a great way to describe it.
You really are because it's all aboutempowering women, isn't it. I
mean, you know, when weuse the term ladylike, that's in the
traditional sense that we you know,we can be very polite to one another,
but when it comes to sport,it's competition. So yes, I
(29:18):
think that's a very good point thatyou are redefining what women are all about
and empowering women. Just as youmade the comparison, there were the US
soccer team and other soccer teams andother sports. Of course, because women
really are, you know, reallymaking a name for themselves as women in
US in the different sports that areavailable to them now and that they can
do more sports. And clearly withrollerblading, you're making as you say,
(29:42):
you're making history. You're paving theway for generations to come on how this
sport is defined, don't you Yes, And that feels quite unbelievable, but
at the same time it feels reallyreally awesome. And growing up, I
had like I was really athletic,but there were not a lot of women
in sports that that were considered rolemodel role models. But now I feel
(30:06):
like there are so many women insports and they're getting more and more recognition.
So it's kind of like it's reallyhard to comprehend to leave this kind
of age now when she's like maybelike fifteen years ago. When I was
younger, I didn't have anyone toreally like like this female athletic idol,
and now I feel like I seethese people all that like everywhere, So
(30:29):
it's it's really awesome. Who areyour role models than Joanna? Well?
Right now, I'm just like I'mreally psyched about the women's soccer team in
US, So I'm really really likestudying and reading about Abbi Wanpach and yeah,
yeah, she's she's really get greatand like this whole she has like
(30:52):
this amazing team sport attitude. Andthat's something that I really really like about
that women like women in sports likethere, even though they can be like
huge international stars, they always bringout the importance of valuing everyone behind you,
like the whole team and the managementand your club teams and everything,
(31:12):
and that's something that really inspires me. Yeah, great leaders, yes,
inspiration well, looking at the spotand the way you push each other around,
you know, great contact sport.What sort of injuries do you mostly
sustain? I think mostly it's actuallysomething that comes from unfortunately from gear.
(31:34):
Bruises are obviously something that everyone hasall the time, but ankle and knee
injuries are very common and they canbe pretty bad, like they can take
you off from the track for manymonths. But breaking your ankles and concussions
are also something that because you youcome with high speed and then you might
(31:55):
fall and even though you have ahelmet, the impact might be so hard
that people might get concussions. Butvery fortunately that's not very common, especially
in our team. We've been veryvery fortunate not to have a lot of
big injuries. Well, it's thesame as really any team sport, isn't
it. There there's a risk involved, but the pleasure and the participation in
(32:19):
the sport far outweigh those injuries thatmight happen. So I'm thinking you've got
a long future ahead in the sport. Joanna already got off to a great
start in the short time you've beenplaying. What would you like to achieve
in it? I would like toachieve the being the international champion. There's
basically one team in the world atthe moment that is like holding the title
(32:42):
for the International champions and it's theteam from New York City and our team
is as the second team in Europe. Ever we're going to that. We
were qualified to go and play forthat this September, so we're really excited
about that and winning that would beobviously really amazing. And other competitions this
year, what are youmage looking forwardto? That is our main competition,
(33:06):
Like we had the Swedish Championships nowand we were very very lucky to win
it and it was a great tournamentwith great competition and that was kind of
like that was the other big achievementthat we wanted to achieve. But now
we're focusing on the tournaments in Septemberand if we qualify from the playoffs,
(33:27):
we get to go to the championshipswhich are in November. So that's our
main focus for this season now.And the playoffs are they're in US.
There's four different tournaments, okay,so you get to come over to the
US quite a bit. Then.Yeah, the main arena for this sport
is at the moment in US,but I think it's changing. Maybe hopefully
next year we're going to have onebig tournament in Europe. Also, that
(33:50):
sounds like you're building it up overthere in Scandinavia for sure. Who knows
you might have some major championships inStockholm. Yes, hopefully. All right,
well, the very best of lookwith it, Joeanna. It sounds
thank you've found your passion there withRoller Derby, and I hope you have
a great season and it goes theway you want it too. Good luck,
Thank you. We're joining me nowfrom Brooklyn, New York is Danielle
(34:12):
Flowers, who is now becoming aseasoned veteran. Almost Danielle, aren't you
with rollerblading. This is correct.Yeah, I've been playing for seven seasons
now with a Gotham Girls roller derbyand it's summer and it's something that you
came to later in life, soI'm whe it was I say later.
I mean, you didn't start thisas a youth. What do you think
(34:35):
it is about the sport that appealsto people that maybe have done other sports
and then discover rollerblading so they cometo it as an adult. I mean,
I think for you know, peoplewho are finding roller skating and roller
derby, I think that for rollerderby and specifics, it's a full contact
sport for women to play. Alot of us who are playing grew up
(34:55):
playing other sports. You know,We've played soccer, we played rugby,
we played softball, we played youknow, you name it, and you
know, people pretty much have playedthe sport. So once you get to
a certain age, there's not alot of really highly competitive, you know
sports to play unless you're involved atthe highest highest level, which you know
(35:17):
in the United States, there's nota ton of options. There's you know,
a professional basketball league and a professionalsoccer league, but other than that,
there isn't really that you know,there's no option to play that really
high contact sport. So for me, that's definitely one of the things that
drew me to the sport. Imissed that team environment, I missed the
(35:37):
full contact environment of playing sports withother women. So for me, that's
sort of what draw me there.Well, yeah, yeah, as you
said, is a full contact sport. So what element of that is appealing
to you then, Daniel, Becauseclearly when you get out there, you've
got to be quite aggressive to besuccessful in the sport, which I'm presuming
(36:00):
then you know, off the fieldof play, so to speak, you're
not that type of person as wellat all, but when you get on
the track there it brings that outin you. I mean I think,
yeah, the full contact aspect,it definitely. I mean, I'm not
a big person by any means,so I love the physicality of the sport
(36:22):
because I with the physicality comes thestrategy that is involved in, you know,
trying to not get hit. Sothere's a lot of different aspects to
the sport that I think, youknow, really really make it attainable and
interesting for a wide variety of people. You know, our sport is pretty
(36:43):
unique in that, you know,you don't need to fit into this one
mold, one body type to succeedat our sport. You know, I've
got a girl on my team rightnow who's about sixty three, and then
I've got another girl on my teamwho's got five foot So you know,
there is a spot for anybody toplay in the sport and to succeed and
to do well and to feel confidentabout themselves and their body. So,
(37:07):
you know, because of that,I do think that you know, that
is just another reason why it drawsso many people to the sport. Yeah,
it gives you sort of a senseof you know, give you confidence
you know in your life that maybeyou're not experiencing elsewhere. You know,
it shows you that you can succeedregardless of you know, what your body
looks like, what you feel likeyou're capable of, because you know you
(37:30):
are capable of a lot, sofor sure. Now you talk about different
positions there, you're a blocker anda pivot. Explain what that is done?
You're what your role is. Soin our sport, we have blockers,
and then we have a position calleda jammer, and then there's a
position called a pivot. So thejammers the person in the pack that's going
(37:52):
to be scoring your points. Theblockers are going to try and stop the
jammer from getting through the pack scorepoints. In the pivot, there's somebody
who's a blocker who can wear alittle hat that essentially means that they can
receive a star. So the jammerwears a star on their helmet so they
can receive a star pass and becomethe jammer if necessary. I would prefer
(38:15):
that not happen because that means Ihave to jam and and do all that
stuff. But that's not my strongpoint. However, I am there if
I need, if I'm needed,so yeah, So the biggest differences in
my position is, you know,my role is more about playing offense and
defense at the same time. SoI'm trying to help my jammer get through
(38:38):
the pack, and I'm trying tostop the opposing jammer from getting through the
pack. So it is a reallyunique sport and then no other I don't
I can't think of another sport.Maybe you can help me that does play
offense and defense at the same time. So because of that, I do
think there is a like height andawareness that needs to happen with roller to
repeaters. Yeah, you've got tobe very finely tuned to that and chew
(39:00):
because it is a fast paced gameas well. What sort of training do
you do, Danielle to get youfit for the game? Well, in
for my team, we do myteam's skates about three times a week,
and then many of us do offskates training outside of our skating practice.
Um, there is a massive,i would say movement right now within roller
(39:22):
Derby for people to be doing offskates training and you know, posting about
it on Facebook or on Instagram,which is really awesome. I think,
you know, it's it's been away I've seen. I've seen some skaters
in leagues really just transform into anew person, you know, like they
figured out what works for them asfar as exercise, and they're doing it
(39:43):
on a regular basis. Um.So yeah, So I would say we
do about two days of off skatestraining. Um sometimes it's right before our
skating practice and then about three daysof skating right now. And you're,
as you say with the Gulf andGirls, you're pretty dynamic team. You're
one of the most successful in thecountry, aren't you in the world.
(40:06):
And I'm sorry, excuse me,let me get that right. It's important
to say in the world because it'simportant to know that, you know,
roller derby is you know, sopopular internationally. It's not just the sport
that's popular in the United States rightnow. You know, we've really seen
the sport blossom all over the world, you know, all throughout Europe,
(40:29):
throughout South America, and throughout Australia. You know, you name it.
There's teams in Japan now, there'syou know, there's teams all over the
place. So it's it is.It does make me. It makes me
excited when I have people who comeinto my business and they say, oh,
you play roller Derby, you know, is it is it? Do
you only have teams in New York? You know, it's it's exciting to
(40:50):
say, no, actually, there'steams all over the world because it is
such a huge thing right now forwomen um to play. So all right,
so the Gotham Girls should take tobill there and you've got a busy
season ahead. Tell us about themajor competitions that you're looking forward to,
Danielle, Well, we just wereit was just announced are to our governing
body, the WSTDA, just announcedthe playoff tournament seedings for all of the
(41:16):
top forty teams who qualified to playin our playoffs tournament season. So that
was just announced yesterday. So myleague was placed in a tournament we're playing
in Omaha, Nebraska on October secondthrough fourth, and we'll be playing We'll
be competing against ten other team ornine other teams to try and earn a
(41:39):
spot to qualify for the WFTDA Championshiptournament, which will be held in Saint
Paul, Minnesota in November. Sothose are two big tournaments that we're looking
forward too. And then we haveone other game that we're playing in preparation
for that August first against the Denverroll Roller Week and that will be called
(42:04):
in Coney Island in New York.So so to me, yeah, but
this is all out of pocket foryou guys. I mean we've heard from
the other guests about you know thatthe fact that there's not in the prize
money, there's not the sponsorship thatcan sustain you guys individually to make a
living out of this. You haveto go elsewhere to make your living.
Yeah, that is true. Solike any other amateur sport, um,
you know, you're foot in thebill to go anywhere and compete um against
(42:30):
teams, you know, and it'sit's pretty frustrating, I would say,
because you know, there are skaterswho just they can't afford it anymore.
It, you know, really canhold up their career um. And you
know, you see skaters who arevery skilled, very talented, who just
have to put ROLLERD or B asidebecause they can't they can't commit to paying
(42:51):
you know, all of the costit, you know, for traveling you
know, throughout the United States orinternationally, depending on how competitor their team
is. Well, we've heard ofhow this sport has really got its own
culture. It's come from a placewhere it's developed if unique culture. I
mean, I know many sports dohave, but there's something very different about
(43:13):
this sport. And one of thethings that I think is distinct is that
you all have a game name.So tell us you got to your game
name, Danielle. Yeah, myroyby name is omgwts, So all my
teammates call me olgum. Honestly,you know a lot of times names just
(43:36):
sort of get given to you.So I when I first started skating,
you know, when I lived inMontreal and I was practicing with the league
there they some of the I usedto just use the acronym og all the
time and it's sort of stuck.So that's how I got my name.
I don't have a fantastic story oranything, but that's for my games.
(44:00):
You know, you have people whoare it's inspired either you know, a
favorite band or the profession. Butthat's for nine king from not very exciting.
All right, Well, let melet me just elaborate on that a
little bit so people put this incontext. There are things like Molly flog
a Miss Team Maven, Lucky ScarsLow Men, a Nail Diamond. So
(44:22):
I can see where you're coming fromwith it with the favorite rock star Penny.
But I wonder what it tells youabout that player though, Daniel,
what does this tell you? Whatdoes your game name tell you about yourself?
Oh? My game name? Imean part of it. The reason
why I was like, yeah,I'll go with that one is, you
(44:43):
know, when I heard in myhead, you know, I was thinking
about what an announcer was going tosay, and and I wanted to hear
them say, oh, I'm Jesustook out you know, Bonnie Thunders or
whoever it is, so I thought, you know, play along with it
and it makes it exciting for usands and and they enjoy that. So
so is it compulsory then you haveto have a game name to do roller
(45:06):
derby. No. I actually onthe on our All Star team. I
actually skate under my real name.Um So, I switched to my real
name last season because we were therewas a World Cup that happened. Um
So, we've had two World Cupsso far, which is hosted by It
was kind of sponsored by one ofthe magazines that writes about roller derby,
(45:30):
and so they hosted a big internationalWorld Cup and for us, that's the
most um you know, that's thebiggest international team where there's national teams that
competes. So for me, Iwas thinking it would be nice to sound
like a more legit athlete. SoI switched over to my real name for
(45:52):
that. Um but you know,people still skate with their their derby names.
They skate with real names. There'snot really We're moving, I think
more into a direction of people justcoming in and having a really strong athletic
background and and then just you know, using their given you know, their
government name as their derby name.So well, given the growth of the
(46:15):
sport, Danielle, the popularity which, as you say, it is worldwide,
and there's just so much participation inthis because it's very accessible. Where
would you like to see the sportgrow too? Saying you know in five
or ten years time. I really, honestly, you know, there's a
all the debate I think right nowand conversation about do we want to be
(46:37):
in the Olympics, do we wantto have an X game type event?
Do you know what do we wantto do? You know, And I
don't think you're going to meet oneperson who's going to say I don't want
to be in the Olympics. Youknow, obviously that would be an incredibly
prestigious thing, you know, areally amazing thing to be a part of.
(46:58):
But for roller derby, I don'tknow that that's really us. You
know, we are a really diyorganization. You know, our sport has
been built from us, which isreally different than any other sport out there.
You know. That is why it'sso unique, That is why we
have such the community that we have. It's because we've created it. Um.
(47:19):
I don't know that there's any othersport that can really say that Um,
so for us, it feels like, you know, I see us
more going in the route of maybebeing a part of the X Games,
something more like the skate like whatall skateboarding and BMX and all those styles
more extreme sports are doing. Youknow, they've sort of created their own
(47:40):
thing and they've you know, madeit something awesome that they all love and
are a part of. So that'swhere I want to see it go.
Um whether that happens, you know, it's gonna it's it's I think it's
really up in the air right now. Honestly, I think it can be
you know, is the Olympic communityand take interest in our sport, I
don't know, you know, likeif they do and they want to,
(48:04):
you know, come an approach theWFTDA, I think that would be great.
You know. I just think wewe want to have a say in
what's going on with our sport,and we just don't. We don't want
to have somebody come in and say, hey, Okay, we're gonna take
your sport and we're gonna, youknow, go make it what we want
to make it. So you know, there is that you know, we
were very we're very close to itbecause we created it, so I do
(48:29):
want to see it go somewhere thatyou know, our members of our sport
want it to go so well,it's clearly you're going to continue to grow
in popularity as as as it is. It's a hugely popular and community sport.
So the very best of luck then, OMG with the rest of your
season with the playoffs and all theway to Minnesota, isn't it? So
(48:51):
enjoy that and thank you very muchfor coming on the program. Thank you
so much for having me and mythanks again too, Jenna Clough, Lely,
Joanna cost and Danielle Flowers. You'llfind links to the WFTDA and the
Gotham Girls in the show notes accompanyingthis episode. You can join in the
conversation, post your comments and questionson our Facebook page at Women in Sport
(49:13):
Podcast and follow us on Twitter atWHISP podcast. We would love to hear
from you about your sport and includeany stories you think we should be covering
here at Women in Sport Media.So until the next time, thank you
for listening, goodbye for now.
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