NSRG Tryouts 2010

Ayn Rant, NSRG sidelines reporter

The setting: a warehouse. The fluorescent lights are flickering, and old mattresses - 22,
to be precise – stand guard around the track to keep skaters from sliding into the tall
metal shelves surrounding the track should they take a spill. There is a giant industrial
scale, a forklift, and a large, mysterious piece of machinery from Sweden. This place, the
Roller Hole, has been called “the ‘Fight Club’ of roller derby”.

Welcome to the North Star Roller Girls’ 2010 tryouts, which were held on June 19. Over
60 women showed up in two separate shifts to show the NSRG team captains what they
can do with eight wheels squarely under their feet and convince everyone there that they
belong on next season’s roster.

The girls trying out were drilled for close to three hours in speed, agility, stamina, pack
skating and essential technical and safety skills like stops and falls. In addition to all
the skating, they spent a fair amount of time on the sidelines sweating their way through
pushups, crunches, leg lifts, bicycles and squats.

You’d think that an occasion such as this one might be a tense afternoon full of stark
competition, with each girl trying hard to outdo the other in order to win one of the
coveted spots as an NSRG Rookstar. Nope. Not at all. The atmosphere was an
infectious combination of giddiness, anticipation and moxie, and the skaters were
cheering each other on during every drill on the track. The ten free clinics held by NSRG
prior to tryouts played a major part in building this camaraderie - many of the girls
had spent the last month skating and learning together. Still, a very hefty share of the
cheering and hollering came from the captains and other NSRG folks on the sidelines. In
the end, everyone there wanted to see everyone else do their best.

There were lighthearted moments, like the line of girls on skates toppling backwards
into each others’ laps in a skillful imitation of dominoes (watch out for that downward
slope in the floor) countered by the agonizing moments after a skater broke her leg during
a drill. The pin-drop silence after all the skaters dropped to one knee - the standard
position a derby girl takes when another skater is injured on the track - showed how
serious these gals were, even while they were having a great time. Number 10, we’re
hoping for your speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you at next year’s tryouts.

After three hours of weaving, sprinting, falling, stopping, shouting and cramming as
many laps into five minutes as possible, the sweat was dripping and the girls were wiped.
Before the second group hit the locker room on their way out to the lawn where the
results would be announced in 15 short minutes, I asked them to sum up their tryout
experience in one word. Among others:

Fierce. Exhilarating. Fun. Hardcore. Determined. Empowering. Inspiring.
Perseverence. Caliente. Hell yeah!

NSRG tryouts: getting your butt kicked and loving every minute of it. Congrats to the 30
new Rookstars. See you on the track this fall!