Is SCAR for Me?


I recently passed my level ones. I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m getting there. I can do things I never thought I would be able to do. It’s safe to say I was one of the worst—if not the worst—skaters in our class when we started. I had no balance, no strength in my legs. I was a runner, but those muscles didn’t do what I needed them to in skates. In just a few weeks that has changed drastically. My strength has greatly improved. I can see and feel the changes in my leg muscles. I can cross over, I can skate on one foot (I could barely stand on one foot in September), and I can carry things at work I could never lift before. I feel like an athlete again.

And even more than that, for me, I’m having fun. I’m doing something. I’ve found a way to make this town not just bearable for me, but enjoyable. I’m on committees, I’m volunteering. I practice twice a week, and I work the merch tables at bouts since I’m not cleared to skate them yet. I go to after parties, I go out for drinks and dinner with teammates. I come home from really successful practices to find encouraging Facebook messages sent to me from teammates. I’m once again at a point in my life where I am surrounded by strong, intelligent, entertaining women. I’m making friends, I’m getting involved.

Scars at the Penn State Homecoming Parade
It’s been such an incredible experience. Over holiday weeks, Facebook statuses filled my newsfeed, girls home for break posting pictures of them skating in the random parking lots they could find, others lamenting the practices that were being missed. We crave it. We crave having wheels on our feet, for time on the track. My childhood was filled with ballet, tap, jazz, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, snowboarding, skiing -- I was always active. I always loved being on a team—I loved competing, I loved the game. I never loved an activity so much that I missed it when I wasn’t doing it. I loved the games but I hated having to practice, and that’s not the case here. I’m completely in love with roller derby. And it’s a sport you can keep playing. Derby won’t tell you that you’re too old when you’re in your 30s like most sports do. It doesn’t tell you your body type isn’t right like dancing will.

If you identify as female, if you’re over the age of 18, if you can make two practices a week and pay your dues each month, and most importantly, if you’re willing to work hard and learn, then come to recruitment. Schedule to come watch a practice. If you’re interested at all and you have that little voice in your head that wants you to try it, then do it.

How I Took the Plunge

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series by SCAR Derby's own Samantha Rae-Tuthill, a.k.a. Culta Skara

My coworker directed me to one of SCAR's Non-Skating Officials who also worked with us. She responded to my email inquiry with the contact information for most of the executive board. I got links to the website, as well as a link to the Facebook events for the clinic day and recruitment. It was only a couple of weeks away. I emailed recruitment@scarderby.com and got a response almost immediately with all of the information I needed. I signed up for the clinic and told myself I was going to practice skating and get ready for recruitment.

Only that didn’t happen. I never had the time. I thought about opting out and putting roller derby back in my daydreams where they belonged, but I didn’t. I showed up to the clinic, even though I hadn’t put skates on my feet in at least eight years. And even then I hadn’t skated well; I had no technique or training. I was terrified: I felt shy and nervous and unsure of myself—feelings I was not used to. When I pulled into the parking lot at Penn Skates, I was screaming in my head to turn around and go home. I’m honestly not sure how I dragged myself out of the car.

This weekend...

Missed the clinic?  It doesn't matter! 

If you have dreamed of flying down the track on two skates, SCAR wants you!  Refs and skaters are wanted for Recruitment this Sunday

Can't skate?  We'll teach you!   Come out this Sunday!

A Journey on Skates

Photo courtesy of Chuck Fong.
This is Part I of a 3-part series by SCAR Derby's own Samantha Rae-Tuthill, a.k.a. Culta Skara

I first heard about roller derby when I was in middle school. I don’t even remember how; I think there was a show or a documentary on TV about it. I didn’t see the program, but I saw snippets of footage in a commercial one day, and it looked amazing. It became the background dream in my head. Where some people have unrealistic visions of being a college football star whenever they watch their team play on Saturday—even if they’ve never actually played before and are well out of school, or starring in a Hollywood blockbuster—even though they’ve never stepped foot on a stage or in front of a camera, dreams that they know will never actually come true, I daydreamed about life on the track. Because I couldn’t skate. I didn’t even know the rules. I didn’t know anyone who did it. It just never crossed my mind that it would ever be something I could do. When Whip It came out, some of my friends went to see it and I refused to go. I felt bitter. I didn’t want to watch someone, even if that someone was a fictional character, get to start doing something that I couldn’t do...

And in this corner...


We proudly give you the 2013 Pennsyltucky Punishers: Mary Beth DonTigny Hoffman, Amber Parker, Lacey Auman, Morgan Sample, Katie Tune Pierrot, Tammi Bowser, Dani Kaulakis, Paige Smith, Kyla Edwards Secreto, Alyssa Davidge, Lindsey Eastman, and Samantha-Rae Tuthill.

This Just In!


Announcing...

SCAR Derby's Season Schedule!
 
Upcoming Bouts:
FEBRUARY 16th - St. Valentine’s Massacre - Punishers vs. Mayhem
MARCH 16th - Erin-Go-Brawl - Dolls vs. Susquehanna Valley Derby Vixens
April 13th - Dolls @ Steel City Derby Demons B-Side
May 4th - Dolls @ ROC City B-Sides
MAY 11th - SCAR Wars - Punishers vs. Mayhem
June 1st - Dolls @ Dutchland Blitz
August 24th - Dolls @ Chautauqua County RD(Jamestown, NY) Babes of Wrath
SEPTEMBER 28th - Punishers vs. Mayhem
October 13th - Pottstown Tournament
OCTOBER 19th - OctoberFist - Dolls vs. Crown City Royal Painz
November 9th - Dolls @ Iron Mountain Roller Girls (Cumberland, MD)
DECEMBER 7th - Punishers vs. Mayhem
To get first notice of new events, become a Season Ticket holder or Like SCAR Derby on Facebook.

Welcome Back, SCAR Fans!

Hope your holidays were fantastic, and Santa brought you everything you asked for.

SCAR Derby is back on the track, with some news to share.

1. We're now sponsored by Wicked Skatewear!  Expect to see SCAR gear available via the net and great discounts on skatewear from our new sponsors. 

2. Want to become a SCAR?  Winter recruitment is just weeks away!  Mark your calendars for the recruitment clinic in 1/13 and recruitment night on 1/27 -- and rsvp at recruitment@scarderby.com

3. Mark your calendars for SCAR's first bout of the year, in which the Mount Nittany Mayhem will take on the Pennsyltucky Punishers.  February 16th at Penn Skates is where the action is -- tickets will be on sale soon.