EROC 2016

Me and Only talking about Team Structure at EROC 2016

I have been to EROC more than once, more than twice, more than trice... I've been to EROC a total of FOUR times, and there has been SIX EROC. I really love EROC, and this year I came to represent Track Advantage and to run two seminars, one by myself and one with Only.

It is so interesting to see how rollerderby in Europe is developing and growing, how we face new challanges and leave old ones behind us. I truly love to observe that we truly grow and are becoming a force to reckon. Everyone has worked so hard on making their leauges stronger and trying to figure things out. EROC is such a wonderful place where we all can meet and talk, get together and see that problems are easier to go trough and solve when you don't have to do it by yourself.

I am always happy to see so many of my friends and acctually realize what a positive influence rollerderby have had on my life. We all work towards the same goal, together to become something amazing and more organised, to take ownership of the sport we like.

The WFTDA discussions are always interesting, and we work towards a great goal, to be able to steer the sport towards the goals of what we want. And who are we, WE are every skater that stepped into a pair of derbyskates and fell in love. Driven by passion to create an inclusive and revolutionary sport, rollerderby is athletic and fun, it's friendship and togetherness, and all of this is something I fins at EROC, every year... and yeah, we are getting older... the parties are not as wild and we are happy to have it hat way. Well, at least I am, but yeah... of course I will drink some wineschorle... because its so tasty...

Weekend of Team Sweden practice coming up

Yesterday I went to Fighting Fit after a long bikeride, it was great weather for bikeriding, sunny but not superhot. On Wednesday we had on-skate practice with our Advanced skaters,  I focused on endurance and walls. It was fun!

I am back in the swing of working out, but I can't deny that I feel a little lost in the way that i have a hard time motivating myself. There is nothing to work towards, nothingness and that feels hard. I am a little slow on my goalsetting right now, probably because I feel liek there are so many things that are up in hte air right now.

BUT ONE THING I KNOW WILL HAPPEN is that Team Sweden is playing Team USA in Stuttgart in the end of June, so I will really focus on that. It's going to be REALLY exciting and fun, fun, fun!

So this weekend we have on-skate practice with Team Sweden, and I am looking forward to it, feels like it will contain a little of everything. A mixed bag of goods, the way I like it, hopefully lot's of focus on skating together and staying together. A more cohesive offence with better communication from the jammers.

Since I've felt a little stuck in my development lately, maybe because I coach to much, I'm considering going back to some jamming. Not to become a main jammer or somethign crazy like that, but to jam because I can get better at it... I do like jamming, but that means I have to start working out a little different, and a change might be good for me! Getting outside of my "safespace"...

LOOK, I jammed back in 2008...  (and yes, I am wearing dipers and R3's)

Things are happening

Travelling with big plans in the back off head, it all involves rollerderby and taking over the world! Monday will be a really cool day - not one but two amazingly cool things are happening, and they aren't really even connected at all and at the same time they are totally connected! So it is! It's gay and rollerderby connected... I don't know what to do with myself - but I'm extremely excited.

Fighting Fit

So it's time to get into shape again, I keep on saying that, I probably never be in the crazyass shape that I strive for... one day... one day... as long as my body is just fit to play derby I'm a VERY happy gal. I did realize the other day that I am in better shape now than when I moved to New York and started to play with Gotham. It has been a constant goal to strive for better fitness and better skills, sometimes it has been hard to push myself, but it has been worth it. Tearing my hamstring has been a challange to coem back from, and the constant pain, and pushing through but not too hard has been a struggle. Well, well... I was going to write about our new off-skate class.

So in a tiny basement in Stockholm, there is a small exercise room and a class called "Fighting Fitness" lead by a stout Australian woman named Jo. She's got a background in both rugby and martial arts... and the class "Fighting Fit" is half fighting techniques and half crossfit inspired during 90 amazingly fun and challanging minutes. Yesterday we wrestled, and in the future we have to bring our mouthguards... good thing we all have them. To be honest, I am not a person that goes to the gym just because I like to work out, I really am not, I go to the gym, to off-skate to become stronger and in that way become a better derbyplayer. I prefer to get in shape by doing fun things... like rollerderby OR snowboarding, I just happen to be hypercompetative, so the fun and easy fast turns into becomming better. I don't mind, thaty is where teh fun is at!

Jo just got a pup... very distracting  for all of us

Yesterday at Fighting Fit it was me, Kim, Thunders, Slinky, Chaos, Alpha and Eags who showed up. Oh, and Jo just got a puppy that also was present, chewing on everything and distracting us all from what we were supposed to do... It was superfun to do off-skate with Eags, and that girl can wrestle... but she just wait... she just wait... I am out to get her... It's fun to do this with a bunch of other competative derbygirls, we all push each other and ourselves, no slacking here, and lot's of soreness the next day!

From now and on I'm preparing myself to be in fighting fit condition for the upcomming season, and this is such a fun way to do it, together with teamates, it does such that the tiny basement can't fit more than eight of us... but eight is better than none! Watch out world... I am back! The upcoming few months I hope every week will be two days at the gym, fighting fit once and rollerderby two or three depending on the times we get from Stockholm City.

After practice I made Swedish Meatballs for Eagle, serving it with all the traditional fixings, even if I don't think she's ready for the lingonberry jam just yet.

Fighting Fit in the bathtub...