All you need to know to get started in roller derby

Derby Skates

• Skates
• Boots
• Wheels
• Bearings
• Plates
• Second-Hand Skates: What to look for, How to upgrade parts
• Hints on Buying Used Skates
• Skate Maintenance

Protective Gear

• Helmet
• Knee Pads
• Elbow Pads
• Wrist Guards
• Mouthguard
• Protective Gear Maintenance

Fitness for Roller Derby

Choosing your Derby Name

Skates

How to choose a boot for starting out in Roller Derby.

Before choosing your first roller derby skates, there are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• How likely is it that I will “pass” try-outs?
• How likely is it that I will continue to skate for fun and exercise, even if I don’t pass try-outs or if I quit roller derby?
• How committed am I to roller derby?
• What is my skate budget right now?
• Do I want the BEST skates I can get NOW or would I prefer decent skates for now, and upgrade when I know my skating style and what I like in a skate?

Boots

High Boots VS Low Boots

Short Boots options:

Cheap "Speed Packages" Cheap but are they really?
There are many cut-rate entry-level “speed” packages available online that sell for around $100. They are a popular option for new derby girls because they seem very affordable. These packages include: the Boxer, the Torq, the R3, the GT-50, Rock skates, etc.

Bear in mind that NONE of these products are appropriate for roller derby unless they get an immediate wheel upgrade. The wheels that come standard on these packages are hard, slippery, low quality Chinese-made wheels. They are NOT good enough for roller derby. Upgrading to derby appropriate wheels will cost you upwards of $60. These packages may not be as cheap as they first appear, but they are still a great option for new derby girls or refs, so long as you upgrade the wheels.

Benefits of starting with an entry level package:

• If you don’t stick it out in derby, you still have a decent pair of recreational skates and you aren’t out too much money.
• They tend to be really comfortable right out of the box. They are made of vinyl not leather and do not require the normal “breaking in” that leather boots require.
• You buy yourself some time to do some good research on higher end boots (and plates, etc.), try on other girls’ skates, and wait for the newest best technology.
• You end up with a pair of skates that you can turn into your outdoor recreational skates when you upgrade.

Vinyl entry level boots like these will not stretch out as they break in. They need to be comfortable right out of the box. For this reason, you should aim at sizing a little bit larger than with speed skates.

Derby is very hard on your skates. The expected lifespan of your boots is a maximum of about three years, if you take good care of them. Entry level vinyl boots will only last you a season or so. Keep this in mind when you formulate your budget.

Professional Speed Boots
Most serious derby girls will eventually upgrade to professional speed boots. Riedell makes a great line of speed boots: 125, 265, 595, 695, 911 etc. Speed boots are designed for performance and fit. They are light weight, allow better agility, better energy transfer and performance overall. It is extremely important to get speed boots that fit you properly. Unlike other types of boots, speed boots need to have a really snug fit in order to perform properly. They are usually made of high quality leather that will conform to the shape of your feet as you break them in, creating a snug slipper like fit that reduces foot slippage inside your skates.

Padding VS No Padding

You will notice that there are two types of “speed boots” on the market; those with padding and those without. One is not necessarily better than the other, it is simply a matter of personal preference.

No Padding
Traditional speed boots have no padding, they consist of a few layers of leather and/or man made materials. They are designed for optimal fit. You size them very tightly and as the skates break in, they stretch and conform to the shape of your feet, creating an amazing contoured fit. The breaking in process can be painful especially with boots made of more rigid material like the 595’s or 695’s.

Padding
Padded boots do not provide the same amazing fit as boots without padding but they tend to be more comfy right off the bat. They are often more rigid in general and provide more ankle support. The fit is more like a comfortable pair of running shoes.

Sizing

The fit of your skates will make ALL the difference in terms of how much you enjoy your skating experience. The easiest and best thing you can do is try on your team-mates’ skates.

In general, boots with padding have a more flexible range of fit than those without padding. Speed boots made of thin leather, with no padding, must fit as tightly as possible without causing pain. If there is a lot of extra space in your speed boot, you may as well be wearing a cheap, recreational boot because you will get no extra performance out of it.

Most skates are sized in Men’s sizes. In many cases, for example, a Men’s 6 fits as a Ladies 7, but for many skates a Men’s 6 fits as a Ladies 7.5 or even 8. Please feel free to call or email us to talk about skate sizing.

Before wearing your skates to practice, make SURE the fit is good – if you have any questions at all on the fit, you can call us and we can help you do some sizing tests over the phone.

RollerGirl.ca offers the best sizing guarantee in the industry. Please contact us for details.

Wheels

Hard wheels (higher durometer) tend to be faster but slipperier than soft wheels (lower durometer)

Big wheels (higher diameter) tend to be faster than small wheels (lower diameter) of the same hardness.

Narrow wheels tend to be faster than wide wheels of the same hardness and size, but they also tend to be slipperier.

The right speed wheel for your needs depends largely on the surface you'll be skating on but your skating style may also make a difference.

Before choosing your wheels, ask yourself these questions:

• Are my practices always indoors?
• Do I skate on a grippy or a slippery surface?
• What wheels do other girls in the league ride?
• Do I want to work on my skating skills outoors between practices ?

Which Speed Wheel?

Many beginners find that softer, grippier wheels are easier to control while learning to skate the track. Eventually, you can experiment with harder wheels, combinations of hard & soft wheels (a.k.a. pusher wheels), narrow wheels, etc. There are several good beginner speed wheels on the market: we like the Radar Flatouts and the Sure-Grip Fugitives.

Outdoor wheels?

Although there are a few wheels that can be used indoors & outdoors, most wheels are really only appropriate for one surface – indoor wheels get destroyed outside and do not absorb pavement vibrations very well, while outdoor wheels tend to feel sluggish and not very precise when used on an indoor surface.

If you want to skate both indoors and outdoors, we highly recommend getting separate sets of wheels for each environment. While it is certainly possible to switch your bearings out between your wheel sets, we also usually recommend getting bearings for each set of wheels so that you are less likely to damage them during removal and installation. Changing wheels is also much faster when they each have their own set of bearings.

Bearings

Bearings go inside your wheels and make your wheels roll. Each wheel takes two bearings – one pair of roller skates has 16 bearings.

ABEC Rating?

Some bearings are graded with an ABEC rating. For the most part the ABEC rating doesn’t affect how fast bearings are - it's more important that you buy from a good manufacturer - but the ABEC rating does give some indication of the bearing's quality and level of precision used in the manufacturing process.

In general, higher ABEC rated bearings from one manufacturer will be better than lower ABEC rated bearings from that same manufacturer. In other words, if you buy Sure-Grip ABEC 1’s they will be less smooth and have less roll-out than Sure-Grip ABEC 5’s or 7’s.

Quality & Brands

"Roll-out" is a term used to describe bearing performance (it is a relative term) – if a bearing has good "roll-out", it means that it'll allow you to roll farther with each strides. Good bearings feel faster and demand less effort to go the distance.

The generic Chinese bearings that sporting goods stores sell for inline skates are really inexpensive but they also tend to be of quite low quality.

Powell makes some of our favorite bearings. We find they last considerably longer than their competitors and they are reasonably affordable. China Bones REDS are popular bearings made by Powell, and they are fantastic! They are the most popular bearings used by derby girls because they are so affordable, long lasting and smooth. We find them better than some of their competitors that are twice the price.

Plates

There are a few categories of roller skate plates to consider for roller derby:

• Nylon - Powerdyne Nylon, Probe, Sunlite etc... ($30 - $75)
  Lightweight, affordable, decent performance, very durable (despite popular belief). Some are guaranteed for life by the manufacturer.
• Low end aluminum - Super X, Jogger, Marathon II etc... ($30 - $75)
  Very heavy, bad performance, cheap. These are not good for roller derby as they are too heavy and not repsonsive enough. They are only good for outdoor skating.
• Medium end aluminum - Dynapro Aluminum etc... (Around $100)
  Heavy, decent performance, but can still be very pricey. We don’t usually recommend these for roller derby unless you can get them for a really good price. The performance doesn’t match the price tag.
• High End Aluminum - Reactor, Powertrac, Roll-Line etc... ($200 and up)
  Light weight, terrific performance, very expensive but worth it if you have the money to spend. Good aluminum plates will provide better energy transfer (more power to the push) because they don’t flex like nylon plates. They also tend to be very responsive, offering better agility and movement on the track but not so high action that you get speed wobbles or feel squirelly on your skates.
  

Second-hand skates (what to look for, how to upgrade parts)

Your best bet for purchasing used skates for derby is to purchase them from a derby girl. Contact your local leagues and see if anyone is selling something in your size and will give you a good price. This way, you are likely to get a pair of skates that is actually good for derby, though you will probably pay more than you would for a pair at your local thrift store.

Almost all vintage skates, found on e-bay or at a thrift store, need to have their wheels and bearings upgraded before you can even try to use them for derby. Derby is played on a small track and a huge part of the game is about being agile and trying to stay in control at higher speeds. You MUST have good quality, grippy wheels to play roller derby. Unfortunately wheels that are good for roller derby are not cheap. Expect to pay at the very least $45 for new speed wheels, and $15 for new bearings. Keep this in mind when pricing out second-hand skates.

Hints on buying used skates

Look for:

• Good brand names: Sure-Grip, Riedell, Atlas, Roll-Line, Answer (Matter, Atom).
• Used speed boots: Riedell 265’s, 125’s, 695’s etc.
• Entry level padded short boots like: R3, Boxer, Rock, Torq. These will be cheap but be aware that they will also likely need wheel upgrades.
• Good fit and comfort. Don’t buy a pair of great boots that don’t fit you perfectly, or you will be throwing your money away.

Avoid:

• The following brands: Chicago, Rollerderby, Pacer.
• Running shoe style skates. This includes products like Skecher skates, Puma skates & the Jogger.
• High end artistic tall boots. Really terrific quality artistic tall boots are really bad for roller derby. The boots are simply too rigid to play derby in. If you want to play in tall boots look for soft supple leather or suede boots. High end artistic boots also tend to be mounted on extremely responsive plates which may be too responsive for roller derby and result in speed wobbles and overall lack of stability.
• Damaged or broken skates. Always carefully inspect used roller skates. Adjust the trucks, stoppers, wheel nuts etc. before you ride them. Replace any parts that are cracked, loose, broken or rusty.

Helmet

Choosing your Helmet:

A standard skate/skateboard helmet is the best choice for roller derby. They are lined with softer foam than bicycle helmets and are made for multiple impact use. Skateboard helmets also are designed to cover more of the back of your head which is ideal for the unexpected backwards falls that can happen in derby, especially while learning to skate.

Please do not ever buy a second-hand bicycle helmet. They are made for single-impact use and it can be hard to tell if a helmet has been damaged in a crash.

Borrowing or buying a second-hand skate helmet can be done at your own risk – make sure at the very least that there is no visible damage to the helmet.

Sizing your helmet:

Your helmet should fit snugly but not cut off circulation to your brain. All helmet brands fit slightly differently. We stock the S-One Trian helmets - which we especially like because they come with 2 liners so that you can change the size on them.  They come in Sm/Med or Lg/XLg.  If you think you have an average size head choose the Sm/Med, if you ever have trouble with hats/helmets fitting pick the Lg/Xlg.  

If you can, try on any skateboard or snowboard type helmet beforehand. This will help give you some idea of sizing. Pro-tec Classic helmets are also popular, but be advised that they fit smaller than S-One's.

Knee pads

Choosing your Knee Pads:

It is our opinion that special attention needs to be paid when selecting knee pads for roller derby. You fall on your knees ALL the time in roller derby, sometimes intentionally other times unexpectedly and often with a lot of force.

The cheap recreational-grade kneepads used for inline skating are NOT sufficient for roller derby.

Our advice is to get the best, cushiest pads you can afford and learn to skate with them from the very beginning. You will greatly extend your derby career and minimize the chances of knee injury (one of the most common injuries we see, besides bruises and fishnet burns)

Pro-tec Street, S-ONE, and Bullet vert pads offer sufficient protection for roller derby – but ONLY sufficient protection. These pads are perfect for: fresh meat who are just starting, girls on a budget, refs, and very tiny girls. If you are not one of these people (and even if you are), please consider better knee pads like the Rector Fatboys, 187s, etc.

Another feature to note: “strap on” vs, “slide on”:

• The slide-on variety of kneepads is fully closed in around the back, creating a kind of elastic sleeve, which tends to fit more securely.
• The strap-on type have more flexibility in the fit and are very convenient (you can put them on before OR after your skates!)
  

Sizing your Knee Pads:

In general, these tend to fit small. Getting the sizing right on knee pads is really important - the last thing you want is them to stop circulation to your feet if they are too small, or slipping off when you fall if they are too large. If you get a chance to try anyone's knee pads on before you order - please do! Also keep in mind that the elastic will stretch with use – a bit snug to start with is better than a bit loose. Here are some general guidelines:

Small pads: 90-129lbs with small knees
Medium pads:  130- 145lbs with medium size knees
Large pads: 146- 165lbs with medium/large knees
XLarge pads: Over 165lbs with big knees

Of course this will vary depending on your body type.

Elbow Pads

Choosing your Elbow Pads:

Elbow pads must fit. The degree of protection they offer is secondary to fit. It is unlikely that you will fall on your elbows very often, but if you do, your pads need to be in place to cushion the impact. We suggest that Protec, S-ONE and Bullet brand elbows are suitable for roller derby and you can certainly go up from there if you want added protection. Recreational-grade elbow pads (i.e. Rollerblade brand) can probably get you through fresh meat training, but we highly recommend something with a bit more padding that fits properly!

Sizing your Elbow Pads:

These generally fit LARGE. Usually, you will take a size down from what you think you are. If you have particularly skinny arms you might want to order the Bullet elbow pads - we carry a few of these because they fit skinnier girls much better than the Pro-Tec. Otherwise, Mediums fit most girls. Choose small if you have smaller than average elbows, and large if you have larger than average elbows.

Wrist Guards

Choosing your Wrist guards:

Wrist guards take a lot of abuse in roller derby – we fall on them, clap with them, wipe sweat off our cheeks with them, grab onto them when we receive “whips”, etc. We love the Pro-tec Wrist guards that have plastic inserts on the top and bottom of the hand for extra protection and which fit snugly and comfortably (as comfortable as wrist guards can be).

Sizing your Wrist guards:

Wrist guards fit pretty standard.

Small: Small ladies hands
Medium - Average ladies hands (fits most people)
Large - Quite large ladies hands

Mouthguard

These are your main choices with mouthguards:

Cheapie mouthguards

• Boil and bite, with a limited mail-in warranty which insures you for some dental expenses if something terrible should happen while you’re wearing it.
• Offers sufficient protection for starting out and/or light blocking drills.
• MAKE SURE YOU MAIL-IN YOUR WARRANTY!!! You are not automatically covered with these ones.
• They make great “spare” mouthguards because they are cheap – keep one in your skate bag just in case.

Gel mouthguards – i.e. Shock Doctor gel max.

• You are automatically insured when you wear one of these, up to a limited amount.
• They are boil and bite, but have a bit more to them than the cheapie mouthguards. We like ‘em!

Fitted sport guards – the ones your dentist makes.

• The most comfortable, best looking (and most expensive) option of the three.
• You can get these made in lots of nice colours!
• There is NO dental warranty associated with these – if you break your teeth while wearing one, you are responsible for all of your tooth-fixing costs!

A quick note about mouthguard colour – any of the boil and bite mouthguards make your upper lip stick out and make it hard to properly close your mouth. This makes you look a bit funny on the track (and in derby pictures). HOWEVER – if your mouthguard is an obvious colour (bright green, black, etc.) it will at least look like a mouthguard and make you look a bit more hardcore. If you have a huge honking mouthguard that is CLEAR-coloured, you run the risk of just looking ridiculous as it won't be obvious that you are wearing a mouthguard.

Protective Gear Maintenance

Take good care of your protective gear – clean it and get it stitched up or taped up if it gets ripped.

Some tips on keeping things fresh:

• Between washings, air your gear and skates out thoroughly.
• Don’t leave your gear bag in your trunk between practices!
• Wash your mouthguard when you brush your teeth, spray it with mouthguard disinfectant or use a mouthguard cleaning case.
• Stick dryer sheets in your gear bag.
• Keep a box of baking soda in your trunk.
• Spritz your gear with commercial anti-bacterial spray or diluted vodka (½ cheap vodka, ½ water) anytime you have 24 hours between skate sessions.

Everyone has their preferred method of washing gear. Do your washing once a month at least, or anytime it gets dank.

Here are two options:

The Gentle Way

• Hand-wash your gear in the bathtub with mild detergent, warm water and some baking soda.
• Rinse and repeat.
• Lay your gear outside (not in direct sunlight) to dry for 24 hours.

The Fast and Easy Way (but it breaks your gear down faster)

• Put your gear in a pillowcase, tie it up, and throw it in the washing machine with a mild detergent and cold or warm (not hot) water.
• Lay it flat outside to dry.

Do NOT put your gear in the dryer as the heat can deform and weaken the fibers and the plastic caps.

Even with the best care, protective gear is not immortal. Here are some general life expectancies:

Wrist guards: Expect to replace these once a year or every year and a half. The plastic bracing starts to wear through, the fabric exterior starts to wear through and after awhile, even a good wash doesn’t de-stink them.

Elbow pads: Depending on how hard you use them and how well you care for them, elbow pads can last two years or longer in derby. Wuhoo!

Knee pads: Expect to replace lower-end knee pads every 6 months to a year and a half. The elastic will stretch out to the point that they slide down your legs. Better pads can last two seasons or longer with lots of love.

Derby can get you in shape, but it is also a good idea to build your fitness base for roller derby. Here are some ideas to start with:

Cardiovascular Endurance:

• Include aerobic exercise 3-5 days a week, for 20-60 minutes.
• For awesome results and to bring your endurance up FAST, try high intensity intervals of 20 seconds to 2 minutes (the duration of a full-length jam), followed by 10 seconds to 3 minutes of recovery.
• Lisa (RollerGirl)’s favourite aerobic activities include jogging, aqua-cising and snowboarding.

Strength Training:

Lots of floor exercises for legs and abs can be done with your skates on for an extra challenge (to add resistance)!

Look these up online for help with form & technique:

• Squats (wall squats, plie squats, one-footed squats, squats on skates).
• Lunges (or "chicken-walking" as RollerGirl likes to call it!).
• Leg presses.
• Toe presses (calf raises).
• Toe pulls (very good for preventing shin splints!).
• Core work, as much as you can (make sure you offset ab work with back work).
• Don't neglect your upper body either, for balance

Stretching:

Do it every day if you can, and definitely take one day a week off of training to recover, or more if you're just starting. Also, of course, take any injuries or medical conditions into account and ask your doctor if you have any concerns.

This is your superhero name! What do you want your fans to be chanting from the stands?!? What do you want to use to make clever slogans on your panties??!? How are you going to inspire fear in your opponents or confidence from your team-mates?!

A derivative of your own name might be a good place to start for some ideas...BUT you might also want to keep a critical distance between your "real" self and your "derby" self. You may find it easier to pick a name that does NOT reflect or represent your non-derby self too closely. Do you really want everyone just calling you by your real name on the track?

Before you settle on a name, try on a bunch of different ones first: you're gonna be stuck with whatever you decide on!

Here are some ideas for brainstorming:

1) Creating a "persona"

Pick a quality about you that you'd like to emphasize:

• Physical: hair colour, height, flexible, cute, strong, etc.
• Emotional: angry, loving, scary, modest, moody, earthy.
• Other: i.e. nationality, hobbies, music, etc.

Pick a quality that you want to have:

• Speed, agility, sexiness, bravery, poise, strong hits, etc.

2) Association

Think of words that are associated with the qualities mentioned above, or completely different words that you like and which sound cool:

Associated words:

• Amazonian, chastity, terror, lunar, country, brunette, etc.

Random cool objects and adjectives:

• Turquoise, whisky, alpine, garter, sparkles, panther, mango, lipstick, Tokyo, etc.

3)  Mix it up

Combine all your cool words in as many interesting ways as you can, and try them all on.

• Any good puns or plays on words?
• Anything that sounds like a celebrity name?

4) Final Considerations

Lastly, consider the following:

• What will you be called for short?
• How will your derby name interact with your derby # and position?
• Your audience (i.e. are you cool with your five year old brother cheering for "Chesty McPanty-less"?)

5) Most importantly, pick a name that inspires you (and isn’t on this list: http://www.twoevils.org/rollergirls/)