Help Get Lady Trample to Texas

Its been a long few weeks of training. In the build up to TGSS the All Scars trainings increased and we were focusing on strong walls alongside me leading Jammer trainings for our 5 jammers. 

We made it over to Adelaide just after my 23rd birthday and first thing on Day 1 of the tournament we were on the track against our new rivals Paradise City Roller Derby. Unfortunately we lost Muss within the first 10 seconds of the first jam to a dislocated finger and Sugar was taken out for a brief period with a bleeding nose. We had a rough first half but managed to draw the points closer in the second half ending on a final score of 171-108 with PCRD taking the win. 

We had a few hours to rest/recoup and come up with a game plan for the second game. This match was against Northern River Roller Derby, a team we had no idea about (its scarier going in blind). Luckily the Pirates had their game faces on this time round and we took out the game with a score of 170-73. 

We had our fingers crossed hoping to get through to the next round on points differential but the gap wasn't quite enough. 

That didn't mean the week went to waste. We watched a bucket load of derby for the next two days and absorbed all sorts of strategy for future bouts. 

I also took advantage of the time to meet some new skaters, make friends and go ramp skating. I was lucky enough to be invited to Disco Stewarts indoor ramp on the first night and had a fun filled evening of bounding moves round with some incredible skaters. 

Over the next few days I ventured out to several skate parks alone and with the crew and made massive improvements to my aggressive skating style, including adding grind blocks to my skates (they will be removed for tournaments). 

A weekend of inspiration all round. Next up is this weekends Team NZ training in Wellington. I'm looking forwards to getting together with my favourite NZ skaters and pushing my training to the limits. 

xx Trample

Thanks again to everyone who pledged, the t-shirts, singlets and hoodies have been posted out over the weekend. New Zealanders you should recieve yours over the next 3-5 working days and internationals 3-4 weeks. Please send me pictures when you get your shirts, at skate parks if possible!

Those with prints will be recieving them in the next 2-3 weeks. 

I am 2/3 of the way through the commissioned illustrations and having lots of fun with it. 

Below is two of the illustrations I was asked to do, one of a skater names Foxy Pop and another requested of myself, Lady Trample.

Asides from this I have been training hard with my team the All Scars in preperation for The Great Southern Slam tournament which is happening over the 7th-9th June in Adelaide. Pirate City Rollers will be representing New Zealand alongside ARDL and RCRD in Division One alongside a variety of extremely talenting Aussie teams. Our first game is 9am on the 7th against Paradise City Roller Derby who we played just under one month ago. The Pirates are determined to take the win this time round. 

For more information on the tournament go to the below link.

http://greatsouthernslam.com.au/

This weekend, myself and 4 of my best girls (aka some of the top skaters in the country - TutanKarnage, Coup d'eTalia, Sugar Hit and Machete Confetti) attended the SUR5AL tournament. We woke up at 3am to drive down to Levin for the Sur5al tournament. Arriving 5 minutes before our first jam we geared up and jumped on the track eager for a day of fun. 

Over the day we played one single 2 minute jam against 16 teams from around the country. Each team played once and Lead Jammer recieved 1 point and the team with the most points in each jam recieved 5 points. 

We won each of our games and got Lead Jammer every time giving us a perfect score of 96 (6+6+6+6 and so on) and took out the tournament undefeated!
It was an awesome day, great diversity in levels and each team brought its own style and strenght to the track. Some of our favourite teams were The Gimpsons (they wore bright yellow gimp suits), Team XY (a mens team), The Shutter-Ups (Palmy ladies), Ghost Chix and Smackatane.

The tournament was not only a lot of fun but it was a great opportunity to practise endurance as all jams lasted the full 2 minutes. I also got some defence and offense practise when I jumped in the pack which was great fun. 

I will definitely be attending the next tournament with my lovely and fearsome Otters. 

Again a huge thanks to everyone who helped me reach my goal! Out of the $2750 raised there will be over $2000 left towards my travel costs and training costs this year! Quite a large chunk out of the estimated $6000 I will need this year!

For those of you who pledged for Chicks in Bowls sticker - they should be with you shortly if not already.

For those of you waiting on merchandise, they are being printed as we speak so should be coming out your ways in the next few weeks. Reminder that all postage will not be signed or tracked so if you have any concerns please message me to arrange other options ([email protected])

Those of you who ordered commissions, I am 2/3 of the way through them and having a great time!

See below for some of the ones I have completed...

On top of this I have also been busy training. I am currently still the top female in my Mac 10 workout class, training hard to try and overtake a few more of the boys and still rooting for Team Ginger vs The World!

My team the All Scars (Pirate City Rollers), went down to Wellington last weekend to compete in a triple header bout. We played against Wellingtons RCRD All Stars first loosing the game in the last jam by 5 points, 204-209. It was a tough, rough game that was tight to the end. It must have been exciting for the crowd cause it certainly was on the track. 
Very shortly after that game ended we found ourselves back on the track up against the Gold Coasts PCRD All Stars. This was another rough game. PCR found ourselves at a loss for the first chuck of the game with a score similar to 50-130 at half time. We managed to climb back up and close the gap but still loosing out with a final score of 197-153. Both games were an emmense amount of fun and I learnt a lot about myself and my team during the two bouts. We face off against Paradise for our first game at The Great Southern Slam tournament in June. I look forwards to seeing what changes between now and then.

This weekend I am playing a different kind of derby, traveling down the line to play in a flash tournament called Sur5al. My team is called Otter Annihilation and I had great fun doing the logo for it! The rules are the same except you have 5 players per team, you play each team only once for 2 minutes (no call offs). Three extra points are awarded for Lead Jammer. Its going to be a blast. 

Wow its going to be a busy few weeks, flying to Wellington on Saturday to play Richter City Roller Derby and Paradise City Roller Derby. If your Wellington based come check out the action!. Then next weekend is the Sur5ival tournament down the line. A week or two to focus on training again and then I'm off to The Great Southern Slam and TGSSSS - Great Southern Slam Skatepark Showdown in Adelaide. And not even a week after I get back from that I'm off again to the next Roller Derby Team New Zealand training in Wellington. 

No rest for the wicked indeed. 

I had a great training last night, I was jamming on a two rotation for over an hour and had a high lead jammer success rate and even got a good few power jams in - this is all in preperation for the two games we play back to back on Saturday. 

I'm still currently the top ranked female on the Mac10 leader boards, which will be coming to an end soon. Definiely going to join the next cycle of these - such a great way to keep fit and motivated off skates. 

For those of you waiting for your pledge rewards you should have gotten an email from me confirming details. If you haven't yet recieved it please email me at [email protected]

I am hoping to get shirts printed and sent in the next few weeks, same goes for hoodies and singlets. 

Those with prints and stickers it will be a lot quicker and for those for of you with commissions I have already started on the first few. 

Thanks again for your support 

I hope to continue doing you all proud and working towards getting my name on that final line up. 

This weekend was the first Auckland based Team NZ training and I had a blast. I had a few of the girls staying at mine which made for great strategy discussions and team bonding. 

The first day was mostly skills based with a few tactics thrown in the mix. We also had our two scrimmages on the Saturday which were both challenging and enjoyable. We played only against each other this time and both games were tight from the get go. The games were fast, there was lots of communication from both teams and strategies were starting to get used which is great for a team that's only met 3 times this year. 

Sundays training was also great. We started on off skates doing a great Fia Fasi Oe? warm up. We then moved into the beep test. Approximately 8 of us were still going strong when the CD player crapped out at level 7. It was a shame but we felt like we would have kicked its arse anyway. We then spend the rest of the morning focusing on different strategies and counter strategies and finally we wound down in an exhausting minute on skate session in which you lap as many times as you can in a minute, rest for one then go back on. Repeat 7 times and then fall into a heap on the track. We then went back to my place to watch an overseas derby tournament called The Big O. 

Next on my agenda is the double header we're playing in Wellington this coming weekend. If your around my team the Pirate City Rollers All Scars' will be playing against Wellingtons All Stars at 3pm on Saturday closed followed by a game against Paradise City (Gold Coast) at 5pm. We will also be playing against Paradise City at the TGSS tournament in June so this will be a great warm up game to test the waters.

http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=ROLLERDA14 

Wow. 

I'm so overwhelmed with the support I have received from family, friends and fans alike. Its been great seeing so many names I know, and even more excitingly don't know appear on my Pledge list. 

I reached by goal over 30 hours away from pledging and with an hour left on the clock I am sitting at $2750.00 which is so very much appreciated. 

To those of you who purchased Chicks in Bowls Apparel. I will be contacting you as soon as Pledgeme gives me your details to find out preferred Sizing for singlet's, t-shirts and hoodies. This will be delivered by hand wherever possible. If you know you won't be seeing me any time before June please supply a postal address and I will advise you if there will be any courier costs depending on locations.  

Those who ordered Prints or Stickers. All I will require is a delivery address. These should only take 2-3 days to arrive.

To those who have selected a Skater Caricature once I have contacted you please provide me with any reference pictures, inspiration shots, required photographs, dimensions, and other specifications. 

Note the $50 only covers a black outline illustration. Its between $80-$100 for full colour depending on the desired outcome. Think about this when writing your design ideas. It will take me a few weeks to get these all out to you so please be patient, and do advise me if yours is for an up coming event i.e., birthday etc and I can prioritize. Otherwise have fun with it, I know I will!

Again, huge thanks to everyone who pledged I promise I will give it my all to make the final Team NZ line up and do my best to do the country proud granted I make it onto that Texan soil.

Love and Bruises

Lady Trample 

The Team NZ skaters get together monthly and spend the weekend training strategy, skills and team work. At the end of the first day we are split into teams and play off against each other. 

This months boot camp is being held this Saturday 3rd May in Glenfield, Auckland at a venue named ActivZone (just down from the Glenfield Mall on Downing Street).

The first game will start at 3:20pm and a second game will be held at 5:20pm

$10 Koha on the door to help fundraise to get the team to Texas in December for the (Blood & Thunder) Roller Derby World Cup!

Wow. I've just gotten back from a three day Roller Derby camp called the Low Down Derby Throw Down. 
We were lucky enough to be taught by two of the top skaters from America (On Team USA), Smarty Pants and Jackie Daniels. Both coaches are extremely talented and passionate about the sport and had a lot to offer on and off the track. Over the weekend I've been working on everything from footwork and agility, to pushing as a jammer and offensive and defensive strategies. 

I played in 3 fun games over the weekend (Young vs Old - us young-ins took the win), (Straights vs Queers - us straights took the game) and (North island vs South island - us northies took the win). 

I was also chosen for the All Star game which is the headlining bout of the weekend. Alongside a talented line up of NZ skaters we had the pleasure of having Smarty Pants on our black team - which also meant I had the challenge of skating against Jackie Daniels. The bout was incredible. Tough strategy and hard hits coming from both sides but in the end our team took out victory.

Next up for me is a double header bout with us playing against our rivals from Wellington, the Richter City All Star, following that we will be playing against Paradise City (a team from Australia) who promise to make for a challenging match up. If your in Wellington on May 10th get along to experience a night of derby you won't want to forget. 

I've just got back from the second Team NZ training. Long story short - it was amazing. 
There are so many talented ladies in this training squad and its an honour to skate along side them. 

We had two scrimmages over the weekend, the first being a feirce match up between evenly split Team NZ squad. Team White took it out in the end by a margin of about 40 points. The second game was against a mixture of skaters from around the North island. This game gave an opportunity for us to see how we go against the unexpected. We came out victorious with a score along the lines of 88-402. 

A few hours before I left for the training weekend in Palmerston North I met up with a photographer friend of mine who's been working on some Chicks in Bowls footage. We managed to wrap up a teaser [attached above]. Check it out to see what I do when I'm not training on the track.

 I have lots of derby to look forwards to with Low Down Derby Throw Down this coming weekend [a 3 day Roller Derby bootcamp with incredible skaters coaching, coming all the way from Texas!]

Will post another update after the bouts and trainings next weekend. 

Love and Bruises
Lady Trample

Pirate City Rollers were lucky enough to have 3News come along to our game on Saturday and we made it to the Sports section of Tuesdays news. This is very exciting for Roller Derby as its the first step to it being taken seriously as a sport by NZ. The main reason they were following us as it was the first ever fully sanctioned bout in NZ. Both Pirate City Rollers and Richter City Roller Derby have been enducted into the WFTDA [Womans Flat Track Derby Association] for more information visit wftda.com

If you missed the news last night here is the link to the article.

I was lucky enough to be featured jamming towards the end and got a special mention as one of PCR's star jammers alongside the likes of Skate The Muss!

http://www.3news.co.nz/Kiwi-roller-derby-enters-world-rankings/tabid/317/articleID/339318/Default.aspx

Also attached clip is a little snippet of some promotional material myself and the league have been working on. Stay tuned for more as this is just the tip of the iceburg. 

I have been up to my knees in training recently. 

Not only the 3 x 2-4 hour skate trainings a week but also going for 3km runs twice weekly, and doing a crossfit endurance and strenght building trainings with the All Out Health crew. I am currently the top female on the leader board for these workouts and am pushing myself each week to get stronger and fitter for the World Cup.

This weekend just past my team and I played against Wellington's Richter City All Stars [previously the only NZ team to ever beat the Pirates]. It was a tough battle on the track but in the end Pirates came out victorious with a final score of 230-164.

This coming weekend I am heading of to Palmerston North for the second Team NZ training camp.

The following weekend I will be of to Wanganui for a 3 day intensive Roller Derby training camp with talented American skaters Smarty Pants and Jackie Daniels.

Other games/tournaments I have coming up are:

10th May - PCR vs RCRD [rematch], followed by PCR vs PRD

17th May - Sur5val knockout tournament with my team Otter Annihilation

7th-9th June - The Great Southern Slam tournament in Adelaide

Thanks for your support!

I hope I am doing you all proud as I continue on my journey to make it on the Team NZ squad. 

On the weekend just past, Pirate City Rollers kicked off their 2014 travel season with a match against one of the South Island's toughest leagues, the DD - Dunedin Derby Gallow Lasses!

The two sides had never played each other in NZ roller derby history. 
The Pirates came out victorious with a final score 377-91 


Come check out the next game this Saturday as the Pirate City Rollers' All Scars, are set to face-off against Wellington's Richter City Roller Derby's All Stars, the only New Zealand team to ever beat PCR on the track. 

For tickets go to http://www.ticketdirect.co.nz/event/d...

PIRATE CITY ROLLERS
Defy Expectation

Tough team is ready to roll:

I was lucky enough to be featured in this weeks Western Leader alongside Sick Puppy and Skate The Muss. If your not a local out west you can check out the article at the below link!

http://westernleader.realviewdigital.com/?email-analytics=Western+Leader#folio=14

I have been trying to find good ways of expanding my excersize regiem to outside of Roller Derby and roller skating. 

Luckily some friends run a course called All Out Health - Mac 10

There are 15 people competing, each week we complete a series of intensive fitness and strenght based activities, our totals are kept and there is a running score board. This time round its Girls vs Boys and so far we have been putting up a good fight! 

This has and is a great opportunity for me to expand my fitness outside of skating and the competitive edge helps me stay focuses and deterimined. 

As a part of the course we are required to set goals for the year, here are mine.

1. What is your goal for 2014?

Faster, stronger and more agile. I want to tone up and slim down to make it easier to slip through gaps when jamming

2. What is your exercise strength? I'm naturally strong but my endurance needs work

3. What is your exercise kryptonite? Running and burpees

4. Why are the girls team going to beat the guys? Because females are more detirmeind! But secretly I'm rooting for team ginger

To find out more go to the below link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/656962531034655/

Team NZ have completed their first training. It was great getting to mix in and mesh with so many talented skaters from accross the country. Check out some pictures from the practise games we played. 

https://www.facebook.com/geexquadfoto

I've been getting out to the parks alot recently trying to expand my skating abiltiy. 

Also managed to get my hands on some footage from a few games I've played over the last few years.