RollerCon 2011

MISCELLANEOUS

• 4 tracks and a huge off-skates room 
• A gigantic hotel in which you can get lost just like that (tested and approved) 
• Waiting lines to get tickets to attend workshops 
• Over-secured check-in – too bad for you if you don’t gather on time your ID, your RC pass, your Workshop ticket and your RC sticker on the left side of your helmet 
• Stickers, badges, goodies a go-go 
• A crowd of rollergirls AND rollerboys from all over the world 
• Tons of love, tons of flashy “lift-n-separate” short pants, and tons of workshops’n scrimmages all day long

The experience was very instructive, attending such a huge event, observing the organization, remembering tips and drills of the workshops I took, meeting people I didn’t know, meeting others I knew and I hadn’t seen in a while. I was there only for two days, but I tried to enjoy these 48 hrs as much as possible.

RollerCon 2011 (July 27-31)

Riviera Hotel

Las Vegas, Nevada

WORKSHOPS

I went to 3 on-skate classes and 2 off-skates.

I liked Quadzilla’s on-skates best, probably because this guy is an all-rounded skater, not just a derby player. Some of his skating technique tips adapted to Derby in his “Is a bird ‘showing’ off when it flies?” and “Spin to Win” classes piqued my curiosity, and I’m going to work on them. Lulu Lockjaw’s “Grasshopper Jamming” class was less exciting for me because her techniques don’t match my skating in general, but still it was well run and must have been extremely interesting for toe-stops lovers (which I’m not at all – but this is a question of tastes).

http://www.rollercon.net/

As for Mercy’s off-skate, I’d say the other way around: the content was interesting with lots of varied exercises both individual and interactive, but the 1h-class was 100% focused on thigh building-up, not varied enough and it turned into a free thigh slaughter, which I don’t think she realized (or then she knew it too well) because she didn’t do the drills with us. Hopefully, there was a “Derbyoga” class following to stretch. Seriously, I’ve got powerful thighs and she just killed me, I can hardly walk. I just don’t want to know how bad the others are today.

My legs hurt to this point only two times in my life: First time was before the international Beijing Slalom Open when I had to jog on the Great Wall of China because we started our tour a bit late and we were afraid that the doors would be closed ; Second time was the day before the Freestyle Slalom Skating European Championships in Moscow, when I did a stupid but awesome trampoline session. Hardcore, told you.

REGRETS

I’m quite satisfied for the sports part, but a bit frustrated as for partying:

I could stay only two days – remember that we were meant to play against the Berlin Bombshells on Saturday… And I was jetlagged because I didn’t try to adapt to local time, not fighting tiredness in the early evening and getting up at 5AM… on purpose so that I would still be a bit human and not totally zombified on the track on D-Day. Damn!

If I had known, I would have certainly partied a bit more… and I would have taken part in the open scrimmages. I was dying to do one, but they were scheduled “too late” in the evening (9PM) and I wouldn’t risk getting hurt out of tiredness 2 days before the bout. This is my biggest regret of the trip, far bigger than the party stuff.