Freestyle Face-Lift

Having been sick for more than a week, I had no other option than staying at home, geeking. I invested the huge amount of time and the small amount of energy I had to fully reorganized my freestyle skating website. I had not touched it much since I had stopped freestyle, and the two-year hindsight was of great help to filter and classify the information.

At first I had started it for myself to list all the events I took part in, all my rankings and all the nice pictures and videos of successful competition performances. I am glad I did so: tidying it up brought me back into a passed chapter to which I willingly surrendered... and I relived fragments of it, with a nostalgic smile that would not leave the corner of my lips.

West Track Story 2013

One year after "4 Matchs et 1 Entraînement", the tournament concept of the Nantes Derby Girls evolves into "West Track Story". Bigger, better, harder, stronger.

The Parisian Quedalles (our B-Team) and the Duchesses of Nantes have reenlisted this year too. The players of the capital are ready to fight for the title they won last year.

Two European teams have made the trip to complete the casting: The Belgian Brussels Derby Pixies and the English Birmingham Blitz Dames.

Key-words: show and performance!

The event took place on Saturday March, 9th from 12AM to 10PM, an afternoon during which four bouts were going to follow one another.

BIRMINGHAM BLITZ DAMES : 181 // 97 : DUCHESSES OF NANTES

• The Parisians were not playing the first game so that they could have a look at their potential future opponents, Nantes and Birmingham. The latters, whose captain Violet Attack was in Team England 2011, imposed their style -- and their strong built -- right away, leaving no chance to the Duchesses despite their determination.

In the meantime, the Quedalles were busy fixing unfortunate mishaps: a lost mouthguard replaced by a team-mate's spare one, molded at the last minute thanks to the kettle of the food stand, or a broken plate and a desperate seach for substitute skates in size 36, amongst other stressing surprises. Routine, right?

I'm short... So what?

Credit: Carole Dodeman for Contra Records

This weekend again...

"Wow this is the first time I see you for real and without skates. It's quite a shock, I mean... you--you're short!" 

FML.

Just as my high-school French teacher used to say (we have the same condition): "I'm not short, I'm condensed."

Dude, why d'ya think I started skating if not to gain centimeters?

Paris Vs. Toulouse: You say Revenge, we say Die!

Paris RollerGirls All-Stars (153-117) Nothing Toulouse
March 2nd, 2013 / Paris.

Paris, Bercy was the place to be on that Saturday, March 2nd. It held the long-awaited and not-to-be-missed French derby event of the 2013 season: The rematch of the Paris RollerGirls All Star and the Nothing Toulouse!

The first meeting dated from July 2011 and had witnessed a crushing double victory of the Parisians during the French Connection I tournament, gathering the three pioneer-leagues of Paris, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

But the French landscape has evolved a lot since then and, earlier this season, Paris was challenged by Toulouse to organize the meeting that would put back the French crown in play.

There is no official French cup (yet) and the so-called title comes from a general assessment only. Yet, it was a matter of honor and Paris took up the challenge to prove who the bosses are!

Our All Star game against Windsor two weeks before had been very welcome for us to experience a first bout under the new rules set and adapt to it. In between, we had the time to analyse and correct our main mistakes -- especially slow reformings of the pack, which irremediably led to out of plays or failures to reform... and to decimated packs and players waiting in line to serve their box sentences...