Our next featured skater comes to you from the Lake Effect Furies and to know her is to love her. She’s one of the most fun loving and friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Always smiling, she’ll make friends with you while lining up against you on the jammer line just as easily as she would at an after party. But when she hears the NSO say “FIVE SECONDS” and that whistle blows you’d better believe she’s all business. She’s #666 inSINerator.
Are you from here?
Yeah I grew up in Kenmore and went to St. Joe’s Collegiate Inst. I’m a very happy transgendered person. I went to an all boy’s school and we have a reunion coming up. So it’s definitely going to be interesting to see everyone now that my transition is complete.
How did you get into derby?
Well I work with a former league member Abercrombie & Fists (of the Nickel City Knockouts). I was in the beginning of my gender transition and she said that I should come watch her play. Like everyone else I thought “Oh roller derby like from the 70’s with elbows and kicks from behind”. She explained to me that it’s not like that “it’s a real sport”. I took my daughter to see the Knockouts vs the Saucies and we were both hooked. I knew as soon as I completed my transition I wanted to play. My daughter joined the QCJRG. She played for 2 years. I was lucky enough to get to watch her play before I was able to join the QCRG.
I know you’re working with the Jr’s this season. How did you get involved with that?
I knew a lot of them from when my daughter played. I would go and help here and there at practice. Last year they asked if I would like to come in as their practice coach to help out Roxanne and Punk. Unfortunately, they both had to bow out in the beginning of the season. So I found myself as the coach and I absolutely love it. All of the girls are awesome. We started with only 7 level 3 skaters in the beginning of the season and we’ve grown. We have enough to bout and be competitive
Do you have any sports background?
Oh yeah. I played football, baseball, soccer, track. You know I kind of did it all. I played hockey the longest. When I started boot camp I didn’t know how to roller skate. I really look up to Librawlian and she also has a background in hockey. I remember asking her what the transition was between ice skates and roller skates and she said “Well you just run into a wall when you have to stop”.
Do you do any off skates?
Uhmmm I really should be better at it. Over the summer a few of us did some off skates training and I could really see the improvement in my game play. I’m planning to recommit some time 3 times a week to get back to that training because it really is important. As a jammer I definitely want to focus on my aerobic conditioning and endurance.
What are your goals for this season?
My personal goal is to get better as a jammer. To really listen to my teammates and let them help me on the track. I have a bad habit of trying to stand alone and that can use up a lot of energy. Its just wasting it. This is a team sport. Of course our team goal is to get back to D1. We came in at 9th and ended it in 8th last year. So we really want to end D1 higher than 8th.
You’ve been able to play in both D2 and the D1 playoffs. How was that?
D2 playoffs were great. We were happy to be there. But D1. That was surreal. I went in like normal at first. But during the time that we got to try out the track before our first bout was when it clicked. I looked just as Bonnie Thunders (Gotham, Team USA) skates by. Next thing I know Sexy Slaydie (Gotham, Team USA) and OMG WTF (Gotham, Team USA) fly by. That’s when it really hit me; “Oh my God Gotham is on the track and we might actually get to play them”. It was once of those “pinch yourself” moments. Then go figure we beat Toronto and actually did get to play Gotham. They killed us but it was a great learning experience. Watching them prepare for bouts. The level of focus they have. If it’s a team they can easily beat or some that’s comparable to them… It doesn’t matter. They put the pedal to the metal and go at 115% until the last whistle. That’s what we took away and that’s how we’ve approached things this season.
