The Skully Award, May 2017

SFV Roller Derby would be nothing without our hardworking officials, both our onskates Referees and our dedicated Non-Skating Officials. Throughout the year, the Training Team would like to honor an official in recognition of their contribution to the league. 


Honoring STOCKHOLM SYNDI

Photo by ConJobb Photos

How did you decide on your derby name? What does it mean to you?
I chose Stockholm Syndi, derived from Stockholm Syndrome, because my favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast. Over time, the name became more fitting. In essence, I joined a sport that's rough on my mind, body, and soul, but here I am, still rollin' and still in love almost four and half years later.  

Plus, the first occurrence of Stockholm Syndrome happened in 1973 during a 6-day bank heist from August 23 to August 28. August 23 just so happens to be my birthday!

How did you get started as a roller derby official? 
I started officiating derby around two years ago, first starting as an NSO and then moving into on skates reffing at scrimmages. Officiating helped me to become a smarter skater, to learn the rules better, and it helps my league out. We all know how short-handed we are on officials — especially being one of many leagues in Southern California!

Who inspires you, both on and off the track?
My boyfriend-slash-bigger half, Refael. He inspires me to be a stronger skater, smarter referee, and an all-around decent person. I always ask him all kinds of rules questions whether we're at practice, driving around, or at dinner. He's always there for his fellow officials, whether it's for help at another game or giving them tips on how to become better at what they do. Plus, he doesn’t give me a break when I’m playing. He calls me on most, if not all, of my penalties!

What's something you wish all skaters realized?
In the end, officials are human beings who deserve respect, even if you don't agree with them. And we need them to keep playing this sport. 

When you're not on the track, where can we find you?
Sleeping.

May 2017 Skater of the Month


HAVANA CLUBYA
#98

Tell us about your name
I'm first generation Cuban and wanted to pay homage to my heritage. Havana Club is the national rum of Cuba and La Giraldilla is plastered on every bottle, bus, and newspaper in Cuba. It's even permanently inked on my arm! 

What position do you play? What are your derby goals?
Blocker. The only goal I have is to hit people. 

What inspires you on the track?
Bruises are the only inspiration I need. 

What is your favorite derby memory?
I have a permanent memory burn from when Krissy Krash gave me a peg-assist off the jam line in a scrimmage. The pack watches in awe as I glided to new heights. I believed I could have touched the sky.  I think about it every night and day. Oh, to spread my wings and fly away again.

April 2017 Skater of the Month

Tell us about your name.
As a kid, I thought Icebox from The Little Giants was really cool.

What position do you play?
I'm a blocker who jams here and there, but I try to be an all-around solid skater. As a blocker, I want the be that pain in the ass that you just can't push around. As a jammer, I want mad footwork skills where I'm slick and agile!

Who inspires you on the track?
My First Date trainer Buckingham Malice inspired me to get into "derby shape". My starter pack -- Meow, Slick, Ritz, Cleaver, Venus, Fudge, and Fury -- we started together and we keep each other going! And I love my Bandits, especially Captain PhDiabla.

What is your favorite derby memory?
In the last Bandits bout, I was the jamming for the last jam of the night. One of the Valkyrie blockers hit me out but got a forearm penalty, so I immediately jumped back on the track and pushed through the pack. Then there was some confusion -- I got called on a cut but the ref realized he made the wrong call and waved me back on the track, then my entire bench started yelling at me to re-enter legally! Talk about going out with a bang! #pewpew

ICEBOXX #2326

March 2017 Skater of the Month

Photo by Tough Girls on Eight Wheels

KAT VON REAP #607

Tell us about your name.
My nickname has always been Kat and I wanted to incorpoate part of my real name within my derby persona. I'm inspired by the tattoo artist Kat Von D and Reap comes from the Grimm Reaper.

What are your derby goals?
I'm primarily a jammer and I want to become more agile and powerful. I know I have a long way to go, but I'm willing to work! I see these awesome jammers with their fancy footwork, and I'm like "Okay! That's what I want to look like on the track on day!".

What inspires you on the track?
Every time I go to practice or watch a game, someone always does something that inspires me. It can be anywhere from someone getting their 27/5 for the first time to a seasoned skater nailing a crazy apex jump. Each time I see something like that, I'm thankful I got to witness it.


What is your favorite derby memory?
Last November, the Reseda Wreckers were playing against the Balboa Bandits. It was the last jam of the night, I was on the line, and the Wreckers were down by a couple of points. But my team held back the Bandits' jammer and I snuck through the pack -- we ended up winning by three points!! That was such an adrenaline rush since it was the Wreckers' first win as a new team

The Skully Award, February 2017

SFV Roller Derby would be nothing without our hardworking officials, both our onskates Referees and our dedicated Non-Skating Officials. Throughout the year, the Training Team would like to honor an official in recognition of their contribution to the league. 


Honoring TRIPLE D-STRUCTOR

How did you decide on your derby name? 
It’s no secret that my “personalities” [gestures to my chest] are large. For a while, I was embarrassed by my twins, Olga and Holga. But as I got older I felt empowered to embrace all of me, even if they create a few back issues.

How did you get started as a roller derby official?
I knew I wanted to join the derby community, but I didn’t really know about officiating. A light bulb went off as I began to learn the rules. There’s a lot to learn and analyze, but I am very much up to the challenge. 

Who is your derby inspiration?
I’m going to have to say my lovely cousin, HardLee Ann Angel. She has taken on a lot of responsibilities recently, within the league and in her personal life, and she basically just grabs life by the horns and takes it for a ride.

What's your spirit animal? Why?
It’s obviously a zebra! 

What's something you wish all skaters knew?
Reffing is difficult. As officials, we need to see everybody’s movements and then determine the legality of it all, which comes from understanding the rule set. Now, I’m not saying that I want everyone to ref, but it would definitely be nice if all skaters took some time to read the rules. 

What’s the best part of being an official?
I make it a point to be at scrimmages with freshly-cleared skaters. You get to see the gears turn as they start putting together what they learned in training and begin to apply it to gameplay. Yes, there are a lot of penalties, but a few weeks down the road you see an almost unrecognizable skater. They give all of themselves on the track. That makes me want be a better official.

When you're not on the track, where can we find you?
You can find me singing as a part of the West Coast Singers, hanging out with family, or just snuggling up at home with my boxer, Ginger.   

February 2017 Skater of the Month

Tell us about your name.
The dragon is my spirit animal, a reminder that I am stronger than I think I am. I love anything that has to do with flight and I can definitely spit fire if I want! Naming myself after a Night Fury, a very unique and powerful dragon, also speaks to my love for movies and children (I’m a teacher and a mom). 

What position do you play? 
Blocker. I am strong in a wall and I love how we have to depend on each other to kill the dreams of the jammer! I still feel I have a lot to learn about the amazing sport, but each practice helps me feel a little stronger. I’m challenged to be a better skater and a better teammate because of the people in this league. 

What are your derby goals?
A huge goal of mine is to be seen as a force to be reckoned with. I want to be good enough that others are nervous when I'm in the pack.

Who inspires you on the track?
Killo may have high expectations, but she pushes you and makes you feel like you can do anything if you work hard enough. And Moose has given me the path toward extreme blocking skills and helps get me out of my head to just enjoy the game of derby. 

What is your favorite derby memory?
The home team tournament a couple of months ago! It was my first home team game with the amazing Topanga Maulrats. At one point, I found myself in front of Kat Von Reap and actually containing her. It was great because I could feel myself improving with each passing game. It was terrifying and exhilarating to play with the OMGs and everyone else in the league — and the best part was the Maulrats won!

I AM stronger than I thought I was. I CAN be a member of a team. I CAN lift others up too and make a difference. I am still growing, but I will never regret trying out this crazy sport. I will never quit.

NIGHT FURY #76

January 2017 Skater of the Month

KIM NOVAKAINE
#3632

Tell us about your name
I’m a sucker for Alfred Hitchcock movies. When I joined SFV, I was six weeks postpartum, so I wanted a name to involve an amazing leading lady and evoke the thought of pain.  I was hoping my hits would leave my opponents begging for some pain relievers!

What position do you play?
Blocker all day! Blocking has truly allowed me to embrace my strength (and my thunder thighs). I've never, even at my thinnest, loved my body as much as I do now. Derby has helped me so much to be in a better place mentally. I’m a work in progress, but I'm starting to see myself as an athlete! 

PHOTO BY TRISTAN KING

Who do you look to for inspiration?
I’ve worked with so many of the SFV trainers and found that all of them have such great inspiration to offer. Derp taught me how to find the rhythm in my laps and how to get out of my head. Twiggy preached the importance of mantras. Atomic’s constant push of #GYLT actually inspired me get my life together. And Dovah … oh man, she’s who I want to be when I grow up.

What are your derby goals for 2017?
Agility, strength, focus … but overall, HAVING THE BEST 2017 POSSIBLE!!! 

January 2017 marks my second derbyversary with this amazing league. I’ve come so far in my journey and I want so much more. I want to sweat and cry and cuss up a storm and laugh at myself. I want to cross-train and have fun with my teams. But most of all, I want to push myself harder than ever while still supporting all of my badass derby sisters. 2017, here we come!

The Skully Award, December 2016

SFV Roller Derby would be nothing without our hardworking officials, both our onskates Referees and our dedicated Non-Skating Officials. Throughout the year, the Training Team would like to honor an official in recognition of their contribution to the league. 



Honoring FRANK EINSTEIN

Photo by ConJobb

How did you get started as a roller derby referee?
I got started in Roller Derby because my girlfriend (PrisKilla Presley) started playing and convinced me to help out NSO for a bit, then I started reffing. It's been about 2.5 years since I started helping out with the league and I haven’t looked back since. 

How did you decide on your derby name? 
I have always enjoyed movie monsters and monsters in general. Something about being a misunderstood monster is incredibly appealing to me. My current spirit animal is Guillermo Del Toro. He is so unapologetic about his love for creatures, horror, and the art of story telling that I can't help but hope to be like that when I get older.

Frank Einstein is progressing into a great ref. I’m privileged to have him as a Co-Head and friend.
— Refael, SFV Roller Derby Head Ref

What's your favorite roller derby memory?
My favorite Roller Derby memory has to be Roller Con 2015. It was my first year going to Roller Con and honestly it was the most overwhelming experience. I had never seen such intense high level Roller Derby played before and it was amazing. Not to mention it was really awesome to be with a community of like-minded people watching derby, playing derby, and learning together.

What's your advice to Freshies?
You are going to fall, no matter what. So just get it over with and get back up. It's something I really struggled with when I started skating, the idea that falling is not necessarily a bad thing. It's no easy task getting knocked down and then getting back up again, but just do it. Stay motivated.