Amsterdam Derby Dames

Back in December 2010 Helsinki Roller Derby made the Referee Hand Signals and Verbal Cues video featuring four refs, one of which was visiting ref and trainer Reckless Rowly from the UK, who, as luck will have it, was also recently with ADD for five months.

In 2012 Reckless came up with the idea of producing a phone application containing the same videos. However, due to rule changes and new hand signals being introduced, the old Helsinki hand signals video became outdated.

“There is an advantage of having the hand signals in an application rather than just a video, in that the app allows you to go straight to the hand signal you want rather than plodding through one large video. So with an application in mind and new hand signals needing to be re-shot I approached the league I belonged I was with at that time, which was the Amsterdam Derby Dames.”

Reckless wrote the code and filmmaker Alice Dix shot and edited the video. It features ADD’s Head Ref Mighty Morales, Burke’s Law and of course, Reckless Rowly (photo).

Many thanks to all those involved in making this possible!

Yes, it is only available for Android phones, but you can watch and learn from the YouTube video:

Keep Saturday 8 June free for another doubleheader hosted by the Amsterdam Derby Dames! The Blackland Rockin’ K-Rollers from Charleroi and the Rainy City Roller Girls from Manchester will come to The Netherlands to bout against the B.ADD and the All Stars respectively.

Both visiting teams usually play in the colour purple, hence the theme for this day: Purple People Eaters.

Will the ADD (b)eat the purple people or will the purple people (b)eat us? Stay tuned!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE before 21 May 2013 and pay the special early bird price of € 8.00

For anyone who has had problems with a few of our ADD e-mail addresses, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience you may have had.

We had a long, hard look at our e-mail addresses and everything should be in working order now.

If ever you experience any issues with e-mail, tell us through Twitter or Facebook (or smoke signals), so we can remedy that sucker faster than a fresh jammer off the jammer line.

Derby love,
ADD Communications Committee

This afternoon a group of Amsterdam Derby Dames completed the Mud Masters Obstacle Run in Haarlemmermeer. Everyone was dressed in ADD gear, with Mighty Morales representing in his ref shirt. Some ladies from the Parliament of Pain also ran along with us.

Our derby skills came in handy as we maneuvered through each obstacle! As we slogged and slipped our way through wide expanses of mud, someone yelled “derby stance!” and we all got lower and were instantly more stable. Things we learned during jumping drills helped when we had to leap over trenches filled with muddy water. Instead of breaking through walls, we had to climb over them. That’s when we used our teamwork: hoisting each person (and random strangers) over the walls. After each obstacle, we waited for everyone in the group and made sure we completed the course as a team.

Most of us managed to stay relatively clean, until one of the last obstacles where we had to cross a canal full of smelly hip-deep water. Some of us clambered over on the monkey bars; others waded through the sludge. Mighty Morales surprised us all by exhibiting some fine form on the monkey bars, until his entire body plunged into the water with a spectacular splash!

We had a cheering section as we approached the finish: Lola Rock n’ Rolla yelled out encouragements and Lee’s Lightning sprayed us with silly string and cheered us on with an air horn. In the end, we all completed the course, and received a t-shirt and a beer as a reward. Thanks Lee’s Lightning, for organizing this great experience.

The group before the challenge…

…and after

Article written by Abs of Steel, photos by Lola Rock n’ Rolla.

This weekend two skaters of our All Stars team were invited to the radio show Spijkers met Koppen to talk about roller derby. Furrrocious and Vegan Vengeance explained to Felix Meurders, Dolf Jansen, a live audience and the nation what our sport is all about.

In case you missed it: click here to listen to the show. The interview starts at 07.32