So in preparation for the bout on Saturday, I made sure to attend Thursday night's practice.  I was hoping that all of the girls that I was teamed up with would be there, so we could get some good pack skating in and make sure that we worked well together.

I got to practice, geared up and started warming up on the rink.  I made sure to get a few good laps in, since I was unaware of what was to come.  Slaughter was running practice and she worked us hard.  During the warm-ups, we did a couple of drills I have never done before.  We did some alternating pack/jammer thing, where you have 8 girls skating in pack formation, with everyone skating behind and two girls from the behind pack would skate through like jammers.  When the jammers got through the pack, the pack would rotate positions and two girls would skate out of the pack, while two new girls skated into the pack.  It is less confusing while the drill is running, than trying to explain it.

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This Saturday, November 14th is bout day for the Big Easy Rollergirls!  All week we have been getting ready for the "Brawl on the Bayou". Plus, us Newbies will be having our own exhibition at 6:45 p.m.

So, in order to participate in the exhibition, we need active skater status and to pass level two assessments.  We did half of the assessments on the 24th of October and the second half November 7th.  If the world was perfect and time was not an issue, we might have finished assessments on the 7th.

We all now know about the lemon pair of skates that I bought when I first made the Big Easy Rollergirls, and how I had to rig them in order to go to level 2 assessments. Well, after all the heartache and misery I decided that I would treat myself to a new pair of skates and make the lemons outdoor skates in hopes this would end the skate issues once and for all!

I did some serious research and asked opinions of some of the girls and decided on the Reidell 265s. Since I had just ordered wheels and only skated on them once, I built my own skates instead of ordering the pre-built ones. I did upgrade the plates and the stoppers.

Saturday was level two assessments for the BERG newbies.  I fixed my broke-ass skate to the best of my abilities last week and was just hoping and praying that they worked. I woke up very nervous that morning, put on my new skull stockings, grabbed my gear and headed out.

We got out on the floor and some of the girls were already hard at work setting up the track.  Slaughter announced that we would need to warm up on our own, and to make sure that we warmed up doing things that we would be assessed on.  That made sense, so I started skating my laps.

Last night, Whachamakillit came over to my house for something we've decided to call "Arts & Crafts with Vieux Careen and Whachamakillit" night. We've had a few so far, but the project of the evening this time was ensuring that I pass Level Two Assessments by fixing my ailing skates. Balls-Out Betty had loaned me her outdoor skates to use until my problem skates were fixed (thanks, Betty!), but I just don't feel confident skating in someone else's boots.

In case you haven't heard, I have a nice broken pair of skates.  For anyone that has looked for small, annoying parts for skates, you know that it's impossible and ridiculous to find what you are looking for. With that being said, I almost missed Saturday's practice because my skates are still broken. Thank goodness for Balls-Out Betty who came to my rescue with a pair of skates.  She has given me permission to use her skates until mine are fixed, or new ones come in, which hopefully will be this week sometime.

Basically, my nuts have gone bad, which isn't the part that is killing me.  Nuts are a pain because apparently after you have changed your wheels 10 times, you should replace your nuts.  I mean it is only a tiny piece of plastic on the inside of the nut and when has anything plastic lasted?

If you missed Saturday, then you missed a lot!  Not only did the Big Easy Rollergirls kick ass and take names, but they announced the winner of Name the Rollergirl Contest!  Now you wish that you were there, don't you!

The action for us Rollergirls started at noon.  I was scheduled for 1:30 and showed up promptly to start getting the track ready for the bout.  I got there and was immediately asked to resize logos for the scoreboard.  Afterward, I joined the girls and we finished laying down the sports track, hanging up banners and lights, and made sure everything was ready for the big game.

First things first: This weekend is a huge BERG bout! Your hometeam favorites, The Big Easy Rollergirls, will be playing  Hattiesburg, Mississippi's Southern Misfits tomorrow, October 10, at the UNO Human Performance Center. Tailgating in the parking lot starts at 5 p.m., doors open at 6, and the skating starts at 7. There will be a special half-time presentation of my official BERG name - you know, the one that you guys all helped create! - so come out and meet the genius behind the name "Vieux Careen"!

If you should happen to head to the movies tonight, you'll see girls dressed in derby gear selling tickets to the bout. BERGers will be stationed at the theatres to convince people in line for "Whip It!" that they should see some real derby action, too.

So another week of derby has come and gone, and I learned lots at this week's practice! We started learning how to do whips, which are some of the coolest derby tricks. Basically, a whip is an assist technique that helps one skater use another skater's momentum to propel her through the pack.

I got an email from Slaughter on Friday letting me know that I aced my level one assessment!  Passing basically means that on Saturday I can start doing some contact. This is what I have been waiting for. . . hitting, pushing and full contact. That also means falling, bruising and getting hit back, which is exciting to me. A bit crazy I am, yes. 

As you can imagine, Saturday morning I got up extra early and headed out to the rink. I was the first one there. I have never been the FIRST one there before. In fact, I constantly try to avoid being the first one anywhere, so that shows you my level of excitement.