I started skating in August of 2010. I remember being told a few months later that I needed to go to the Derby News Network and watch Nationals. I didn’t really pay attention—for one, I didn’t know enough about derby to understand what was going on. I also didn’t know who (or what) an Urrk’n Jerk’n was, and why I needed to pay attention to her track jumping. A year later, I found out that Regionals would be in Portland. I was thrilled! I knew that I NEEDED to be there! I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to go to Regionals—and not only did he surprise me with tickets to Saturday’s bouts, but he upgraded us to Rockstar seating.

I loved every minute of it! I am blessed that my husband supports my derby dreams wholeheartedly. It was a great day! There was both good derby—and slow derby. Rat City shook up things by not moving from the pivot line. It was interesting to witness that kind of history in the making. I was also electrified by the Rose City Rollers vs. the Oly Rollers. That was a fantastic bout to watch in person and a great way to end a day of derby.

I left the day musing over what I learned. Since I like to make lists, I decided to write down what I took away from my first Bestern experience.

• There is a LOT of difference in skill level in the top ten teams of the Western Region. I don’t know if it’s the same everywhere, but it was evident in the bouts we watched. To me, this means that this fantastic sport of ours is still young and growing—there’s a lot of room for leagues to move up and claim spots in the top ten.

• To play derby at this level, you need good gear. I don’t think I saw an entry level skate ANYWHERE on the track at any time. I think as with anything, the quality of the gear (or tools, as I think of it) makes a difference in the quality of the athletic performance. If you want to skate at a high level, you need better-than-entry-level gear.

• Teams like the Oly Rollers are great because they have girls on the team that have skated far longer than roller derby has been in existence. Skaters like Atomatrix and Tannibal Lector don’t have to think about skating—they’ve been doing it for more than twenty years! They can focus on “heads-up” derby. It’s been said that to become an expert at anything requires 10,000 hours of your time. If you are only going to practice for 2-4 hours a week, how long will it take for you to be an expert? I left Besterns trying to figure out how to get more time on skates.

• You don’t have to pay the extra money for Rockstar seating—at least in Portland. We abandoned our guaranteed seats because the other seats were actually more comfortable. I still appreciated my husband’s gesture.

• Skaters that made the World Cup derby team completely deserved it. I loved seeing hometown skaters Soulfearic Acid and White Flight on the track, as well as Atomatrix and Tannibal Lector, among others. They were all impressive skaters and athletes.

I had a great day of derby. Both my husband and I would definitely go again. It was thrilling to see history in action—and I expect we’ll see some WFTDA rule changes after Rat City’s “slow derby” strategy. I’m excited to watch Rose City represent at Nationals; I expect they will be a team to watch. I’m especially looking forward to watching them skate against the Kansas City Roller Warriors. A KCRW inter-league bout was the first derby bout I ever attended; you might even say they started my derby fever just over a year ago. You can bet I’ll be glued to the live feed this year—watching as much derby as I can!