Passing The Test

There comes a time in your beginning of roller derby where you must pass some kind of skills test. Your league may not be WFTDA/MRDA, but it may follow the WFTDA ruleset. If your league is MADE, then you will also have a minimum skills requirement that is VERY similar to the WFTDA ruleset, except the exchange for the 25 in 5 for a 20 minute paceline. And again, you may skate for a team that is under USARS, which also has an incredibly similar minimum skills. There are lots of different rulesets, I haven't even touched banked track, and then their is renegade. No matter what though, if your league is SERIOUS, and your league wants INSURANCE, they should/will have testing!

There is no sugaring it up, it is hard and it is serious. Still, it is obtainable. No one is saying that you have to pass the test the first time- or even the fifth time. But if you are a true roller girl at heart, you won't give up and you won't quit testing. One of the worst things you can do is let failing the test get you down, as people and especially roller derby players, we must learn humility. This sport is changing all the time (Duh, new rulesets) and so not everyone is always on top of their game. This is truely a sport where new manuevers and  strategies come out ALL THE TIME, so don't feel like you are beneath everyone, we are all learning.

I took my first skills test about 2 weeks after I had all my pads, which was about 2 months into my derby career. It was long, and it was tough, but it was an overall great experience. No, I didn't pass all of the skills. Yes, some of the skills test that we did, I have never done before. Still, by the end of the night, I was proud of myself and all of the other girls who were trying their hardest out on the floor.

If your league is running under WFTDA rules, then these are the specific guidelines that you must follow for testing. Remember, the other rulesets have very similar ones to this, its all about safety. This one is the lengthiest, so this should cover all the bases.

For the Springfield RollerGirls, we require a 100 percent on the skills testing before being drafted onto a team. For other teams, this might not be applicable. The tests are either pass/fail, or they are scored from 1-5, 5 being the highest score.

So, lets get to it. Here are the tests, and my experience:

1) The first thing that was being tested was basic skating skills. While doing these skills, you need to have a good and balanced stride and use crossovers (a certain way to skate, by picking up your outer foot and crossing it over to the other side of your inner foot) while skating.

• You must show you can skate in skaters position (making at least a 120 degree bend at the knees) around a WFTDA track design, half of it while skating, half just gliding. When you first start skating, this may seem akward to bend and try to cross over because of your kneepads. Just keep skating and you will get used to them. Also, try to get low enough to where you can hold the back of your knees.
• You must be able to skate on one foot on a straight away of a track. You only have to do this on one of your feet, so pick your strongest one. Also, its easier if you bend low, and stick the foot you're holding up behind you like a still from a crossover.
• You must be able to go around entire track without picking skates up by a "scissoring" motion. Lots of people call these watermelons. If you are feeling that this is SUPER difficult, test out your trucks and see if loosening them up will help you. 
• You must be able to make cuts on the track (going from one side, sharply to the other). For our league, we must do three on a straightaway, and 2 on the curve of the track. Lots of people cut differently, but the best way I was taught is to point your knee the direction you want to go, and you want that knee to be more forward than your other.
• You must be able to T-Stop and Plow stop by a certain point, while going a paced speed. You will usually find that one of these is easier for you. To be honest, Plow stops are essential in derby. Also, you should learn Turn-Around Toe stops (or Tomahawk stops) beacuse they are extremely useful.

The Quadzilla L.K. of Green Monster derby products and skater for Puget Sound

2) The second and most difficult for many skaters is the endurance test.

• You must be able to skate 25 laps around a WTFDA regulated track under 5 minutes. The best way to do this is to SKATE THE CIRCLE of the track, and always cross over. The path that you want to take is you want to be on the inside of the corners, and then go out wide to be on the outside of the straight aways. This way it creates more of a circular track.
• Many of the girls who are beginning have troubles with this. As a slower person that is out of shape, this was all I worried about for testing. I did not pass, but the veteran skaters don't mind that. What your team wants to see for you is that you are trying, and you don't give up during that 5 minutes. I was testing with a lot of great skaters who have been in roller derby for a long time. They all finished before I did, and while I was doing my hardest, I wasn't going to make the time. Still, almost every girl that was there cheered me on while I was skating, and they were supportive-that is one of the greatest thing about roller derby. No matter how hard you fall or fail, your team will pick you up. ( I will have a separate blog about my entire 25-5 experience, that lasted up to a year).

3) The third thing you need to know is how to fall for the safety of you and other skaters around you.

• You must be able to fall on one knee and get up within 2 seconds without using any hands. If you can practice just tapping the ground and getting back up, that is best.
• You must be able to fall on both knees (our league requires no hands) and get up within 2 seconds. DO NOT try to fall on both knees at ones, try to do it like a one knee then the other knee, then try to get back up in the same order you fell on your knees.
• You must be able to fall on one knee and turn yourself 180 degrees, and get up with no hands within 2 seconds. This is kind of... dumb to be honest, I've never done this, but its fun and looks like a superhero when you do it with your hands on your hips.
• You must be able to fall on 4 points- falling using both knees and elbows and hands that are in fists, and get up within 2 seconds.
• You must be able to do a "figure four" or baseball slide, and get up within 2 seconds.

4) The next thing is testing your balance and agility.

• You must be able to step forward, backward, left, and right from a stand still. Our league does this by having a small taped square which you must stand in without rolling, and there are lines that are above, below, and to both sides. You must be able to step out of the box with one foot at a time and touch each line. Though this may sound easy, keeping control and balance on your skates without rolling is difficult.
• You must be able to jump off of the ground at least 3 inches, with both skates up at the same time, and landing at the same time. Jumping is extremely scary, but you can do it. It really isn't has crazy as it sounds, it harder to work up the never than to actually do it.
• You must be able to look around the track. While in a paced line with other skates, you must look left, right, and backward while skating and not interrupting the skaters around you or the pace.
• You must be able to weave around 10 cones on the straightaway and the curve of the track quickly.

5) The next set of tests are about skating with others:

• You must be able to give/receive a whip (one skater in front, taking the skater behind by the arm and pulling them in front).
• You must be able to give/receive a hip whip (one skater in front of the other, skater behind takes front skate by hips and pulls her self up in front of her).
• You must be able to give/receive pushes.
• You must be able to skate in a paced pack while not interupting other skaters or the pace.
• You must be able to weave through skaters moving in a filed line.
• You must be able to be in a pack and keep pace while you and others are falling around you.
• You must be able to lean against a skater, should to shoulder, while not being unbalanced.
• You must be able to maintain balance by getting bumped by other skater.

6) The last thing you need to know is blocking legally.

• You must be able to take a shoulder hit and a hip check and recover easily. 
• You must be able to give hip checks on the left and right side.
• You must be able to give shoulder hits on the left and right side.
• You must be able to do positional blocking.

After all of your skills testing, you will also have to take a written test. The written test is about the rules of the game. You can find practice copies on WFTDA. and it should be exactly the same test. If  you read the rules and watch derby, then the test is 100% easier. When you actually start to play derby, then it will seem like a piece of cake! ONE NOTE THOUGH: This test may be changing within the next year. Since the written test asks a lot about Minors/Majors that will no longer be applicable with the new ruleset, I'm sure a whole new one will come out. 

The test is hard, but not something to stress about. If you aren't ready for the test and you do end up failing, don't fret! Think about it, if you aren't ready, then do you want to risk your safety going out in a pack of girls, and you not know what to do?

Not passing the test does not mean that you aren't good enough. Everyone learns roller derby at different paces. Learning and working hard at your skills will make the day you pass your skills test even sweeter.

Remember, no matter what, someone out there is proud of you. YOU should be proud of you. Derby is a long, hard, time consuming monster that not every one does, and yet you are doing it.