If you are interested in joining our officiating crew, please click HERE.

Fresh Meat Open House Dates:
NOV 2010 (dates pending)

Q: I want to play roller derby, where do I start?

A: First things first, come check out a practice or bout! For a more hands on approach, come to our practice! We practice every Sunday and Thursday at Turner’s Skate Palace in Hagerstown, MD from 7:00PM – 9:30PM and Saturday mornings 9AM-11AM. You are invited to come check it out and see how everything works, if you like what you see, come to the next Fresh Meat Open House if you would like to give it a go! The Fresh Meat Open House Recruitment dates will be posted here. Please be aware that this IS a contact sport. There is always a chance of injury, so it’s best to come into it knowing and accepting that. On the bright side, most people who get injured heal up and come right back to the game. It has that effect on most derby players.

In the mean time, go skate! Go to the open skates and work on your general skating skills. Get comfortable with being on those eight wheels, you’ll definitely need that confidence soon enough. We prefer that you possess basic skating skills when trying out. We will teach you everything you need to know, so if you’re not experienced, no worries! Don’t feel comfortable coming alone? Bring a friend! We are always looking for new folks to join our league!

When you come to Fresh Meat Open House, if you plan to skate you will need to fill out a medical liability waiver for rink insurance purposes.

Start researching women’s flat track roller derby online. The best place to start is www.wftda.com, they are the mother of women’s flat track roller derby. On the WFTDA site you will be able to review the rules of the game and other important things. You can also check out www.derbynewsnetwork.com, they are a wonderful crew who do many awesome things for the world of modern roller derby. YouTube usually has some videos as well. There are many sources to learn from!

Q: What do I need to bring?

A: You must always have full gear to skate: helmet, mouthguard, pads (wrist, elbow, knee) and quad skates. If you don’t own skates, you are welcome to use the rentals, but you’ll realize that rental skates are horrible once you get into your own pair of comfy skates. You can borrow from the safety pad loaner bin as long as you need to, let it be known that the stuff in that bin is stinky and scary. You can buy all of the above equipment, locally and online.  Some local places that sell it are Dick’s Sporting Goods and Shenk & Tittle in the Valley Mall. Sometimes the selection is limited so then you may have to order it or go online.

You can purchase skates from our rink owner, just give her a budget and she’ll work with you. This way you are guaranteed a good skate for a reasonable price!

Here are some sites you can purchase gear from:

http://www.blackeyedsusanskateshop.com

http://www.lowpriceskates.com

http://www.sincityskates.com

http://www.rinkrashskates.com

http://www.wickedskatewear.com

http://www.rollerderbydepot.com

Q: So I came to a practice, I love it! Now what happens?

A: Come to the next practice! As new Fresh Meat, you recieve 3 free practices. After those 3 are up and you decide that you want to stick around, then you’ll be an official MDRV Fresh Meat and will start learning all you need to know about roller derby and preparing for your WFTDA skills test. The test is administered quarterly, you will not be able to bout until you pass your WFTDA skills test, no exceptions. You will also start paying league dues after the free practices end.

Q: It looks fun, but not for me, is there any other way I can be involved?

A: Yes! We are always looking for people that would like to join our ref squad and volunteer during events! If you think you would be interested in doing one of the above postions, contact us at freshmeat@masondixonrollervixens.com!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email freshmeat@masondixonrollervixens.com or fill out our contact form below.