Periodically we will be checking the temperature on derby trends and reporting back. It’s an entirely unscientific and subjective list, but it’s also a lot of fun. If you think we missed something, or got it wrong, hit us up at The Apex!
HOT
Sean Hale’s Team USA Try Out Photos: The quality, the slow release, the stakes involved and the drama of seeing who was actually trying out was so intense. He has multiple albums up on facebook, but we like the scrimmage portion the best.
The Volunteers Revolt: Summer Sixteen has been all about the roller derby volunteer. At the close of many leagues seasons and in the break before playoffs, lots and lots of announcers, refs, NSO’s and volunteers took to social media to let the derby world know they are mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore. Cobra Kai’s “Invisible Power Shift in WFTDA” post in June kicked off some of this, and longtime announcer Ryan Will’s “Quitting Derby” post on Facebook in July pushed this along. The rapid growth of derby alongside the need for capacity and retention issues has actually shifted leverage back to volunteers and we hope this trend keeps up and delivers actual positive change (we also hope Ryan Will re considers). For people looking to continue the discussion of making things better Nox Talks has got you covered.
Audio Broadcasts: The ECDX audio broadcast brought a lot of moans until people actually tuned in. The quality was amazing and with seasoned announcers the broadcasts were amazing. We want to see more leagues shifting to audio if they don’t have the capacity to deliver a high quality stream.
RollerCon FOMO: RollerCon FOMO is probably a stronger emotion than anything you can actually experience at RollerCon. Vegas is hot and terrible and RollerCon is really expensive with massive lines for anything cool — but from far away it always looks like roller derby heaven. The best thing out of RollerCon this year? They raised a ton of money for great charities.
Straightaway Jumping: If we were going to purely editorialize this list we would put this in not cuz we hate this trend. Scald Eagle is tall, has long legs, and is an elite jammer. It’s great to have dreams and aspirations, but there are so many brutal failed straightaway jumps happening all over the derby world right now. Yes, it’s a hot trend. We hope to move this down the list fast though.
London v Gotham: It was everything — quality stream, quality bout, with lots of new and deeper rotation players stepping up. Short Stop burning London on re-entries in this game is going to be something we point to for a long time to illustrate that drawbacks are only advantageous if they put your defense in a stronger position. If you haven’t watched it yet the game is archived. It is still paywalled, but definitely worth it.
Foam Rollers and Lacrosse Balls: The DOMS are real.
Denver Bringing the LOLs: In social media expert terms, Denver took a viral video concept, applied to derby, and posted it as direct content to facebook. They positioned themselves perfectly with their content and it took off. Some times it best to not over think these things and this light hearted video was a great example of how to turn around quick and easy popular content.
NOT
Passive Offense: We are getting so close to a world of derby where passive offense no longer exists and we cannot wait. Help your friggen jammers fer chrissakes.
Shite Paywall Streams / Terrible Facebook Live Commentary: 2016 has been a year of: derby league commissions company to live stream event, they deliver a feed that is too high quality and constantly drops/chops. Paywall amounts have increased, but the ability to deliver quality and consistent streams hasn’t. On the flip side, more and more games are running with Facebook live of Periscope streams by skaters/fans and although the quality isn’t great (to be expected) the WORST is an individual live stream by a drunk person/someone screaming wild shit into their phone mic. Nothing will make you appreciate actual derby announcers more than living through this.
R.I.P. Paceline: We are huge Iron Octopus Fitness fans and their take down of the paceline should be a final nail. Just like passive offense and straight four walls — stop doing shit just because it’s always be done! Re-evaluate!
Brace Yourselves, WFTDA Complaining is Coming: It’s almost Playoff season which means you better be getting yourself ready for a ton of people complaining online about ridiculous shit. This is a real trend, but it is never hot. Why can’t refs review the video instant replay in game? Why can’t WFTDA have 5 different camera angles? OMG the announcers got a name wrong once! Everyone needs to start hitting the chill pills early this year — sit back and enjoy the highest level of the sport and respect that WFTDA is a tiny organization made up almost exclusively of volunteers. See “Volunteers Revolt” above.
