How did you hear of the league?
I heard about BRRG back when the original Myspace message was posted about a roller derby league starting in Cleveland. CoCo Sparx and I were dating at the time when she first mentioned that she wanted to join, I had mixed feelings. It sounded like a really cool way to get involved in somethings really unique and meet really cool people. At the same time, I questioned whether she was going to be able to hold up to what I had imagined roller derby to be in my head. I tagged along for the very first meeting and quickly realized that my concern stemmed from a false idea of what derby was.
For the first year and a half I was just a supportive significant other enjoying the bout, after-parties and people.
What made you want to become a referee?
From the very beginning I would have been a referee; however, between full-time college and a full-time job I didn’t have the time. It wasn’t till the very beginning of 2008 when I graduated college that I was able to begin attending practices on skates.
What skates are you currently using?
This season you’re gonna see me rolling around in a hot pair of Riedell 965s with triton plates and whatever wheels CoCo casts off prematurely by my standards.
What is your favorite thing about being a referee?
Referees have the best seat in the house. You’re right on top of everything that happens on the track. When I am not preoccupied calling penalties, I get to enjoy the legal carnage of derby from just a few feet away. When skaters take nasty falls, I feel the ground shake or hear the wind getting knocked out of them. It’s also really cool being involved in the larger organization WFTDA and getting to see the game evolve as rules changed an d teams improve. Roller Derby referees also have a lot of fun and camaraderie.
Have you ever thought about joining/starting a men’s roller derby league?
It’s crossed my mind. If enough dudes expressed interest in starting a team, that would be fun. I have scrimmaged with the girls before, which was an interesting experience. Being inexperienced at hitting and having a weight , height, or size advantage over most the girls; I was a bit hesitant to throw hard hits. At the same time, the girls were enjoying the opportunity to take easy shots on me while I was outta my element. In short, if I were to play derby I’d wanna tighten up my skating skills and be playing against dudes. We’ll have to wait to see what the future holds.
Coco Sparks… that’s taking derby wife to an extreme, care to elaborate?
Yeah, it’s an experience dating or being married to a roller girl, especially being a referee married to a skater. Since CoCo puts so much time into derby, joining derby was the only way I got to spend any time with her. A lot of people shoot me a strange look when I explain that I am a roller derby referee and a referee over my wife. Questions about conflict of interest usually follow shortly after. Honestly, CoCo and I have a really cool derby dynamic, in which we separate our on-track and off-track relationships. Usually on bout days, CoCo and I don’t speak to each other very much.
Who do you consider “your right hand” on the track?
I’d have to say it’s a tie between Scissor Lick and Ref UG. Scissor taught me everything when I first began reffing and has been a referee from the very beginning of the league. Ref UG is a great resource to have on the track because no matter how crazy/heated/unexpected things get on the track, he’s always calm and frequently provides an alternate insight.
Being a relatively young sport, WFTDA rules are an ever evolving system. Rules changes are frequently reactive in nature. As unique circumstances arise that doesn’t have clear guidance in the rules, it’s very helpful to have knowledgeable people around you sharing their thoughts when these circumstances arise.
What travel team bout have you not referee’d, that you wished you had?
All of the North Central 09 Regionals “Brawl of America”. Regional referee selection takes place quite a bit of time before the event. I missed my time to apply to be a referee, so I had to settle for being a Non Skating Official. NSOing was fun, but also teasing at the same time. Regionals is an awesome level of competition between the best ranked teams. This next year I’ll be more punctual.
What do you think about the new venue?
Wolstein Center is awesome for the entire league. Beyond providing the league a spectacular venue in which to entertain our fans, WC makes officiating even more enjoyable. Concrete floors are much faster than Sport Court or wood, so the game will be much faster than it was last year. WC also enables us to use a much more sophisticated scoreboard which is really the heart beat of the event. Referees also get an actual locker room this year, so there are more creature comforts with the new venue.
What are some of your interests outside of derby?
Outside of my professional career and derby, I really enjoy cooking and eating good food. Anybody who has had more than a couple conversations with me, should know that I am an avid fan of MMA fighting. If I hadn’t gotten involved in derby, I would have started cross training in martial arts of some sort. Other than that, I don’t have time for much else.
You seem to be obtaining a great deal more refs, what will this mean for game play?
BRRG has been blessed to have a bunch of dedicated refs come out of the woodwork this season. With 16 refs total at the time I am writing this and inquiry emails still showing up in my inbox on a regular basis, I have an embarrassment of riches. Most teams including BRRG in the past have had only a handful of refs and frequently have to borrow refs from surrounding leagues. I have so many refs, our double headers will now have a separate ref squad for each game. This allows me to use refs for NSO (stats) positions also. Referees may be the largest team on BRRG this next season, and we surely will be the best.
How do you deal with the constant “razzing” from fans and Rev. and players?
Any referee gets razzed at times, its part of the fun of sports entertainment. I knew right from the rebirth of Cleveland derby, that roller derby referees were going to get heckled more than most refs from any other sport. Pretty much anything refs do in derby besides skating in circles gets a reaction from someone, whether it be a fan, skater, or announcer leading the charge. Fans hate when we have to call an official time out to figure something out, and the announcers love to egg the crowd on with some awesome and witty comments frequently questioning our intelligence or sobriety. Skaters express their deepest and darkest feelings of hatred towards us during bouts, usually for accurately doing our “job”. And, nothing adds to the excitement more than a referee getting taken out by a skater.
Honestly though, I expected all this coming into the sport, and I think every bit of it is entertaining for me too. This last season I couldn’t really hear the crowd or announcers clearly at the center of the track because the echo was so crazy at Euclid Sports Plant. At Black and Blue 4, I noticed that the superior acoustic qualities of Wolstein Center made everything more audible from the center of the track. That being said, this next season should be more interesting and entertaining. You’ll probably see me smiling back at people not really caring what they are saying about me or my other refs.
What are your hopes for Season 4?
Season 4 is going to be awesome. I am hoping for an educational season for myself and my ref crew. No matter how experienced a referee has, there are learning experiences during every single bout. I wanna see Cleveland have a ref group with a valuable reputation in the derby world.
How do you feel about the new WFTDA 12/1/09 rules?
WFTDA is a growing association, not just in numbers but also in experience. Each rules set that comes out is more refined than the previous. Some recent changes to the rules have to do with cutting the track technicalities, which made the game a little more focused on controlled skating and overall game awareness from skaters. Unfortunately the major rules changes usually come out during the middle of the BRRG intraleague season, so we finish out the season on the original rules set. This is really interesting for me because I sometimes have to ref BRRG intraleague bouts under an old rules set, then I ref WFTDA bouts under the current (new) rules set. I long for the season when I only have to be concerned about one rules set at a time.
What was your favorite bout that you have referee’d so far?
Any bout that is competitive. It really isn’t fun to ref an old fashioned spanking.
What do you think will help propel this sport further?
I can not say it load enough, televised bouts. The idea of a “Roller Girl” or “Derby Girl” is much more mainstream and trendy now than it was three years ago. I can’t tell you how many people I have talked to that think roller derby is the coolest thing, but they haven’t seen a bout. I can tell you first hand, roller girls are cool people, but the sport they compete in is where it’s at. It is my belief that televised bouts would propel the sport to where it deserves to be. Sponsors, advertisers, and leagues would all be mutually benefited. It’s time to make the sport of roller derby mainstream.
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