High Roller

Yesterday, I got to do something pretty neat. I've been going to a bunch of roller derby games after getting invited by a friend who plays in them. She had suggested on occasion that I might like getting involved as a referee, and I expressed interest but also fear that I would have too hard a time with it. After some encouragement, though, I finally felt up to the task. The trouble became scheduling, as practice happens while I'm doing improv stuff.

An opening in my improv schedule came along, and I went along to a roller derby practice. I thought maybe I would just be watching and learning, but I found myself pressed into duty. I was given the choice of either timing the game (which is not so very simple) or of timing the penalties in the penalty box. Guessing that the latter would be easier, I took that. I think that this ultimately proved to be a wise decision.

I had my job explained to me, and off I went. It was simply up to me to keep track of players who had exited with a penalty, telling them when they were to re-enter the game. I had to stop their clock at times, and to know when I had to send one person out just because another person had come in. I'm sure I'm not explaining it well, but then I'm still learning. It's really a very simple thing, and other people would probably grasp it faster than I.

The game began with a long stretch of no penalties, for which I was not sorry. Soon enough, though penalties started piling up, and I made a good number of mistakes both noticeable and unnoticeable. Something that I had a hard time with was what I alluded to before: when both jammers are out with a penalty, the one who went out earlier goes back in automatically and the newcomer has their penalty match that amount of time.

I got better in the second half, and the whole thing was rather rewarding. I was glad to contribute something to a very worthwhile endeavor. It helped me understand the game better, and I was glad also for the chance to get to know people I've admired in games from afar. I do hope that I'll be free again to do it again. I would like to do it in a game, and it's going to take a lot of tries to really get it right. It will be fun to try.