Jerry Seltzer

I tend to get involved with things about Derby that I think are helpful:  advice, whether you want to hear it or not and groups and individuals that I feel are not only good for Derby but for all of us.

I love what “Derby against Domestic violence” has become:  over 2400 who tell their stories, listen to others and find ways to get support and guidance……I wish all of you would join.  Also check out “I choose when to get bruised.”

And now Derby over 40.  What an amazing group of wonderful people…..and some of their athletic and personal accomplishments will startle you….check out the site.

And here is what blows me away about the group:  there are 919 members who are active in Roller Derby (including a few good men) and their stories and experiences are worth listening to…..There are a few 60 year olds and Merby Dick at 73 and Bob Wright at 55 lead the men.

Sometimes questions are posed on Derby over 40 and the answers surprise me.  A recent one asked what about Roller Derby surprised them the most, and although many gave the answers of how they were renewed, gained confidence, lost weight, found new lives, etc, many gave the answer “the drama”.

Photo by mattox from stock.xchng.com

I think they came at it from the perspective of age: “stop whining”, “get over it”, “learn to work together and get along”.  Maybe one thing lacking in many of the leagues is a program as outlined by Donna “thehotflash” Kay on how to be good executives and curb the drama and the problems between the women, and maybe that is the main reason why there are so many splits going on even today.

For all the talk about sisterhood and empowerment, I get the feeling as an outsider that it is the internal relationships (in many, but not all leagues) that hurt this image.

There are no problems that are unsolvable, you just have to be aware of them and confront them.

Let’s make Derby Love a little more meaningful.  If there is dissension and problems, it will show in how successful your league can become.   Good executives know how to delegate and let go of certain tasks so they are not involved in every decision and action;  when you involve more people you usually get better results.

So much is happening today; heed the word of those in your world who are older and maybe wiser.  Do them a favor and curb the drama.  And also let’s find the other 81 people somewhere in the skating world to bring “Derby over 40″ to 1000 joined, so we can all say look how little age is a factor in Roller Derby.