Position: Blocker

 

Team: Lipstick Militia

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When did you start? March 2012​

 

How did you pick your derby name?

I came up with a name that was so perfect that it had to be taken already. I wanted people to understand exactly who I was with that name; I wanted to show off my nerdy, smart, clever, funny, and quirky side. When I found out it was taken, I was devastated. It took me forever, and a lot of facebook polls to finally decide on one. I was scared to pick, knowing that I was dedicating myself to a whole new persona. Ginny Squeezly just seemed to be the right fit, plus she is ginger and married Harry Potter, gawd, who else was I going to be. Making this decision threw any want of being Hermione Danger out the window!

 

What lead you to roller derby?

My friend Andrea (Slam Grier) and I had been talking about joining for a few years.  We even bought those "Roller Derby" skates from Sports Authority and started training, which really meant drinking and watching movies at my house.  What really pushed me to join was bumping into Smithereens at my job.  Because I was researching local leagues, the logo on her sweatshirt popped for me, and I knew that was my opportunity.  I am so glad that she was wearing an SJDG sweatshirt, because that was really my deciding factor.  All that was left was to get Andrea to sign up and we were in it together.​

 

What was your biggest hurdle when you first started?

Lolli Popya is gonna love this!  I could never get my footing down when I started;  I was wobbly and crashed into everything.  It wasn't bad enough to just be clumsy in the first place, but it was so bad that I got the nickname, 'Renegade'.  Just in case you don't believe me : I slid out of a corner at the old den and crashed into some metal racking and got my skate stuck, I grabbed onto the loading door when I fell and left some skin behind, I left a perfect wheel shaped bruise on my derby wife's butt, and I succeeded to grab onto Mary Kill and safely take her down with me while she was still wearing her shoulder brace.  Once I finally got my footing down, everything clicked, and I am proud to say that I have taken some good hits and remained on one foot.

 

What does being a South Jersey Derby member mean to you?

Being a South Jersey Derby Girl means that I have a huge group of people that encourage, support, teach, and care about me.  Without this league, I would never have had that.  I have met some of the most diverse and amazing people in my life, and most of them are South Jersey Derby Girls!​

 

What would you recommend for a new rookie coming in?

Good knee pads!  Also, don't get discouraged if you can't do everything well.  Work on one thing at a time and then things will start going smoothly.  My endurance sucked when I first started, so I worked on my hits and blocks instead, which worked out really well!​

 

What's your derby goal?

I would love to be a good jammer one day.  I'll settle for being a good blocker for now.​

 

Anything else fun you'd like to add?

I want to say thank you to everyone who ever pushed me to do better, Liz for shouting obscenities at me, Sheri for always being there, Perna for always pushing me, Mos Deathly for the corgi love, Lolli and Penny for everything, Chelsea for being an awesome wife, Andrea for joining with me, and my husband Ronnie for supporting me (and buying my Antiks for me!).

 

What's a little known fact about yourself?

I always wanted to be in a Ska band when I was in middle school.  I went so far as to play trombone for my school's band.  I love everything to do with it.  When I was finally in high school, the whole ska wave was over and I was the only one left.  To make matters worse, I lent out my favorite compilation, Ska Wars, and never got it back.