The Boutlaws are bringing it to 5×5 in 2019!

Western Sydney Rollers’ representative team, The Boutlaws will take on the challenge of the 5×5 Roller Derby Championship in 2019.

The 5×5 Championship has three divisions and is THE representative event for roller derby teams in NSW. The Boutlaws will compete in the Battlegrounds division.

This posse of women is the toughest bunch of gals out west, and they’re aimin’ for some straight shooting and hard jamming as they take on the some of the sharpest posses of skater girls around.

Having competed in the tournament previously, 2018 left The Boutlaws wanting more with a mixture of veteran skaters and shiny fresh faces aiming to take out the Championship. The team will be led by experienced Bench Managing duo, Buzzkill and Bad Samaritan.

Stay tuned for The Boutlaws line-up soon!

Join us on Facebook and Instagram for more updates.

Roller derby information session – February, 2019

Skater Kitty SlamHer in a "Shut up and skate" tank top

Have you been watching Whip It? Did you cheer on Australia in the Roller Derby World Cup? If you’d like to experience roller derby from beyond the sidelines and you’re in the Penrith or wider Western Sydney region, Western Sydney Rollers (WSR) is the roller derby league for you!

WSR has a variety of roles for roller derby enthusiasts and newbies to get involved in. Members can be a Freshie Skater, learn to be a skating official, become a player and be a non-skating official.

We welcome everyone – those who can skate and those who who want to learn how to skate; and all genders, sexualities, body types and levels of athleticism. Everyone can find a derby home at WSR – even artistic skaters and speed skaters!

Do you have an interest in the roller derby community and would like to find out more? We’re hosting an information session.

Roll up at 3:30pm on Sunday 10 February, 2019 to Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (30 Herbert Street, Cambridge Park, NSW 2747). Come along, meet the league members and get involved in roller derby through a fun and inclusive roller derby league.

To ask more questions, send an email to: newmembers@westernsydneyrollers.com.au or post on our Facebook event page.

Learn more about Western Sydney Rollers through our Facebook and Instagram pages

Skater with session info and motivational quote shirt

Disco V Rock – Sunday, 12 August

Will the glitter of disco or hardcore rock reign victorious?

Rock V Disco was a family and friends bout to debut our new skaters in 2013. Were you there? Join us again and see if history will repeat itself or maybe Team Rock will win this time!

Come along to Penrith Sports Stadium in Cambridge Park on Sunday, 12 August. Doors open at 11.30am. Game 1 will kick off at 12.15pm, followed by Game 2 at 2.15pm. Don’t forget to join us for our Chuck-a-Duck game at half time for little and big kids alike.

Join your favourite skaters for a hearty pub meal after the game at The Colonial Hotel, 156 Victoria St, Werrington.

Tickets
Adults: $10
Children (12-17): $5
Children (under 12): Free
Adult season pass: $25 (Season passes cover admission to all three remaining WSR home games hosted at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre at discounted price)

Buy tickets online here. Tickets and season passes are also available at the door on game day.

Learn to skate & play derby

Calling all skaters, non-skating officials, referees and volunteers! No experience is necessary and all genders are welcome.

By popular demand we will be holding a second intake of our Learn to Skate and Play Roller Derby Program. This is your last chance for 2018.

Wanna find out more? Join us at on Friday, 20 July 6:30 – 8:30pm, at the Colonial Hotel.

Penrith CBD Festival of the Green

Q. What’s green, whips up a mean cake and takes to Penrith’s High Street on wheels?

A. Your favourite WSR derby guys and gals in the Penrith CBD Festival of the Green!

Skaters and bakers recently took to High Street as part of the annual street parade. Dressed all in green, representing a big, green derby machine, skaters of all ages and abilities represented the league on a scorching hot day.

Staying cool in spite of the conditions, WSR proved that they were talented on skates AND in the kitchen, selling a delicious array of baked goods. Skating and cupcakes? What’s not to love?! Make sure that you roll along to our next bout to catch all things sugar and skates.

  

Bombshells crowned Intra-League champions

Spectators rolled up to Cambridge Park last Saturday for a Derby in Wonderland grand final showdown between the B-52 Bombshells and the Blackheart Brawlers.

First up in the line up, some fierce and feisty under 18’s took to the track for a junior derby mini bout. The audience may have been lulled into thinking that the pint-sized action would be easy going but they were soon proven wrong! The Cheshire Cats took victory from The Mad Hatters, 179 to 69.

   

The mini bout fun continued with the Riot Squad battling visiting team, The Empire. The intra-league team fought hard but chaos was the order of the night – The Empire claimed the win, 171 to 65.

   

Then, the highlight of the night when last year’s rival grand final teams faced off again. It was a fast-paced, action filled game but the Bombshells were left grinning like; well, a Chesire cat, when they took out the title, 192 to 78.

   

Of course, there was plenty of fun in between too with delicious cakes, doughnuts, chocolates and biscuits on offer – as well as amazing raffle prizes and a spot of duck throwing (rubber, no animals were harmed in the making of this derby spectacular!).

Thanks to everyone who came to cheer on their favourite players and teams, and for supporting Western Sydney Rollers. A massive congratulations to our victors and well done to everyone who played, and a warm thanks for our NSOs and refs for their hard work.

Stay tuned for more exciting bout action later in the year!

Psst…Check out more action in the photos on facebook, thanks to B.T. Photography.

What’s your Mindset?

Very recently I had to sit through the analysis of my workplace annual engagement survey, and whilst that was a bundle of ‘fun’ there was something important I took away from that session.

My Human Resources representative, a lovely and charismatic woman, spoke of one main point, “Mindset.”

There is a woman named Carol Dweck, a Professor at Stamford University, who has done studies around this very point. If you read on, I think you’ll agree that it makes complete sense. So much sense that maybe you’ll start to question how you operate, and how you might be able to improve the way you see yourself.

Professor Dweck speaks of Mindset in the sense of school education however, I believe it can also be applied quite well to each of us in our roller derby lives.

After hearing about Professor Dweck I did some searching online and found a couple of articles that I really liked. Please see the links in the footnotes if you’re interested in reading about this further- whilst somewhat long-winded they’re incredibly insightful.

Professor Dweck talks about Mindset in two ways, those with a “fixed” mindset, and those with a “growth” mindset. The diagram below shows the opposing ways the two mindsets approach common things such as challenges, obstacles, effort, criticism and the success of others.

One thing to note with this, that it’s not about being a positive person or a negative person, but rather someone who is fluid in how they see themselves and how they take on feedback from life, or whether they are rigid in their self-assessment, and are just “this is what I am.” An example of a growth mindset description might be “I try to learn something new every training session I attend.” A fixed mindset might be “As a skater I’m ok.” Both statements are reasonably positive, but the statement which is the most promising is the growth statement.

mindset(1)

The next article I found (2) is based on how you can develop a growth mindset, as not everyone has this naturally. The good news is folks; there are 25 ways here that you can help you develop a more growth centric mindset. I have picked out the top 10 in the list that I feel relate the most to those of us playing roller derby.

1. Acknowledge and embrace imperfections. Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them.

2. View challenges as opportunities. Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement. Learn more about how to fail well.

6. Stop seeking approval. When you prioritise approval over learning, you sacrifice your own potential for growth.

7. Value the process over the end result. Intelligent people enjoy the learning process, and don’t mind when it continues beyond an expected time frame.

15. Provide regular opportunities for reflection. Let students reflect on their learning at least once a day.

16. Place effort before talent. Hard work should always be rewarded before inherent skill.

18. Cultivate grit. Students with that extra bit of determination will be more likely to seek approval from themselves rather than others.

21. Learn from other people’s mistakes. It’s not always wise to compare yourself to others, but it is important to realise that humans share the same weaknesses.

22. Make a new goal for every goal accomplished. You’ll never be done learning. Just because your midterm exam is over doesn’t mean you should stop being interested in a subject. Growth-minded people know how to constantly create new goals to keep themselves stimulated.

25. Take ownership over your attitude. Once you develop a growth mindset, own it. Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and be proud to let it guide you throughout your educational career.

I look at these points above and think about how I approach my life:

  • Do I recognise my failings, and strive to improve them?
  • Do I keep pushing myself further, or seek confirmation that I’ve done all I can do?
  • When I finish a training session, do I feel like I have put everything out there – have I done the very best I could do or have I just been present?
  • Watching my team mates – when I’ve noticed that there’s a common error being made, am I doing the same thing, or do I learn from this and better myself?
  • Do I set goals? Do I push myself further and higher?
  • Finally how do I see myself – do I have a growth attitude?

Well I’m going to be honest; I think I’m a little column A and a little column B but I’m going to seriously look at myself and see where I can be better, and do better.

Growth mindset here I come!

Cheers,
T-Wrecks

(1) https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/
(2) http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/

 

Riot Squad takes out Round 1 of the intra league bouts

FB_IMG_1462348656549There was a great crowd on hand to witness the first intra league clash on Saturday 21 May, 2016.

Fuelled by cupcakes, rocky road and other delicious baked goods, the crowd roared their approval as the gorgeous B52 Bombshells kicked off the night with a mini bout vs HARD. The B52 Bombshells took out the bout with a final score of 140 to 102.

Several players backed up in a supreme effort as the Riot Squad and Blackheart Brawlers battle it out for glory in the main bout. The teams were evenly matched but the Riot Squad took the lead and refused to give an inch, restoring order with a final score of 187 to 152.

A massive thanks to all of our skaters, guest team HARD, and our NSOs and officials – this wouldn’t happen without you!

Check out the photos (thanks Bout Time Imagery!!).

Make sure you don’t miss out on your derby fix – Grab your season pass!

 

Love the Boutlaws? Vote now to help them win Thermoskin funding

Voting is now open for the Thermoskin Community Sports Fund!

Why is your vote important?Thermoskin

Roller Derby is a new sport and, as a result, heavily under-represented in all facets of the athletic world. Finding its roots in the feminism movement, it is a sport that encourages individual personal empowerment no matter your gender identity, sexuality, body type or skill level. No matter where you are at emotionally, mentally or physically, Western Sydney Rollers is an all-inclusive and supportive community.

Why the funds are needed

We are a self-funded league and have no major sponsors to assist with our running costs. Our women’s team is a competitve league in the B-division of women’s flat-track roller derby. Our league promotes fitness, inclusiveness and self-confidence in our members and the local community. We have been invited to attend a national competition in Adelaide (The Great Southern Slam) however many of our members are single mothers, students or have other reasons for financial hardship and will be unable to afford the costs of new equipment, uniforms, insurnce and travel costs required to partcipate in this tournament. Funding to obtain the required equipment will greatly alleviate the financial strain our representative skaters and coaches.

What’s in it for you?

Aside from the chance to help your favourite skaters to glory, you’ll be in the running to win a $200 EFTPOS gift card!

Vote now for the Boutlaws!

Families, come and have a rocking good time at a Roller Disco this Easter

If you’ve overindulged in chocolate and hot cross buns, or want the kids to burn off some of their sugar-induced energy this Sunday, then head down to the Western Sydney Rollers’ Roller Disco in Emu Plains, from 5 – 7pm.

There will be music, games, raffles and prizes galore on the night – not to mention plenty of skating! Experienced skaters and instructors will be on hand to help anyone new to skates but the aim of the night is fun!

If you do get hungry and your sweet tooth is hankering for more, there will also be a delicious array of baked goodies available – did someone say ‘cake’?

All funds raised will help the Western Sydney Rollers’ travel team, The Boutlaws, to reach their goal of competing in Adelaide in June of this year.

Invited to compete in The Great Southern Slam (TGSS), The Boutlaws will pit their skills against teams from across Australia and New Zealand. TGSS takes places every two years and in 2014 The Boutlaws placed third in division 2.

Event details

What: Western Sydney Rollers’ Roller Disco
When: Easter Sunday, 27 March 2016, from 5 – 7pm
Where: Skatel, 120 Russell Street, Emu Plains
Cost: $15 per person or $50 for a family (includes skate hire). Please note, cash only.
Dress: Something easy to skate in, costumes are encouraged.

If you have any questions or would like some photos, please contact us.

roller skating disco Western Sydney