Best Skill

Getting around.

Favorite Quote

“I am, if anything, a man of science.”

Inspiration

I watch how hard they work and how much the sport means to them, and it constantly pushes me to do more, and do it better.

Biggest Challenge

Getting everywhere I want to announce.

Biography

My first bout was in 2007. I had just finished watching A&E’s reality series, Rollergirls. As much as I enjoyed the reality series, even this did not get me interested in derby. We have a free weekly paper that mentioned that we had a roller derby team in San Diego. I had to go, just to say I had been once. Something to tell my grandchildren.

At the bout, the first whistle blew, and I learned that live roller derby is the only way to watch it. My first thought was, “Wait a minute… there is a race going on, and there is a group of people that are going to bang into them. And this is going to happen over and over again”? Over and over, the tension would build to a climax as the skaters approached the pack to battle. Then, I kept thinking over and over again, “Nobody knows how good this is,” and then I thought, “… and if I could explain that, it would make a great article.” Immediately after the bout, the Derby Dolls put an ad on MySpace for staff, including announcers. It would take three ads and a skater encouraging me to try before I went. I finally told myself, “The sport is new, so they can’t expect experienced people to apply.”

When I started announcing, I would only announce the third quarter. Last Saturday, I announced four bouts alone. Originally, I was concerned that announcing only third quarters would never get me up to speed, so I started announcing for outside events. Now, I have more derby than I can handle, and love it. I am nationally certified with AFTDA. (Announcer’s Flat Track Derby Association.) I even skate in the boot camp.