While some depictions suggest that roller derby includes staged fights, nearly everyone familiar with the sport disagrees with that assumption. I conducted two interviews, and both derby players displayed annoyances when asked about fake fighting in roller derby. Samantha Boehle states, “I actually get kind of angry when people compare roller derby to things like professional wrestling. We don’t perform fights like they do. Roller derby is a competition. Yes, it’s rough, but there’s no performed fighting.” Likewise, Josie Esker states, “I am so frustrated with derby’s early history of staged performances and ridiculous theatrics. We have to follow rules just like other sports, which means no fights.” Speaking from my own personal experience, fights, staged or not, do not normally occur in roller derby. I have never witnessed nor heard of one happening. While derby girls push and shove, fist fights are unlikely to occur. In roller derby, any violation of the rules will result in penalties. Penalties normally consist of spending a minute in the penalty box before re-entering the jam. If any player accumulates too many major penalties, it can “lead to expulsion from the game” (Parnavelas). Because fighting is punishable, roller derby players are encouraged to maintain roller derby's objective of professionalism.
The athleticism of roller derby is evident in the many hours of demanding training it requires. Like any other serious sport, derby teams practice several times a week, and they focus on conditioning and stamina training. Because tired players are more likely to injure themselves, derby teams work extremely hard to make sure that their players have the stamina to handle the challenging physical requirements that derby entail...
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...ouisiana State U, May 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Parnavelas, Ellen. The Roller Derby Athlete. New York. Bloomsbury Publishing, 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Peoria Push Derby Dames. “Re: Team Survey." Survey by Maria Esker. 22 Feb. 2014. Email.
Prahl, Crystal. Team Photo. 2013. Photograph. JPEG file.
Rosecrans, Mary. “Fan Interview." Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2014.
Wehrman, Michael M. "Response to Cohen: Separating Sport from Sexuality in Women's Roller Derby." Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal 21.1 (2012): 71-78. ProQuest. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
WFTDA. "Roller Derby Demographics: Results from the Third Annual Comprehensive Data Collection on Skaters and Fans." WFTDA.com. World Flat Track Derby Association, Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
WFTDA. "The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby."WFTDA.com. Women's Flat Track Association, 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
The following commissioned report was compiled for the Health Studies Faculty of Brisbane Girls Grammar. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the nature of women’s sport, not only in society, but also at the Brisbane Girls Grammar School.
Literary devices are important in short stories because in the story, it will help the readers understand things that may of happened, or irony with an object that is important to the character. By doing this, it helps the readers to understand the character more and their back story. If the writer didn’t show anything from the past when he was trying to add flashbacks then it will come across differently to the reader depending on the readers out take and their personal experience.
When a woman or man joins a non-traditional sport for their gender or sex, it can have drastic social and cultural costs. These impact not just the individual but also the entire community. When a person challenges the gender roles of society, then they change the perceptions of what men or women are capable of doing, they further androgynize cultural norms, and they open up sports for others.
Marcia K. Anderson. ”Women in Athletic Training.” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 63.3 (1992): pp. 42. Journal Article.
Since sports and athletics have been brought into our society it has always been gender specific. For example, it is seen that males should be playing the rough and tough sports or athletics such as rugby and football, whereas the women should be participating in less competitive sports and athletics such as swimming, or running. Can you imagine that the world population of women is around forty-nine percent and they still aren’t given the same opportunities or respect as men? Being a women in the twenty-first century playing one of those “non-traditional” sports is a tough task for these women. The women who choose to do so are usually questioned about their sexuality and
...ennis, basketball, soccer, and martial arts—have come from the days of cheerleading and synchronized swimming when she was growing up in the ’70s.” Disparities in media coverage and over-sexualized female athletes on magazine covers is something that needs to come to an end because of its effects on both male and female viewers, young and old, athletes and non-athletes. Both female and male athletics influence young people and shape their personality and morals as they mature. Retired WNBA player, Lisa Leslie credits her participation in basketball with shaping her character, as well as her career. “Sports can also help teenagers during an awkward time in their development.” (“Women’s Athletics: A Battle For Respect”). The solution is to come together as a society and identify how to balance the respect for female and male athletes in the media.
Woolum, Janet. Chapter 1 Women in American Sports. The Oryx Press, 1992. eLibrary. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
One is able to witness the biased attitude directed toward the individual who attempts to participate in a sport that is non-traditional to his/her gender. Figure skating, for example, has been dominated for many years by women. Often if a person refers to figure skating, it is natural to automatically think of a female athlete because of the many more women who have participated in the sport than men. However, if a man chooses to figure skate he is generally referred to, by others, as a homosexual. Most likely this accusation of being gay has developed because figure skating is viewed as a popular wome...
Turning, stopping, and making lateral movements are extremely easy to do on ice, but roller hockey is completely different. In roller hockey there is no such thing as making a tight turn or stopping on a dime, because the wheels just slide out from underneath the player. The stopping technique for roller hockey is basically the same as ice hockey, but the player slides a little before coming to a complete halt.
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
Hockey is a sport of finesse, toughness, and speed all wrapped up by player talent. Hockey can be played on any surface, though ice and hard rubber "roller turf" are the two major fields currently played on by professionals. All though to some these two variations on hockey may seem the same, they actually have many differences. Roller hockey contrasts that of ice in several ways. While the playing surfaces are the most obvious difference, number of players, periods, and skates also vary.
Dirt track racing is exactly what is says; dirt racing is a type of auto-racing that takes place on an oval dirt track (“What Dirt?”). The National Dirt Racking Association was formed in 1978, by Mr. Robert Smawley. Smawley was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. Smawley promoted his first race in Newport, Tennessee. He gave the winner (the first to finish the 100 lap race) $10,000 (“In”).
The fight for women's ice hockey players to earn respect and acceptance has been hard fought over the past one hundred years. Women have constantly been told that they can not play with men and that there sport is a second rate version of the men's game. The road of women's ice hockey has had many ups and downs but has perservered to the present day and is stronger than it has ever been. The future of women's ice hockey is bright thanks to diligence and hard work of those who kept it all going. Ironically women began playing the sport side by side with men over 100 years ago right at the sports inception. One of the oldest action pictures featuring ice hockey shows men playing with women. Part of the reason that women enjoyed early participation with men is because of the way that the public viewed the game. At the start, hockey was seen as a recreational activity. Women have been routinely barred from participating in serious and competitive sport, but if the game is viewed as merely recreational then women are more accepted. In the 1890's this is what happened to the sport of ice hockey. Suddenly the game was more than recreation and organization entered, rules were drawn and leagues were formed. With the new structure came segregation of the sexes. As the sport progressed for the men, the women were left behind. In spite of all this, the first all female organized game was played in Barrie, Ontario in 1892. Women's ice hockey slowly limped on up until the 1920's.
For every Olympic games, there always seems to be some type of scandal or drama. The 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City proved itself to be full of this excitement and controversy. That year the scandal appeared in one of the most popular events, figure skating. The competition was between the Russian and Canadian figure skating pairs. The Russians showed a performance full of technical difficulty without pulling it off completely. Their performance was marred by simple mistakes. On the other hand, the Canadian pair performed a piece full of emotion, and while not as technically difficult as the Russians, more thorough and precise in their landings and jumps. After their performance the audience and the television commentators all believed they were the gold medallists. However after their score went up, they were sorely put in second place. As it turns out a French judge exchanged votes with a Russian judge so that the Russians would win the event. Since this happened, it has opened up the doors to the world of figure skating and informed the public of its corruptness. What people need to notice is that judges exchanging votes is only one part of the problem and how well a person actually performs the techniques on the ice is only one part of the judging. In an article published in Newsweek right after the scandal was exposed the author states, "For ages figure skating has attracted ridicule for letting a competitor's nationality, make-up, costume, and choice of music seem to count as much as the athleticism and grace." (Begley 40) As it stands now in 2010, it looks as though no one has learned a lesson from this event or article. Judges who make deals before competitions and get caught do not suffer any harsh consequences. They continue to practice unsportsmanlike conduct while judging. In my movie (as yet to be titled) I hope to address not only the fact that judges make deals ahead of time, but that certain skaters are discriminated by their race and sexuality as well as for arbitrary reasons.