I signed up to be our league's PR person, wrote a press release for the February bout, and on bout-week actually started getting some response! I was tasked with recruiting people to arrive at the practice space at 5:30am (yes, AM) to do a few live shots with a Fox 25 employee. It's like pulling teeth to get people there that early - but it seems there is that core group of physical volunteers (separate from the mental volunteers, though a couple overlap) that show up... and I was VERY glad to see them! The shoot went as well as anything can that early in the morning, we had about 8 people total (started with 5, highest was 8, ended with 5). Then a radio interview that afternoon was a bit of a downer at only about a minute long and 3 girls showed up for it (great attendance, crappy air-time for our effort). Friday night we were allowed to go to the MMA fight at our bout space for free and hand out flyers, one girl cancelled (migraine) but two others showed up and luckily said I didn't need to be there.
On to the weekend... Saturday started out with the motorcycle show. This is a big event that draws a decent crowd at the fairgrounds. I was a newbie barely allowed back on skates last year, but at least I knew what was going on. Bad news was that our track this year was TINY (the center portion was just about 4 feet wide, we had to slice to hold the inner track line!), there were large pillars in the center, and only a few feet outside the track before some small stanchions with caution tape. Poor Taryn was in charge of staffing the motorcycle show, and with a bout that evening no one was very keen on scrimmaging that weekend. We ended up with 12 girls at the high point, 7 at the low - which lead to EXHAUSTING 20 minute scrimmage sessions every couple of hours.
And, as a mentioned, that evening was a bout - it was an intra-league bout with Blue vs Orange. AND I WAS ON THE ROSTER!!! That's right ladies and gents, my very first real bout with lots and lots of spectators. I'm really really happy it was intra-league, if we had been playing strangers I may have fainted on the first lineup. The bout was fantastic!!! Even though our team thought we were the underdogs (12 vs 14 plus one of the A-team girls assigned to us was injured), the score stayed super close the entire time, and we eked out a victory (with a single-digit lead). I was so tired before the bout started that I wasn't planning on hitting the after party, but I needed to celebrate that win! B said he'd drive so I had many drinks from girls' flasks (or bottles - lol) in the bathroom and was pretty toasty. Leg wrestling and lap dancing were the highlights of the night. The party was over about 1:30 when some dude tried to start a fight. Buzzkill.
(I'm number 928.)
The next morning I was sore ALL OVER. I really didn't want to go back to the motorcycle show, but Wicked said she'd be there, and when I arrived (not really intending to play) there were only 8 other skaters so I jumped in. I was so sore for days afterwards, but I can only be left to assume that my ass will look PHENOMENAL after all that exercise.
