Fun. Respect. Teamwork.

written by Bootsy Killins

Fun. Respect. Teamwork.

It is not just something we say, it is something we live by.

At Pair O’Dice City Rollers we have a skater’s oath. The oath is: “I will always honor and respect my teammates. When giving guidance or coaching another skater, I will approach them in the most positive and constructive way possible. I will always do my best to receive constructive criticism with an open mind. I will approach every practice knowing that I am there to grow and my teammates are there to help and guide me along the way. I will do my best to keep my teammates’ best interests in mind whether it's growing individually as skaters or as a team and know they are doing the same for me.” However, we wanted to condense it down to a short motto that contains these ideas in a chant we could do at each practice. The resulting motto is: “Fun. Respect. Teamwork.”

This motto condenses all that the Pair O’Dice Rollers are about into simple words that hold an extraordinary amount of meaning.

Fun- We don’t get paid to skate, in fact we pay monthly dues to skate, teach and learn. It is safe to say that most people that join roller derby are in it to have fun. If you only want to get in shape, go to the gym. If you only want to meet people, join a social club. If you only want to skate, go to the rink. Roller derby gives you all that and more. It gives you fun! No matter how hard we work, how challenging a new skill is, how far we have to travel to bout or practice we all have smiles on our faces. Having fun together helps foster both respect and teamwork.

Respect- Respect is what makes you push harder to improve yourself. POD City skaters push themselves for personal and accomplishments and out of a desire to be the best they can be for their teammates.  We support and encourage each other, we don’t say “I can’t do that” we say, “I need to work on that”. We listen to all voices and each member is not just allowed to contribute, they are expected to contribute to the good of the team. We identify, acknowledge and utilize each member’s special talents and abilities. When you give respect, you get respect and our mutual respect is observable in each practice. We practice self respect and respect for others.

Teamwork- We are a team and being able to function as such is what gives a derby team the ability to win. Because roller derby is a strategic game, whose primary mode of play involves skaters together as a pack, even a team of amazing skaters cannot perform to their full potential unless they can work together as a unit. You cannot truly have teamwork without respect and fun is a widely use tool to foster teamwork.

Three little words sure can mean a lot.

So what is your motto?