Interview with Ying O'Fire, WCR All-Stars
The WCR All-Stars will be participating in the 2009 North Central Regional Tournament, The Brawl of America, hosted by the Minnesota Rollergirls next weekend, September 18-20.
Loco Chanel: You've been on the WCR All-Stars since the first team was formed to play at the first WFTDA-organized national tournament, the 2006 Dust Devil. What do you credit most to the team's development to becoming one of the top in the country?
Ying O'Fire: First of all, being exposed to derby on a national level was the impetus. We went to Tucson in February 2006 with no real understanding of how the game was being played in other parts of the country. That was a huge eye opener. When we came back, there was a huge push to reformat our game, and focus on the athletic aspect of the game, which is what was being done nationally.
You have to recall, the first season of the WCR was played by WCR rules --- we had not begun to use the standardized WFTDA ruleset or the regulation sized track. It was a completely different animal. When we came back from Tucson, we were like, "Oh man!!! I want to do THAT!"
I'm sure we could have been super dominant before, if we only knew what we were supposed to be doing!!
First bout at the tournament is against the Minnesota All-Stars. Last year WCR played them at Cicero to a 206-18 romp. What are your thoughts about the rematch?
This will not be a rematch-- the two teams playing this year are not the same teams that played last year. We go into each game not knowing what the opposing team is going to bring to the game. You must never underestimate your opponents--- you go out there and play YOUR game and hope to dominate.
If the WCR All-Stars win their opener against host Minnesota All-Stars, you'll either play St. Louis' Arch-Rival Roller Girls or the Cincinnati Rollergirls' Black Sheep. Any thoughts about the possible semifinal match-ups?
Well, it will be cool to see what either team brings as we played both of these teams early in the season this year, so I'm interested to see how they have progressed. Both teams have some strong players for sure.
What other Brawl of America bouts that you're particularly looking forward to watching? Any non-North Central tournament games you're keen to watch?
I’ll keep an eye on Detroit and Madison at our tournament. Other regions? I like the big ones-- Gotham, Texas, Philly, and I hear Denver is going gangbusters. The thing that is fun about Regionals is that this is where you really get to see who has what-- and start looking to Nationals!
Just because it's the question in everyone's mind when Ying O’Fire comes up... what's the story with the diapers?
When I first started playing derby, I think the first day I got my skates, I went to a practice and busted my butt! Literally. I think I cracked my tailbone.
Anyhoo-- of course I kept on skating (dumb!) I think because of the injury, I developed a tendency to fall on the side of my hips rather than on the ole booty. Because it is an impact sport, I was falling on the hips all the time, and because I have played derby non-stop since May of 2005 without any real break in the season, I just kept having trauma to those areas. After Regionals in 2008, I just said forget it-- I would rather look like some lumpy nutso out on the track than have horrible hematomas on my hips and thighs forever. Papa Doc had always used diapers as a method of compression to treat bruises, so the use of the diapers as padding was just sort of the natural progression for me. I like the fact that I can place them exactly where I need them to be, and at the end of the bout-- I am bruise free, and pain free! For the mental intimidation aspect, I also like that my thighs look like some sort of Marvel superhero thighs-- but its nice that I can take them off at the end of the day!
Plus, now I've really become used to hitting with my hips-- and having the padded hip/thigh area has been integrated into my derby playing style, which is kind of cool. I wonder if I were to play now without the diapers, would I miss every time I tried to take a hit? I'm really used to having those extra inches!
Facebook
MySpace
RSS
Twitter
not only does ying LOOK like a lumpy nutso...she IS one too.
man, i love yingy.
Leave your response!