Blog by Misty Step

The Parliament of Pain strives to be active in all aspects of roller derby in the Netherlands. When the sign ups for the MRDA World Cup team NL opened up, many of our skaters tried out. In the end, 8 of our members made the team, 2 PoPjes were chosen as bench crew. And as if that was not a big enough delegation of PoP to go to the world cup, 2 of our PoPficials were selected to officiate at this high-level event. Since we could not let this go by unnoticed, we wanted to dedicate a bit of a longer blog item to the world cup. This blog will consist of a report of the events at the world cup and the experiences of our members who were there as an official, as part of team NL or as supporters. 

We as PoP are incredibly proud to see so many of our members attending this event. We are looking forward on incorporating what our members have learned into our own trainings.

I was selected as the coach for Team Nederland M+ 10 months ago when we started to set up the new iteration of the Dutch national all gender team. For the last 10 months the team has worked on individual skills, working together, strategies and game IQ. Our goal for this World Cup was to make it past the group phase and match or improve our ranking from the previous MRDWC from 2018, which was 16th place. A couple weeks before the start of this event the poule draw was made public, and we started to grow a bit of confidence: a poule with Ireland, Schmear Campaign and Mexico was not too bad! Mexico is a good and hard-hitting team, ranking 6th in the previous MRDWC, Schmear Campaign is a diaspora team so their level was difficult to gauge but we had the advantage of training together as a team for the past 10 months, and then there was Ireland: we've beat them beginning of April in a preparation tournament in Scotland, but they were not to be underestimated since we knew they were working hard and wanted revenge.
- Jonne D'Ark, Aces skater and Team NL coach

THE FIRST GAME IN ORLÉANS

Our first game of the World Cup against Schmear Campaign was a dream: we entered the track in the big venue to a block of orange supporters on the stands screaming their lungs out (yes, I already cried before the game even started), we danced to Boom Boom Boom Boom!!, got on track and got lead right away. These poule games were only 2x15 minutes, so there was no time to get into the game. We gathered points and slowly built our lead. Halfway through the first period we had a bit of a dipje, but after some stern coachwords and reminding the skaters of all they can do they pulled it in and we won the first game! Because of how the tournament was set up, winning 1 game in the poule phase ensured us of playing a full 60 min game later in the tournament, yes!! We celebrated, and then quickly shifted back into game preparation mode, 4 hours later we would face team Ireland in the greenhouse with hamster toilets (if you know you know...) (I think officially they called it "track 2"/"the other venue").
- Jonne D'Ark

OFFICIATING AT THE WORLD CUP

The World Cup was a whirlwind. Four days with a lot of games, a lot of people, a lot of running around, but mostly a lot of fun! The schedule was hectic, especially with the short games the first two days. I did a total of 8 short games and 5 regular games. With every game we did our crew grew. It’s amazing how in a short time a crew comes together and it just works. You really bond with your crew over the course of the tournament. The World Cup is a special experience you share with each other.

The best part of being an official at the World Cup is seeing old friends and meeting new people. Luckily Saturday and Sunday were less busy and there was actually time to hang out with some of the lovely people that were there. The World Cup was an absolute blast and in the end it’s all worth it.
- Delirious Diver, PoPficial and SO at the World Cup

A REMATCH AGAINST IRELAND

After the first game it was time to go to the other venue for the second match: Team NL against Ireland. It was very crowded and very hot and BOY were we in for some game. As a supporter I thought I had yelled in support for a team before, but nothing could have prepared me for the absolute nail-biter experience I was about to have.  

Ireland clearly did their homework since the last time we played each other. They were in the lead for the majority of the game, sometimes we managed to get as close as only 2 points away from taking the lead. 

With 4:39 on the clock, skaters were on the verge of overheating, frustration was getting in the way of our tactics and we were 20 points behind. A little voice in my head said "it's a lot, but it's not impossible.. You'll regret it if you don't try". I made the executive decision to put on only our powerline: the 4 best preforming blockers with a rotation of the 3 best performing jammers of that game. We got lead every jam since, Ireland started to make more penalties and with 1:15 on the clock we were 8 points behind.
- Jonne D'Ark

We go into what we think is the final jam and with a jammer stuck in the pack and a very close call of, just in time for the coach to call an official time out, the score is now 60-64 with just ONE jam to go. It is all or nothing. The Team NL supporters are absolutely losing their minds as Skull Kid skates up to the jammer line. As PoP members we know he has got some mad tricks up his sleeve, but will it be enough?

With 1 second on the period clock we line-up for the last time this game. Ireland has multiple blockers in the box, the crowd is going WILD, Skull Kid is behind the jammerline and... gets lead! After een seemingly effortless first scoring pass, the score is now 64-64, the Ireland jammer is still in initial so no rush on the last points. Skull Kid is focused on what I signal as a coach (I guess there's a first time for everything), goes for the second scoring pass, gets the 4 points, looks at me and calls off the jam, 68-64. Screaming fans, tears of joy, goose bumps, everything was happening in that moment. This was the highlight of my derby career and made all the blood, sweat and tears put into this team so worth it.
- Jonne D'Ark

CHANTING, SCREAMING & BRINGING THE VIBES

MEXICO BRINGING THE FIRE

THE LAST GAME FOR TEAM NL

Team Nederland M+ vs Team Colombia; our final game of the World Cup. By this point, all my nerves have melted away, and I go in completely zen. A sea of orange erupts the moment we set foot in the venue, and my heart swells with pride for my team and all that we have achieved. Our hard work has paid off. We throw everything we have practiced onto the track. We execute our strategies, we work together seamlessly, and we fight with all we have. 

Does it matter that Team Colombia is too strong for us? No. Not at all. Because I’m feeling such an immense amount of joy that I’m smiling from ear to ear throughout the match. It is the accumulation of all that makes Roller Derby so special for me. 

Tomorrow I will count my bruises and tend to my sore body.

Today I party with my friends

- Jean Splicer, Aces Skater and blocker for Team NL

And just when we thought the World Cup was over, everyone was home with the post-event blues and some sort of whacky cough, maybe my personal favorite part of the World Cup happened: Team G Allgender posted a video of the pig-napping of the Team NL mascotte, Willie. This resulted in a standing invitation for a match between Team NL and Team G Allgender, some hilarious videos and memes and even a fundraiser for neglected pigs in Germany. I am always very happy to see these silly parts of derby, it really shows that we are more than just a sport: we are a community.

I look forward to the ransom-match and maybe, as the political capital of The Netherlands, we could be of assistance in making sure the negotiations for the return of Willie are done in a diplomatic manner... 

I sure would love to host it. 

Derby love, Misty Step (President of PoP and enthousiastic supporter of Team NL)