April 28: New Venue! New Time! New Session!
Starting on April 28 and running to August 4, Raw Meat Vancouver Roller Skating sessions will NOT be at Thunderbird Community Centre. We move to Royal City Curling Club (RCCC) for the summer, but we are back at Thunderbird on August 11. RCCC is at 75 East Sixth Avenue in New Westminster, and is easily accessed by numerous bus routes.
There will be two Raw Meat sessions each Saturday at RCCC. Our Meaty session is from 10 am to noon, and our regular session is from 12:30 to 2:30. The Meaty session is for advanced skaters, and there is a skill requirement. See below for details. You will not be allowed to skate in the Meaty session if you do not meet the requirements. Our regular sessions are for all levels of skater, and beginners are welcome.
All sessions at RCCC will be $12. For Meaty session skaters who wish to stay and skate at the regular session as well, it will be just $5 to stay and skate for another two hours. These prices are attendance-dependent. If we get more skaters, we will be able to drop the price, so please encourage your friends to come out!
Meaty Session: All the details
Raw Meat Meaty Sessions are advanced skating skills sessions for skaters who are ready to take it up a notch, current league skaters who can’t get enough time on wheels, and injured or retired skaters who love to skate, but may not want contact. Meaty sessions are a workout, but they continue to be non-contact.
Skills testing for the Meaty sessions will take place on April 28. If you would like to be tested, please sign up here. This form will come down on the evening of Wednesday, April 25. After that, or if you cannot make it on April 28, contact us, and we will try to arrange another time for you to be tested.
Please note: an email has been sent to everyone who signed up as of Monday, April 22. If you haven’t received an email, you aren’t on the list.
Click here to see the test we will be using.
This is a slightly modified version of the WFTDA basic skills test. (Please note: passing our test does not mean you have passed WFTDA basic skills for the purposes of any other league or training event—it just means you can come to our Meaty sessions.)
All TCRG skaters and on-skate referees* are welcome to skate with us. Skaters for other leagues who wish to come out must have passed a WFTDA basic skills test. If you are unsure of your level, please contact us or come to a regular session and chat with a coach. Of course, everyone is always welcome at our regular sessions.
*For refs: This means that you have actually skated as a referee in a TCRG bout. The ref test alone is not comparable to the Raw Meat test.
Raw Meat Regular Session: All the details
Raw Meat regular sessions will continue on as usual. All level of roller skaters are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Sessions will focus on basic roller skating skills (stops, falls, agility, proximity) and basic roller derby strategy, with some fun and games thrown in (double knee slide curling, anyone?).Just learning to roller skate? Don’t be shy! Â Please come on out to Raw Meat, and we’ll help you learn to roller skate.
Everyone at this session must have roller skates (not roller blades), as well as knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, a helmet and a mouth guard. No exceptions. For more questions about getting started with Raw Meat, and what gear you need, see our FAQ page.
Don’t hesitate to come to this session if you are an advanced skater, either. We’ll keep it interesting with variations on drills, and lots of fun and games. Besides, we know it’s hard to get out of bed on a Saturday. Now that Raw Meat starts at 12:30, there are no excuses! Come on down!
Raw Meat Rules for Everyone
Our two rules continue to apply: 1. Be safe, and 2. Don’t be an ass-hat. Anyone who breaks these rules will be asked to leave.
The floor at RCCC is beautiful to skate on, but it’s very hard. Helmets and mouth guards must be worn at all times on the skating floor. Also, taping your knee and elbow pads is not required or recommended for RCCC. We suggest you clean the tape off of your pads if you have them taped up for Thunderbird, in order to fully enjoy the super-slidy floor at RCCC.
The testers, coaches and assistant coaches who come out to Raw Meat volunteer their time because they love the sport. They are to be treated with respect and gratitude, or you’ll have Meatinatrix to deal with.
I hope to see you on the track!