This Raw Meat session will fall the day after the Ides of March, so it seems only fitting to work on agility (or, how to avoid obstacles, including but not limited to angry guys in togas). In addition to the usual roller skating basics such as stops, falls, pack work and games, we’ll take a look at walking on toe stoppers, lateral movement, getting out of wheel locks, and more. For all you budding conspirators out there, if there’s time, we’ll also look at some basic teamwork.

Raw Meat’s Upcoming Schedule

Raw Meat Roller Skating will meet at Thunderbird Community Centre, 2311 Cassiar St., every Saturday from 5-7 until April 6. There is no Raw Meat on April 13. Instead, come to Kerrisdale Arena to see the Terminal City Rollergirls’ season opener. Note that on March 30, we’ll have a three-hour session, from 5 to 8 PM.

Starting on April 20, Raw Meat changes time and location for the summer!

We’ll meet on Saturday mornings at Royal City Curling Club, 75 East 6th Avenue in New Westminster. There will be an advanced session from 10-12, and an all-levels welcome session from 12:30-2:30. The advanced session will require skills testing. View the test here. The test is a modified version of the WFTDA basic skills test. The advanced sessions continue to be non-contact, and no contact skills will be tested.

The all-levels sessions at 12:30 will be drop-in. No testing is required for the 12:30 session—just bring your safety gear and join in!

Note: On April 20, there is only one session, at 10. Every other Saturday, we will have two sessions.

A sign up form to participate in skills testing for the advanced session will be available within a week. Stay tuned for more details! Skaters currently skating with a league do not have to test to attend the advanced sessions, but if you are new to Raw Meat, please email me at info@rawmeatvancouver.com to let me know your skating background.

At the end of August (date to be confirmed), we’ll be back at Thunderbird from 5-7 on Saturdays.

What you’ll learn at Raw Meat Vancouver Roller Skating:

We’ll cover the basics of roller skating, including stops, falls, agility drills, skating form, roller skating in proximity with others, a few fun tricks, and some (non-contact) roller derby strategy drills.

All levels of roller skater, including beginners, are welcome. We’ll help beginners learn to skate, and give more advanced skaters some fun drills and games.

What to bring:

You must have roller skates, and all safety gear: knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, helmet, and mouth guard. The venue also requires everyone to use white or light-coloured, non-marking toe stoppers. If your knee pads are black, please cover them with white, non-marking hockey tape. Vertical strips of tape work best.

Sessions are $7, and take place every Saturday from 5-7 at Thunderbird Community Centre, 2311 Cassiar St. In late April, we move to Saturday mornings at the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster.

Sessions are drop-in. Just grab your gear and come join us!

The rules:

Raw Meat has two rules: 1. Be Safe, 2. Don’t be an asshat. All sessions are non-contact.