Skater of the Month: Cannonball Iztik

Cannonball Iztik #Long 9

How did you find out about roller derby?

I live around the corner from San Jose Skate, which has a huge banner hanging in the front that says, “SAN JOSE SKATE – HOME OF THE SILICON VALLEY ROLLER GIRLS.”  Eventually I figured, what the heck, let’s see what it’s all about. And here I am.

What kind of skating skills or athletic abilities did you have before starting derby?

I’ve played just about everything competitively: volleyball, soccer, badminton, Parker Kempo, basketball, softball…I was heavily involved in field hockey for several years, and played for the Futures, which is an Olympic development league. Unfortunately, I got severe shin splints and chrondromalacia in both knees, which stopped me from participating in any sports that involve running. I moved on to cycling, which is low-impact for joints, and finally roller derby. But all that previous activity doesn’t compare to roller derby. This is by far the most intense, athletic sport I’ve ever played.

How did you derive your derby name?

I’m a huge klutz. Epic. Legendary, even. My friends gave me the nickname Cannonball because of it, and Cannonball Iztik is a combination of Cannon and Ballistic. It also sounds like “Cannibalistic,” which is a plus.

What is your primary position?

Blocker. I’d rather hit a target than be a target.

What is your greatest strength as a skater? What do you contribute most to the team?

I don’t give up. Ever. Even when I should. Roller derby is not a sport that’s easy for me. I have no coordination, grace, or endurance, which means that I have to work very, very hard at every practice. Luckily I’m part of an amazing, encouraging team, which makes it easier to plow through the tough parts.

What was your worst injury, and how did you earn it?

I completely ruptured my ACL last year and continued to skate for 8 months. That sucked. It was my first time back on skates after a bout of pneumonia, and I’d probably lost a good amount of muscle mass, but decided to skate anyway. I scrimmaged at 100%, and my ACL was a casualty of that bad decision. I finally had ACL reconstruction last week and am already walking without crutches, so hopefully within the year I’ll be able to get back up to fighting shape.

What do you contribute to SVRG off the track?

Since I’ve been injured for so long in my derby career I’ve had the opportunity to work a lot behind the scenes, mostly doing bout production for SVRG’s home games. This year I was volunteer coordinator, as well as day-of coordinator for a couple of bouts. That really kept me busy and engaged with the league!

How do you spend the non-derby part of your life? What other hobbies and interests do you have?

My free time is usually spent buried ankle-deep in metal CDs, cover art, magazines, flyers, and recently vinyl albums. Death metal, black metal, thrash, doom, sludge, symphonic, poly-rhythmic, battle, folk, NWOBHM, technical, progressive, whatever…I listen to it all. Having recently moved to San Francisco, I’ve found a small but true group of underground metalheads, and it’s made me a very happy Cannonball.

Other than that, I’m a graduate student heading for a Master’s in Special Education with an emphasis in moderate/severe disabilities. I’m currently working as a behavior specialist, and a bicycle mechanic when possible.

What’s the one piece of advice you would give women interested in playing roller derby?

Don’t give up. Never, never, never, never, never give up. There are plenty of women who will pass you by without seeming to break a sweat, but do not give up. Derby is one of those few sports where greatness is based on more than ability. It’s based on guts and perseverance as well.

SVRG has a fun and derbyful weekend

The Silicon Valley Roller Girls’ season officially ended at the November bout, but we’ve still been workin’ it out and taking any derby opportunity that rolls our way. This weekend SVRG members made appearances at Red Red Holiday, a mixed scrimmage hosted by Sac City, and a scrap team (translation: anyone who had the time & money to travel) meandered down to face some of the San Diego Derby Dolls.

Red Red was particularly exciting this year because we got to send a lot of our new blood for some scrimmage experience. In addition to SVRG vets Steffen Razor (Team Orange) and MisTits (Dark Green), five of our interns got their first taste of bouting: Bozo Disposo (Dark Blue), Cannonball Iztik (Black), Absolutely Scabulous (Red), Blanca Basura Barbie (Pink) and Catherine Beata Bones (Light Green). The ladies had a wonderful time, and three were on the top teams. Barbie’s team, Pink (too appropriate!), took first place, MisTits’s Dark Green took second, and Steffen’s Orange took third. Congratulations!

In the meantime, a bunch of scrappers were bouting in San Diego. There was a question of whether the bout would even take place, because the roof at the Del Mar Fairgrounds was leaking in several places above the concrete track. Thing is, you can’t just tell derby girls there’s no derby. After consulting both teams, SDDD’s Bonnie D. Stroir declared that the game would go on, with some brave volunteers actively toweling the wet spots on the floor.

Because SVRG couldn’t field a whole team, we were grateful for the assistance of a couple of Central Coast Roller Derby ladies, Ivanator and Lacy Thunderware, to help fill our roster. Ivana joined Pia Mess, Death by Dollface, CynTax, and Betta Watchit (in her bout debut)  in the jamming rotation, while Rot Wheels, Kimfectious, Lizapalooza, Belle Wringer, Satan’s Kitten, Bitch Puddin’, Retox Fox, and BootyVicious performed blocker duties. Refs Texas Tea Bag and All Nate Long made the trip with the team, and the most honorable Aim De Kill tackled lineups for the group since her knee injury kept her off the track.

The game was a close one, with SVRG up by only ten points at half time. The tide turned in the second half, however, when SVRG often had more players in the penalty box than on the track. On numerous occasions SVRG was plagued by confusion, because a skater would get sent to the box only to find it chock full of her teammates, at which point she would have to return to the track until she was sent back. Before the midpoint of the second half, SVRG was down two skaters as both Ivanator and Lacy Thunderware had been ejected. SDDD wisely used their perpetual blocker advantage; having more blockers on the floor for nearly every jam allowed them to play woman-on-woman defense and keep one blocker solely on the SVRG jammer, limiting SVRG’s scoring. SDDD also made the most of a couple of power jams when SVRG had their jammer in the box. Gradually, they inched closer and closer, finally securing the lead in the last three jams of the night. SDDD defeated the SVRG scrappers, 97-82. One of our photographers, Adrian Valenzuela, made the trip down with us and you can see a couple of his shots here and a full Flickr set here. You can also check out other pics from the game here.

But the derby wasn’t over for the weekend. SDDD graciously hosted us at their amazing warehouse the next day so some of us could skate on a banked track for the first time. As Satan’s Kitten noted, we were all “SVRG green with envy” about the team’s space, which had room for a banked track, a regular track, workout equipment, lounging area, kids’ play area, and plenty of storage. Some of our previous night’s opponents, Bully Julie and Lila Monster, were there to give us some lessons on how to maximize our speed, hit legally, and take hits on the rail. Despite getting a serious workout the night before, we were all super psyched for the opportunity to skate on the banked track. THANK YOU SDDD and especially Julie and Lila for letting us come skate! You all are awesome!

L: SVRG hearts SDDD! On couch, Lila Monster, Bitch Puddin', Retox Fox, and Satan's Kitten; standing, Bully Julie and Belle Wringer. R: Belle, Kitten, Kimfectious, and Fox on the banked track.

L: Kimfectious and Betta Watchit on the rails. R: Kitten roars on the track.

Of course, that’s not enough derby for some of us. Some of the girls who had skated this weekend (Steffen, Dollface, Disposo, Belle, Fox, and Kimfectious) joined their teammates in welcoming some of the Santa Cruz Derby Girls for a mixed scrimmage last night. Lulu Lockjaw, Hell Louise, Pippi Hardsocking, Roxy Scarmichael, and CinZilla came out to skate with us and it was a fun evening for all. Thanks to all the refs and NSOs who made it possible, and a personal thanks to Broken Baby Doll, Panda, and the rest of the crew who came to my aid after my injury. Congratulations to Team Girth (Pandamonium, Hell Louise, Smack Dahlia, Lindsay Lohanded, Beth Sentence, Donna Diggler, Steffen, Fox, and Knuckles) who defeated Team White (Lulu, Dollface, Pippi, Roxy, CinZilla, Belle, Kimfectious, Smash ‘n’ Burn, and Disposo). Thanks to Jim Cottingham, who came out to photograph us (pics here), and a big thanks to SCDG for coming to visit!

Photo credit: Jim Cottingham