Posts Tagged ‘ fitness ’

Roller Girls Revive A Moribund Sport

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Roller Derby was never really a big deal in the US, but has been around forever and was a staple of the early days of television. It was similar in its promotional format to its better known “sports entertainment” cousin, professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad timeslots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the same loose confederation of promoters and businessmen that characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. That’s where the similarity to wrestling ends–it’s storylines made pro wrestling angles look like high drama. While there is a definite history to the sport–great teams like the LA T-Birds and Bay Bombers, and legendary skaters like Ann Calvello it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.

When the original purveyors of the sport quit promoting in the early’80s most thought it was dead and gone until a ‘new school’ of roller derby surfaced on cable TV via the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While much of the show dwelled in Lifetime style drama about binge drinking and bad relationships, it was the first clue that many had that roller derby had risen from the dead. A sport that had faded into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed the competitive format and renamed the competitions “bouts” a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock “do it yourself” mentality.

Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they’re having a good time. Between teams there’s a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie. In the US, these groups exist under the auspices of a national organization called the Womens Flat Track Derby Association. Las Vegas has the ‘Sin City Roller Girls’, Portland, Oregon the ‘Rose City Rollers” and Seattle the ‘Rat City Rollers’. There are now groups in not only the larger and traditionally “hipper” cities but also smaller communities such as Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska.

This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a result of young women taking what essentially was TV time filler and made it into their own distaff ‘action sport’. The roller derby circa 2009 is a matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the money, as these local groups are typically run as non-profit organization. The women involved have recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete in it on their own terms.

The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports’ pioneers much in the same way that skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony Alva. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello–regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby–is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Does Resveratrol Select Really Work?

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

For Resveratrol Select, this is the easiest question to answer. Without a doubt, it can be answered by testimonies from the growing numbers of users. The Manufacturers of this health wonder are even assured of jobs to do because of the consistent demand. The facts and statistics can answer this. For your peace of mind as well, here are the truth to its benefits.

Originally, Resveratrol can be found in rare berry plants and commonly infused in red wines. In Europe, especially in France people highly value and religiously take their red wine daily since not only does the resveratrol aid in metabolism, it also supports cell regeneration, flushes out toxins, eliminates stubborn fat and has anti-aging properties, no wonder the vampires addicted to red wine doesn’t age. Realistically, Europeans are ironically lovely and healthy despite their delicacies and voracious appetite.

These are the same substances infused in red wines as the Europeans would prove it, they are healthy indeed despite their voracious appetite and demanding lifestyle. The reason-they drink a glass of red wine every day. But you don’t need to consume a glass of wine including the alcohol and calories. A capsule of resveratrol has more than 200 times the content with only health boosting benefits.

Resveratrol Select works to help your body lose weight while adding life to your lifestyle because it has more than Resveratrol. There are added compounds as well like Chromium which is an insulin catalyst, Green Tea Extract which is also a top antioxidant, Caffeine in short amount just to boost your energy and L theanine, the popular fat eliminator common in other weight loss products.

Don’t judge the reviews; just judge the powerhouse ingredients in every capsule of Resveratrol Select. What does this mean for you beyond losing weight? Expect to be toxins-free, you’ll have a well functioning heart and continuous metabolism and source of energy. If it interests you, resveratrol also has anti-aging effects, but this is merely extra bonus with all the other greater benefits.

Did you know that you can even have Resveratrol Select for free? Your first bottle that is, this is because the makers and distributors are assured of the benefits they won’t have to convince you, just try the product and for sure you’ll return with reservations. Resveratrol is all about having the greatest things in life, without the lies. Does it really work? By now, you should have known the answer, it not only works, it works beyond your expectations.

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