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| Legendary Derby Ref Bill Morrissey |
Earlier tonight I took my first Penalty Skills test. I have been studying for this test for three months, but I still felt that I was not quite ready for it. After all, the Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues (RDCL) current ruleset (RDCL v1.3) is over 40 pages of nit picking detail. I knew how devious Regulator Captain John Wilkes Boosh was going to be when devising this tortuous test.
I sat down to take the 10 page test before our League practice tonight. Halfway though the test Boosh came over to me and whispered, "I expect no less than a pass from you, Castro." Mustering all of the bravado I had left, I looked him square in the eyes and stated, "I'm shooting for 110%." He gave me a smirk and a nod before leaving me to finish the test.
I had to wait until after the League practice for my results. Surprisingly, I didn't worry about the results at all during practice. After practice was another mater altogether. Boosh hid himself away in a corner to grade the tests while the rest of us sat around nervously waiting for our results. I knew I had passed when Boosh commented out loud to himself, "Castro is tearing this up." What I didn't realize was I was going to score near the top of all the Regulators with a 92% on my first try.
So, what does this mean for me? First, I think I can drop the "Young Gun" title and start calling myself a full fledged Regulator. Second, it means that I am now qualified to wear stripes and call penalties in the Outside Pack Referee position. In the next bout, I will be shadowing BamBam and Rev. KnuckleFace to get real world experience in this position. I expect to be officially filling this position early next season.
Now I have to concentrate on my skating skills. With any luck (and a new pair of skates), I will pass the Skating Skills test before Season 8 starts.