Nordic Derby

So, this is a little random. But this ridiculously unseasonal September heat-wave is getting me hyped for winter, and it has been a life-long goal of mine to invent a new winter sport.

I think I may have a winner, inspired by these great roller-derby socks:





If you are not familiar with roller-derby, it is a sport where overly-aggressive rockabilly chicks slam each other around while skating around a track.

Since I was raised by a former competitive roller-skater (I still own my mom's old skates with Canadian Red wheels), and any break in the White Bear Lake school system warranted a trip to Saints North, this naturally appeals to me. Especially since rockabilly style is a huge element of the swing revival.

Anyhow, I started thinking about my own favorite winter sports, nordic skiing and hockey. Nordic skiing includes a style called freestyle or "skate-skiing" which could possibly lend itself well to the roller derby format, while hockey is dripping with the violent, show-stopping athleticism that I think a good sport needs.

Ice skating derby would be the most obvious result, but I don't think crashing into folks with blades on their feet sounds like a ton of fun, so...

I submit for your consideration: Nordic Derby. A large track or loop would serve as the traditional flat track, and the rules would be pretty similar, with obvious modifications for the limited mobility offered by skis (possibly using short trick skis, or even roller skis?). In a full-contact sport, we'd have to find a way to get the ski poles involved without putting any eyes out. And how sweet would those derby socks look peeking out of ski bindings over black spandex racing skins? Oh yeah!

I think I've got something. Now I need a whole bunch of daring snowbunnies who V2 like it's second nature, a large open practice field, and a whole bunch of glide wax.