Featured Skater for July - Hunt-Her Down!

Hello, folks!  June was a busy month for me, so I missed a month in my featured skaters!  I have two interviews done, and I will be doing them in July and August.

This month is Grainne Hunter (Hunt-her Down) of the I5 Rollergirls!  Hunther is someone I have definitely enjoyed watching over the last couple of years.  Her no-nonsense approach in the pack leads to some very efficient blocking, and she applies it to jamming as well.  She may not be the high scoring, high flying jammer, or have the biggest hits, but she is one of the most steady and reliable players I have seen out there.  That is exactly what makes Hunt-her one of my picks for an all-star team.

As Promised, here's the interview! 

My name is Grainne Hunter, and my derby name is Hunt-Her Down.

At what age did you start skating?
I started skating when I was twelve after learning about Roller Derby.

When did you first find roller derby?
I first discovered Roller Derby about five years ago, my dad and I saw Blood on the Flat Track during SIFF and I said, "I want to be a roller girl when I'm older!" My dad didn't really pay any mind to the comment because we didn’t know about junior derby! Then, one night we were watching TV and the Seattle Derby Brats were being profiled on a PBS show called In Focus so we researched it and attended an SDB practice at Bellevue Skate King to watch. I got skate gear the next day at Fast Girl Skates and the rest is history.

What was the best thing about skating with your league?
The best thing about skating with the I-5 Rollergirls is that we all work very well together and we're all friends outside of skating, additionally I love our coaching staff! Nikki and Trixxxie are committed to teaching no nonsense Derby skills and the entire team really respects them!

Is there a skater or team you see as an inspiration to you in roller derby?
I like many teams and individual players the list is pretty big. The Oly Rollers are amazing! All of the skaters for that team make me want to skate and play like them! I love watching my coaches play as well, they definitely inspire me.

Which is your favorite team to play against and why?
I like playing all of the junior teams, but a couple of my favorite teams to play are The Portland Rosebuds, and The Kitsap Derby Brats. PDX because they are all super nice but have amazing teamwork and are a challenge to bout, in a good way! KDB because I feel pretty close with most of their skaters! Both teams are awesome Roller Derby Teams! And I can’t say enough about the Reservoir Dolls from Eugene they are a little further away and we usually only play them once a year but they are a great team and of course it is always great to play SDB because I learned to play there and their team is tough.

I have seen you NSO, ref and coach, so clearly you are involved in all aspects of derby. Which of your non-competitive activities do you enjoy the most?
This is a hard question because I LOVE doing all of those. I like to be involved with bouts even when I am not skating. It is fun and a lot of work to pay attention to a bout when you're off skates. But I have to say that I like to NSO because I like to give back to the sport, it takes a lot of people to make a bout successful and we could not bout without the Ref’s and NSO’s

What advice would you give skaters just starting out in Jr Derby?
Some advice that I have for incoming skaters: Everyone was a beginner at one point, come to practice because that is the only way you will improve! But, I think a big thing is to watch lots of other bouts especially adult teams, see how everyone else plays or maybe how you want to play. Derby is mostly a dedication sport and if you put in the time you will have fun and improve. Skate whenever you can.