When the Team USA roster was announced, I know I wasn’t the only one who said, “Who’s Addy Rawl?”
I remember being thrilled, however, that a skater from a team who was not in the power rankings made it onto the team. There are so many exemplary skaters that, because of life, don’t have an opportunity to play for a Denver, Texas or Gotham. At that point I was still skating for Harrisburg, and Queen City was on our schedule for the 2012 season, and I was a bit intimidated.
Seeing her at Rollercon backed up my nerves. This skater has the smoothness of Atomatrix and the avoidance maneuvers of Jukeboxx. She was absolutely awesome to watch, and I could not help but feel like she represented every under-rated skater on the flat track. Every one of us who come from a small team, she is our Champion. Rollercon was absolutely awesome to watch her push through the super stars of our game. She truly belongs among them.
Fast forward to that bout against Harrisburg – by that point I had transferred, so I watched the bout from the back of the rink that used to be my home. She was just as awesome to watch on that hardwood floor as she had been in the grandiose ballroom. Blockers could not touch her.
“Addy Rawl is an exemplary teammate. To call her a hard worker is an understatement. To say she is dedicated falls short of description. She is embodies the phrase "role model." And, she's a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with.” - Vile Love It, Queen City Lake Effect Furies.
"She's so fast. Best moment ever for me as a skater was matching her stride for stride in a jam and actually keeping up with her." – Mystery Violence Theatre, Garden State Rollergirls (formerly Harrisburg Area Roller Derby)
Thank you to Donalee Eiri (Photos by D.E.sign) for the photo used for this article!
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