DRD Spotlight - Righteous Oxide

SKATE NAME: Righteous Oxide | NUMBER: None! | SKATING SINCE: 2010

What position do you ref in?

I’ve refereed over 400 games and about a quarter of those have been as head referee, which I’m hugely grateful for. I love the opportunity to help a team come together and ensure we can facilitate the game for both teams. It’s the position you get to have the most contact with the teams via too, which is also a reason it’s my favourite. I’d love to do more outside pack or jammer refereeing though as I know those roles less and they challenge your skating more.

Do you have any bench/Line up experience?

I stepped in to help bench-manage a couple of games in Aberdeen for the Hallam Hellcats and Wirral Roller Derby and got a bit of a taste for it, so opted in as Bench for Dundee Roller Derby during the last season. Due to Covid-19 that only ended up being one game, and I’ve a lot to learn about the role still but excited to hopefully have more opportunities in the future.

What have you missed most about Derby during the lockdown period?

Definitely the social aspect of seeing everyone on a regular basis and having something to focus on that’s not work on a regular basis.

What is your favourite thing to do in Dundee?

I love walking around cities and finding street art, so initiatives like Open/Close Dundee are one of my favourite things to do in the city. Free and takes you around parts of the city you might not normally venture around.

What is your job?

I am a Senior Lecturer within the Medical School at the University of St Andrews, where I teach Physiology and Pharmacology. I also look after one of the first-year modules many of our medical students take, which is the best part of my job. Helping the students transition into a new environment and welcoming them to the wider School and University community is a huge privilege.

What has helped to still feel connected to the league during lockdown?

We’ve had Monday night training sessions via Zoom which various members of the training committee have taken turns hosting. They’ve been a great and varied mix of different exercises etc that have been great fun to be part of and have helped keep me feeling connected to the wider league.

Post-pandemic, what are you most looking forward to with getting back to training?

I definitely feel very rusty as an official given we’ve not had in-person practise for a long time. Watching games and reading the rules only gets you so far, and whilst I’ve been skating outside there’s very little you can do to authentically keep all the referee skills sharp other than by being involved in practise. So yes, counting down the (theoretical) days until the contact drills start again!

Have you discovered any new interests/hobbies during lockdown?

Ellin (Seaton, 102) got me in to cross-stitch during the pandemic, which has been a great distraction during the various lockdowns and something I’ll keep doing now we’re freer to get out and about. I’ve completed a few, mostly involving skeletons and UFOs. You know, the usual cross-stitch stuff.

What’s your favourite animal?

Has to be the badger, as the way my beard gas greyed over the years means I can reasonably pass for one in the dark.

Is there any podcast you love to listen to?

There’s a fair few I end up dipping in and out of, but one I routinely listen to on my work commute is “Answer Me This”. It’s the right balance of irreverent and humorous observations alongside some fun and interesting facts.

Who do you choose for next month's DRD spotlight and why? (This can include skaters, refs , NSOs and anyone within the league)

For next month, I’m going to nominate Jurassic Snark! She’s a core staple of our officials team within DRD, and is a rare double-threat of being both a fantastic on-skates and off-skates official. Plus she loaned me a DVD on Scientology once so I’m scared not to nominate her.