I keep plugging away on possible stories and blogs to post here at fivepointgrandslam.com. Thanks to some new connections, I hope to generate more traffic here. The March stats are phenomenal compared with each month since we began last fall (and we're just half way through March). I hope to continue those efforts.
I have questions sent off to B Train of Wicked and Lulu and Pivot Star, hoping to turn around a story within a couple of weeks. I have a few other ideas floating around, and I'll likely be getting into contact with different leagues. I'm hoping for a few more stories before the busy season and Regionals roll around.
My goals for Regionals:
- To make Eastern and Western regionals this year. I attended the North and South Central regionals and Championals last year and had a blast. I made it to Eastern regionals a few years ago, hosted by Madison, when there were just two regions. Each time I go, I learn more and more. This year I have my own camera and video camera in addition to all the other tech gear I've acquired over the years, so I'm hoping to try out some different things.
- I want to add more photos and videos to the site. Right now, I'm reliant on provided images with photographer permission. This system works just fine, but the dependency on others could potentially backfire and leave me with few pictorial choices. I'd like to add video to fivepointgrandslam.com too, but I'm currently only able to imbed videos -- which also works just fine.
- Currently I shell a blogger template over my domain name, which I do own. It's a fix in a pinch as I have very little web prowess, and the blog format suits my current style. However, I'm working on a website design that utilizes everything I do now, and adds some features that I'm would love to include -- mostly the multimedia.
- With a new website, I also want to include a few widgets for continual scoring updates. Some of my favorite derby websites maintain and update scores from around the U.S. (if not world) and I'd like to be able to include the same amenity. As it stands, I'm scrounging around facebook and twitter to get some of the more obscure stats, and even then I come up short on some scores.
- Take more trips for derby. I'm currently scheduled to hit up Baltimore and Portland for the coastal regional tournaments and I plan on taking time off to go to Denver for 2011 Championals. Whether I make it to the North and South Central regionals this year is yet to be determined. Getting time off from work is hard enough without taking three weekends off in such close proximity. My wishlist of places to visit outside of the previously mentioned: Toronto for Blood & Thunder's World Cup, Europe (somewhere, anywhere) and possibly Australia/New Zealand. I've never done any traveling outside of the U.S., but I would like to travel more.
- I won't be making it to RollerCon this year, so I won't get to hang out with some of the cool people I met last year or get to ref great challenge bouts. I will hopefully be heading to Lincoln, Nebraska, for one of the many WFTDA referee clinics being hosted this year. I'm always looking to improve my ref skills, and while RollerCon helped in a big way, I think a WFTDA clinic would be an awesome boost. I've been skating for three years and it's always a pleasure to meet and work with other refs.
