Strategy 102: Poodling Extra Credit

I tried to push this out for Friday’s Poodling 101, but ran out of time before the Wheels of Justice vs. Rocky Mountain letdown heartbreak bout.

It’s worth noting that in the olden days (read: last fall) skaters would draw their false starts by intentionally straddling the pivot line. This was, of course, obvious to the referees and the rest of the pack, but it also took up space on the pivot line (where your blockers are jockeying for position) and adds unnecessary time to your trip to the box.

We used to go the long way around. How silly! Both options are penalized the same, one gets you back in play quicker.

It’s the same penalty whether you poodle with one skate over the pivot line, standing behind the jammers, or standing right in front of the penalty box. The only difference being the amount of time you waste putting your butt in the box before your penalty time can start. Remember derby fans: her penalty time doesn’t start counting down until she’s seated. Always start your poodle as close to the penalty box as possible.* Think outside the lines! This can save you several seconds getting to the box and thus put you back on the track quicker.

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of working with the Axles of Annihilation during their 289 to 31 win over Olympia’s Dropkick Donna’s. Oly’s penalty box is situated right between the jam and pivot lines, forcing poodling from behind the jammers (what’s been referred to as the reverse poodle). Just an example of how standing right at the penalty box might not always be an option on all tracks.

I also heard from Gotham’s Corndog that Endless Justin is indeed responsible for the term and another source claims Gotham had been using the term as a sort of code word among the Zebras. Check out this explanation on the Zebra Huddle forum for the full story.

Derby Helper has an earlier explanation of intentional fourth minors and though the terms Poodle and Cougar don’t appear there’s a great visual utilizing Ms. Pacman.

* Make sure you’re fully in bounds or else you don’t get a penalty because you’re not on the track when the jam starts and thus not in the jam. Also make sure you’re not past the magic end-of-box-landing-zone line or you’ll be doing a whole lap around the track.