Image courtesy of DRG

Dundee Roller Girls present a double-header bout on Saturday the 17th of November which sees them bring two teams up from south of the border.The first bout will see the Granite City Roller Girls take on Newcastle Roller Girls,then DRG will play against Severn Roller Torrent. The action takes place at Dundee International Sports Complex,Mains Road,Dundee,doors open at 11:30am with the first bout at midday,tickets are £7 on the door,free entry to the under 14's when with a paying adult. More details at the Facebook event page.

First up in this months fun filled fundraising events is Glasgow Roller Derby's Blingo Night at the Cathouse,Glasgow on Friday the 2nd ,a night of prize bingo with prizes courtesy of Tatty Bon, Hauswife and Bunny's Beads.Fancy Dress optional.

Next up on Saturday the 3rd is New Town Roller Girls Rock And Rollers night at the Black Bull Inn,Mid Calder.Live music from The Scabby Queen ,crafts ,merch ,prizes and cake

On the same night,Fierce Valley Roller Girls,host a Fierce Halloween Party at
Thornhill Community Hall, Falkirk.The night will feature music, baking, food, merch ,Halloween games and a raffle with a star prize courtesy of Into The Nightmare.This event is fancy dress with best costume winning a prize.

After a number of delays and obstacles, planning for Fierce Valley Roller Cubs is firmly back on track. As before, our main problem has been raising the money to cover the cost of insurance – vital before we start bringing kids in and letting them loose on skates! We’re confident now though that we will be able to raise the money needed, in a number of ways.

Firstly, our brand new logo will be available on t-shirts and badges that we will be selling to raise funds for all of our set-up costs.

Secondly, we will be selling the merchandise at our "big sister" league's first home bout. On Saturday 17th November, Fierce Valley Roller Girls' Parma Violents will play host to Wirral Whipiteres Roller Derby in For Whom the Skate Rolls, at The Peak in Stirling. Members of the Cubs committee will be on hand to answer any questions people may have about junior derby, and to recruit some more potential Cubs. Under-14s go free at the bout so it’s the perfect opportunity to bring the kids along.

Thirdly, with regards to a start date, we're aiming for Feb/March 2013. We know this is a while away, but starting an under-18s roller derby league has been more challenging than we first envisaged. We are the first league of its kind in Scotland, so have been doing this alone, and understand the importance of having everything in place before we begin, as keen as we are to get going. Policies and constitutions are currently being written along with our training plans, and we hope to have these available at the start of 2013.

Finally, our coaches have all passed the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) minimum standards for derby skaters and are all experienced rollerskaters. Our coaches are all enhanced PVG checked.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to e-mail us (cubs@fvrg.co.uk) or send us a message on Facebook.

On Saturday 17th November, Fierce Valley Roller Girls' Parma Violents will play host to Wirral Whipiteres Roller Derby in For Whom the Skate Rolls!

The Peak in Stirling will be the venue  for FVRG's first public home bout, and they are hoping to make the Metallica-themed day one to remember!

Tickets are priced at £7 on the door, or £5 in advance if you buy online from Brown Paper Tickets. Children are welcome to attend - under 14s go free when accompanied by an adult.

Poster designed by Stewart Ferguson

Image courtesy of RCRG

Glasgow Roller Derby travel down south to play Rainy City Roller Girls on Saturday the 27th of October for their now traditional Halloween bout, at the magnificently named Thunderdome,Oldham.Tickets are available in advance here at the cost of £5,plus booking fee.Alternatively its £8 on the door for anyone making the trip. Facebook event page for more details.

Image courtesy of ARRG

Auld Reekie Roller Girls' Cannon Belles take on Dundee Roller Girls' Silvery Taysers on Saturday the 27th of October,in the last ARRG home bout of the year.The action takes place at Meadowbank Sports Centre,Edinburgh,entry £7 on the day,advance tickets available here at a cost of £5,plus booking fee. Please note that this bout starts slightly earlier than normal,doors open at 1pm. More details at the Facebook event page.

A quick round-up of several events happening in the month of October...

First up is Auld Reekie Roller Girls,Fresh Meat Halloween Pub Quiz at The Tron,Edinburgh on the 18th,£5 on the door.Fancy dress optional,but encouraged More details on the Facebook event page

Deadly Divas Roller Derby host a training/recruit intake afternoon on the 20th,register your interest here

Scotland's second bricks and mortar skate shop,Into the Nightmare,have finally got round to having an official opening do,on the 21st.More details here.

On the 26th,is The Lothian Derby Dolls Halloween Roller Disco. Fancy dress four wheeled disco fun guaranteed.Danderhall Community Centre,£5 on the door,more details at the Facebook event page.

On the same night,Scotland's newest Merby league,the Bairn City Rollers,are hosting a launch party at the Stenhousemuir Cricket Club,more details on their Facebook event page.

This month's monthly diary from Fierce Valley comes around again, and it appears that school is never out for Gallus Cooper!

An... unusual... look for Gallus Cooper, at the Great Scottish Skate

What first attracted you to derby? I'm not entirely sure what first attracted me to derby. I do remember telling all my friends I was going to play before I even knew what it involved. I had a long conversation with old friends (well, they're not old, I've just known them a really long time!) where I told them about derby and that I wanted to play and they all thought I was crazy! It took me nearly a year to find out about Fierce Valley and their Fresh Meat intake, but once I did, I did not look back, except to keep an eye on that jammer!

Who are your derby heroes? My wife Joustin Beaver is my biggest hero. She took up derby as soon as she realised she would never see me if she didn't. Joustin never gives up, she falls over a lot, but keeps getting back up and just keeps trying - inspirational! I love watching her progress, she gets better every training session.

Derby names are an important aspect of the sport, especially when you're starting out. How did you choose your name, and how does it reflect your personality on track? Ha ha! I put my friends on the case for my derby name, and Lynz (one of the really old friends) came up trumps. Can't beat a bit of Alice Cooper and I may be a wee bit Gallus, both on and off the track! Naming the derby girl has become a bit of a challenge that a lot of my friends have gotten involved in, we even re-named my dog - Jed Zeppelin.

What was your biggest initial difficulty? Well, the first time I put on my borrowed skated I could hardly stay on my feet. Once I figured out how not to fall on my ass, T Stops and crossovers were my stumbling block. It took me so long to just get it with both of them.

Lots of roller girls find it hard not to spread the word about their new sport. How have you been spreading the word? I'm not entirely sure what I talked about before derby? I have asked people, nobody else could remember either. I can't believe how quickly and completely it has taken over my life.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt/ done this month? Not to start a new class at the gym 2 days before team tryouts! I could not walk for 2 days never mind skate! I'm learning something every time I put my skates on, it's been such a steep learning curve. We have some amazing skaters @ FVRG and they are all teaching me how to be a better skater, whether it's tactical, technical or just people skills, it's truly amazing.

What were the most difficult and the best things? The most difficult and the best thing so far has been that moment just before my first scrim. I felt like a fish out of water, I had no idea how to put all that practice into play, but once I got on track I loved every second of it.

What's new for the Fierce Valley this month? We are busy preparing for our first open home bout "For whom the skate rolls" at the Peak in November against the Wirral Whipiteres. We have also just started a new Fresh Meat intake, I do so love the smell of Fresh Meat in the morning!

Perths finest,the Fair City Rollers played host in a James Bond themed bout against Cumbria's Furness Firecrackers on Saturday the 29th of September 2012, in the superb setting of the Bells Sports Centre.

Photography by Stu Mackin

The first few jams of the first period were very low scoring,with both teams assessing the oppositions strengths and weaknesses.Lead Jammer status alternated between the two and things were shaping up nicely for an interesting bout when,in jam 4,the scoreboard went down and an official timeout lasted until a barebones scoreboard was re-established.The enforced break of the timeout,seemed to serve Furness well and in the next few,fast-moving jams they built up a lead over Perth,with Hell For Heather and Steffinately Maybe in particular doing some excellent point scoring,Jam 7 ended 51-20 in favour of the Firecrackers. Jam 8 saw the Maidens start a slow fightback.A powerjam in Perth's favour gave Louisville Destroier a chance to redress the points balance and despite some excellent recycling work from Furness she managed to pull the score back to 53-35.The next two jams saw the Maidens continue to chip away at the points deficit,but the combination of a powerjam for Furness and two Maidens in the Bin in Jam 11 saw them,stretch out in front again a little,roughly halfway through the first period the scores stood at 66-50. In the next two jams the Firecrackers extended their lead,taking lead jammer status in both and creeping the score upwards in their favour again,they continued to dominate the next few jams,denying Perth lead jammer status in all but one with excellent pack work.Jam 18 saw the turning point,when Jaggy Sw'aggie took the score to 87-74,in a powerjam for the Maidens and calling it off to start the next jam with Doh! still in the bin.Perth took advantage of this to put another ten points on the board,but not before the Furness jammer,now released,managed to score two.Perth kept up the pressure over the next two jams,taking lead in both and pulling the scores ever closer by four points with half time fast approaching,to make the score 89-88 The last jam of the half was a hard-fought one,both teams wanting to take the lead into the second period,despite some stellar walls from the Firecrackers skaters Tash Bandicoot,Steely'll Kill'Her and Kammakezzie,it was the Maidens Jaggy Sw'aggie that took the points as her opposite number,Doh!,was sent to the bin once more.Ending the first period with a Perth lead,89-98

The first jams of the second period saw Furness determined to narrow the points gap and Perth equally determined to keep things in their favour,by three jams in,the Firecrackers began to claw back some points with the score now 103-115,three more and the eight point difference had gone down to seven.An old school pivot line start saw Furness take lead ,get a powerjam and take the score to 117-124.The next jam,Doh! took lead and racked up a much-needed eighteen points in a powerjam for the visitors,score now 135-124.The next two jams saw Perth,at first hold Furness in check,allowing them to only score a few points.The following play saw Perth bring themselves back in close with a useful seven point powerjam,held back from scoring more by a disciplined Firecrackers pack bring the score to 138-133.Furness stepped up the pressure over the next two jams,denying Perth any points with some superb walls and pack work,keeping jams short,taking the four and out,building their lead to 149-133. In jam 35 Stephinately Maybe took lead for Furness and with three of the Maidens in the bin,easily took the score up to 184-133.Perth rallied and held the next jam pointless for both teams,the next few after that saw low scoring,with some great pack work from both sides preventing either from taking full advantage,It took another three jams before the scores crept up to 192-146.With five minutes to go on the clock in jam 41,Furness failed to field a jammer,which gave Perth's Pistol Panties the opportunity to put a very impressive and much-needed 34 points on the board,much to the fans delight this brought the Maidens right back into the running,making the score now 199-180.The last two jams of the bout were again,hard-fought affairs,with the sides closely matched,despite a huge effort from Perth,the bout ended in favour of the Furness Firecrackers,final score 200-182.

Photography by Stu Mackin

MVP's for the Firecrackers were- Best Blocker-Steely'll Kill'Her Best Jammer-Steffinately Maybe Best Dressed-Kit Kruger MVP-Yorky Thud

and for Fair City Rollers Best Blocker-Mini Me Best Jammer-Jaggy Sw'aggie Best Dressed-Knock Turnal MVP-Louisville Destroier