This weekend marks a particular piece of history, as Scotland's northernmost league make their public debut. Orkney's ViQueens have been working hard on becoming bout ready since their founding in January 2017, and have taken less than 20 months to do so, which is fairly impressive work. This will be an away game, as is common for debut bouts, hosted in the Capital of the Highlands, Inverness.

Although Inverness City Roller Derby are the closest bouting league to Orkney, it will still be a 180 km trip, as the crow flies, for the skaters attending their first ever bout as a team. (Whilst Elgin is a closer location, direct, it's faster to get to Inverness, due to the need to land at a sea- or airport at the mainland.)

Inverness City Roller Derby themselves, whilst very experienced, have only 2 public bouts on record themselves, as the travel costs for Highlands teams are difficult in general. (We'd hope that, together with Helgin Roller Derby, and potentially new league Ullapool Slayers, the newly bouting Orkney would allow a small "Highlands Leagues" cluster to support more sustainable competition in the future.)

We caught up with Orkney ViQueens founder, DeafWish, to learn about the team's history and feelings at this critical point in their existence.

Orkney is a bit more isolated than the majority of locations for Roller Derby leagues. How have you been coping with the higher cost of travel - for your skaters, and for guests?

We know it’s not the easiest place to get to, so we offer to accommodate visiting skaters and coaches wherever possible.  We can also advise on cheaper routes and travel options. We try to make dates known as far in advance as we can, to help with being able to get cheaper options.  We also have some great support and sponsorship: [Orkney-based jewellers] Ortak will allow us to use some of their self-catering accommodation to host officials for when we have a game at home (hopefully next year!) and when we travel [Northern isles ferry operator] Northlink offer us a discount on ferry travel, which really helps. Whilst this is your first public bout, Orkney ViQueens have had a very active first year and half. What's been the most important thing the team has done?

Undoubtedly it’s been our bootcamps.  We had four in the first year, which let us progress to the next stage of our skills, learn from some amazing skaters, and meet people from other leagues who came to skate with us.

What have you been working on most, ahead of your first game?

The biggest challenge we have is being so isolated. We have no referees, NSOs or experienced skaters to help us navigate some of the more intricate penalties or elements of gameplay. We have been focusing on gameplay aspects like jam starts, responding to penalty calls, maintaining a pack and identifying people’s preferred roles. Inverness City have been a fixture of the ‘Northern’ cluster of Scottish Derby for a long while - how do your teams get on?

Both Inverness and Aberdeen's Granite City (our other nearest neighbour [by travel distance]!) are brilliant. We have had coaches and skaters from both come up to bootcamps with us, and they are always ready to answer our questions and offer advice and help. Natorious and Monica Yeller were our first bootcamp coaches so we are thrilled that Inverness are now our first opponents. What are your aims for your debut bout? Do you have a target score, just looking to play the game, or something else you want to do?

We would like to play the game well as a team. For us that means working together, developing confidence in our roles, keeping our penalty count down and having fun.  Inverness are an experienced team so they are going to be a challenge for us, which we are looking forward to! What's next for Orkney ViQueens?

Building our pool of officials to help us have a better grasp of the game and have more effective scrims, and also recruiting and training bench and LUM staff. We are lucky for this game to have Hydra (Rule 56 and Rainy City Roller Derby) benching for us and some of our pre-mins skaters and family having the opportunity to learn NSO and LUM roles in this game. We will then build on this knowledge going forward.   We have a busy few months coming up, with plans for another bootcamp with (Pay as you Feel Coaching's) Nuke and Udder in October; Granite City Roller Derby are coming for a skating holiday with us and we are hoping to have another away game in November. We are also continuing to develop our youth team, Orkney ViTeens, with after-school sessions.

---

Inverness City Roller Derby versus Orkney ViQueens Roller Derby will be held at Inverness Royal Academy, 18th August, from midday.

We’re bringing you another roundup of the upcoming Roller Derby this weekend from across the world. As always, we’re using Flat Track Stats for much of this information – for regions with less good coverage, we also do a bit of intensive searching using a tool which scans the Facebook events of Roller Derby leagues known to Derby Listing.

Predictions of bouts are from FTS, if possible, and from our own SRD Rank where FTS cannot make predictions (for example: Latin America, or non-MRDA men’s bouts). (SRDRank also has recent WFTDA rankings, including the 31st June ranking, as well as SRDRank, and allows you to make predictions from them.)

If we’ve missed you from our roundup, please let us know! [Or add yourselves to FTS and/or Derbylisting]

(Note: we're especially likely to be missing items this week, as Facebook's response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal has resulted in them turning off large parts of the services we use to automatically collate events for this article. We don't think we've missed too much, but...)

We're trying a new colour coding this week, to differentiate BOUTS from RECRUITMENTS and OPEN SCRIMs, and BOOTCAMPs.

Scotland

This weekend is one of the busiest in Scottish Derby scheduling, with no less than three events, one a double header, across the country this Saturday (and another team off raising money for Charity)!

• Thurs, Dumbarton: Chicks in Bowls Scotland host Quad Meet sessions [6-10pm, Unit23 Skatepark]
• Edinburgh: Auld Reekie Roller Girls' traditional Edinburgh Festival Fringe fixture is a double header of action for the A and C teams [EVENT]
  • Auld Reekie All-Star Rookies (Edinburgh C) versus Maiden Grrders (Glasgow B) [FTS]
  • Auld Reekie All-Stars (Edinburgh A) versus Tender Hooligans (Rainy City / Oldham B) [FTS]
• Grangemouth: Bairn City Rollers host a naturally animal themed single-header as Aberdeen's Granite City travel down to play them. [EVENT]
  • Central Belters (Bairn City / Stirling+Falkirk A) versus Fight Hawks (Granite City / Aberdeen B) [FTS]
• Inchture: Fair City Rollers of Perth are one of several groups to have teams competing in the Rainbow Assault assault course, for the charity CLIC Sargent! [EVENT]
• Inverness: Inverness City Roller Derby host a bit of history with a single-header, as they're playing Orkney ViQueens in the latters' first ever public bout! [EVENT]
  • Inverness City "Nasty Nessies" (Inverness A) versus Orkney ViQueens [FTS]
• Sun, Dumbarton: Chicks in Bowls Scotland host all-ages coaching for Ramps and Bowls skating [10am-midday, Unit23 Skatepark]
• Tues, Aberdeen: Chicks in Bowls Scotland host a regular Quad Meet (Transition Extreme) [EVENT]

United Kingdom

The MRDA European Qualifiers appear to have sucked most of the attention in the UK as a whole their way. (If you're more interested in high level WFTDA derby, though, then London have a treat for you.)

• Fri, Middlesbrough, England: Middlesbrough Roller Derby host their regular open WFTDA-gender-policy scrimmage [EVENT]
• Halifax, England: New Wheeled Order host the 2018 Men's Roller Derby Association European Qualifiers. (They're already qualified, but will be playing a bonus game themselves) [FTS Tournament][EVENT]
  • Competing teams:
    • Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder
    • Tyne and Fear Roller Derby (Newcastle Upon Tyne)
    • Barrow Infernos (Barrow-in-Furness)
    • Nottingham Roller Derby's Super Smash Brollers
    • Manneken Beasts (Brussels)
  • New Wheeled Order (Manchester M) versus Gents In Pink (UK open team) [FTS] (bonus bout)
  • Team Avalanche versus Team Tornado (Junior Roller Derby Exhib)
• London, England: London Rollergirls host an "advance preview" of their first expected matchup at WFTDA Playoffs in Atlanta... bringing Berlin's Bear City to the considerably closer Tottenham Court Road. [EVENT]
  • London Brawling (London A) versus Bear City A (Berlin A) [FTS]
• Sat-Sun, York, England: York Minxters Roller Derby host a Training Clinic by Miracle Whips (Montreal Roller Derby / Team Canada Roller Derby)! This is a two-day course, with beginners sessions in the first day, and advance in the second. (Intermediate skaters welcome to both). [EVENT]
• Sun, Blackpool, England: Blackpool Roller Derby host a "taster session" for potential recruits wanting to try Roller Derby [EVENT]
• Sun, Liverpool, England: Liverpool Roller Birds host their summer open scrim (open to WFTDA-gender-policy conforming skaters) [EVENT]
• Sun, Northwich, England: North Cheshire Victory Rollers are hosting an open-to-all intake event for interested new members. [EVENT]
• Sun, Rochester, England: The Apex Predators host a double header of roller derby action [EVENT] CANCELLED
  • Apex Predators (Rochester/Kent) versus Team Unicorn (South of England exhib)
  • Open To All Scrim
• Mon, Bridgend, Wales: Bridgend Roller Derby host an 80s themed Roller Disco / rec skate event [EVENT]
• Wed, Sunderland, England: Sunderland Roller Derby League host another of their weekly open taster session for potential new skaters [EVENT]

Europe

Europe as a whole is also pretty quiet, except for the large number of recruitment events. There's still some on-track action - especially up in Scandinavia, and in the south of Ireland.

• Thurs+Mon, Nice, France: Nice Roller Derby's continuing series of open sessions for potential recruits has its next fixture today [EVENT]
• Fri-Sat, Lucerne, Switzerland: Rhine Rebels of Basel are inviting Swiss (and other) Roller derby teams to meet up at the femwo feminist political weekend to discuss building a queer-feminist network in Swiss Roller Derby, and beyond [femwo EVENT][Post by Rhine Rebels]
• Odense, Denmark: O-Town Roller Derby host an open summer scrimmage, with Veterans and Rookies scrims. [EVENT]
• Sat+Wed, Bordeaux, France: Roller Derby Bordeaux' Summer Sessions open-tryouts and recruitments continue! [EVENT]
• Sat+Wed, Lille, France: Lille Roller Girls' ongoing open tryouts and recruitment series continues, for all interested potential members [EVENT]
• Berlin, Germany: Bear City Roller Derby's Beginners Class is already in its second session! [EVENT]
• Oberhausen, Germany: The Mine Monsters of Oberhausen are hosting their "Become a Monster" recruitment day for skaters or officials [EVENT]
• Cork, Ireland: Cork City Firebirds host a single header with Dublin's newly reformed team (and a bit of help from Waterford's Viqueens) [EVENT]
  • Cork City Firebirds versus Dublin Roller Derby "Fear City" [FTS]
• Malmö, Sweden: Crime City Rollers host Stockholm's finest, for a battle of the top two teams in Sweden! [EVENT]
  • Crime City Rollers (Malmö A) versus Stockholm Roller Derby A [FTS]
• Örebro, Sweden: Örebro Roller Derby have a stall at the Örebro City Sport Festival, promoting the sport and their league! [EVENT]
• Stockholm, Sweden: The Royal Swedish Roller Derby host a triple header of Roller Derby! [EVENT]
  • Stockholm BSTRDs (Stockholm B) versus Dresden Pioneers (Dresden A) [FTS]
  • The Royal Army (Royal Swedish / Stockholm A) versus Dresden Pioneers [FTS]
  • The Royal Army versus BSTRDs [FTS]
• Sun + Wed, Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, France: The Rabbit Skulls of Avignon's open recruitment / try derby sessions continue! [EVENT]
• Sun, Pâquier, France: the Brütales Deluxe of Annecy-Seynod are hosting the first of two "try derby" recruitment days. Kit provided if needed. [EVENT Flyer]
• Sun, Paris, France: Paris Rollergirls host the last session of their discover roller derby recruitment sessions for this block [EVENT]
• Sun, Cologne, Germany: Cologne Roller Derby host an open training session for potential new recruits to try out the sport [EVENT]
• Tues, Angoulême, France: Brain Damage, Roller Derby Angoulême, host their next, and last, recruiting 'try out' session on this year's schedule [EVENT]
• Tues (+Thurs), Marseille, France: Marseille Roller Derby Club host the start of their new season for MRDC with 4 mixed off-and-on skates sessions. Registration forms for the league also available. [EVENT]
• Tues, Rovaniemi, Finland: Rovaniemi Roller Derby host the start of their beginners course for potential new skaters (sign up in advance)! [EVENT]
• Wed, Tampere, Finland: Tampere Roller Derby + Tampere Rollin Bros co-host the first of their two Open Skate intro to derby sessions (recruitment starts in October). [EVENT]
• Wed, Zaragoza, Spain: Sicarias del Cierzo host another of their open "Wednesroller" skate sessions, also for anyone who wants to join their team and try out stuff. [EVENT]

Pacific

Australia and New Zealand, by contrast, are keeping their autumn/winter season busy, with a large number of bouts across both countries. The 5x5 Roller Derby Tournament is hosting its finals for both tiers this weekend; and the Open Season continues rolling on as well! We'd also like to call out Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby's return to hosting games on Saturday, too! Congratulations!

• Thurs, Sydney, NSW, Australia: University of Sydney Roller Derby League host their second intake of the season [EVENT]
• Fri, North Hobart, TAS, Australia: south Island Sirens Roller Derby League's Beginners Programme begins, for new skaters. [EVENT]
• Fri, Bairnsdale, VIC, Australia: Gippsland Lakes Roller Derby continue their Roller Derby High intro to Roller Derby series, for girls 13 to 17 [EVENT]
• Fri, Preston, VIC, Australia: Victorian Roller Derby League host another of their regular Social Skates [EVENT]
• Cessnock, NSW, Australia: Maitland Roller Derby hosts the Grand Final of this years' 5x5 Roller Derby Championship! [FTS Tournament][EVENT]
  • Western Sydney Rollers versus Hawkesbury/Hills Area Roller Derby (3rd Place BATTLEGROUNDS tier)
  • Central Coast Roller Derby United (Niagara Park) versus Blue Mountains (Katoomba) (3rd Place ARMAGEDDON tier)
  • Varsity Derby League versus South Side Derby Dolls (1st Place BATTLEGROUNDS tier)
  • Newcastle Roller Derby League versus Inner West Roller Derby (1st Place ARMAGEDDON tier)
• Mansfield, QLD, Australia: The 6th Round of the Roller Derby Open Season is rolling around, with another 6 games in one day! [FTS Tournament][EVENT]
  • Cherry Bombs (Northern Brisbane Rollers) versus Rumble Bees (Sun State Roller Derby) [Div 1]
  • East Coast Derby Dolls versus Violet Femmes (Brisbane City Rollers) [Div 2]
  • Black Hearts (Northern Brisbane Rollers) versus Ninja Stars (Coastal Assassins Roller Derby) [Div 2]
  • Punk Blockers (Brisbane City Rollers) versus Zombees (Sun State Roller Derby) [Div 1]
  • Banshees (Brisbane City Rollers) versus Valley Valkyries (Tweed Valley Rollers) [Div 2]
• Adelaide, SA, Australia: Adelaide Roller Derby host a fundraising Quiz Night, with a theme of "I can't believe I wore that!". [EVENT]
• Osborne, SA, Australia: Light City Derby and Rockabellas Roller Derby League co-host their next Home Teams bouts [EVENT][EVENT] (both leagues have separate events for this...)
  • Toxic Cherries versus Doomsday Rollers (Rockabellas home teams)
  • Regimental Rollers versus Galactic Guardians (Light City home teams)
• Ballarat, VIC, Australia: Ballarat Roller Derby Association co-host a "Fun Skate" open skating event with Ballarat YMCA [EVENT]
• Moe, VIC, Australia: Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby host an "old school" bout, with Mornington Peninsula Roller Derby Club. This is a culmination of a lot of work for both leagues, rebuilding and developing to this point (as part, also of Team Regional Victoria). [EVENT]
  • Gippsland "Power Ranges" versus Mornington Peninsula "Penny Dreadfuls" [FTS]
• West Footscray, VIC, Australia: WestSide Derby Dollz host their Annual General Meeting for 2018, including the committee elections for the next season. [EVENT]
• Albany, WA, Australia: Albany Roller Derby League hosts a single header bout [EVENT]
  • Albany Roller Derby League A versus Bunbury Roller Derby [FTS]
• Hamilton, New Zealand: Hellmilton Roller Ghouls host round 2 of their home teams series [EVENT Flyer]
  • Gang Green versus Ultra Violent
• Wellington, New Zealand: Richter City Roller Derby host a double header, including their home teams final [EVENT]
  • Junior Derby Exhibition bout
  • Comic Slams versus Smash Malice (home teams final)
• Sun, Sydney, NSW, Australia: South Side Derby Dolls host an Info Day for potential new recruits, ahead of actual recruitment in September [EVENT]
• Sun, Perth, WA, Australia: Perth Roller Derby host a "Fresh Meat Skills" bootcamp, aimed at helping newer skaters develop critical skills. Open To All genders. [EVENT]
• Sun, Christchurch, New Zealand: Dead End Derby are holding their second Junior Derby "Jammer Club" mini-bootcamp [EVENT Flyer]
• Tues, Sale, VIC, Australia: Gippsland Lakes Roller Derby's second location for their intro to Roller Derby series for girls 13-16 has sessions on Mondays. [EVENT]

Latin America

We think we've found all the roller derby in Latin America, this weekend, but there's always a higher chance of us missing things here. Our principal action here is at both extents of Argentina - with the north (Jujuy) and the south (Tierra del Fuego) both seeing big combined bootcamp+multibout/scrimmage events!

• Sat-Sun, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina: Coquena's Fighter and Mortal Kollas Roller Derby co-host a double header of derby action as part of the below bootcamp. [EVENT]
  • Sat:
    • Mortal Kollas Roller Derby (Jujuy A) versus The World (open subs team)
    • "Men's derby bout"
  • Sun
    • "Three team round robin" with mixed teams from bootcamp
• Sat-Sun, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina: Coquena's Fighter and Mortal Kollas Roller Derby co-host a two-day bootcamp, run by Jose Sanchez. [EVENT]
• Sat+Sun, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego: Pirates del Beagle and Bandera Negra co-host a Patagonian roller derby extravaganza [EVENT]
  • WFTDA-gender bouts
  • MRDA-gender bouts
  • OTA bouts
• Sat+Sun, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego: Piratas del Beagle and Bandera Negra also co-host a bootcamp as part of the event, run by Pibe, one of Team Argentina Men's star jammers [EVENT Flyer]
• São Paulo, Brazil: Gray City Rebels host an open scrimmage - with contact and no-contact components, for high and low experience skaters [EVENT]
• São Paulo, Brazil: Gray City Rebels are also providing vegan stroganoff? as a fundraising / food for fuelling the scrimmage... (request a bowl in advance!) [EVENT]
• Sat+Sun, Mexico City, Mexico: Burdel Zombie Roller Derby are still holding open recruitment (turn up at their training sessions on weekends) [EVENT Flyer]
• Sun, São José, Brazil: The Bruxas da Ilha start their next season, and invite potential new skaters to their first, open, training session! [EVENT Flyer]

Africa and Middle East

We only know about the ongoing Pretoria-based FunSkates in this region this weekend.

• Thurs, Pretoria, South Africa: P-Town Roller Derby's weekly funskate open-skating events continue, with the chance to meet+sign up with the team [EVENT]

Elsewhere

• Fri-Sun, Kalamazoo, MI, USA: Although there are no non-North American teams involved, it's a big first, so we're mentioning this event here! Kalamazoo Derby Darlins host the first ever North America East WFTDA Continental Cup, WFTDA's new system for encouraging tournament play for non-Playoffs-ranked teams, across the world. [EVENT]

We're taking a break from Latin American tournaments you should be aware of, to highlight a tournament a bit more local to us, as it's a special year for it this time around.

Since 2014, Newcastle's Tyne & Fear Roller Derby have hosted the "Men's European Cup", a late-autumn European-level MRDA-sanctioned tournament, although it skipped a year in 2017 (being sort-of-replaced by the first ever EuroClash). With the 2018 edition coming up in November 17th this year, we're hitting a sad landmark: this will be the last edition of the tournament hosted in the Walker Activity Dome, as a transfer of ownership makes continued booking impossible.

This means that 2018 is your last chance to experience the side-benefits of previous MECs, including exposure to a large number of friendly (and now kinda famous) dogs, in the canine-friendly venue.

This year's competitors cover a substantial chunk of Europe, from the best MRDA-members in England [Southern Discomfort (London), Tyne and Fear (Newcastle), Barrow Infernos (Barrow-in-Furness),  New Wheeled Order (Manchester) and Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder], through single teams from Finland (Helsinki Coast Quads), Sweden (Gothenburg Salty Seamen), Scotland (Glasgow Men's Roller Derby), Belgium (Manneken Beasts) and Spain (MadRiders).

Of these, Southern Discomfort, Manneken Beasts, MadRiders, Gothenburg and Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder are repeat attendees (along with the hosts!), the remainder are new this year, representing a shift towards UK-based teams overall.

MEC's schedule - unlike its WFTDA-aligned fellow tournament, EuroClash - is a seeded single-elimination tournament with single consolation games for first-round losers, two days being just enough time to fit the 13 games needed for that structure with 10 teams.

With British Champs giving three of the higher level competitors (Barrow, NWO and Tyne & Fear) games against each other already this season, and MRDA playoffs qualification games generally making the UK crowd well connected, it's fairly easy to get a handle of on the overall distribution of the field - barring sudden surprises. In particular, New Wheeled Order have had an absolutely brilliant year, as they continue to build on their triumph in 2017; they've already won the British Champs' "MRDA-side" Championship title for 2018, and also autoqualified for MRDA Champs before the European Qualifiers on 18th August (which they're also hosting, but not competing in!).

In fact, MEQ will be a very good sample of what the high-end of MEC will look like, as four of its five competitors are shared with this competition (the exception being Nottingham Roller Derby's Super Smash Brollers).

Barring upsets on the 18th, the only team likely to stop NWO from taking the win here in Newcastle is also the only other UK team to have a automatic qualification to MRDA Champs: London's Southern Discomfort. With an unbroken series of wins at MEC, London's finest will be expecting to retain the championship this time as well.

At the time of writing, Glasgow Men's Roller Derby are in the middle of application to MRDA; as part of this, they've played a number of closed and open bouts against those above teams, particularly Southern Discomfort and Barrow Infernos. In general, GMRD have maintained their relative rating (in SRDRank) compared to their competitors, a solid middle of the pack in terms of attendees. GMRD's team to beat is Belgium's Manneken Beasts, who represent the mid-point of the field proper. we hear from other sources that they have been successful, but GMRD themselves have not publicly announced this.

In 2016, Gothenburg and MadRiders were both relegated to the consolation bracket, after the slaughter-pairings placed them against high seeds. Since then, both teams have improved in strength, judging from their records in FTS. (MadRiders are not MRDA members, and so do not have an official rating in Flat Track Stats - but SRDRank places them as generally competitive with the closely-matched lower half of the field in general) Gothenburg's performance increase has been more limited, and mostly driven by recovery from a difficult 2017 - their first year of MRDA membership.

Helsinki Coast Quads are the wildest card of the lot, having only a single game on record in Flat Track Stats (against the similarly low-on-stats Kouvola). We can expect to learn more about their abilities as they host their own, first, tournament in September (Shake Me Up When September Ends). With fellow MEC competitors Glasgow Men's Roller Derby and Manneken Beasts making up the three in this round robin, this will be another exciting preview of the Newcastle tournament.

---

The 2018 Men's European Cup will be held 17th-18th November, in the Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

We’re bringing you another roundup of the upcoming Roller Derby this weekend from across the world. As always, we’re using Flat Track Stats for much of this information – for regions with less good coverage, we also do a bit of intensive searching using a tool which scans the Facebook events of Roller Derby leagues known to Derby Listing.

Predictions of bouts are from FTS, if possible, and from our own SRD Rank where FTS cannot make predictions (for example: Latin America, or non-MRDA men’s bouts). (SRDRank also has recent WFTDA rankings, including the 31st June ranking, as well as SRDRank, and allows you to make predictions from them.)

If we’ve missed you from our roundup, please let us know! [Or add yourselves to FTS and/or Derbylisting]

(Note: we're especially likely to be missing items this week, as Facebook's response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal has resulted in them turning off large parts of the services we use to automatically collate events for this article. We don't think we've missed too much, but...)

We're trying a new colour coding this week, to differentiate BOUTS from RECRUITMENTS and OPEN SCRIMs, and BOOTCAMPs.

Scotland

The action in building up in Scotland this weekend, with an 8 team Sevens tournament in Dundee, and bootcamp in Edinburgh.

• Fri, Aberdeen: Granite City Roller Derby invite you to a night at the Races as a fundraiser. [EVENT]
• Dundee: The Dundee International Sports Centre hosts Krustfest, an Open-To-All Charity Sevens tournament raising funds for CLAN Cancer Support [EVENT]
• Sun, Edinburgh: Auld Reekie Roller Girls' Summer Skate Skills series of mini-bootcamp training sessions starts with a session covering: Whips+Pushes, Skating in Pairs, Laterals and Laps [EVENT]

United Kingdom

It seems fairly quiet this weekend in the UK as a whole, with only a single bout fixture we know about.

• Bradford, England: Rule56 hosts another of their Bite-sized Bootcamps - this one on Working In Walls. Open to All Genders, and Juniors friendly. [EVENT]
• Harrogate, England: Spa Town Roller Derby host a double-header event, including men's derby. [EVENT]
  • Spa Town Roller Derby (Harrogate A) versus North Wales Roller Derby B ( ) [FTS]
  • Chaos Engine (Manchester MB) versus The World (open subs team)
  • [There's a Hull's Angels v Manchester bout in FTS, but we don't know where it goes...]
• Sun, Middlesbrough, England: Teesside Skate Invaders are hosting a Sunday Open-To-All "Skatey Fun Time" - actually an open training session followed by open scrim [EVENT]
• Sun. Sheffield, England: The Inhuman League host another of their Open To All, mixed ability Scrimmages. Also includes training session beforehand by Nuke and Uddz. [EVENT]
• Wed, Sunderland, England: Sunderland Roller Derby League's weekly taster sessions for potential recruits continue. [EVENT]

Europe

Europe as a whole is also pretty quiet, except for the large number of recruitment events.

• Wed+Sun, Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, France: The Rabbit Skulls of Avignon's open training/recruitment continues! [EVENT]
• Thurs+Mon, Nice, France: Nice Roller Derby's open recruitment series continues [EVENT]
• Munich, Germany: Munich Rolling Rebels host a double header, including national teams action! [EVENT]
  • Municorns (Munich B) versus Breaking Bears (Berlin C) [FTS]
  • Team Germany versus Team Italy
• Munster, Germany: Zombie Rollergirlz Münster are opening their doors to new recruits, with their open training/try derby day this month [EVENT]
• Sun, Helsinki, Finland: Applications to join Helsinki Coast Quads Roller Derby (Helsinki's men's derby team) in any capacity close on Sunday. [EVENT Flyer]
• Sun, Rostock, Germany: the Rebel Grrrlz of Rostock are holding this week's open training/tryout sessions for recruitment in a different venue to last week. [EVENT Flyer]
• Sun, The Hague, Netherlands: Turn Left Roller Derby Shop's Miss Marcie is in The Hague, and it looks like Parliament of Pain are entertaining her! [EVENT]
• Tue, Paris, France: Panam Squad's recruitment Tuesdays continue, for interested skaters of all genders. [EVENT]

 

Pacific

Australia and New Zealand, by contrast, are keeping their autumn/winter season busy, with a large number of bouts across both countries.

• Thurs, Trentham, New Zealand: Rimutaka Roller Derby host the signup day for their 8 week "intro to roller derby" course. Loan equipment available, open to all 16+ people. [EVENT]
• Fri, Ipswich, QLD, Australia: the Guild of Roller Derby and SkateAway Bundamba co-host an intraleague bout [EVENT]
  • Dragons versus Vikings
• Fri, Preston, VIC, Australia: Victorian Roller Derby League host another Social Skate session in their weekly series of open skating events. [EVENT]
• Fri, Wanganui, New Zealand: River City Rollers host a quiz night fundraiser [EVENT]
• Auckland, New Zealand: Pirate City Rollers host an exciting double-header including a graduation game, and heading with New Zealand Top 10 game [FTS Tournament] [EVENT]
  • All Scars (Pirate City/Auckland A) versus Motley Crew (Sulphur City/Rotorua A) [Top 10 game]
  • Pirate City Graduands versus Sulphur City and friends Graduands
• Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia: the Coastal Assassins host their final home game of the season [EVENT]
  • Assassins (Coastal Assassins/Sunshine Coast A) versus Northern Brisbane Rollers [FTS]
• Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney Roller Derby League host a double header of GLOW-themed intraleague derby. [EVENT]
  • Marrickville Sweatro versus Erko Bezerko
  • The Sydney Lockout versus The Inner City Bin Chickens
• Sun, Penrith, NSW, Australia: Western Sydney Rollers host the second round of their home teams season [EVENT]
  • Rock Versus Disco
  • Home teams bout
• Sun, Bairnsdale, VIC, Australia: Gippsland Lakes Roller Derby host the meet-and-greet for their Bairnsdale-located sessions for QuadFit. (We missed their Sale-located intake last week, for which we apologise). [EVENT]
• Sun, Carrum Downs, VIC, Australia: South Sea Roller Derby host a "Derby and Chill" mixed level open scrimmage event and bout [EVENT]
  • Home teams bout
  • Low contact scrimmage
  • No Contact cscrimmage
• Sun, Keysborough, VIC, Australia: Kingston City Rollers host another of their regular Mixer sessions - open scrimmage events with three levels of scrim [EVENT]
  • Non contact scrim
  • "Prebouting" scrim
  • Full contact Scrim
• Sun, Melbourne, VIC, Australia: East Vic Roller Derby host their intake to both their Roller Derby freshmeat course, and their non-derby Quadfit course! [EVENT]
• Sun, New Plymouth, New Zealand: Taranaki Roller Corps hold their recruitment day for new skaters who want to join the league [EVENT]
• Tue, Thebarton, SA, Australia: Adelaide Roller Derby's "Fresh Meat Info Night" is open to interested potential skaters, referees, NSOs and commentators! [EVENT]

Latin America

We think we've found all the roller derby in Latin America, this weekend, but there's always a higher chance of us missing things here. Our principal action here is in Mexico, as this seasons' National Tournament begins with the first playoffs.

• Fri, Santiago, Chile: Unión Subversiva Roller Derby are recruiting for new skaters - the signup closes on Friday, for training starting in September. [EVENT Flyer]
• Monterrey, Mexico: Monterrey Roller Derby host the first of the Mexican Torneo Nactional Playoffs for 2018, in association with Asociación Mexicana de Roller Derby. We've written more about this National Tournament here. [FTS tournament][EVENT]
  • Medusaca (Pachuca A) versus Monterrey
  • Minervas (Guadalajara) versus Querétaro
  • [Quimeras (CDMX) and All-Star Juarez byes into second round of elimination bracket]
• Sun, Berzategui, Argentina: Kamikazes Roller Derby host a double header event! [EVENT]
  • Alianza Rebelde versus Desalmadas [FTS]
  • Kamikazes versus The World / El Mundi
• Sun, La Plata, Argentina: Silver City Roller Derby are holding a (first birthday) party, with a double header of bouts to celebrate. [EVENT]
  • Silver City (La Plata) versus Sea Monsters (Sailor City Rollers/Buenos Aires C) [FTS]
  • Morón Roller Derby versus Fawkes Roller Derby (Merlo) [FTS]
• Sun, Neuquén, Argentina: The Hienas de la Calle are holding recruitment tryouts - signup by email ahead of time. [EVENT Flyer]
• Wed, Monterrey, Mexico: After hosting the first AMRD Playoffs of the year, Monterrey Roller Derby host their recruitment for all genders of skaters [EVENT]

Africa and Middle East

We only know about the ongoing Pretoria-based FunSkates in this region this weekend.

• Thurs, Pretoria, South Africa: P-Town Roller Derby's weekly funskate open-skating events continue, with the chance to meet+sign up with the team [EVENT]

 

For our third important, but easily missed, tournament this year, we're heading north to Colombia.

In common with Brazil and Mexico, Colombia began large scale national series relatively early.  From 2012 to 2014, a Colombian National Tournament was organised, awarding wins to Bogotá's Rock N Roller Queens and Bone Breakers. Since then, however, things have been less consistent: whilst there has been a "Western Region" tournament every year since (the Torneo Regional de Occidente ), and a "District Tournament" for the huge number of teams in the capital of Bogotá (the Torneo Distrital Roller Derby ), there was not an overall National Championship in 2015 or 16.

Since 2017, however, things have been getting more on track, with Bogotá Bone Breakers winning both the 4th Distrital (for qualification), and the resulting Torneo Nacional in mid-November, the first since 2014, to take the overall Championship for the year.

The previous Championship set up continues for 2018, and we're already deep into the Qualifying Tournaments, so there's plenty for us to catch you up on.

Due to the uneven distribution of teams across Colombia, the two qualifiers have very different geographical extents - although they have similar numbers of eligible competitors. From each qualifier, the top three teams are then passed onto the Championship itself, to play for the cup, so that six teams play overall.

Of the teams competing this year, the two most experienced are Bogotá's Bone Breakers (Bx3), who date back to 2009, and fellow Bogotá based team, Rock N Roller Queens, who date from the same period. These two are also the only WFTDA member leagues in Colombia - with the Queens having joined as early as 2013, and Bx3 waiting until 2016. Before and after WFTDA membership, both leagues' A teams have always been well travelled within Latin America (for example, attending several of 2x4 Roller Derby's Violentango tournaments in Buenos Aires).

Outside Bogotá, Manizales' Valkyrias are easily the oldest team, founded in 2010 as well. Valkyrias have also travelled fairly widely in recent years, having attended the 5th Sailor City Rollers hosted Piratas en el Asfalto tournament in 2017, also in Buenos Aires.

At the other end of the scale, we believe that Bogotá's youngest team in the tournament is Fugitivas Roller Punk, founded in 2016, whilst Cali's Silver Lynx Roller Derby are probably the youngest outside the capital region, dating from 2015.

---

The most geographically distributed Qualifier is the Torneo Regional de Occidente, covering the entire West of Colombia. (The East of Colombia has a very low population density, being mostly covered by those parts of the Amazon rainforest in the Colombian borders). This year's tournament, the 6th, was hosted by Medellín's Spring City Rollers, from the 9th to 11th June as a single event - a round robin tournament with 5 competitors.

Valkyrias Roller Derby, of Manizales, gave a very impressive performance, taking the top of the leaderboard, just above the hosts Spring City.

Silver Lynx Roller Derby, and Bucaramanga's Pink Sucks Roller Derby, were unable to prevent Violet Attack, of Ibague, from taking the third qualifying spot. This is a significant improvement in Violet Attack's performance from last year, although the absence of several teams from the tournament may have helped them.

From the results available to us, it appears that Valkyrias have significantly improved on last year, with only new-this-year Spring City causing them any particular challenge. (We've been unable to source complete scores for the tournament, however, so we can't be certain about the relative strength of third place holders Violet Attack.)

---

The second Qualifier, the Torneo Distrital, is centred entirely on the large capital city, Bogotá, and run as a round-robin with multiple fixtures throughout the year. Last year's District tournament was a huge affair with multiple divisions, and a packed structure (each fixture was a triple-header to accommodate all the teams). This year's Distrital, the 5th, is a much more compact affair, with all of the "B" teams, and the men's derby division, removed entirely.  Instead, the five big leagues of the capital area are all competing with their A teams only.

After the first round of play, the current standings in the Distrital are:

1. Bogotá Bone Breakers
2. Combativas Revoltosas
3. Rock N Roller Queens
4. Central Derby D.C. Roller Derby
5. Fugitivas Roller Punk

This is also the ordering of the same teams at the end of the last National Tournament, so we're not expecting any particular upsets going forward.

The final phase of the tournament, in this year's design, will see the top 4 seed into a slaughter-pairing elimination tournament, to decide the winner, second and third places. As such, it is impossible for the Fugitivas to qualify for a top 3 position, and thus impossible for them to qualify for a place in the Torneo National this year.

---

The 5th Torneo Nacional will be hosted, in November 2018, by the Valkyrias, who gained the rights by qualifying first in June. There is no precise date announced yet, although we'd expect around the second week of the month, based on the previous tournament schedules. This is the first time the event has been held in Manizales, with three of the last 4 having been hosted in the capital, and the other (in 2013) in Medellín.

There are guaranteed changes to the finishing order from 2017, even at this early date: the three Regional teams qualifying this year are entirely different to 2017 (when Pink Sucks, Ibague's Pain Dealers, and the Titanias of Cali were the qualifiers). Even so, the SRDRank ratings for the current top 3 Distrital division teams are all noticeably higher than those for the Regional qualifying teams (we place current-4th-position Central Derby D.C. as competitive with the Valkyrias, at last estimate).  All four previous Torneo Nacionals have seen the same top three teams, in fact, with various combinations of Bx3, Rock N Roller Queens and Combativas in each position; although for the first time last year, the Rock N Roller Queens were relegated to third place.

It is possible, then, that this could be the first year that the Valkyrias - who have the best form of any of the Regional teams - might make bronze, especially with home team advantage!

---

Particular thanks to Central Derby D.C. Roller Derby for their assistance in writing this article; and to the 5th Nacional hosts, Valkyrias.

Two years ago, we reported on the first Derby Stance event: the UK's first ever "Coaching Summit", organised by North of England based coaching team Rule 56. Over a weekend of sessions from speakers across the UK (and one from the USA), the Roller Derby coaching community didn't just learn from each other, but also built some strong bridges and enthusiasm for pushing Coaching further in the sport.

In the year and a bit since that big launch, Rule 56 have been continuing to develop coaching resources. With the aid of teleconferencing technology, they successfully provided a very effective short series of coaching webinars with Strong Athletic's Smarty Pants (as we reported on too), with attendees from across Europe and the Americas. They've also been running physical bootcamp sessions for skaters, like the upcoming "bite-sized" bootcamp on Working in Walls on August 11th...

However, whilst there was a second Derby Stance summit in February (taking advantage of the Roller Derby World Cup the weekend before to bring all those international skaters to one place), organising truly large-scale international coaching events has always been difficult, especially with our grass-roots amateur sport.

Until now! This winter, Rule56 are bringing together all the things they've learnt to make the third Derby Stance a simultaneously larger, more international... and more accessible event - by moving it entirely online!

Derby Stance Online will be a 4 day virtual event, running from 29 November to 2 December this year. Just like a physical event, there will be many different sessions to sign up with, grouped into 5 themes:

• Just Start Coaching [5 sessions]
• Strategic Coaching [4 sessions]
• Mental Performance [5 sessions]
• Game Day [3 sessions]
• Juniors [3 sessions]

as well as introductory and closing sessions, and a special session led by WFTDA's Beat-her Bones, representing WFTDA Education.

Each of the 23 sessions will be available as a separate webinar, and can be signed up for (and paid for) independently of any others; of course, you can also sign up for the entire summit, as if it were a "physical" meeting as well, if you want. The flexibility of being able to pick and choose just the sessions you want, however, is a big advantage of the online-only format.

As with other webinars, the entire session will also be available to rewatch after the fact - so, even if your timezone makes it hard to attend the session live (or if you want to review a session later), you can still access all that coaching expertise, at your own convenience.

The other advantage of the online-only format is that it's immensely easier to pull together expert speakers and session leaders from across the entire globe. Rule 56 has managed to collect 14 of the best coaches in Roller Derby, and beyond, to contribute sessions to this event:

Smarty Pants (Strong Athletic), Vivien Leigh-thal (Rainy City Roller Derby), Booty Quake (Roller Derby Athletics), Maurine Filip (Stockholm Roller Derby), Rosie Peacock (Glasgow Men's Roller Derby, Team Scotland Coach 2018), Devoida Mercy (Philly Roller Derby), Maha El Nasser (Rule 56), Papa Whisky (Boulder County Bombers), Jess Paternostro (Team Canada Roller Derby), Furrrocious (Amsterdam Roller Derby) Ballistic Whistle (Southern Discomfort), Louise Capicotto (Sport Psychology Consultant), Luludemon (Terminal City Rollergirls), and Treblemaker 909 (Central City Roller Derby) are each contributing at least one session to the schedule (and some up to three).

---

You can reserve tickets - for individual webinars, or the whole event - (and learn more about the summit) at the official website here: http://www.rulefiftysix.com/derby-stance-online from August 1st.

We’re bringing you another roundup of the upcoming Roller Derby this weekend from across the world. As always, we’re using Flat Track Stats for much of this information – for regions with less good coverage, we also do a bit of intensive searching using a tool which scans the Facebook events of Roller Derby leagues known to Derby Listing.

Predictions of bouts are from FTS, if possible, and from our own SRD Rank where FTS cannot make predictions (for example: Latin America, or non-MRDA men’s bouts). (SRDRank also has recent WFTDA rankings, including the 31st June ranking, as well as SRDRank, and allows you to make predictions from them.)

If we’ve missed you from our roundup, please let us know! [Or add yourselves to FTS and/or Derbylisting]

(Note: we're especially likely to be missing items this week, as Facebook's response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal has resulted in them turning off large parts of the services we use to automatically collate events for this article. We don't think we've missed too much, but...)

We're trying a new colour coding this week, to differentiate BOUTS from RECRUITMENTS and OPEN SCRIMs, and BOOTCAMPs.

Scotland

It's fairly quiet in Scotland this weekend - but this is just the calm before the storm, as the next week weekends are pretty hectic!

• Sun, Glasgow: Glasgow Roller Derby's Officiating team, the Flamboyant Dazzlers, host an officiating bootcamp. This one covers Jam Timing as a focus, with coaching by Princess Beetch and Blind Io. [EVENT]

United Kingdom

It seems to be bootcamp weekend in the UK - as well as the Officiating event in Glasgow, there's bootcamps in Birmingham, Harrogate and Norwich (the latter with a very impressive and large cast of coaches) in England, and Cardiff in Wales! There's also some on-track bouting action, with Newcastle trying out their new venue, and Dorset Roller Girls continuing the South West Series.

• Wed, Kingston-upon-Hull, England: Hull's Angels Roller Derby host their Summer Intake for new skaters! [EVENT]
• Fri, Milton Keynes, England: The Concrete Cows host a "free roller derby tryout session" as part of their intake this season. [EVENT]
• Harrogate, England: Spa Town Roller Derby host the "Infamous 5" bootcamp, coached by 5 great skaters from MRDA #5 rated team, Manchester's New Wheeled Order! [EVENT]
• Leicester, England: Roller Derby Leicester host an intraleague bout! [EVENT]
  • Arctic Rollers versus Block Forest Gateaux
• London, England: London Rollergirls host the second of their Open Skate events [EVENT]
• Newcastle, England: Newcastle Roller Girls host their first game in their new venue, with a double header event! [EVENT]
  • "Wookies versus Ewoks" (Rookie game)
  • North Cs (Newcastle C) versus Durham City Rolling Angels [FTS]
• Sat + Sun, Norwich, England: Norfolk Roller Derby host their All Roads Lead To Norfolk bootcamp, coached by Angel City / Team Australia's Tui Lyon, Rainy City / Team England's Alex Valentine, London Rollergirls / Team USA's Juke Boxx, independent official and Skewblogs author Orla Skew, professional fitness instructor Nikki Whyte, and national-level powerlifter and personal trainer Harvey Armitage! [EVENT]
• Cardiff, Wales: Tiger Bay Brawlers host an Offence and Jamming Bootcamp, coached by a host of TBB's best skaters, including Kid Block, Chant Hell, Steph Howarth, Billie Pistol, Nitro Jen and Stabby [EVENT] Event cancelled
• Sun, Bournemouth, England: Dorset Roller Girls host the third fixtures in the South West Season 2018, a triple header event [FTS tournament][EVENT]
  • Dorset Roller Girls B-Side versus North Devon Roller Derby B [FTS]
  • Bath Roller Derby Roman Rollers versus Cornwall Roller Derby [FTS]
  • South West Angels of Terror B versus Bristol Roller Derby B [FTS]
• Sun, Grimsby, England: Grimsby Roller Derby host their Summer Intake day, for anyone wanting to try roller derby out. Kit provided, 16-18 year olds allowed with parents' permission. [EVENT]
• Sun, Hemel Hempstead, England: Hell's Belles Roller Derby host a "learn to play derby" taster session, for those interested in learning more about the sport. [EVENT]
• Sun, Walsall, England: Central City Roller Derby host a "rookie Ref bootcamp", run by CCR's head ref, and WFTDA Level 2 Cert, Rollin Rat. Open to referees with up to 50 games of experience. [EVENT]
• Sun, Walsall, England: Central City Roller Derby also host an open-to-all scrim event, with three "halves" - you can sign up to skate against A, B, or rookie skaters from CCR. (This scrim forms a part of the training for the referee bootcamp above.) [EVENT]
• Mon, Norwich, England: Norfolk Roller Derby host a New Skater Intake to cap off their weekend [EVENT]

Europe

The amount of derby is very slowly decreasing in Europe, as we slip into the end of the season. In fact, there's really only a few games we know about, in Berlin and Limerick - although there's plenty of recruitments, and several Chicks In Bowls events...

• Wed + Sun, Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, France: The Rabbit Skulls of Avignon's open intro to derby recruitment sessions continue [EVENT]
• Wed + Sat, Lille, France: Lille Roller Girls' open summer recruitment and try-derby sessions continue. [EVENT]
• Thurs + Mon, Nice, France: Nice Roller Derby host a series of Recruitment Days, for those wanting to join the sport. [EVENT]
• Fri-Sun, Graz, Austria: Chicks in Bowls Austria host the first ever South Skate Meet Up, which will also have a lot of Austrian derby crossover, we're sure. [EVENT]
• Berlin, Germany: Berlin Rollergirls and Bear City Roller Derby co-host the first fixture in their "Berlin Rollit" series of Berlin-based international games. This double header features a Bundesliga Div 1 bout [FTS tournament] [EVENT]
  • Bear City Roller Derby (Berlin A) versus Munich Rolling Rebels (Munich A) [Bundesliga D 1]
  • Berlin Rollergirls (Berlin) versus Roller Derby Marburg [FTS]
• Darmstadt, Germany: The Riot Rollers host their "Newbie Day" for any people wanting to join the league, as skaters, referees, NSOs, or anything else! [EVENT] POSTPONED
• Limerick, Ireland: Limerick Roller Derby host a potentially massive Sur5al tournament, with a space-ish theme [EVENT]
• Helsinki, Finland: Kallio Rolling Rainbow host a roller disco as part of Kallio Block Party [EVENT]
• Roosendaal, Belgium: Chicks in Bowls Belgium have an open meetup at the pumptrack in Roosendaal. We expect there's Derby crossover here! [EVENT]
• Sun, Paris, France: The Bloody Angels of Roller Derby Melun have two teams competing in the 6H de Paris "roller endurance" event. (Teams compete to get the most total laps of the 2.6 km course, over a 6 hour period). [EVENT]
• Sun, Rostock, Germany: Rebel Girls Rostock are recruiting with open training sessions on Sundays this month. No events to link to... [Flyer]
• Tues, Parma, Italy: The Rolling Rezdôre's ongoing Tuesday training sessions are open to new skaters (if its your first session, you're recommended to turn up early) [EVENT Flyer]
• Mon, Zurich, Switzerland: Zurich City Roller Derby host another of their open training sessions, open-to-all genders, and both skaters and officials. [EVENT]
• Mon-nextFri, Hamburg, Germany: Harbor Girls Hamburg are running a Junior Derby course, as part of the Hamburger Ferienpass programme (a "Ferienpass" is a sort of pass for school-age kids in Germany, allowing them to sign up for lots of summer holiday events). [EVENT]
• Wed, Rouen, France: Les Veuves Noires + Les Croque-Morts host the 4th of their recruitment sessions this season, for all potential skaters or officials! [EVENT]

Pacific

This weekend sees even more derby in Australia, with the Eastern Region Super League and Statewide Stampede both bringing fixtures, and a bunch of other derby across the country! Bangkok and Tokyo both also have open training sessions for those wanting to join the East Asian derby community.

• Wed, Mansfield, QLD, Australia: Sun State Roller Derby host their final information session, ahead of their intake on Sunday [EVENT]
• Wed, Bangkok, Thailand: Bangkok Roller Derby training returns - and it's usually open to new skaters! [EVENT Flyer]
• Fri, Maitland, NSW, Australia: Maitland Roller Derby host their regular open scrim event (no gender policy mentioned) [EVENT]
• Fri, Preston, VIC, Australia: Victorian Roller Derby League host one of their weekly open social skate events. [EVENT]
• Fri, Tokyo, Japan: Kamikaze Badass Roller Derby Tokyo host their regular training session (also usually open to new skaters) [EVENT Flyer]
• Mansfield, QLD, Australia: World Skate / Roller Derby Australia host the last World Skate Rules Clinic before eligibility for the World Skate / FIRS Team Australia tryouts. [EVENT]
• Mansfield, QLD, Australia: Brisbane City Rollers are also in Mansfield with a double header of derby, as Queensland defends against New South Wales [EVENT]
  • Brisbane City Rollers versus Tweed Valley Rollers Vixens [FTS]
  • The Scartel (Brisbane M) versus Sydney City Smash [FTS]
• Broadmeadow, NSW, Australia: Newcastle Roller Derby League are also hosting a home teams game, as the Fort Smashleys take on the Bogey Rollers [EVENT]
• Wollongong, NSW, Australia: Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby host the third round of the Eastern Region Super League [FTS tournament][EVENT]
  • Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby versus Hawkesbury/Hills Area Roller Derby
  • Central West Roller Derby versus Western Sydney Rollers
• Sat + Sun, Daylesford, VIC, Australia: Ballarat Roller Derby League host the 6th and 7th rounds of the Statewide Stampede. Round 6 is now the "Pride Round", in collaboration with Ballarat Pride Hub Inc. [FTS tournament][EVENT]
  • Low-contact scrimmage (one each day)
  • Diamond Valley Roller Derby Club/Otway Derby Dolls versus West Side Derby Dollz
  • South Sea Roller Derby versus Dragon City Derby Dolls
  • Ballarat Roller Derby League versus East Vic Roller Derby
  • North East Roller Derby versus Team Regional Victoria (Rolling Matildas)
  • Team Regional Victoria versus Diamond Valley/Otway Derby Dolls
  • West Side Derby Dollz versus Ballarat Roller Derby League
  • Dragon City Derby Dolls versus North East Roller Derby
  • East Vic Roller Derby versus South Sea Roller Derby
• Maylands, WA, Australia: Western Australia Roller Derby host a double header event against their regular opponents [EVENT]
  • Perth Junior Roller Derby exhibition bout
  • WayWARDs (West Australia B) versus Margaret River Roller Derby [FTS]
• Sat-Sun, Tauranga, New Zealand: Moana Roller Derby host War of the Wheels, a two-day, 6 team tournament with skaters from across New Zealand [FTS Tournament][EVENT]
  • Moana Paua Rangers (Tauranga)
  • Whenua Fatales
  • Otautahi Roller Derby League
  • Living Dead Rollers (Christchurch/Dead End Derby B)
  • Taranaki Roller Corps (New Plymouth)
  • Timaru Derby Dames
• Sun, Gladstone, QLD, Australia: Gladstone PCYC Roller Derby host an all-day bootcamp, including a session for pre-mins skaters! [EVENT]
• Sun, Mansfield, QLD, Australia: Sun State Roller Derby's intake session follows their information session at the middle of the week! [EVENT]
• Sun, Okinawa, Japan: Devil Dog Derby Dames host their Beginners Skate session for interested new members! [EVENT]
• Mon, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia: Port Macquarie Roller Derby League have an intake day (following on from an info day on the 1st) [EVENT Flyer]
• Mon, Urangan, QLD, Australia: Fraser Coast United Rollers host a combined signup and try derby session for those interested in the sport [EVENT]

 

Latin America

We think we've found all the roller derby in Latin America, this weekend, but there's always a higher chance of us missing things here. Please let us know if we have! This weekend, there's action across the entire region, with bootcamps in Argentina, bouts in Mexico, Chile and Colombia, and parties too.

• Thurs + Tues, Neuquén, Argentina: Malditas X Roller Derby host their regular training sessions (which we think are open to new skaters) [EVENT Flyer]
• Fri-Sun, Celaya, Mexico: Roller Derby Celaya's Delicious Wheels are involved in the organisation of PapayaFest - a 3-day roller skating festival in their open city. As well as the Derby content (an exhibition bout on Saturday), there will be all other kinds of skating, from downhill speed racing through slalom events, throughout the event [Facebook Page]
• Buenos Aires, Argentina: 2x4 Roller Derby host a double header, with mixed teams [EVENT]
  • Team C (2x4 / Buenos Aires C) versus Kamikazes Roller Derby (Berazategui) [FTS]
  • Mixed A/B/C level open subscription bout.
• Miramar, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Derby on the Beach (the yearly bootcamp) hosts a "Preview day" for its next appearance in December, a 10 hour mini-bootcamp sampling the various courses on offer. [EVENT]
• Sat-Sun, Osorno, Chile: Deskarriadas host the first fixture in this year's Torneo X - the Chilean National Tournament series. More about the tournament in our article here! [FTS tournament][EVENT]
  • Adrenaline (Santiago) versus Tacones Bandidos (Viña del Mar)
  • Nativas (Temuco) versus Diosas Volcánicas (Puerto Montt)
  • Adrenaline versus Nativas
  • Tacones Bandidos versus Diosas Volcánicas
  • Bayonetas (Metropolitan/Santiago B) versus Deskarriadas
  • Chillanrolleras (Chillan) versus Indómitas (Valdivia)
  • Bayonetas versus Chillanrolleras
  • Deskarriadas versus Indómitas
• Bogotá, Colombia: Central Derby D.C. host an all day "Inter-Roscas" tournament, which might be running on something like Sur5al rules. Teams are mashup with a 5 skater roster... [EVENT]
• Bucaramanga, Colombia: Pink Sucks Roller Derby + Cabros Roller Derby host a fundraising "Mixtape Party", hosted by the Monkey Rock Bar. [EVENT]
• Sun, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Sailor City Rollers host an open-to-all Officiating Bootcamp for Referees, coached by Nicolás Bergallo of Sailor City, as part of Bigoteam, the Sailor City Rollers Officiating Team. [EVENT]

Africa and Middle East

We only know about the ongoing Pretoria-based FunSkates in this region this weekend.

• Thurs, Pretoria, South Africa: P-Town Roller Derby host another of their open FunSkate sessions - a change to skate together, and also join the derby league! [EVENT]

Elsewhere

• Over in the USA, the MRDA North American Qualifier is happening this weekend. This isn't of direct interest (as all the teams are North American), but it determines some of the teams who will face the graduates of the European Qualifier later in the year. For more excellent coverage, you could do worse than our friends at Men's Roller Derby News and Updates. [EVENT]

 

Bairn City Rollers' Central Belters are back on track and ready to kick some ass for the first time in 2018. On August 18th, they will be taking on Granite City's Fight Hawks at Grangemouth Sports Complex.

This is the Belters' first game since early 2017 and sees a few changes to their team. Whilst some skaters have moved on or retired, the Belters have also had some new faces join their squad, including a couple of familiar faces that used to play elsewhere in Scotland.

The Fight Hawks had a great year in 2017, winning all five of the games they played. Now in 2018 they already have 3 games under their belt, the most recent a close bout against Dundee Roller Derby's Bonnie Colliders last weekend.

All the details can be found over on the event page here.

Chile's National Tournament, the mysteriously named Torneo X, has been running for as long, or longer, than many of the better-known European tournaments, having begun in 2015. (The Men's Derby equivalent in Chile, Torneo X-MEN, started 2 years later.)

With the 4th event coming up at the start of next month, we're giving you a quick overview of the tournament and the players.

As Chile is a long, thin, country, as the tournament has expanded, it has done so mostly north/south, following the areas of highest population density. A bit like Scotland, Chile has a band of high population (in this case, roughly in the middle of the country), surrounded by low density rural areas to the north and south. Torneo X 2018 fills this entire high density area, for the first time in its history.

Torneo X's growth over time since inception.

In 2017, Chillán's Chillanrolleras retained the title from the previous year, maintaining an unbroken streak since they joined the tournament. However, Viña del Mar's Tacones Bandidos pushed them until the very last bouts for that title, so a repeat performance in 2018 is definitely not assured.

This is especially true as, with 2018's tournament growing to become the biggest yet, there are even more challengers for the cup. Especially likely to want to make a big splash are Santiago's Metropolitan Roller Derby, the only WFTDA-member league in the tournament, although it's their B-team, the Bayonetas, who are competing here.

Torneo X 2018 will consist of 4 fixtures across the coming months, spread across the competing regions:

• 1st Fixture: Osorno (Deskarriadas) 4-5 August [EVENT]
• 2nd Fixture: Santiago (Adrenaline) 8-9 September
• 3rd Fixture: Viña del Mar (Tacones Bandidos) 6-7 October
• Final Puerto Montt (Diosas Volcanicas) 9-10 November

The historical rankings for the previous editions of the tournament are: 

Rank	2015	2016	2017
1	Nativas RD	Chillanrolleras	Chillanrolleras
2	Deskarriadas	Deskarriadas	Tacones Bandidos
3	Diosas Volcanicas	Nativas RD	Diosas Volcanicas
4		Diosas Volcanicas	Deskarriadas
5		A Sangre Fría RD (Osorno)	Adrenaline
6			RD Valdivia / Cuello Negro [as "Indomitas" 2018]

Chillanrolleras Derby Club

Chíllan's premier team, and twice winners of the Torneo X, Chillanrolleras were bouting as early as 2013, although we have a gap in our records in 2015. From 2016, they've hosted multiple tournaments - including fixtures for the 2017 Torneo X itself - and have rarely lost a bout. SRDRank's current (unpublished) rating places them as the favourites to win the Torneo X title, and maintain their streak.

Chillanrolleras, as with many teams in Chile, have a brother league - Chillanrolleros - who share resources with them.

Tacones Bandidos

Tacones Bandidos are based in the coastal region of Vińa del Mar, Valparaíso. In their current form, they date from 2014, as a partnership with men's team, Bototos Bandidos. The Tacones have had a pretty busy year to date - playing not just Chilean teams, but also Buenos Aires' Sailor City Rollers B, who they fought to a near-draw within the last month.

We'd rate the Tacones as likely to strongly contest the second place with the tournament newcomers from Santiago.

Diosas Volcánicas Roller Derby

Puerto Montt & Puerto Varas's Diosas Volcánicas are one of the older teams in Chile, dating back to 2012, founded by Dahmenatrix from San Diego Derby Dolls. They're one of the most southerly teams in Roller Derby (and certainly in Latin America), with only a few teams in southern Argentina and New Zealand much more to the south.

They've had a difficult time finding practice space, and have had periods where most training was outside (in one of the wetter regions of Chile!). This year, they've finally achieved stable training space - in a local prison gym! - and have been working on recruitment and training more intensively since then. Their aim for 2018 is to qualify for the finals (in the top 4 of the table)... and then who knows how high in 2019?

Deskarriadas

Deskarriadas are the largest team in Osorno, founded in May 2014. They're the hosts of the first fixture of this year's Torneo X, in the first weekend in August.

The Deskarriadas have been working towards the Torneo X all year, aiming to improve on their performance last year (where they placed 4th). In the first two years, they managed 2nd place, which is, we assume, their target for 2018.

Adrenaline Roller Derby

Adrenaline Roller Derby, one of two Santiago-based teams in the tournament, are the youngest contestants, founded in 2016. This relative youth has counted against them in ratings, and we'd consider them likely to be contesting in the same position as last year.

As hosts of the second fixtures in the tournament, home team advantage may well help them to beat expectations, in a fairly close lower half of the table.

Indomitas RD Valdivia

Roller Derby Valdivia consists of two member teams - the men's team, Indomitos, and the women's team, which used to be called Cuello Negro ("Black Swans"), but rebranded to Indomitas this year, whilst keeping the same logo. This rebrand was triggered by a complete rebuilding of the team, with the new "Indomitas" very different to the old 2015-2017 Cuello Negro in terms of skaters. The Indomitas told us that they have spent the past year in intensive drilling, so that all their tactics are instinctive. They are prepared to demonstrate the heart, tenacity and perseverance that they can bring to the game.

Nativas Roller Derby

Temuco's first team, the Nativas date back to 2013. As with many of the teams here, they have "womens" and "mens" teams - although we can't find a name for the women's team except "Nativas Roller Derby". As one of the oldest teams in Chile, the Nativas competed in the first ever Torneo X, although they skipped the 2017 edition.

Due to a sparsity of bout data for the Nativas in FTS, we consider the returning team to be something of a wild card.

Metropolitan Roller Derby B, Bayonetas

Santiago's Metropolitan Roller Derby are the only Chilean members of the WFTDA, with their travel team currently ranked at 122 (May 31 ranking release) by WFTDA.

Their B-team, the Bayonetas, have existed since 2014, and are one of the few teams in this tournament to have played extensively internationally - at least within South America. Out of the Chilean leagues, they've played nearby Valparaíso's Tacones Bandidos most often, with wildly different results - beating them 2 to 1 early in 2017, and losing by a similar ratio by the end of that year.

A double header to hit Granite City on the 28th of July! The Beach leisure centre of Aberdeen is home to Granite City Roller Derby's Fight Hawks and Northern Fights; both taking on tricky opponents in this derby day duo! Doors open at 12:30 with the first whistle at 1pm, entry on the door for £4 (under 12's go free!).

To start off the day it's the battle of the B teams, with the Fight Hawks taking on Dundee Roller Derby's Bonnie Colliders! We caught up with the captains to see how they are preparing for the weekend!

---

Fight Hawks Captain: Skeevy Wonder #64 How long skating: 4 and a half years apparently! Time flies. How long captaining team: About 8 months.

How has the season been for your team so far?: We're only really just kicking into gear, but it's been great figuring out our team's strengths and helping build the confidence of our newer skaters. We had a great time in Portugal, where we may not have come back with any gold medals, but we came back with heaps of goals and ideas.

How have you been preparing for the upcoming game: Following on from those pointers from our tournament in Coimbra, we've been drilling our weaknesses and honing our strengths. Practice, practice, practice!

How do you find playing teams within Scotland, does it change your game prep playing such a geographically close league?: As a team, the Hawks have played teams all over Scotland, a few in England, and even teams from Spain and Portugal. We haven't played the Colliders in a long time, but being closer to Dundee and knowing more of their skaters and their styles and preferences, we have a better idea of what kind of game we are going in to. As far as I'm concerned about geographical closeness, it means I can have a proper breakfast that's not from a service station and a bit of a lie in! Boost.

Is there anything in particular you say to your team to get prepped for the game? Any words of wisdom?: As a B team, we're here to learn constantly, and get as much from every game as possible. That doesn't mean we're not competitive however, it just means win or lose we're taking away valuable experiences.

---

Bonnie Colliders Captains: ALLY-J #92 & Tiny Tearaway #931How Long Skating: 3 years, 6 years respectively. How long Captaining Team: our first year!

How has the season been for your team so far?: It’s been a really good start, our focus skating as a team has been awesome! We constantly strive to do our very best, even if we lose a game we can still be really proud of each others performance.

How have you been preparing for the upcoming game?: We've been pushing ourselves a lot at training. Working alongside the Tayzers to increase our knowledge of the game and to build our skills.

How do you find playing teams within Scotland, does it change your game prep playing such a geographically close league?: We've played further afield against Copenhagen which was many of the Colliders' first game outside Scotland. Playing teams closer to home is just as exciting. Seeing the talent that Scotland has is incredible and being able to play alongside these people makes it all worth it.

Is there anything in particular you say to your team to get the prepped for the game? Any words of wisdom? Don’t let the other team get into our heads! That every single person has an amazing set of skills to use, and not to forget it!

---

After this B-team-bust-up Granite's A team The Northern Fights will be taking on Vagine Regime UK, a team formed by a fully inclusive community of LGBTQIA+ individuals and their supporters across the UK. We put a few questions to each of the captains to understand the teams individual run ups to games.

Northern Fights Captain: Lizzee Rascal #314 How Long Captaining?: First year How Long Skating?: 5 Years

How has the season been for your team so far? This season has been great so far. We had quite a change in the team at the beginning of the year and sadly said goodbye to old friends and welcomed some new ones. We have been focusing on British Champs, where we've been competing in Tier 3 North. It has been a fantastic challenge for us and has really pushed us to train hard. We have finished second in our tier and I couldn’t be prouder of the Fights.

How have you been preparing for the upcoming game?: We've been focusing on developing and building as a team for champs throughout 2018. The upcoming game, being an exhibition game, will be a refreshing change from this, with a lot of the pressure of champs being taken off. We have still been training hard and want to bring our best game at the weekend.

How do you find playing teams such as VR? Does it change your strategy or prep at all?: Playing against VR is a different experience for us, as they bring a pool of talent from across the UK and will perhaps use tactics that we haven’t been up against before which will make for a challenging yet fun game.

---

Vagine Regime captain: Kami-Tazzy #360 How Long Skating: 7. 5 years How long Captaining: First time for VR.

How has the season been for your team so far, do rosters change a lot?: It's been great so far. Back in April we had a tough but close game with the Rainy City C team, a great game to kick off the season with. We're really looking forward to playing Granite's awesome Northern Fights. VR UK contain a very large number of members, of all levels, from all over the UK, including some of the best players the UK can offer. Because of that, rosters are always changing, but it mainly depends on location, bout clashes, level and availability.

How do you prepare your skaters for upcoming games?: Since skaters are generally from different leagues/teams it's difficult to prepare physically. Therefore communication and trust is key here. We'll have discussions on positions, and other strengths that everyone can bring. This will help the captains, LUM and Bench to come up with line up plans and strategies to fully challenge our opponents. It's certainly a bonus to have skaters on the team that have played together before, but things still may get shuffled around on the day to maximise our full potential.

How do you find putting together a mixed team to play established leagues, is there anything in particular you look for in skaters?: Depending on availability, we try to put together a strong as possible team to challenge our competitors to the max. We try to get the right mix of skaters of every position. However this is not possible at all times, we have had jammer heavy rosters in the past or vice versa. This is not really a problem, as a lot of the players are very adaptable and give it thier absolute all. We may be a challenge team but we're still a competitive team who like to rise to the challenge and aim to triumph in every game that we play.

Is there anything in particular you say to your team to get them prepped for the game? Any words of wisdom? I ask them to bring all their focus, good sportsmanship and determination on and off the track. Additionally teamwork, integrity and to set individual as well as team goals. This sport is brilliant but it can also be mentally tough at times. One main advice I give to a lot of people is that if things don't go as planned in a jam, I encourage them to put it behind them, store it away if needed, reset and focus on the next jam. Also most importantly enjoy yourselves and embrace all the achievements, no matter how small or big they are.

---

Event page: Here Date: 28/07/2018 Price: £4 on the door

This article was co-written by Dundee's correspondent G. Patterson and Granite's Correspondent C. Meikle