Guest Post: Saving RGA by Becoming KRD
Recently, Kaiserslautern's Roller Girls of the Apocalypse underwent an extensive rebrand - not just the kind where you change a single noun, but a complete alteration of their league to "Kaiserslautern Roller Derby", along with a complete replacement of their league logo and colours!
We have been lucky enough to persuade KRD's Public Relations Chair, Felicity Fleet, to write up their thoughts on the rebranding process - and what it means to the league for us.
This article has also been hand translated by KRD's Lena Albert into German [available by clicking the Deutsch link in the left pane under "Scottish Roller Derby Blog"]!
My first roller derby boot camp as an assessed skater provided me with an understanding of the Roller Girls of the Apocalypse (RGA) brand in the wider European roller derby community. “Some years RGA is really good, and some years we wonder ‘what happened’?” a veteran German skater commented to me. This would become a familiar refrain as I began to travel and play with or against other teams. As a skater developed in RGA’s Fresh Meat program, I could easily answer “what happened”: A new skater with little experience, like me, replaced a veteran skater. And it’s no one’s fault. That’s what RGA is as a league.
RGA is a German league in Kaiserslautern with membership primarily from the surrounding American military community. If you don’t know much about the U.S. military, here’s a quick debrief: U.S. military members generally stay in one place for 2-4 years before they are required to move for their job. In 2018, RGA lost 13 skaters or officials to military moves. By the end of 2019, 12 more players will have left.
The consequence is that RGA serves as a great feeder league. We have sent well-trained skaters to top leagues in the USA, and we have trained a number of promising new skaters in our 6-month Fresh Meat program who are forced to take their potential elsewhere shortly after they pass assessments. During the years we see a large exodus of members, the role of our veteran players in the league changes from “valued player” to “valued trainer”. Our vets will spend most of their own training time helping newer members learn the game and gain skills, while losing their own ability to train at a higher level. Consequently, our veteran skaters play the next year or two at a lower competitive level than they are capable, since most of their teammates are new. Surrounding teams meet us on the track and ask “what happened?” to our level of play. Then the newer players become good players, the exodus begins, and the cycle continues.
Eventually, we had to question if this is a sustainable model for our league. We had to have some hard conversations and genuine self-reflection as we considered our brand in the community and what it means to be competitive.
Skating at the tip of Africa: Roller Derby in South Africa
We've written a bit about South African roller derby when covering their national tournament, but there's a lot more to be said about the community than that.
Geography informs the way in which Roller Derby develops in a country, and South Africa's is very different to what we're used to in Europe.
Map of South Africa's population density, with leagues marked. [Underlay: Htonl (Public domain, Wikipedia)]
South Africa is a large country - its area is about twice that of France - but with a relatively small population - about 80% that of France. And that population is very unevenly spread across the country: the dense province of Gauteng, containing Johannesburg and Pretoria, contains about a quarter of South Africa's entire population, with another fifth concentrated around Durban in the south-east province of KwaZulu-Natal, and a further eighth around Cape Town in the Western Cape.
Unlike in most European countries, then, the 4 leagues of South Africa - located in those 4 named cities - have difficulty even travelling to play each other on a regular basis.
Add to this the fact that the only other country with Roller Derby in Africa is Egypt, at the other end of the continent, and you can get a feel for how dedicated and unique the solutions adapted by the South African leagues have had to be.
In this article, we'll be discussing in some depth both those problems, and their solutions, so click on to read more:
Weekend Highlights: 16 June 2019
This is the Sunday addendum edition of the highlights, for 16 June.
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
We're slightly breaking our usual rule this Sunday to allow two events for France. The French schedule of events is so dense, we end up overlooking many of them each weekend in only picking one, so we're selecting two equally important fixtures for this Sunday.
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sun: Toowoomba, QLD, Australia
Toowoomba City Juniors host a double scrimmage day for JRDA level 2 and 3 skaters: one scrim will be level 2 and one level 3. Skaters will also be encouraged to try officiating the scrim they're not competing in.
Event starts: 1000 Sunday
Venue: Gowrie Junction Progress Association and Community Hall, 24 Old Homebush Road, Gowrie Junction, QLD, Australia
Sun: Adelaide, SA, Australia
Rockabellas Roller Derby League host that most Australian of fundraisers, a Sausage Sizzle, to help raise funds for their Juniors and Officials.
Event starts: 0800 Sunday
Venue: The Original Open Market inc, 121 Beach Rd, Christies Beach, SA, Australia
Sun: Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Roller Derby (or at least, those of them not in Canada) are part of "Jam in the Box"'s Skate Together open outdoor skate events, of which the first this year is today!
Event starts: 1700 Sunday
Venue: Jam in the box, Vaasankatu 6, Helsinki, Finland
Sun: Nijmegen, Netherlands
The Roadkill Rollers host their inaugural "Small Teams Tournament", a one-day event aimed at giving smaller teams more opportunities to play in a tournament environment. This is an 8 team tournament, organised as 2 groups of 4, into a final between the top team in each group (for a total of 13 games in the day). Each game is 20 minutes long, based on the schedule. The tournament is OTA, but not all teams are.
- Teams (Group A)
- Market Gardeners (Eindhoven, Arnhem and Nijmegen)
- Thunder & Lightning (Groningen)
- Jammer Slammers (Arnhem??)
- Roller Derby Twente
- (Group B)
- Roadkill Rollers (Nijmegen)
- Keytown Roller Derby (Leiden-based exhibition team)
- Pink Peril Roller Derby (Limburg)
- Blacksheep Honey Rollers (Middelburg)
Games are not listed in FTS, as they are too short. (We'd still love to know the results, though)
Event starts: 1200 Sunday (first game)
Venue: Sporthal de Horstacker, Horstacker 1401, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Sun: Dunkirk, France
The Sirènes Hurlants of Dunkirk host a triple header of Roller Derby on the French coast, with two scrimmages (one MRDA-gender and one WFTDA-gender), and a full game.
- Les Sirènes Hurlantes (Dunkirk) versus Les Nasty Pêcheresses (Montreuil B)
- MRDA-gender Open Scrimmage
- WFTDA-gender rookie Open Scrimmage
FTS lists only the first game, as scrimmages cannot be rated
Event starts: 1100 Sunday
Venue: Lycée de l'Europe, 809 Rue du Banc Vert, Dunkirk, France
Sun: Limoges, France
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Limoges' Porcelain Dolls host a triple header of French roller derby for a less-than-quiet Sunday. This is a round-robin tournament between Limoges, Quads de Paris, and Toulouse!
- Rainbow Furies (Toulouse C) versus Porcelain Dolls (Limoges)
- La Carcasse (Quads de Paris C) versus Rainbow Furies
- Porcelain Dolls versus La Carcasse
Event starts: 1000 Sunday
Venue: Gymnases Municipaux Beaubreuil Hau, 84 rue Rhin et Danube, Limoges, France
Sun: Loughborough, UK
Leicestershire Dolly Rockit Rollers are also helping to give people more games, with their "Love at First Fight", a WFTDA-gender policy rookie & intermediate tournament. This is a three-team round-robin tournament with teams mixed up from the skaters signed up, with the three 30 minute games ending in a 40-minute final (presumably a rematch between the two highest ranked teams).
Event starts: 1200 Sunday
Venue: Loughborough Leisure Centre, Browns Lane, Loughborough, UK
Sun: Miramar, Argentina
Atlántico Sur . Cobra Quads . MDQueens . Rebeldes del Asfalto Roller Derby and Sudestada Roller Derby Necochea are collaborating on a series of "Officials on the Atlantic Coast" referee and NSO clinics, designed to build and strengthen the officiating community along the Necochea to Mar del Plata area. (This is necessary to enable the proper support of Roller Derby in this area of Argentina, where, as you can see, there's a lot of teams already!). This first edition is hosted by Atlántico Sur in Miramar.
Event starts: 1700 Sunday
Venue: Club Defensores, Miramar, Argentina
Weekend Highlights: 15 June 2019
This weekend's highlights are back to our two update format (partly because of the density of events in the UK and France, so we want to give more time to breathe).
The rules are, as usual: highlights limited to 1 event per country, with an "extra" event allowed for a different kind of fixture (so, 1 tournament and 1 bootcamp), or if they involve Scottish leagues (since we are the Scottish Roller Derby Blog). Other notability might also allow the extra event - great posters, notable teams, etc. (League birthdays may count as "special" enough, at our discretion ;) )
The Scottish clause here gives us two updates for the UK, one in Scotland and one down south! Meanwhile, in general, this is obviously a weekend for bootcamps, with 3 of them in Europe, and two of those full weekend events!
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sat: Whakatāne, New Zealand
Whakatāne Roller Derby host a single header event as part of this year's Top 10 NZ Roller Derby Championships series.
- Brawl Stars (Whakatāne) versus Pirate City Rollers All-Stars (Auckland)
Event starts: 1600 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Whakatāne War Memorial Hall, 7 Short Street, Whakatāne, New Zealand
Sat: Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Newcastle Roller Derby League is hosting a pretty unique fundraiser: they're hosting an art exhibition of digital portraits of each member (skaters and bench staff) of their Dockyard Dames (A team), each created, and signed, by Sammi Jurd. Each and every 40x50cm portrait will then be auctioned off to the highest bidder!
Event starts: 1830 Saturday
Venue: Newcastle ArtSpace, 91 Chinchen Street, Tighes Hill, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Sat: Lardner, VIC, Australia
Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby host the first ever Gippsland Pride Cup, in association with Pride Cup Australia. As well as an exhibition bout against the Australian trans-and-gender-diverse exhibition team, the Gender Ending Story (who also have one of the best team names in the sport), the event will also feature an Open-to-All genders low-contact scrimmage to start. (And the usual stalls, events and other ancillary features.)
- Low contact rules scrimmage (OTA) (20 min periods)
- Gippsland Ranges versus Gender Ending Story (trans and gender-diverse exhibition team)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday ("doors open")
Venue: Lardner Park, 155 Burnt Store Road, Lardner, VIC, Australia
Sat-Sun: Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Coast Quads host the return of their tendency to host end-of-season scrimmage events with knowingly silly themes. This time, they're memorialising the retirement of a certain Not-Safe-For-Work derby name, but we think this is probably just an excuse for a scrimmage followed by a sauna.
Event starts: 1400 Saturday
Venue: Viikin Monitoimitalo, Maakaari 3, Helsinki, Finland
Sat-Sun: Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm Roller Derby host a 2-day bootcamp, aimed at intermediate (1 year experience post mins), open to WFTDA-gender-policy conforming skaters. Coaches are drawn from Stockholm All-Stars' packed roster, and include: Thunder (one-on-one blocking), Party-O ("Spin-to-Win" for jammers), Slinky (working the outside line for jammers), Chaos (aggressive blocking), Maurine (transitions and backward skating for jammers), Foxen ("The Tripod puzzle" for blockers).
Event starts: 1100 Saturday
Venue: Vallentuna Ishall B-hallen, Parkvägen 3, Vallentuna, Sweden
Sat: Brno, Czech Republic
Roller Derby Brno Freakshow host a bootcamp in the east of the Czech Republic, coached by Dublin Roller Derby's MuFasta (coach for Dublin C), and Holo-Whip. This is a post-min-skills intro to intermediate bootcamp, Open To All genders. As usual, it will end with a scrimmage for everyone to practice what they've learned.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Jana Babáka 5, Brno, Czech Republic
Sat-Sun: Ljubljana, Slovenia
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FACEBOOK LINK (BOUT)] [FTS LINK]
Roller Derby Ljubljana are part of the Ljubljana Pride series of events, starting this week, with two events on Saturday. Firstly, they will be part of an open round table on "The Role of Roller Derby in the Queer Community", where they'll be joined by representatives from Grenoble's Cannibal Marmots. They'll then go on to play the Cannibal Marmots in a free open bout as part of the Pride Parade.
- Round Table Discussion
- Roller Derby Ljubljana versus Cannibal Marmots Bééé (Grenoble B)
Event starts: 1730 Saturday (round table), 1900 Saturday (bout)
Venue: Športno društvo GIB, Drenikova 32, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Sat-Sun: Darmstadt, Germany
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK Bundesliga D2] [FTS LINK Bundesliga D1]
Riot Rollers Darmstadt host a whole weekend of Roller Derby, with 5 games across Saturday and Sunday. Of these, there's even a Bundesliga D1 bout, as Darmstadt play Dresden, and a Bundesliga D2 game as Bembel Town play Cologne!
- Saturday:
- Dresden Pioneers (Dresden A) versus Namur Roller Girls
- Bembel Town Rollergirls (Frankfurt) versus Cologne Roller Derby [Bundesliga D2]
- Riot Rollers A versus Dresden Pioneers [Bundesliga D1]
- Sunday:
- Riot Rollers B versus Köln Mixed team
- Roller Grrrl Gang (Frankfurt) versus Mixed Team
Sunday games are not listed on FTS as one team is unrateable.
Event starts: 1500 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: LZZ Darmstadt, Kranichsteiner St 86, Darmstadt, Germany
Sat-Sun: Zurich, Switzerland
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2]
Zürich City Roller Derby host an international double header of Roller Derby, facing teams from Sweden and England!
- AllstarZ (Zürich A) versus The Royal Army (Royal Swedish A | Stockholm )
- BruiseZ (Zürich B) versus Hellfire Harlots B (Nottingham)
Event starts: 1500 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Sportanlage Fronwald, Fronwaldstrasse, Zürich, Switzerland
Sat: The Hague, Netherlands
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2]
Parliament of Pain end their season with a triple header of Roller Derby. This is particularly exciting, as it includes an OTA gender policy bout!
- Aces of Pain (PoP O | The Hague) versus One Hit Wonders (Suck City O | Breda)
- Queens of PoP (PoP A) versus Holy Wheels Menace (Liège A)
- Mysterious third bout
Event starts: 1300 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Oranjeplein, Slicherstraat 11, The Hague, Netherlands
Sat-sequence: Brussels, Belgium
Brussels Roller Derby League host a two-day bootcamp-and-scrimmage weekend, with an evolving schedule. The Saturday beginners skater bootcamp is coached by: Hell Freya, Mardisturbia, Bundy Nelson (Team Belgium + Brussels A) and Meta Cagole (Brussels A), plus Kenny Jean coaching off-skates sessions. The Sunday is a day of various scrimmage events, including "Special rules" games - and a sneak-preview of Brussels' new C team! The entire event is to raise money for Brussels Derby Pixies' trip to California for the Deep Blue Derby Tournament in September.
- Saturday:
- Bootcamp (Mins-passed Skaters, Referees and NSOs)
- Sunday:
- Beginners mins-passed scrimmage versus Brussels C
- Brussels A/B versus The World (short-format scrimmage with fun rules)
- Three team round robin tournament scrimmage.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (bootcamp)
Venue: Unknown, Brussels, Belgium
Sat-Sun: Pertuis, France
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK (pending details from organisers)]
Marseille Roller Derby Club host "Paca l'eau, bientôt la bagarre", a "Regional Tournament" for the teams of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Thank you to Lise Bonvalot for help with the schedule here.
- Teams involved:
- Les Amazones (Pays d'Aix)
- "Les Morues du Sud" (Nice Roller Derby/Sisters in Arms (Gap)/Toxic Ladies (Toulon))
- Mars Invaders: Marseille Roller Derby Club
- Rabbit Skulls B (Avignon B)
- Rolling Castagne: Roller Derby Club Bastiacciu (Bastia)
- Schedule (Sat - 30 min, single period games)
- Nice/Toulon/Gap versus Avignon
- Marseille versus Aix
- Nice/Toulon/Gap versus Bastia
- Avignon versus Aix
- Bastia versus Marseille
- Aix versus Nice/Toulon/Gap
- Avignon versus Marseille
- Aix versus Bastia
- Schedule (Sun - 30 min single period, unless noted)
- Marseille versus Nice/Toulon/Gap
- Bastia versus Avignon
- 3rd Place game : 3eme versus 4eme (2 x 30 min)
- Men's open subscription game (2 x 20 min)
- artistic roller skating demo
- Final : 2eme versus 1er (2 x 30 min)
Event starts: 0915 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: "Stade Verdun" Pertuis, Avenue de Verdun, Pertuis, France
Sat: Windsor, UK
Royal Windsor Roller Derby host a single header just for Glasgow Roller Derby. (The two teams last played back in 2016, when Glasgow hosted, and managed a close win - there's been a bit of change for both teams since, so this return bout will be interesting.)
Event starts: 1600 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Windsor Leisure Centre, Clewer Mead, Stovell Rd, Windsor, UK
Sat-Sun: Dalkeith, Scotland
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3] [FTS LINK 4]
Auld Reekie Roller Derby host a Summer Tournament over this weekendm with a bunch of international and national bouts. With teams from the UK, Sweden, and within Scotland itself, and a rookie game.
- Saturday:
- Birmingham Blitz Dames versus Auld Reekie All Stars (Edinburgh A)
- New Skaters Debut Game
- Gothenburg Roller Derby versus Birmingham Blitz Dames
- Sunday:
- ASTROs (Edinburgh C) versus Bonnie Colliders (Dundee B)
- Auld Reekie All Stars versus Gothenburg
New Skaters game is not listed in FTS, as the teams are not rateable
Event starts: 1030 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Dalkeith Community Campus, 4 Cousland Road, Dalkeith, Scotland
Sat: Buenos Aires, Argentina
2x4 Roller Derby host a double header of scrimmage, with both B/C level WFTDA-gender policy, and ABC level "mixed" (Open To All) options. This scrimmage raises funds for 2x4 Team C to attend the second edition of the Impakto Mixto tournament in La Rioja in July.
- BC level WFTDA-policy scrimmage
- ABC level OTA scrimmage
Event starts: 1500 Saturday (first game)
Venue: Curapaligüe 1406, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sat: Bogotá, Colombia
Rock N Roller Queens [link to Facebook, as website link down] and Combativas Revoltosas are just one of the skating-related clubs participating in the 3rd annual Fiesta Roller Dance Bogotá, a celebration of all kinds of skates-related things in the city. (This edition is branding itself as "Urban", so we expect a different focus to previous editions.)
Event starts: 1800 Saturday
Venue: La k-zona Galería Comercial Cultural, Calle 15 # 9-64, Bogotá, Colombia
Sat-Sun: Queretaro, Mexico
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK (pending actual details)]
Rock City Roller Derby (previously known as Queretaro Roller Derby) are hosting a "cuadrangular" tournament against their neighbours in central Mexico. Given this is a two day event, we'd imagine it's a full round robin, with 6 games in total. At present, "La Mala Copa" has no complete announced schedule, but we know teams are:
- Teams:
- Rock City Roller Derby (Queretaro)
- Minervas Roller Derby (Guadalajara)
- Discordias Roller Derby
- Mexico City Roller Derby
Event starts: 1200 Saturday ??
Venue: UAQ Campus Juriquilla, Av. de las Ciencias Sin Número, Campus Juriquilla, Juriquilla, Queretaro, Mexico
Additionally, these events in North America are of interest due to the attendance of other teams:
Thurs-Sun: Montreal, QC, Canada
Montreal Roller Derby host the 2019 edition of La Classique Georgia W Tush. This is a three-legged tournament, with (WFTDA Sanctioned) A team division, a B team division (for much of the same leagues as the A teams), and a smaller Juniors division! This is of interest to us because of the attendance of Helsinki Roller Derby (A and B), and Victorian Roller Derby League (A).
- Teams attending:
- Victorian Roller Derby League (VIC, Australia) [A]
- Gotham Girls Roller Derby (NY, NY, USA) [A,B,Juniors]
- Arch Rival Roller Derby (St Louis, MO, USA) [A,B]
- Montreal Roller Derby (QC, CA) [A,B,Juniors]
- Jacksonville Roller Derby (FL, USA) [A]
- Helsinki Roller Derby (Finland) [A,B]
- Tri-City Roller Derby (ON, CA) [Juniors]
Event starts: 1830 Thurs (doors open for semi-private single bout.) 0900 Friday (doors open for main event)
Venue: Arena St-Louis, 5633 Rue Saint Dominique, Montreal, QC, Canada
The MacIntyres Take Over Roller Derby
It's often said that the junior part of any sport is the most important part, as it contains its future. Scottish Junior Roller Derby's first club, Fierce Valley Roller Cubs, is no more, but two of its graduates are now starting to make waves in Scotland, and the UK.
We thought it was a good time to talk to Skye ("Bee"), and Callie ("Cal-amity") MacIntyre; earlier this year, Skye (guest) bench-coached the victorious Lincolnshire Bombinos away against Newcastle Junior Roller Derby, with Callie awarded Best Jammer in the same bout. They both have a lot of past experience, and ideas for the future, of Roller Derby, so what better people to talk to?
Lincolnshire Bombinos, with Callie (#999) and Skye (Bench, right). [Photo: incidentlight]
So I guess we'll start with a bit of history: how long has it been since you two started derby?
- Skye
- Callie and I both started in about June 2014, through Fierce Valley [Roller Cubs] and we haven't stopped since! Callie had a wee few months break between Cubs disbanding and Rollerstop opening up, but that hasn't swayed her in any way. Roller derby is one of the main sports that both of us have picked up and kept at as there is so much appeal for us 😁😁
So, let's talk about the appeal for each of you: why did you start playing... And why are you still playing now?
- Callie
- I started to play because it was a different kind of sport: it wasn't like anything that I had played before, and I though it was really interesting. Now I play because I love to meet new people when I play against different teams, and I gain new experiences when I play with different teams because everyone is taught differently.
- Skye
-
Roller Derby is appealing because there is such a lovely community, that's the main thing for me. Granted, there's some competition between skaters/teams but that's present in any sport. I have always loved roller skating, ever since I was wee. I'd love to continue with derby and have loads of new experiences like trying for Team Scotland and maybe playing for the World Cup.
Nothing has really changed for us as we were still juniors (except the rules, haha) but the changes make Derby. We can adapt to it and grow from learning all these new things that are being introduced. I love that derby is becoming more mainstream and the sport that we love and spend most of our time playing, is becoming bigger and more people are growing to love Roller Derby too 🙂
So, for you, Skye, you're now on the Bairn City Rollers, was that a big change for you, moving from Juniors to the BCR training and bouting ?
- Skye
-
It was a scary jump as a junior because I'd seen all these adult Derby games and been thinking "wow... this is intense..." but, when I finally made the jump, the only difference was that everyone else was physically bigger (as in stronger and more skilled). It was still the same game, it was still the same rules, and I still loved it. I'd really urge anyone who's been in Juniors and is about to age out to make the jump, it's so worth it! It may be daunting but go for it.
Callie is itching to move up to adult derby 😂
Callie, before the game we're going to get onto, you had a previous practice & Scrimmage with the [Lincolnshire] Bombinos - how did that happen, and do you have memories / thoughts about it?
- Callie
-
Initially I went to Team GB [Junior Roller Derby] training in Oldham, where I met some of the Bombinos.
That's where I got my foot in the door... My mum struck up a friendship with one of the Bombinos coaches (Beverley Gormley) who has been fantastic, sending us links for games we might be interested in. I then went to a mixed game in Sheffield and I met the rest of the Bombinos there.
I have become really good friends with Eve (Lady Macdeath) and a few of the other Bombinos. At the game the children's parents, who have never met me, were supporting me all through the game and I won best jammer too.
I was feeling really accomplished: I've been playing Roller Derby for a very long time, and to get an award for a very exciting game was so good. To hear the Bombinos shouting encouraging words was a fantastic feeling, too.
Skye [Photo: David Prentice]
So, let's talk about the game in more detail! How was it being benched by / benching your sister?
- Callie
- I thought it was really fun because I know her very well and I respect her, so it was easy listening to her and everyone in the team respected her . She was really supportive towards the whole team and never gave up which made everyone respect her more. She was so enthusiastic which I loved about her.
- Skye
- It was really fun as I have played against, and alongside, Callie but never benched her in a game situation. I've never had a chance to take a step back and see her get her "game face" on and see her play as an independent skater. She listened to me as well (which she never does!) which was amazing and just seeing her having fun meant a lot 😊
So, this was also your first time benching a public game, Skye... How much practice had you had previously? (and would you do anything different next time you bench?)
- Skye
-
I've had previous experience coaching Juniors and benching internal scrims but in all honesty, I was still asking questions about effective benching when we got to Newcastle 😂 . As it was a junior game, though, I felt confident benching the game for them. I've been looking to bench a public Juniors game for ages and amazingly this opportunity popped up, and I'm super grateful to the Bombinos for allowing me to bench.
As for doing anything differently; I hadn't trained with [the Bombinos] so I didn't know what their tactics were and how they played, so I'd try and do a bit more research 😊.
But the feedback I got from the Bombinos was great! They all enjoyed my benching and how I handled it: they felt that I was very relatable as I am about their age, and was very relaxed and not intimidating. They also said that I was very supportive when shouting "you've got this!" And "keep going!" etc. as they passed the bench. So much so that they commented on the [Bairn City Rollers] page that they liked me so much that they were wanting to steal me and take me to Lincolnshire 😁😁
All I wanted to do was help lead them to victory, and they did us proud with an over 100 point lead 😊😊
And are you tempted to try more non-competitive roles in future (announcing? Refereeing?) (Callie: how do you feel about trying a non-skating role? Anything tempt you?)
- Callie
- I would love to bench a game once, maybe refereeing. I've always been interested in benching as it is something I feel like I would be strong at. I always have experience when I'm training as I am usually captain when we are doing scrims.
- Skye
-
I would potentially look at refereeing as I got older. I would happily do the cake stall at derby games again though 😂
I would love to bench again and I would be more than happy to help out as an NSO, but coaching, benching, and skating is where it's at for me at this exact moment in time. I'm even thinking about attending the Coaching bootcamp in York later this year [ ], because I know there is a lot of junior skating talent that is ready to be developed and I want to be one of the people that could help 😊😊.
Callie, jamming [Photo: incidentlight]
So, Callie: what interests you about benching?
- Callie
- I'd really like to bench because it gives me better leadership experience, I also have some more re games under my belt than the newer kids. I would love to guide them and use the skills and tactics I have learned through my previous games with Fierce Valley Roller Cubs and the more recent games with Lincolnshire and the Sheffield and Newcastle juniors to take other juniors to a win. Although, its not the winning that counts really, its that everyone feels good and enjoys themselves
That's a very positive attitude to have!
- Callie
- That's what Derby has taught me: we lost at our Sheffield game, but I came away with a lot more friends I would never have met if I hadn't been there
Speaking of all the contacts you guys now have, what're your plans for the future in general, as skaters?
- Skye
- For me, trying for Team Scotland and the World Cup. That's the dream 😁😁
For 202x?
- Skye
- Yeah 202x. I've made friends with Eve who is about to age up to the adult teams and she may potentially try out as well 😊
- Callie
- For me, it's attending more games with the other Juniors, aiming for Team GB: I would love to represent Scottish Junior Derby as part of that. I want to help my sister coach and develop other kids, as well as me, until I am 16 and can move to an adult team. Then I want to push myself as far as I can with that. Team GB is a huge focus for me for the future.
Do you feel that it would help to have more Junior Derby in Scotland, or is the Rollerstop team in Glasgow enough to keep new talent coming?
- Callie
-
Personally, I think we we need more. There are new teams out there but games are few and far between at the moment. I am travelling to England to get games on my level because I have been skating for years whereas some others are very new to it. Once they are all up and running it will be great but a larger number of teams over the Scotland area will encourage more teams to travel to play.
Hopefully there will be other leagues who see the value in a junior team and maybe start some up.
The talent we have in Scotland is there, it just needs a helping hand 😀
Skye is coaching the kids [at Rollerstop] right now but I know she has an idea that I hope she can develop. It's doing concentrated training for level 3 skaters with a view to getting them ready for going to an adult team. Also for Junior British Champs if it happens and for trying out for Team GB. Right now it's just an idea, but it would let kids like me train on a level that perhaps some newer skaters aren't at yet, and would hopefully give them drive to get there and join in.
Skye [Photo: Dave Moore]
Skye, do you want to talk a bit about that plan too?
- Skye
-
My mum was talking to a few people who wanted to discuss the idea of a Junior British Champs for the future and the options for that, and it came to mind that whilst the kids are training, why not "up the level" for the kids who want to take that next step. The "tweens" who aren't old enough for adult teams but are ready for the next level of game play which is essentially adult games.
What do they do in the inbetween times? I know, I have been there and it's tough. Adults want to help train, but the idea of maybe full contact scrimmage with people who are legally still children can be offputting.
So, in Australia, there's a whole multi-level thing for modified contact scrimmage and so on, which might help with that, too.
- Skye
-
If that would help then yeah, all for it and looking at it. Anything to bring more people to the sport and keep them with it.
I would love to talk with coaches for adult teams, see if there can be some sort of programme of skills that can be shared, best practise maybe to keep the kids inbetween Junior and Adult leagues active and keen and looking forward to their next steps.
Mum and I honestly just talked about it 2 days ago. It made sense because when I was in limbo, before the Bairns took me on, I nearly quit and it would have been a mistake to have done that.
It was very difficult for junior derby in Scotland in general, about then
- Skye
-
We thought we were losing it altogether, no one's fault, but we are so glad it didn't disappear totally
I owe a lot to Coach CB and the rest of the Fierce Valley team, and the Bairns as well 😊
Callie, what about you - how did you manage in the gap between FVRC closing, and then your current Rollerstop + sort-of-guest-Bombinos-skater position?
- Callie
- I kept up skating at Rollerstop in general, just to keep me moving. Rollerstop Derby lessons came at the right time, although we even looked at the logistics of going to Newcastle for Derby if need be, but it just wouldn't have worked long term.
I know your mum's been very committed to helping you keep going in Roller Derby...
- Callie
-
Haha, she hasn't been at home for the last few weekends because of derby, always driving us to games, supporting us, washing our kit (!) (the most important part) and meeting more Derby parents to get us out there.
She sees the benefits in Derby to us, confidence, health, experiences and new friends 🙂
It's a really good relationship you three all have 🙂
- Skye
- Mum has been a huge support in our derby career, she's been our taxi driver to games and a massive help. She continues to support us through our derby lives 😊
So, this has been a great interview, really: but I want to hand over the mic to you guys, if there's anything you want to add that we've not covered?
- Skye
-
Both Callie and I think that Junior Roller Derby needs to be spoken about and put out there a wee bit more and we are glad that there is more recognition about the sport.
I'm also super glad about the fact that (some) teams are opening up to 16-17 year olds as it's giving Juniors more of a chance to train.
- Callie
- [I] would love to see more Junior teams in Scotland so there are more teams to play and gain more experience, and that some games between teams across the border and here become more frequent 😊
Guest Series: "The Road To Playoffs - June 2019 edition"
With the fifth WFTDA official rating and ranking of the season, still in the old location due to delays in launching the shiny new stats portal, (https://wftda.com/rankings-may-31-2019/), we're keeping to our promise to update our "Road to Playoffs series".
All the locations with teams in our top 100 (larger stars mean more than one team is in the list - for example, 2x4 and Sailor City in Buenos Aires)
Speedy Convalesce, Head NSO of Mannheim's Delta Quads, as well as many other things, is here to help us better visualise what's likely to happen at Playoff selection. This ongoing series reports the ratings and rankings of the top 100 WFTDA teams, calculated as if we were at June 30th 2019 [the ranking which will be used to decide Qualifications and seedings into both WFTDA Playoffs, and the Continental Cups]. Whilst we can't predict the future, this will give the best guess of what teams need to do to qualify, based on what they've already done. This means that this will be the penultimate edition of the Road to Playoffs series.
As well as attaining a minimum ranking, teams also need to play at least 4 bouts within the eligibility period (December 2018 to June 2019), and we'll be tracking their progress on this measure, too.
The list, updated for this month: (# is number of bouts contributing to the ranking, whilst #El is the number of bouts contributing to their eligibility for playoffs). We'll colour teams to indicate when they've played their minimum number of games for eligibility, but as yet, it's too early for anyone to have met this. We've eliminated any teams which have played less than 2 games since July 2018 here. Teams which have shifted rating (or entered the chart for the first time) since the last article are in BOLD
| Rk. | Team | Continental Cup | # | Points | #El |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose City Rollers | NA West | 8 | 1321,15 | 2 |
| 2 | Victorian Roller Derby League | NA West | 5 | 1274,92 | 0 |
| 3 | Gotham Girls Roller Derby | NA East | 4 | 1193,05 | 0 |
| 4 | Arch Rival Roller Derby | NA West | 9 | 1180,62 | 2 |
| 5 | Denver Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 1147,89 | 2 |
| 6 | Angel City Derby | NA West | 9 | 944,64 | 3 |
| 7 | Texas Rollergirls | NA West | 10 | 902,61 | 3 |
| 8 | Crime City Rollers | Europe | 9 | 884,2 | 4 |
| 9 | Montreal Roller Derby | NA East | 9 | 842,66 | 2 |
| 10 | Philly Roller Derby | NA East | 9 | 819,58 | 6 |
| 11 | Jacksonville Rollergirls | NA East | 8 | 796,08 | 2 |
| 12 | Rainy City Roller Derby | Europe | 7 | 795,37 | 4 |
| 13 | 2x4 Roller Derby | NA East | 3 | 788,7 | 0 |
| 14 | Rat City Roller Derby | NA West | 6 | 771,25 | 2 |
| 15 | London Rollergirls | Europe | 8 | 745,49 | 4 |
| 16 | Atlanta Roller Derby | NA East | 8 | 738,17 | 3 |
| 17 | Canberra Roller Derby League | NA West | 7 | 722,89 | 4 |
| 18 | Santa Cruz Derby Girls | NA West | 9 | 721,88 | 6 |
| 19 | Bay Area Derby | NA West | 6 | 674,88 | 3 |
| 20 | Helsinki Roller Derby | Europe | 7 | 656,64 | 4 |
| 21 | Stockholm Roller Derby | Europe | 11 | 636,53 | 9 |
| 22 | Windy City Rollers | NA East | 6 | 625,59 | 4 |
| 23 | Queen City Roller Girls | NA East | 4 | 617,77 | 2 |
| 24 | Bear City Roller Derby | Europe | 6 | 595,81 | 4 |
| 25 | Ann Arbor Roller Derby | NA East | 9 | 594,97 | 7 |
| 26 | Arizona Roller Derby | NA West | 9 | 594,00 | 6 |
| 27 | Minnesota RollerGirls | NA West | 6 | 593,93 | 3 |
| 28 | Houston Roller Derby | NA West | 5 | 561,7 | 5 |
| 29 | Paris Rollergirls | Europe | 6 | 551,39 | 4 |
| 30 | Dock City Rollers | Europe | 8 | 544,94 | 5 |
| 31 | Dublin Roller Derby | Europe | 8 | 536,59 | 5 |
| 32 | Kallio Rolling Rainbow | Europe | 7 | 535,85 | 4 |
| 33 | Lomme Roller Girls | Europe | 5 | 526,94 | 5 |
| 34 | Sun State Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 525,78 | 4 |
| 35 | Naptown Roller Derby | NA East | 8 | 510,58 | 8 |
| 36 | Blue Ridge Rollergirls | NA East | 4 | 504,84 | 2 |
| 37 | Boston Roller Derby | NA East | 14 | 493,63 | 10 |
| 38 | Madison Roller Derby | NA East | 7 | 489,44 | 4 |
| 39 | E-Ville Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 474,74 | 4 |
| 40 | Calgary Roller Derby | NA West | 6 | 471,1 | 2 |
| 41 | Sailor City Rollers | NA East | 6 | 462,28 | 4 |
| 42 | Sacramento Roller Derby | NA West | 10 | 451,83 | 7 |
| 43 | Rocky Mountain Rollergirls | NA West | 6 | 447,44 | 3 |
| 44 | Happy Valley Derby Darlins | NA West | 6 | 446,54 | 3 |
| 45 | Team United Women's Roller Derby | NA West | 5 | 443,2 | 1 |
| 46 | Columbia Quad Squad | NA East | 11 | 441,01 | 8 |
| 47 | Middlesbrough Roller Derby | Europe | 4 | 432,51 | 1 |
| 48 | Auld Reekie Roller Derby | Europe | 2 | 426,46 | 2 |
| 49 | Tiger Bay Brawlers | Europe | 4 | 426,25 | 1 |
| 50 | Central City Rollerderby | Europe | 6 | 419,46 | 3 |
| 51 | Detroit Roller Derby | NA East | 6 | 418,96 | 2 |
| 52 | Birmingham Blitz Dames | Europe | 2 | 414,86 | 0 |
| 53 | North Star Roller Derby | NA West | 10 | 414,6 | 7 |
| 54 | Tri-City Roller Derby | NA East | 7 | 413,02 | 7 |
| 55 | Perth Roller Derby | Europe | 4 | 407,55 | 4 |
| 56 | Jet City Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 406,57 | 4 |
| 57 | Terminal City Rollergirls | NA West | 2 | 405,14 | 0 |
| 58 | Gem City Roller Derby | NA East | 6 | 400,39 | 6 |
| 59 | Charlottesville Derby Dames | NA East | 6 | 398,31 | 3 |
| 60 | Adelaide Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 381,65 | 6 |
| 61 | Toronto Roller Derby | NA East | 10 | 380,41 | 10 |
| 62 | Tampa Roller Derby | NA East | 6 | 378,76 | 3 |
| 63 | Ohio Roller Derby | NA East | 11 | 374,57 | 9 |
| 64 | Roc City Roller Derby | NA East | 7 | 372,31 | 6 |
| 65 | Royal City Roller Derby | NA East | 11 | 365,6 | 8 |
| 66 | Antwerp Roller Derby | Europe | 8 | 362,99 | 4 |
| 67 | Brandywine Roller Derby | NA East | 6 | 360,12 | 6 |
| 68 | Red Stick Roller Derby | NA West | 10 | 348,64 | 5 |
| 69 | Dub City Roller Derby | NA East | 7 | 336,25 | 4 |
| 70 | Orangeville Roller Girls | NA East | 10 | 327,07 | 7 |
| 71 | Ottawa Valley Roller Derby | NA East | 9 | 326,94 | 7 |
| 72 | Grand Raggidy Roller Derby | NA East | 8 | 316,87 | 6 |
| 73 | Oklahoma Victory Dolls | NA East | 10 | 314,19 | 10 |
| 74 | Steel City Roller Derby | NA East | 10 | 312,08 | 10 |
| 75 | No Coast Derby Girls | NA West | 7 | 310,49 | 4 |
| 76 | V-Town Derby Dames | NA West | 7 | 308,77 | 6 |
| 77 | Classic City Rollergirls | NA East | 6 | 303,27 | 2 |
| 78 | Connecticut Roller Derby | NA East | 6 | 303,18 | 5 |
| 79 | Rage City Rollergirls | NA West | 4 | 301,74 | 4 |
| 80 | Wasatch Roller Derby | NA West | 3 | 300,94 | 3 |
| 81 | Mother State Roller Derby | NA East | 2 | 298,89 | 2 |
| 82 | Sydney Roller Derby League | NA West | 2 | 297,92 | 1 |
| 83 | Tucson Roller Derby | NA West | 7 | 295,25 | 4 |
| 84 | Cincinnati Rollergirls | NA East | 8 | 295,08 | 7 |
| 85 | Pirate City Rollers | NA West | 4 | 293,46 | 4 |
| 86 | Maine Roller Derby | NA East | 2 | 288,78 | 2 |
| 87 | Oslo Roller Derby | Europe | 4 | 282,3 | 4 |
| 88 | Garden State Rollergirls | NA East | 2 | 281,27 | 2 |
| 89 | Gold Coast Derby Grrls | NA East | 8 | 279,69 | 6 |
| 90 | Brewcity Bruisers | NA East | 8 | 274,91 | 6 |
| 91 | Nottingham Hellfire Harlots | Europe | 3 | 272,46 | 1 |
| 92 | Pikes Peak Derby Dames | NA West | 9 | 269,55 | 7 |
| 93 | Crossroads City Derby | NA West | 6 | 267,91 | 4 |
| 94 | Providence Roller Derby | NA East | 5 | 267,43 | 5 |
| 95 | DC Rollergirls | NA East | 4 | 265,43 | 4 |
| 96 | Greater Vancouver Roller Derby | NA West | 5 | 256,43 | 4 |
| 97 | Humboldt Roller Derby | NA West | 5 | 255,99 | 4 |
| 98 | Assassination City Roller Derby | NA West | 5 | 252,15 | 4 |
| 99 | Kansas City Roller Warriors | NA West | 6 | 251,78 | 6 |
| 100 | Penn Jersey Roller Derby | NA East | 10 | 244,32 | 7 |
[We plan to update this list each time WFTDA release a rating and ranking until Playoffs selections]
As usual, a lot of the biggest teams are latest to meet their minimum eligibility targets, which is often a strategic choice about giving things away too soon. (There's also an obvious risk, if you're safely rated near the top, to playing more games, given your current rating is really good.)
Weekend Highlights: 08 June 2019
As there's a bit less on this weekend, we're doing the one update of Highlights for Saturday through Monday.
The rules are, as usual: highlights limited to 1 event per country, with an "extra" event allowed for a different kind of fixture (so, 1 tournament and 1 bootcamp), or if they involve Scottish leagues (since we are the Scottish Roller Derby Blog). Other notability might also allow the extra event - great posters, notable teams, etc. (League birthdays may count as "special" enough, at our discretion ;) )
This weekend has some excitingly huge tournaments, in Australia in particular, but also France; as well as some big bootcamps (in Germany, and China). It's also the weekend of the last fixtures in the French and Finnish national tournaments - and the first ever fixture in the ARDE-run Spanish National Championships!
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sat: Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown Roller Derby host the first game in a new series - the Southland Sushi - which we are hoping to find out more about later.
- Queenstown Roller Derby versus Bonnie Brawlers (Dunedin)
Event starts: 1730 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown, New Zealand
Sat-Mon: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Northern Brisbane Rollers host the 2019 edition of the Royal Rumble tournament, one of the famously huge regular Australiasian tournaments. This event has two divisions: an "indie" and a WFTDA division. The WFTDA bouts seem to be already set, to get WFTDA sanctioned games; the indie division is organised as a group stage (with 4 groups of 3), into additional approximate placement games for the #1 and #2 teams from the groups.
It appears to us that the "Indie teams" bouts are also less than the standard 2x30 minute period length...
- WFTDA Teams:
- Auckland Roller Derby League
- Newcastle Roller Derby League
- Sydney Roller Derby League
- Dead End Derby (Christchurch)
- Richter City Roller Derby (Wellington)
- Northern Brisbane Rollers
- Coastal Assassins (Sydney)
- Northside Rollers (Melbourne)
- Western Australia Roller Derby (Perth metropolitan area)
- Indie Teams:
- Central Coast Derby United (Niagara Park area)
- Canberra Roller Derby B
- Varsity Derby League (Canberra)
- Adelaide Roller Derby
- Van Diemen Rollers
- Brisbane City Rollers
- East Coast Derby Dolls (Gold Coast)
- Westside Derby Dolls (west Melbourne)
- Tweed Valley Rollers (Tweed Heads)
- Inner West Roller Derby (Sydney)
- Ballarat Roller Derby League
- Pot Luck Team
Event starts: 0800 Saturday
Venue: 2 Milne Street, Mount Warren Park, Beenleigh, QLD, Australia
Sat-Sun: Beijing, China
Beijing Roller Derby host a Roller Derby "Sur5al Bootcamp", an intensive bootcamp in all aspects of WFTDA derby. The morning includes an introductory session on what WFTDA derby is, into parallel sessions on skater-skills, and officiating-skills. After lunch, there are sessions on communication, followed by a practical series of skater drills (with on-the-job training for officials as part of this), finalising with a block of Sur5al-rules scrimmage to end the day. [EDIT: as of this update, the programme of events has changed - this is now a Rolla Skate Club Short Track Roller Derby scrimmage ending the day!
(For survivors still in Beijing on Sunday, there's a lunch debrief and get together.)
- Morning:
- Skater bootcamp
- Officiating bootcamp
- Afteroon
- Practical skater drills & officiating
- Short Track Scrimmage
Event starts: 0800 Saturday (registration), 0915 (introduction)
Venue: Woodward Skate Center (which we think is now the Beijing International Fashion Sports Park), Weishanzhuang, Daxing, Beijing, China
Sat-Sun: Turku, Finland
Dirty River Roller Derby host the final tournament in the Finnish Championships (Suomi Cup) season! As with all Suomi Cup events, this is to be livestreamed via the Roller Derby Finland youtube.
- Dirty River Roller Derby (Turku) versus Kallio Rolling Rainbow Kinapori Fistfunkers (Kallio/Helsinki X)
- Oulu Roller Derby versus Jyväskylä Roller Derby
Event starts: 1330 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Kupittaan Palloiluhalli, Lemminkäisenkatu 32, Turku, Finland
Sat: Vienna, Austria
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3] [FTS LINK B]
Vienna Roller Derby host an astonishing quadruple header event, consisting of a triple-header A-teams round robin against Tampere and Lutece (Paris), and a B-teams game against Tampere too!
- Vienna Roller Derby B versus Tampere Howlin' Rolls (Tampere B)
- Vienna Roller Derby versus Tampere Roller Derby
- Vienna Roller Derby versus Lutece Destroyeuses (Paris)
- Tampere Roller Derby versus Lutecte Destroyeuses
Event starts: 1030 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: AHS Theodor-Kramer, Theodor Karamer Straße 3, Vienna, Austria
Sat: Örebro, Sweden
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Örebro Roller Derby host "the Battle of Svealand 2019", an all-Swedish triple header round robin!
- Teams:
- Västerås Roller Derby versus Örebro Roller Derby
- Västerås Roller Derby versus Uppsala Roller Derby
- Uppsala Roller Derby versus Örebro Roller Derby
Event starts: 1030 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Idrottshuset, SE-702 16 Örebro, Sweden
Sat: Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town Rollergirls tried Rolla Skate Club's Short Track Roller Derby once, and loved it, so they're doing it again! This is a Short Track home-teams bout, followed by a roller disco for all attendees!
- Short Track bout
- Roller Disco
Event starts: 1700 Saturday (game start)
Venue: Waterville St, Milnerton Rural, Cape Town, South Africa
Sat: Regensburg, Germany
Roller Derby Regensburg host a double-header event, including Bundesliga Division 3 fixture, and an Open To All genders bout featuring South German Men's Roller Derby!
- Rolling Rat Pack (Regensburg A) versus Blockforest Roller Derby (Freiburg A) [Bundesliga D3]
- South German Men's Roller Derby (Southern Germany O) versus "The Rest of the World" (OTA mashup team)
The second bout is not tracked by FTS as it contains a mashup team.
Event starts 1430 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Clermont-Ferrand-Allee 23, Regensburg, Germany
Sat: Milan, Italy
[FACEBOOK LINK (flyer)] [FTS LINK]
Team Italy Roller Derby hosts a transalpine National Teams triple header, including a rare "cross-gender-policy" bout (a mixed team of RDWC Team Switzerland + Team Italy against MRDWC Team Italy).
- Team Italy (Italy W) versus Team Switzerland (Switzerland W)
- Team Switzerland (Switzerland OTA) versus Woodgang (Milan OTA)
- Team Switzaly (Switzerland+Italy W mixed) versus Men's Team Italy (Italy M)
Only The Italy v Switzerland game can be listed in FTS, as, for example, there's no record of an "OTA" Team Switzerland to list.
Event starts: 1400 Sat (first game)
Venue: Centro Sportivo Vismara, Via dei Missaglia, Milan, Italy
Sat-Mon: Oberhausen, Germany
The Mine Monsters of Oberhausen host a three day, triple-parallel-sessions bootcamp and workshop extravaganza, Open To All genders.
- Skating Bootcamp:
- Coached by Bee A. Baracus (Munich / Team Germany) & Coffin Cutie (Dresden / Team Germany)
- Min-skills and some initial scrimmage level.
- Skating Officials / Referees Bootcamp:
- Coached by The Incredible Hans (Hannover)
- Non-Skating Officials Bootcamp:
- Coached by Franka Frattura
- Workshops on Monday TBA
Event starts: ?? Saturday
Venue: Pflugbeil Arena, Bottroper Strasse 303, Oberhausen, Germany
Sat-Sun: Nice, France
Nice Roller Derby host the 5th edition of their Alerte à Malibout international tournament on the French Riviera, with 2 days of Roller Derby to enjoy. (This is the other fixture that Lutèce are at, whilst their A team is away in Sweden!). With 12 games and 8 teams, we expect that this is some kind elimination format with consolation bouts.
- Teams:
- Amsterdam Roller Derby B
- Bristol Roller Derby B
- Dublin Roller Derby C
- London Rockin Rollers B
- Lutèce Destroyeuses B (Paris B)
- Nantes Derby Girls B
- Nice Roller Derby A
- Roller Derby Lausanne A
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: 2 Impasse du Square Magnan, Nice, France
Sat: London, UK
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FACEBOOK LINK 1] [FTS LINK A] [FTS LINK B]
London Rollergirls host "The most Offensive Bootcamp You'll Ever Go To", a parallel 2-hour mini-workshop for offence for both Jammers and Blockers (since effective offence needs both to work together). Coached by Beth Lord and Delta Strike.
This is followed by a double-header event, featuring, most excitingly, the best 2019 French National Champions, Nothing Toulouse against London A, in London's first home bout of the year!
- Offence (Jammer & Blocker) Workshop
- London Brawling (London A) versus Nothing Toulouse (Toulouse A)
- London Brawl Saints (London B) versus Hellfire Harlots (Nottingham A)
Event starts: 1300 Saturday (workshop), 1630 (bouts)
Venue: Tottenham Green Pools & Fitness, 1 Philip Lane, London, United Kingdom
Sat: Mold, Flintshire, Wales
North Wales Roller Derby host the next fixture of the British Champs Tier 2M North, a triple header event.
- Bairn City Rollers (OTA) versus Tyne and Fear Roller Derby B
- Knights of Oldham Roller Derby versus The Inhuman League
- North Wales Roller Derby Men versus Teesside Skate Invaders
Event starts: 1330 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Deeside Leisure Centre, Chester Rd, Mold, Flintshire, Wales
Sat: Glasgow, Scotland
Mean City Roller Derby host a double-header event, with two OTA bouts.
- Rookie OTA bout
- Mean City Roller Derby (Glasgow O) versus Fear & Lothian (Edinburgh O)
The Rookie bout is not listed in FTS, as they are mashup teams.
Event starts: 1130 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: ARC Health & Fitness, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, Scotland
Sat: Greystones, Ireland
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2]
Dublin Roller Derby host an international WFTDA-sanctioned triple header, as Birmingham's Central City come over from the UK... and Calgary Roller Derby travel a bit further from Canada!
- Dublin Roller Derby versus Calgary Roller Derby All Stars
- Mixed scrimmage (open subscription, )
- Calgary All Stars versus Central City Roller Derby (Birmingham)
Event starts: 1115 Saturday (first bout)
Venue: Shoreline Leisure Greystones, Mill Road, Greystones, Ireland
Sat-Sun: Valencia, Spain
Rayo Dockers host the first ever Division 1 Qualifiers for the ARDE Spanish National Championships. (You can read a bit more about the structure here). This is a 5 team round robin tournament, where the top rated teams will play once again in the Finals in August, to determine the first ever ARDE Champion!
- Teams:
- Rayo Dockers (Valencia)
- Black Thunders Derby Dames (Madrid)
- Roller Derby Madrid
- Sicarias del Cierzo (Zaragoza)
- Ingles de Acero (Barcelona)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (first bout)
Venue: Pavelló Malva-Rosa, C/ Isabel de Villena 161, Valencia, Spain
Sun: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chat Noir host a double header of Roller Derby action, with Sailor City Rollers playing apparently two bouts. (The schedule, even this close to the event, still has a "?" for one of the teams...)
- Chat Noir (La Plata, Buenos Aires) versus Sailor City Rollers (Buenos Aires)
- ?? versus Sailor City Rollers
Event starts: 1330 Sunday
Venue: Club Estrella del Sur, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sun: Mexico City, Mexico
[FACEBOOK LINK (flyer)] [FTS LINK]
Liga Roller Derby Ciudad de Mexico 's Tekillerass host Mexico City Roller Derby's Xolas for a game!
- Tekillerass (LRDCM A / Mexico City) versus Xolas (MCRD B?)
Event starts: 1400 Sunday
Venue: Deportivo Salvador Allende, Av. Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, U.H. Vicente Guerrero, Mexico City, Mexico
Weekend Highlights: 02 June 2019
The Sunday edition for this weekend is a lot shorter than the main weekend update, but these fixtures are all still true highlights for us.
Both highlights limited to 1 event per country, with an "extra" event allowed for a different kind of fixture (so, 1 tournament and 1 bootcamp), or if they involve Scottish leagues (since we are the Scottish Roller Derby Blog). Other notability might also allow the extra event - great posters, notable teams, etc.
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sun: Geelong, VIC, Australia
Geelong Roller Derby host a double-header event, including a modified-contact scrimmage, and a rematch with WestSide Derby Dollz.
- Modified Contact Scrimmage, Open To All genders (amber level - low contact)
- Geelong Roller Derby versus WestSide Derby Dollz (west Melbourne)
Event starts: 1630 Sunday (doors open)
Venue: Barwon Valley Activity Centre, 1 Barwon Heads Road, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Sun: Kadena, Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa Roller Derby, who have recently become the overarching Okinawan Roller Derby league, merging with Devil Dog Derby Dames, host a home teams event... where the home teams are Devil Dog Derby Dames, and Kokeshi Roller Dolls (the pre-merger Okinawa Roller Derby's old name). Free entry!
As a home teams event, Flat Track Stats does not list this.
Event starts: 1430 Sunday (doors open)
Venue: Risner Fitness Center, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan
Sun: Liège, Belgium
Roller Derby Liège host a triple header round-robin of MRDA-gender policy derby, with an international bent.
- Les Vîkings (Liège M) versus Chaos Engine (Manchester MB)
- Chaos Engine versus "Unamed Bastereds from the World" (Europe-wide mashup team)
- Les Vîkings (Liège M) versus "Unamed Bastereds from the World"
Flat Track Stats does not list "UB" teams as they exist only for a single event. As such only the first game is on FTS
Event starts: 1100 Sunday
Venue: Rue Sous le Bois 2, Liège, Belgium
Sun: Quimper, France
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2]
Kemper Roller Derby host a double header of derby, as they take on two nearby teams in succession!
- Bomb'Hard (Kemper) versus Mortal Condate (Rennes B)
- Bomb'Hard (Kemper) versus Morues (Lorient B)
Event starts: 1330 Sunday
Venue: 64 Avenue de la France Libre, Quimper, France
Sun: Leicester, UK
Roller Derby Leicester host an Open Scrim, open to WFTDA-gender policy conforming skaters, mins-passed (or mins-passed minus 27/5 at head ref's discretion). Also open to any visiting officials who would like to practise positions or skills.
Event starts: 1015 Sunday
Venue: The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre, 50 Duns Lane, Leicester, UK
Sun: Birmingham, UK
Crash Test Brummies host a closed bout against North Wales Roller Derby!
Sun: Osorno, Chile
Deskarriadas continue their 5th birthday weekend hosting an officiating workshop by Endorfina, including a discussion of recent WFTDA rules updates.
Event starts: 1400 Sunday
Venue: Colodep Osorno, Calle O'Higgins, Osorno, Chile
Weekend Highlights: 01 June 2019
There are far too many valuable fixtures to cover all of them (especially in France and the UK, which tend to have multiple tournaments, bootcamps etc all on one weekend), but we also don't want to be so strict as to have just 1 per country. So, we'll be doing the following:
Two highlights a weekend - Sat + (All Weekend); and then a smaller one for Sunday.
Both highlights limited to 1 event per country, with an "extra" event allowed for a different kind of fixture (so, 1 tournament and 1 bootcamp), or if they involve Scottish leagues (since we are the Scottish Roller Derby Blog). Other notability might also allow the extra event - great posters, notable teams, etc. (League birthdays may count as "special" enough, at our discretion ;) )
This weekend is particularly rich in short-format events, with Sur5al, Roller Derby Sevens, and Short Track Roller Derby all happening around the world! There's also a world premiere of the new Street Roller Derby ruleset (in Germany), which is another attempt at producing a simpler, easier-to-officiate version of the game.
In the UK, the Scottish Clause means we're covering 3 different events, as our leagues are all off down south to play derby this weekend!
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sat: Levin, New Zealand
Whenua Fatales Roller Derby League host their annual (Open To All genders) Sur5al tournament, allowing them to run a full 16 team round-robin tournament in 1 day.
Flat Track Stats does not record Sur5al results (and the teams are all mashup) so this is not in FTS
Event starts: 1100 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Horowhenua Events Centre, 31 Victoria Street, Levin, New Zealand
Sat: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Maitland Roller Derby celebrate their 5th Birthday with a bout against The Northern Beaches, entertainment from Irrawang High School Drum Corp, birthday cake and a licensed bar!
- Maitland Roller Derby versus The Northern Beaches (Curl Curl + environs, NSW)
Event starts: 1800 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Maitland Federation Basketball Stadium, Maitland, NSW, Australia
Sat-Sun: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Sydney City SMASH host another semi-secret MRDA tournament, Velodrama II, a closed event which they once again can't advertise much due to venue restrictions. (Which is also why we don't have a Facebook event to link to.) This will be a three-team round robin, with MRDA-Sanctioned bouts.
- Teams:
- Sydney City SMASH
- Capital Carnage (Canberra M)
- Brisbane Men's Roller Derby
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (first bout)
Venue: Secret!
Fri-Sun: Helsinki, Finland
Kallio Rolling Rainbow host the 2019 edition of Finland's big WFTDA-sanctioned invitational, the portmanteau Finvitational 2019! With 5 teams, including one from outside Europe, in an almost-round robin (only Middlesbrough versus Calgary is missing from the schedule), this is a packed two-day schedule on the weekend, with two games spilling forward into the Friday in a closed session. As is usual for Finnish events, there will be a livestream.
- Teams:
- Tiger Bay Brawlers (Cardiff)
- Calgary Roller Derby
- Dock City Rollers (Gothenburg)
- Middlesbrough Roller Derby
- Kallio Rolling Rainbow (Helsinki)
Sat-Sun: Prague, Czech Republic
Hard Breaking Dolls continue the trend in Poland for hosting short-format tournaments with an 8 team Roller Derby Sevens tournament. 10 games are packed into one day (meaning that this is probably an elimination tournament, with some consolation bouts), with competitors from across Poland and Central and Eastern Europe!
- Teams:
- Hard Breaking Dolls (Prague)
- Magma Monsters (Erfurt)
- Trash Bunnies (Rollergirls of the Apocalypse | Kaiserslautern)
- Team Apokaliptyczna Trzcina Szczebrzeszyna (Wors Warsaw + Warsaw Hellcats)
- Fearless Bruisers (Innsbruck)
- F.A.R.T. (Augsburg)
- Riga Roller Derby
- Prague City Roller Derby
Flat Track Stats does not track Roller Derby Sevens bouts, so this is not in FTS
Event starts: 1000 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Sportovní Hala Jižní Město, Květnového vítězství 1554/54, Prague, Czech Republic
Sat: Berlin, Germany
H.O.S.S.A. (Link to Facebook, sadly), the Northern Germany and Netherlands Men's derby collective, host the world's first demonstration of the Street Roller Derby ruleset. Street Roller Derby is yet another ruleset designed to make Roller Derby easier and more convenient to play, with less officiating load, and a simplified ruleset. (In the case of Street Roller Derby: officiating is managed by skaters not currently playing; there's no "Lead Jammer" powers; scoring, like in Short Track is 1 point per pass, not per skater passed; there's also no set duration; a reduced penalty list; and harsher penalty rules (a penalty has you sit out the rest of the jam!) ).
Unfortunately, this ruleset is currently only really being promoted on Facebook. We hope that it will become more accessible to non-Facebook users in future.
- "Teams":
- H.O.S.S.A. (North Germany / Netherlands )
- Team Madstop Roller Derby (Potsdam)
Event starts: 1500 Saturday
Venue: Tempelhofer Feld, Berlin, Germany
Sat: Leipzig, Germany
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK D 2] [FTS LINK D 1]
The Riot Rocketz of Leipzig host a double header for this season of the Bundesliga: one fixture for Division 2 (which Leipzig promoted into at the start of this season), and one for Division 1.
- Riot Rocketz (Leipzig) versus Bembeltown Rollergirls (Frankfurt/Main) [Bundesliga D 2]
- Dresden Pioneers versus Ruhrpott Rollergirls (Essen) [Bundesliga D 1]
Event starts: 1200 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Konradstraße 30, Leipzig, Germany
Sat: Gent, Belgium
GO-GO Gent Roller Derby host Star Track, a mini-bootcamp on Rolla Skate Club's Short Track Roller Derby, followed by a mini-tournament using the rules. Coached by UAE Roller Derby All-Stars` Inga Knee'her!
- 1000 Saturday - Short Track Bootcamp
- 1215 Saturday - closed door Short track mini-tournament
Event starts: 1000 Saturday
Venue: Sporthal Driebeek Gentbrugge, Driebeekstraat 22, Gent, Belgium
Sat: Paris, France
Paris Rollergirls host a 1 day bootcamp for beginner/intermediate level, run by Paris Rollergirls All-stars. This event raises funds to support Paris Rollergirls' attendance at ECDX in the USA.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Gymnase la Plaine, 13 Rue du Général Guillaumat, Paris, France
Sat-Sun: Calais, France
The Black Tagada, Zombeers and Dead Dragibus, the three aspects of Roller Derby Calais, collectively host a day of short-format roller derby, with the return (for the 5th time) of their Hit My Valentine Sur5al tournament. We say "Sur5al tournament", but really this is a whole weekend of Roller Derby surrounding the tournament: both days open with Open Scrimmage with special rules ("reverse derby direction" on Saturday, ), and the Saturday ends with a Junior Derby scrimmage as well.
Flat Track Stats does not list Sur5al tournaments (and in any case, these will be teams created just for this event)
Event starts: 0930 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Forum Gambetta, 23 Boulevard Gambetta, Calais, France
Sat: Brighton, UK
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 1]
Brighton Rockers Roller Derby are hosting Glasgow's finest for an A/B double header as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival.
- Brighton Rockers (Brighton A) versus Irn Bruisers (Glasgow A)
- Brighton Rockerbillies (Brighton B) versus Maiden Grrders (Glasgow B)
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: The Dolphin Leisure Centre, Pasture Hill Road, Haywards Heath, UK
Sat: Salford, UK
Arcadia Roller Derby host the fourth of the British Champs Tier 2 North (WFTDA-side) fixtures this year. The hosts, currently second-from-bottom on the leaderboard, face Hallam Hellcats, just one space above them, in a battle for safety from the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Aberdeen's Granite City, currently in that relegation zone, face the imposing Hulls Angels, currently in 2nd place!
- Granite City Roller Derby (Aberdeen) versus Hulls Angels Roller Derby
- Arcadia Roller Derby (Manchester) versus Hallam Hellcats Roller Derby (Sheffield/Hallam)
Event starts: 1015 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: University of Salford Sports Centre, University Road, Salford, Greater Manchester, UK
Sat: Liverpool, UK
Liverpool Roller Birds host the 4th fixture of the British Championships Tier 1 North (WFTDA-side) this season. The hosts currently top the leaderboard for this tier, with an unbroken win record, and it seems likely that this will continue, as they face relegation-zone placed Sheffield Steel. We expect a much closer game between Manchester B and Auld Reekie B; currently near-tied (even with score difference) for 2nd and 3rd place in the board!
- Checkerbroads (Manchester Roller Derby B) versus Auld Reekie Roller Derby Reserves (Edinburgh B)
- Liverpool Roller Birds versus Sheffield Steel Roller Derby
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Greenbank Sports Academy, Greenbank Lane, Liverpool, UK
Sat-Sun: San Javier, Murcia, Spain
Roller Derby Murcia host an international bout as the Molly Hatchets come over from France.
- Roller Derby Murcia versus Molly Hatchets (Pontarlier)
Event starts: 1700 Saturday
Venue: Avenida Gran Vía de la Manga, Km 12, San Javier, Murcia, Spain
Sat/Sun: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Wonderclan Roller Derby host the first edition of their "Magenta Party", all-night dance and music events. This one has a "bizarre" theme, which we're not quite sure we're translating correctly, but...
Event starts: midnight, Saturday
Venue: Centro Cultural Otra Historia, Estomba 851, Villa Orturzar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sat: Osorno, Chile
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Deskarriadas host a 5th birthday celebration, in the form of a triple-header round robin tournament! (The Sunday also has an event, which we'll mention in the Sunday appendix to this update.)
- Teams:
- Deskarriadas (Osorno)
- Diosas Volcánicas (Puerto Montt)
- Indomitas (Valdivia)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Club Deportivo Osorno, Calle Caupolicân 8, Osorno, Chile
Sat: Quito, Ecuador
Forajidas Roller Derby host the first of three open-recruitment and try-derby sessions to help build roller derby in Quito, Ecuador.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Cumandá Parque Urbano, Avenue 24 de Mayo, Quito, Ecuador
Sat-Sun: Querétaro, Mexico
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Querétaro Roller Derby host a triple header of Roller Derby, as a round robin between the hosts' Rock City and teams from neighboring regions!
- Teams:
- Rock City (Querétaro)
- División del Norte (Chihuahua)
- Ovejas Negras (Morelia)
Event starts: 1130 Saturday
Venue: Aud. Ciencias Naturales UAQ, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
Additionally, these events in North America are of interest due to the attendance of other teams:
Fri-Sun: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Brewcity Bruisers host the 10th edition of their annual invitational, the Midwest BrewHaHa! This is a multi-tier tournament with both MRDA-Sanctioned and WFTDA-Sanctioned bouts, as well as an unsanctioned B-tier for WFTDA leagues. With a huge number of participants, this is simply a tournament for WFTDA ranking, without a structure in itself.
This invitational is of interest to us due to European participation in both the WFTDA-Sanctioned and MRDA-Sanctioned tiers, with France's Lomme Roller Girls, and Belgium's Manneken Beasts playing.
- WFTDA-tier Teams:
- Madison Roller Derby (Madison, WI)
- Team United Roller Derby (Des Moines, IA)
- North Star Roller Derby (Minneapolis, MN) [Tier A and B]
- Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, ON, Canada)
- Ohio Roller Derby (Colombus, OH) [Tier A and B]
- Winnipeg Roller Derby League (Winnepeg, MB, Canada)
- Tri-City Roller Derby (Waterloo, ON, Canada)
- Gem City Roller Derby (Dayton, OH) [Tier A and B]
- Brewcity Bruisers (Milwaukee, WI) [Tier A and Tier B]
- DC Rollergirls (Washington, D.C.)
- Rage City Rollergirls (Anchorage, AK)
- Lomme Roller Girls (Lomme, France)
- MRDA-tier Teams:
- St. Louis GateKeepers Roller Derby (St Louis, MO)
- Bridgetown Roller Derby (Portland, OR)
- Texas Men’s Roller Derby (Mesquite area, TX)
- Manneken Beasts (Brussels, Belgium)
- YOUR MOM Men’s Roller Derby (Des Moines, IA)
- Chicago Bruise Brothers Roller Derby (Chicago, IL)
Event starts: 0900 Friday (first game)
Venue: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, 400 W Klbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Sat-Sun: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Arizona Roller Derby hosts the return of their Monsoon Madness invitiational, with two simultaneous tournaments - one A team, and one B team. The A team tier is, of course, WFTDA Sanctioned. This is of interest to us due to the attendence of Buenos Aires' `2x4 Roller Derby`_ in both tiers - Team OSOM in A, and Lxs Pibxs in B. As with Finvitational, this is almost a round-robin for both tiers!
- Leagues:
- 2x4 Roller Derby (Buenos Aires, Argentina) [Tier A and B]
- Arizona Roller Derby (Phoenix, AZ) [Tier A and B]
- Dallas Derby Devils (Dallas, TX) [Tier A and B]
- Tampa Roller Derby (Tampa, FL) [Tier A and B]
- Rat City Roller Derby (Shorelina, WA) [Tier A]
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Ability 360 Sports & Fitness Center, 5031 E Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Sat-Sun: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Angel City Derby host a Mayday Brawl-B-Q, a two-day tournament with a little less scale than the other USA invitationals above. What makes this one special is the inclusion of a Juniors bout, and the attendance of Baja Roller Derby from Mexico. (Once again, the WFTDA part of the tournament is almost a round-robin, missing just Misery Loves Company versus SoCal).
- Teams:
- Angel City Shore Shots (Los Angeles, CA)
- Baja Roller Derby (Baja California, Mexico)
- Misery Loves Company (Morgan Hill, CA)
- SoCal Derby (San Diego, CA)
- Junior bout:
- Angel City Junior Derby versus Foothill Junior Foxtails (Fontana, CA)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: 1519 W 139th St, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Guest Post:TNT Roundup - Hull Yeah!
We're happy to present this guest post from Hulls Angels Roller Derby's All Stars Captain, Wilken, on their recent experience at the Aalborg-hosted The Northern Takedown international tournament.
On May 4th 2019 Hulls Angels All-Stars travelled to Denmark to participate in Aalborg Roller Derby’s TNT (The Northern Takedown) Tournament.
This is the 3rd year Aalborg’s Combat Bullies have hosted a tournament and the first year which HARD has competed.
Not only was the tournament the first international tournament HARD has competed in, it was my first tournament as Captain.
Looking at the rosters of the other teams (Belfast Roller Derby, Rockcity Rollers, Cologne’s Graveyard Queens and the hosts Aalborg’s Combat Bullies) it was clear that this was going to be a tough tournament! Not only did we have 3 (!) games on the Saturday we were also only taking 9 skaters.
Nerves aside, the key mantra for this weekend was that we were going to play our game which involved lots of phrases such as ‘butts in holes!’ lurrr and slurrrr’ and ‘back, back, back’ like ducks quacking.
A special shout out goes to my Vice-Captain Milv, who not only organised the bulk of the trip but sorted out a cabin in the woods for us to stay in. There was definitely some Friday 13th vibes going on as we walked into the living room to see massive film posters with superimposed Danish politicians’ faces on them! Anyways! Bunk beds were allocated and a food shop to Aldi was done! Thrill Murray cooked up a super tasty pasta salad so we could carb load ready for the following day.
Aalborg Roller Derby have a fantastic venue and were superb hosts throughout the whole weekend with cracking food provided and a wonderful airy venue.
The first game was against Belfast, and it seemed to fly by! After an anxious start we slowly settled into a rhythm and despite having four(!) foul outs (oops!) we’d cinched our first victory abroad! For me, I was happy with one win as Hulls Angels have never managed to claim a win in Europe before! But our offensive powerhouse Hi-Jaxxx spurred us all on for more as we prepared to take on the top seed of the tournament- Eindhoven’s Rockcity Rollers.
Hulls Angels (in Green) at TNT (Photo by: MiGu)
I feel that it was this game in which we really started to hit our groove. The first game was full of nervous energy, but here we kept calm and focused and on the game plan.
As the game got underway, our newly promoted All Star jammer Dani was smashing through walls as if they weren’t there, Purdy opened up holes for our jammers whilst simultaneously shutting down the opposition. Rockcity were tough but we were living up to our name. At the end of the game we managed to sneak a narrow victory!
Two wins down and I was on cloud nine! But we still had our last game of the day to go. Pressure mounted as we realised that if we won this game, we were guaranteed a medal! Bench Coach Rollo made sure we stayed centred and focused as we prepared to close Saturday against Cologne, who like us had also played three games in one day.
Although both teams were beginning to run low on energy, Cologne went out hard and fast! We really had to dig in and band together. At times the game could have gone either way! But as the clock ticked down and the final whistle was blown, we could hardly believe we had done it. Three wins in one day and a guaranteed a medal!
As we all got back to our creepy cabin, had a hot shower and nursed our aches and pains, it actually dawned on us…. What if? What if we could win this?
Thankfully on the Sunday we only had one game- the hosts Aalborg’s Combat Bullies.
The Hulls Angels Bench! (Photo by: Jen Smith)
Despite Aalborg already having played that day we knew that this would not have given us any advantage. We had been fortunate enough to have watched their previous games and they looked like strong hitters that played a very physical game! We weren’t wrong!
As the game got underway, Aalborg had begun to rack up an uncomfortable lead, so a tactical time out was called by Rollo, to focus. This seemed to do the trick, as we went back on track with a new energy. F-Bomb was closing down any enterprising jammers wanting to sneak up the inside line, Melon Collie was the glue of the team, keeping us together and keeping us calm when the pack started to speed up. Frost Spite was defying the laws of physics as she jammed for what must have felt like jam 200! But it was then that the tide began to turn back in our favour! That gold medal was within sniffing distance!!!
The final whistle blew………. and that was it! We’d done it! And I am pretty sure most of us are still wearing out medals now!
I truly feel that this weekend was a mammoth team effort. We could not have skated as well as we did if it was not for our amazing bench crew; Bench Coach Rollo for winning his first official review! Line Up Manager Ju for not losing her head when we may have been losing ours, and Mansfield Roller Derby’s Dragon’s Jen, who was so supportive and quick with the feedback. You were all completely invaluable. Thank you.
On behalf of Hulls Angels All-Stars, I would also like to thank everyone involved in organising and taking part in The Northern Takedown 2019, the NSOs, referees, announcers, photographers, catering staff, volunteers and Aalborg Roller Derby. For our first European tournament you have set the bar very high! Amanda! We missed you every day!
Overall, it was a weekend of sweat ‘taches, strangling goose poses, wooden giants, paracetamol, sunshine and fun. I can’t wait for the next one! Groove is in the Hull!!
And I won a hat! #winnerwinnerchickendinner
Wilken! (Photo by: Darryl Brooks Photography)
