European Roller Derby 22-October Update
So, there's a lot of Roller Derby going on, and it all deserves a bit of a shout-out.
We've looked at Flat Track Stats and (with the addition of some tip offs from others), compiled this list of all of the Roller Derby going on across Europe (and a bit outside) this weekend:
The United Kingdom
By itself, the UK has a pretty huge amount of Roller Derby going on this weekend.As we've reported before, Newcastle Roller Girls are hosting a double-header against Edinburgh's Auld Reekie (A v A, B v B). FTS link (A), FTS link (B)
Oldham's Rainy City Roller Derby are also hosting a double header on the same theme against Croydon Roller Girls (B v A, C v B). FTS link (BvA), FTS link (CvB) [Our own ranking scheme, SRD Rank, and FTS disagree slightly over these bouts - we both think they'll be close, but we think that Rainy B has a slightly bigger advantage over Croydon than FTS does]
Not to be outdone, Hot Wheel Roller Derby are hosting triple header (!) in Leeds, with Dublin Roller Derby taking on Middlesbrough Milk Rollers (FTS link), and Hot Wheels A (FTS link) before Hot Wheels B take on the York Minxters (FTS link). [This is another place that SRD Rank favours one team more strongly than FTS - we think MMR is quite a bit better than FTS (and WFTDA) do, and has a pretty good chance of winning against Dublin.]
Finally, Nottingham Hellfire Harlots are hosting Wirral Whipiteres, in what looks like a likely victory for the hosts. (FTS link), in a double header with co-ed intro bout (not tracked by FTS).
[And, of course, most of Scotland is competing in some way in Fierce Valley Roller Girls' Sur5al tournament, which is not tracked on FTS.]
Mainland Europe & Scandinavia
Moving across the Channel, there's even more derby happening!Firstly, there's the Kick Ass Cup, hosted by Harbor Girls Hamburg. This is a 2 day, round-robin tournament, featuring (in addition to the hosts), Amsterdam Roller Derby A, Antwerp Roller Derby A and Helsinki Roller Derby B! (That's 6 total bouts over the 2 days). SRD Rank says that this is actually a pretty competitive lineup, with One Love (Antwerp A) and Helsinki B having the edge over the other two teams. Flat Track Stats host the tournament page here.
Nantes Derby Girls are also hosting something big, with a triple header. Starting with their Rec League (not tracked by FTS, or SRD Rank), the following two bouts see their B team take on Lille Roller Girls B (FTS link) and then Lille's Switchblade RollerGrrrls (FTS link). [SRD Rank and FTS agree that the hosts are likely to defeat Lille B's Glorious Batardes, but lose to the Switchblades.]
Moving back to Germany, Kaiserslauten's Roller Girls of the Apocalypse are hosting their own triple header (in honour of the league's 5th bouting anniversary), with RGA:A taking on Zurich Rollergirls (FTS link), RGA:B competing against Roller Derby Luxembourg (FTS link) and the Mannheim Delta Quads taking on a mixed challenge team (not tracked by FTS). [SRD Rank and FTS agree that Zurich have the advantage in the first bout, but RGA B's Night Terrors are likely to take the home win second.]
Bremen's Meatgrinders are taking on Münster's Zombie Rollergirlz (FTS link). Despite home team advantage, we (and FTS) predict that Münster take the win.
Over to the Netherlands, where The Parliament of Pain are hosting a double header at The Hague, with their B-team (The Jokers) are hosting Nijmegen's Roadkill Rollers in what looks to be the latter's debut bout. (FTS link). The second bout sees PoP A take on "The World", an open pick-up team.
And, moving north, Sweden's Norrköping Roller Derby (B) are taking on Sundsvall, in what looks like the first bout for both teams! (FTS link)
Finally for Mainland Europe and Scandinavia, staying in Sweden, we have a Men's bout, as Gothenberg's Salty Seamen take on Tyne and Fear B from Newcastle (in a glorious piece of symmetry for where we started). (FTS link) Neither we nor FTS are capable of predicting this bout, as there's no connectivity between the teams in our ranking period.
Iceland!
Finally, over in Iceland, Roller Derby Iceland's Ragnarök is hosting Västerås Roller Derby from Sweden.(FTS link). This is only the 5th roller derby bout in Iceland, and we know that the wider Roller Derby community has come together to support it with referees and NSOs travelling from far and wide. SRD Rank and FTS agree that this is a very likely win for the Swedes, but in this case, it's a win for the spread of Roller Derby in any case!-
Late Updates
Missing the first round of this, because they didn't put anything in to Flat Track Stats (an issue which has been fixed by Flat Track Stats' volunteers, who also informed us):Birmingham Blitz Dames are hosting a birthday double header, with the A team taking on Royal Windsor A (FTS link), and the Bomb Squad taking on Bristol Roller Derby B (FTS link). SRD Rank and FTS agree that this looks good for the birthday hosts in the A team bout, but probably better for the visitors in the B bout.
The Hellveticats are hosting Belfort's Knee Breakers on Wheels in Luzern (FTS link), which we and FTS agree looks good for the visitors.
Finally, Hull's Angels B are hosting Manchester Roller Derby B (FTS link), which SRD Rank can't compare (we can't find the Furies in our graph of bouts), but FTS is prepared to call for the visitors.