Features / bristol roller derby
We’re on a roll with Bristol Roller Derby
Roller derby… it’s easy when you know how. You just need to learn how to skate fast, very fast, play an offensive and defensive game at the same time, get through a wall of people determined to stop you scoring by using whatever means possible, and make it round the track as many times as possible in just two minutes.
Learn all that and you could be part of the Bristol Roller Derby team, who are currently shooting up the European League table and have just waved off two international team members to compete in this month’s roller derby World Cup in Dallas.
Roller derby is one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK, and the Bristol club has more than 100 active members who are attracted to the speed, agility and physicality of the sport.
is needed now More than ever
Getting physical
It is clearly a sport which takes bravery and dedication to get to the top and Bristol Roller Derby has helped develop some world class players. Vice captain Tuisku Sarrala is heading to the world cup in Dallas playing for Finland.
She said she was immediately attracted to the sport: “I get to be physical out there. When you are a female you don’t get too many opportunities to play a physical sport and I really enjoy that aspect.”
It is this contact aspect of the game which attracts many women to the sport. Rosie Black, captain of the A team, explains: “We were tomboyish growing up and certainly the likes of netball didn’t really do it for us. We were looking for a contact sport where we could use our physicality and this one really fits the bill.
“It’s incredible, it’s a sport where you have to think at 100 miles an hour. If you are a jammer you are thinking about getting through the pack and scoring points. If you are a blocker you are thinking about stopping the other jammer getting past you, and also playing an offensive role for your own jammer.
“It’s really fast moving and you have to be alert all the time, otherwise someone can take you by surprise and hit you over – it’s just fantastic.”
Staged fights
So does the physicality of the game sometimes get out of control? If you watched the ultimate roller derby film Whip It you would be forgiven for thinking so. The 2009 film starred Ellen Page as a disgruntled beauty queen, who discovers her natural talent for roller derby and takes pretty well to the rather rough and ready tactics of her new sport.
However, if you were thinking of joining roller derby for a trackside rumble, Rosie assures me they take a dim view of fighting now.
“10 years ago it was quite staged, a bit like wrestling, with staged fights and people throwing punches. The growth has been about it becoming a recognised sport which is not staged, certainly no fighting and, if there is fighting, you get ejected for it. Whip It was great for the sport, but it certainly isn’t a realistic picture.”
World cup dreams
So, it seems that technical skills, not throwing a punch, is what counts in roller derby. However, I suspect it is not just a mastery of these skills, more a can-do attitude, which is sending another Bristol player, Jessica Da Silva, to the world cup.
A web designer from Hotwells, she only took up the sport four years ago and is already the captain of Team Portugal. The commitment to training has been immense as Portugal’s players are scattered across the world. They have had limited time training together as a team and fly in and out of Porto for practice.
“It’s very exciting,” said Jessica. “We are playing some of the best players in the world and I’m hoping to learn as much as I can from them.”
You don’t have to be a world-class player to join roller derby and, initially, you will spend a lot of time falling on your bum. Bristol Roller Derby gives any woman a chance to play at any level and, whatever your age, as long as you keep getting back up on your skates you can keep on playing.
Role models
Teacher and A team player Emily Green said her pupils think it is “pretty cool when she turns up with a black eye from a weekend match”.
In an age of size zero female stars twerking their way to fame and fortune, she believes it is good for girls to have strong, fit role models and encourages her pupils to give the sport a go.
“It’s a great game for all those girls with little confidence. It doesn’t matter what shape you are, come along and we’ll lend you the kit. Give us a couple of quid and you’ll get a great social life, it gets you fit and gives you bags of confidence.”
AKA
Perhaps the coolest thing in roller derby however is the nom de guerre each player assumes during the match – Tuisku Sarrala is The Blizzard, Rosie Black is Black Thorn and Emily Green is The Gremlin.
Maybe, if one day I could stand up on skates, I’d be Pamela Parkes aka The Terminator, or maybe The Panther, or even The Hackster…
Drop In Derby sessions take place every Thursday at Ashton Park Sports Centre, Blackmoor Lane, Bower Ashton BS3 1JL; 6pm to 7.30pm. Limited kit to borrow and it costs £5 per session. No experience necessary.
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