One Saturday back in September, before the crack of dawn, the Maiden Grrders slithered out of bed and tried to convince themselves that being awake before 6am was good for them and character-building and wouldn't lead to serious long-term health issues. Except for bench manager Silvie Postlewaight who was up at 04:30 making guacamole because she's clearly some sort of statistical outlier or alien hybrid.
The reason behind the early rise was a longer-than-expected road trip to Halifax, of which a good proportion was spent navigating roadworks somewhere in Lanarkshire. We entertained ourselves with a Best Onesie contest (there were TWO Totoros!) and a hard-fought Harry Potter quiz. Our bus driver was a total trooper and we cannot thank him enough for delivering everyone safely and just about in time for the Great Yorkshire Showdown.
Mad Natter, NitroJen & Sadie O'Hades waiting for the offense; photo courtesy of Roller Derby on Film.
The tournament, organised by Leeds Roller Dolls, saw six teams facing off to be ultimate champions: our Maiden Grrders, Halifax Bruising Banditas, Hereford Horror Bulls, Hot Wheel B Team, Manchester Roller Derby's Furies and Leeds' Whip-Its. In the group stage, the teams all played each other in thirty-minute games and the victor in each group went on to a final full-length game to decide the overall winner.
The Maidens' first game was against Halifax Bruising Banditas and was tough, to say the least. Our skaters were not long off the bus and only really started to get into their stride in the second half. They fought valiantly but sadly, that wasn't enough and they lost.
Final score: GRD Maiden Grrders 24 - 187 Halifax Bruising Banditas.
Stinger Belle & Penny Pinch'er holding back the Halifax jammer; photo courtesy of Roller Derby on FIlm.
After a brief respite while our opponents played each other, the Maidens were soon back on track to face up to the Hereford Horror Bulls. It was another hard game for GRD but they retained more control than the first and were able to put some more points past the opposition. Despite some great team work, they were again defeated but learned a lot from their experience and they'll be putting that all to good use in the future.
Final score: GRD Maiden Grrders 68 - 125 Hereford Roller Girls.
Spin Diesel on the jam line while our blockers are ready for the Hereford jammer; photo courtesy of Roller Derby on Film.
The final was played between Halifax Bruising Banditas and Leeds Whip-Its, with Halifax taking the tournament title.
We'd like to thank the organisers and all the teams, officials and other support staff who made the day possible!