Game Report: Newcastle Canny Belters vs Irn Bruisers 10.9.16

It was one sunny September morning when a bunch of tough women in yellow hopped in the back of a minibus, drove to England and turned left towards that haven of brown ale, black & white stripes and people unfamiliar with outerwear. We'll gloss over how long ago it was because Team Blog have clearly been neglecting their duties due to being on important business...in Zurich. Or something like that.

The Bruisers last met the Canny Belters on home ground back in February, as part of the British Championships Tier 1 tournament which was so successfully hosted in part by GRD. That game ended in a win for the visitors, with the scoreline 109-238 in the Canny Belter's favour. So the Irn Bruisers had it all to play for, but would the Belter's home ground advantage prove too much for them?

Sarah McMillan skipping up the inside line to avoid a hit from Anita B Nasty; photo courtesy of Dave Moore.

The Irn Bruisers line up has seen a lot of flux in recent months, though there are plenty of familiar faces. Despite putting up a fierce fight, it just wasn't enough against an incredibly strong Newcastle team and the home team took the win.

Final score: Newcastle Canny Belters 261 - 96 GRD Irn Bruisers

Bruise Missile fighting to get past the fierce defences of Missy Pow Pow; photo courtesy of Dave Moore.

Merch Madness: Skate Like A Girl

This week some of our excellent merchandise has featured on the pages of a prestigious feminist webzine, BUST. Not only were the brilliant I'm Not Sorry About Your Fragile Masculinity pins created by our great friends HandOverYourFairyCakes showcased, but so were our own Skate Like A Girl enamel pins! 

Skate Like A Girl is a phrase which Glasgow Roller Derby has stood by for quite a long time now, in fact we put it on some limited edition merch as early as 2010 which proved so popular we had to bring it back! We caught up with the designer of the shirts and Irn Bruisers stalwart Sarah McMillan to find out more about what it means to Skate Like A Girl. 

So Sarah, where did the idea for the GRD line of Skate Like A Girl shirts come from?
Hi! The first line of them was printed back in April 2010, we were still Glasgow Roller Girls at the time... It was a personal idea I had, but I thought since it sat well with GRD, that I'd make them up and donate the profits to the club. All our merch was black and white and I wanted to wear some colours so we had green, blue, hot pink, red and black. I wanted to offer racerback ribbed vests, cool bamboo (fairtrade) fabrics and a design that had a statement that many of us could feel empowered by.

What does the phrase 'Skate Like A Girl' mean to you? 
I've been involved in, and on the periphery of, action and traditional sports for decades... For whatever reason many of these activities are dominated by men and boys. I have also always been upset by the concept that to do something 'like a girl' is a negative thing. It's such a misogynistic term; traditionally to be like a girl is classed as a negative thing... (and note, it's not just some men who say it, I've heard it said by women more than I'd like to admit). To me it's not the 'girl' term that's offensive but just the fact that the phrase is saying; "if you're female, you're weaker/ less capable". So, being involved in roller derby, I was so excited to be a part of this sport that was completely dominated by women, where the women did everything of note at every level (obviously men have always been involved but they were very much in a respectful and supportive role from the beginning).
So, I guess the campaign was about reclaiming the whole "like a girl" thing - for once many of us had found ourselves in a world where to do something like a girl was pretty obviously a good thing but, in addition, it was a way of saying "I'm proud to be like this, I'm proud to be a part of a dynamic sport that has a place for people of all shapes and sizes, and I'm ultimately proud of my body and excited to focus on my strengths as a woman rather than feeling limited".

You mentioned that these vests were originally produced to raise funds for the league. In this age of crowdfunding and sponsorship, how important do you think it is for leagues to come up with creative ways to raise funds?
Oh, completely! Yes! It's so hard because we're a small sport with a limited and wonderfully supportive fan base, but we just can't be asking the same people for money over and over... It ends up being the skaters themselves (we pay dues every month as well as a large amount towards travel expenses) but on top of that, it's usually our friends and families that are paying to come and watch and sponsor us etc. We're very lucky to have a wonderful array of commercial sponsors which we hope is a real win:win situation and we're always trying to come up with fun ways of engaging other people for fundraising purposes but also so we can suck them in to the wonderful world of Roller Derby! ;)

Are there any other exciting fundraising efforts coming our way from GRD in the near future?
Oh my goodness! We have so much coming up - the whole of the GRD Charter has fundraising projects in the next year - everything from fun running events to derby fun to skate park demos and bootcamps... Watch this space for sure, there's something for everyone! 

Finally, you've been a member of GRD almost since the beginning - the heady days of GRG! We're sure our readers are dying to know the secret of your incredible longevity - who or what inspires you to Skate Like A Girl? 
Haha, well, I love GRD! I love the club, the sport and the wonderful group of people who I get to skate with. I'm inspired by veterans and newbies alike and I'm very lucky to have a supportive partner who supports me - and the club actually; it was Will who designed our GRD rebrand and has been the person behind a lot of our artwork, including all the Skate Like a Girl work (with my direction obvs). I also love that our daughter gets to grow up with this wonderful community, to have so many strong women as role models and friends.  

Thanks so much Sarah. We can't wait to see you get out there and skate (like a girl!) in the upcoming game against Newcastle! 

If you fancy checking out some of our brilliant merchandise you can find it here in our online store. Don't forget that we're still running a special offer where if you spend £40 you get a bonus free item worth at least £10. 

We'll also have a case load of merch along with us at our away game against Newcastle Roller Girls on the 10th September. You can find more information on the event on Facebook or buy tickets online from Newcastle Roller Girls' website here. Come buy our stuff in person and give us a cheer while you're there! 

Musical Dinosaurs

I'm not referring to your dad's dodgy record collection or a jurassic party game, instead an event happening this very Saturday evening! If you pop along to Audio at 7pm, you'll be in for a treat as our T-Wrecks have organised a fundraising gig featuring Glaswegian nine-piece ska collective Esperanza, The Superlatives and solo acoustic punk Jonzip. For more info and ticket details, go here.

And if you're free earlier in the day why not come along for some more tense home teams action as last year's overall winners the Bad Omens take on the Death Stars to see who will get through to the Home Teams Season Final in November!  Check out our website for more details and to see the package deal we have for game+gig tickets!

Queeriosity & The Return Of The Human Pyramid

A few Saturdays ago, Glasgow was filled with rainbows. It wasn't a leprechaun infestation or an unfortunate incident in a paint factory - it was Pride! GRD played host to two games of roller derby: a mixed teams game (Magic vs Science) & Soy Division vs Vagine Regime UK. For those not in the know, VR are a pick-up team made up of LGBTQ people from across the country and so it seemed appropriate they come out to play on that particular weekend.

Human pyramid, obvs. 

After two quality roller derby games (game report here for those interested), everyone stripped off the safety gear, applied liberal amounts of glitter and got down to some serious partying at Queeriosity. Naturally, there was a human pyramid because why not? If you ever get the chance, you should ask our Sadie O'Hades for her top facts about human pyramids because she seems to know more than most.

Queeriosity is GRD's own club night, hosted at Garnethill Multicultural Centre. The brainchild of one of our skaters, Haberbashery, it's a fun, inclusive night out which also helps to raise funds for the league so we can keep doing what we do and put on more events as well.

Want to have as much fun as these guys? Come along next time & join in! 

If having a lovely time sounds like your kind of thing, keep an eye out for the next one which will be at the end of October for Halloween-based awesomeness.

GRR / LEAP Festival Fortnight

On a Tuesday evening way back at the start of June one of our referees, Feminist Killjoy, ran a special training session for GRR as part of the LEAP Festival Fortnight.

Our rookie skaters learning more about actual gameplay from self-confessed roller derby geek, Feminist Killjoy.

FK has been skating with GRD since 2013 and also works for LEAP Sports Scotland, whose mission is to break down the barriers preventing LGBTI people from participating in and excelling at sports. Every June, they organise the Festival Fortnight during which sports clubs across the country are invited to take part by running a taster session/quiz/film night etc.

Equality and promoting roller derby sounded right up our street, so when FK offered to open up a GRR session to the public as part of the event, we were all over it! And GRR were in for an absolute treat, with Feminist Killjoy giving them a masterclass in roller derby rules and tactics, allowing them to see where the basic skating skills they'd been learning in isolation would fit into the game as a whole.  

The introduction of the sock derby section of the event also coincided with the gun show, apparently. 

To get involved in GRD, check out our website for more information and if you want to know more about the excellent work of LEAP Sports Scotland then their website is also full of useful information. 

Game Report: Grrders graft against Granite

On Saturday 27th August our beloved Maiden Grrders travelled up to Aberdeen to take on Granite City Roller Derby's A Team, the Northern Fights. As the first away game with the current roster we were keen to put our best skates forward and test our mettle against the awesome talents of the Fights. Our friends at Scottish Roller Derby recently interviewed some of GCRD in the lead up to the game to hear all about their progress in what has been a busy year for the northern team, which you can catch up on here. As mentioned in the blog it has been three years since the two teams faced off against one other and a lot has changed for both leagues. While the Maidens have been doing some restructuring recently the Fights have been building on rock solid foundations and let me tell you, it really showed! 

The afternoon was a double header starting with GCRD's Fight Hawks playing against a mixed team going by the name of the Black Mambas. The Mambas featured guest skaters from Mean City RD, Doonhame Derby Dolls and Ayrshire Roller Derby, many of whom would be familiar to anyone who caught the Magic vs Science game in Glasgow last week!

Final score: Fight Hawks 253 - 152 Black Mambas.

The start of the second game was slightly delayed due to an injury in the last jam of the previous match. Unfortunately Firefoxx of Doonhame Derby Dolls took a nasty fall in which both her ankle and head were hurt and so all precautions were taken by the excellent EMTs and Officials to make sure she was properly taken care of before play resumed in the hall. GRD send our love and good thoughts to Firefoxx and all of Doonhame. It's really tough when accidents happen in roller derby and we all wish her a speedy recovery! 

It wasn't long before our Maidens took to the track to face up against the Northern Fights. Granite's Rock N Riot took lead jammer status soon after the first whistle and the Maidens had to hustle hard to try to regain some ground. A few power jams early on gave Glasgow a chance to claim back an advantage but the Fights walls were formidable and held strong against the Maidens' offence.

Despite the tough opponents Glasgow kept their heads up and rallied again and again, but it just wasn't enough to hold off the strength of the Fights' jammers. We dealt blows but they absorbed them all and hopped, skipped and jumped right along the track boundaries to rack up the points with some particularly fancy footwork from Clinically Wasted and Udder Mayhem. 

Udder Mayhem showing off some awesome balance mid-jam
Photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy of Boutday.com

Glasgow jammers Spin Diesel and Bruise Missile were both successful in getting lead jammer status in the first half,  making tactical calls that shut down the opposition before they could score. Our walls were pulling together and offence going in hard, but by the half time whistle Granite held a convincing lead.

Half time: GCRD 212 - 34 GRD

The Maidens were down but not out! With a commanding pep talk from Captain Penny Pinch'er the Maidens returned to track in good spirits all ready to roll.

Lead jammer goes to Bruise who swoops through, grabs points and casually calls it like nbd @WeAreGRD @GRDLive

— GCRD (@GraniteCity_RD) August 27, 2016

The second half was well underway and it seemed that the Maidens had found their feet with more offence being dealt and more tactics being deployed. There was some great chasing at the front of the pack from Raptor and beautiful blocks from Penny, as well as new Maiden jammer Fury L Spark giving everything she had to try to break through the opposing blockers. We fought hard in every jam but the Fights were relentless and their points rained down on that sunny afternoon.

Final score: GCRD 463 - 61 GRD

Northern Fights Best Blocker: Clinically Wasted
Northern Fights Best Jammer: Udder Mayhem
Northern Fights MVP: Kami-Tazzy

Maiden Grrders Best Blocker: Sadie O'Hades
Maiden Grrders Best Jammer: Spin Diesel
Maiden Grrders MVP: Bruise Missile

In a recent game report I wrote about how no matter what happens on track - especially in a country as small as Scotland - other leagues become like family and we can be pleased for our opponents. The same can be said about the Maidens defeat in Granite City. We took a thorough beating but our spirits were not broken; we made the Fights work for their scoring passes and are proud of ourselves for playing against such a tough team. Even more so we were impressed by the level of gameplay that the Northern Fights brought to the game and are proud of them for the amazing progress they've made over the past few years. When our competitors up their game it raises the level of play across the country. We learned a lot from Granite this weekend and are really excited to get back into training to put some of those lessons to good use! 

We'd like to thank Granite City Roller Derby for inviting us to play, and the Fight Hawks, Black Mambas and Northern Fights for two excellent games of roller derby. We'd also like to thank all their events staff, EMTs, announcers, and of course Mr Dave McAleavy of Boutday.com for the amazing chronicling of events through his brilliant photography. 

Hard as nails. GCRD Northern Fights and GRD Maiden Grrders.
Photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy, Boutday.com

If all this talk of competition and camaraderie is warming the cockles of your heart then you won't want to miss our next display of healthy sportspersonship at our second Home Teams game of the season! Join us on the 24th of September to see reigning champs the Bad Omens take on the Death Stars as they face off for a place in the final. Tickets are cheaper in advance and you can also get a special offer on a combo for game and our fundraising gig on the same night for a mere £9! 

Game Report: Winterfell WItches vs Quantum Leap & Vagine Regime vs Soy Division

We've been a bit quiet on the game front since our league summer break and that ill-fated day in Edinburgh, but never fear for this Saturday GRD played host to not one but two wonderful games of roller derby. I'm even going to tell you about them!

First of all, however, you should know that this Saturday, the Maiden Grrders will be up in Aberdeen to take on Tier 4 North champions, Granite City Roller Derby's Northern Fights. For more information, check out the Facebook event. We'd love to see you there! And if you can't make that, check out our Events Calendar for an upcoming Irn Bruisers game in Newcastle, the continuation of our Home Teams Season and a wee musical fundraiser featuring that tiny blur on rollerskates, Jess E Ska.

Poster for the Pride weekend doubleheader, photo courtesy of Claire Brand.

Game 1: Quantum Leap (Team Science) vs Winterfell Witches (Team Magic/fantasy)

Since ancient times there has been tension between the rational, enlightened forces of science and the mysterious, otherworldly powers of magic. What better way to figure out who's right than a game of roller derby? Featuring mixed-level skaters from GRD, Auld Reekie Roller Girls, Ayrshire Roller Derby, Doonhame Roller Derby, and Mean City Roller Derby, including some newbies (here's looking at you, Fock Her, Fury L Spark and Poe Slameron!), we took to quad skates to decide the matter once and for all.

Wands were drawn, test tubes rattled and we were soon under way with not much to tell between the fantastical creatures and number-crunching boffins for the first few jams. Soon, however, either the fumes or some fairy curse must have got to our trusty nerds and the wizarding wonders started to pull ahead. By half time the score was 158-62 in favour of the magicians.

The white-coated wonders reapplied their safety goggles while the wily witches brought out their brooms and the whistle denoting the start of the second half was blown. Everyone's favourite defenders of reason fought valiantly FOR SCIENCE! but their devilish opponents were just as determined. Ultimately the Westerosi gave Quantum Leap's geeks a massive wedgie and stole their dinner money (which, given the usual consequence of failure in Westeros, means they got off lightly tbh).

Scientists Stargrazer & Bambo taking on the magical Jess Little. Photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy, boutday.com.

Final score: Quantum Leap 121 - 319 Winterfell Witches

So it would appear that Santa is real, the Easter Bunny exists and all that nonsense about quantum physics was dreamed up by some bored lab techs after ingesting too much of something mind-altering.

Awards:

Quantum Leap
Best Blocker: Velosidy 16
Best Jammer: Fury L Spark 64
MVP: Fury Eyes Only 007

Winterfell Witches
Best Blocker: Sadie O'Hades 311
Best Jammer: Hardcore 24
MVP: Jess Little 7

Game 2: Vagine Regime vs Soy Division

Rumour has it that there was a rainbow in Glasgow on Saturday, and its end was at the ARC sports centre. It's either that or we had Vagine Regime to visit on the day of the Glasgow Pride march and they brought the most spectacular multi-coloured helmet covers you ever did see, in an attempt to dazzle their plant-powered opponents, Soy Division.

It was also lovely to see and hear the fantastic Jeneral Strike and her new bionic limb, as one half of a formidable announcing partnership with fellow Irn Bruiser Siobhan Sinclair.

In the first jam, Vagine Regime's captain Inky Minx showed that she meant business and took lead jammer status, calling it for four points. Sarah McMillan for Soy made it out of the pack first in the following jam but a no pass/no penalty call allowed VR's Hoots to become lead and she took full advantage, with the score 12-8 in VR's favour by the time she called it. Both teams experimented with their tactics to find their opponent's weaknesses, with some lovely offence off the jam line from VR. The third jam saw SD pull ahead due to a power jam, with Hazzard jamming to end it 16-17 to Soy.

Wrath and Rosie Peacock with their eyes on the prize while Sarah McMIllan sneaks by for some offense. Photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy, boutday.com.

Unfortunately, an illegal star pass saw Phoenix sent to the penalty box for SD at the end of the following jam and VR's Catashtrophe capitalised, pulling ahead to end the fifth jam 55-17 to VR. Soy fought back hard, with some tactical calls to reduce the damage from VR and some lovely defensive walls including a powerful Phoenix/Collie combo that troubled Catashtrophe for some time.

Some really strong jamming from VR mixed with powerful blocking allowed them to pull ahead further across the first half, though that isn't to say that Soy were passive. A cracking apex jump from Soy's captain Sable, while VR's Rosie Peacock watched wistfully from the penalty box, made the audience sit up and pay attention but the points just kept coming for our en-rainbowed guests. Each team called for an official review but not even Soy's upheld review was able to turn the tide for them.

Despite some clever play, VR stretched out their lead over the first half, ending it 141-56 to VR.

Pumped up on kale and equal rights respectively, Soy and VR meant business in the first jam of the second half. With Catashtrophe jamming for VR and Postlewaight for Soy, Rosie Peacock saw the opportunity for a punishing offense and pulled the Soy jammer back, meanwhile Inky Minx did some good work to let her jammer sail past the opposition. The jam ended with Catashtrophe racking up an impressive 31 points, leaving it at 172-56.

VR kept the pressure on and pulled further ahead. By the end of the twelfth jam, which saw Sarah McMillan take lead jammer over Rosie Peacock with some lovely footwork up the outside line, the score stood at 193-78 with Soy's chances of clawing it back disappearing by the moment. At this point, VR called a team timeout which gave everyone a chance to collect their thoughts.

Clearly whatever was said to VR during the timeout did the trick and they became even more dominant. During jam 14, Catashtrophe managed to score an impressive 44 points surely pulling VR into an insurmountable lead with 241 points to Soy's 79. In jam 18, Soy managed to break the 100-point barrier with a Sarah McMillan jam featuring an apex jump described by the announcers as 'beautiful'.

Not to be outdone, VR send Rosie Peacock on in the very next jam in which she is noted to perform some interpretive dance before a huge hit and recycle to wear down the jammer, Sable. Presumably confused as to whether she was actually playing roller derby or featuring in some avant garde Fringe show, Sable passed the panty to Sylk but the jam came to an end almost immediately with the score 258-104.

In jam 23, the last of the game, Sable and Catashtrophe line up together behind the jam line once more. Catashtrophe plays a bit of fifth blocker to hold the Soy jammer at bay while giving time for the two VR blockers to get out of the penalty box, and then she disappears into the distance with a magnificent backwards spin through the pack. She makes it look easy, breeazing past some really brilliant defence and at the final whistle Vagine Regime's victory is confirmed.

Final score: Vagine Regime 291 - 108 Soy Division

A veritable rainbow of officials, both on- and off-skates. Photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy, boutday.com.

If you were in attendance you may have noticed something a little unusual about our referees and NSOs (more than normal, I mean). For one day only our zebras and flamingoes eschewed their standard colours and went more than a little bit rainbow in honour of Pride - and they looked fantastic! Thanks, as always, to every single one of them as without them these games couldn't happen.

Awards:

Vagine Regime
Best Blocker: Slappedash 190
Best Jammer: Catashtrophe 663
MVP: Rosie Peacock 50

Soy Division
Best Blocker: Drama Bomb 000
Best Jammer: Sarah McMillan 7
MVP: Sable v20

I would also like to thank everyone who came along to give us their support, all of our volunteers whose hard work made the day run smoothly and the EMTs who are always on hand with a smile and some expert first aid skills as needed.

What We Did On Our Holidays

Now that Scottish schools are back in session it seems like summer is well and truly over. 'What summer?!' I hear you cry. Well, yes, in typical Scottish fashion there was little by way of good weather, but here at GRD we don't let the miserable temperatures get us down! 

Every year we have a short break from derby activity for a fortnight to give our muscles some well-deserved time off. This year we took a break in June, though a few of our members were still in training for the very exciting Team Scotland try outs! Seven of our talented skaters made it to the training squad as the result of their great performances and we couldn't be prouder of them! 

We also had some derby adventures away from home this summer as there was the epic London versus Gotham game which took place on the 26th of June. Several GRDers travelled down to the big smoke to watch the game and also took part in a bootcamp coached by some of their skating heroes. 

It wasn't just our skaters who were busy though, our very talented Head NSO Sharizard spent her summer holding her very first solo show of her art 'Uncharted Stillness' in Whiteinch Library. It ran for a month and was a huge success with Shari able to show her work and even make some sales of her excellent pieces. You can read all about the show and her work on Shari's blog.

Uncharted Stillness, at Whiteinch Library. Photo courtesy of Shari.

Also in July one of our referees, Feminist Killjoy, visited the nice folk down in Middlesborough Milk Rollers to pass on some of their rules knowledge to their newest intake of skaters. MMR posted a great picture on their Instagram page with their thanks to Freya for sharing their expertise! 

Away from the track we've been out in the great outdoors on some derby dog walks! 

L-R: Grissom and Fry, Mad Natter, Reuben, Jess E Ska, Danny E Ska, Twain. 

Hadrian's Brawl was out and about exploring when she found a cool outdoor space that used to be used as a roller rink when her mum and dad were courting! Pretty different to the tracks we're used to now...

Of course we've also been training hard in preparation for our next games. August is a really busy month for us with GRD's Big Weekend featuring the VRUK vs Soy Division and Team Magic vs Team Science game, our third Queeriosity event as well as our new intake of Glasgow Roller Recruits all over two days! Our Maiden Grrrders are also playing against Aberdeen's Granite City next weekend and we've got Bruisers and Home Teams games lined up for September too. In preparation for this we were visited by LRG's excellent Juke Boxx and Ballistic Whistle for a training session where we worked on our jam starts and some blocking skills.

In fact we crammed so much into this summer that we think we need a holiday to recover! 

There's no rest for the wicked though, we're really looking forward to having a busy few months on and off the track. If you want to join us you can check out all our upcoming dates on our events calendar here on the website or via our Facebook page. You can also sign up to our mailing list using the link on the sidebar to make sure you never miss an update. We hope to see you soon! 

Queeriosity 3

Queeriosity is GRD's very own club night. It's the brainchild of current Irn Bruiser's co-captain Lindsey Watson (though you may know her better as Haberbashery #40).

Prawn & Habs on their DJing debut. 

With the third Queeriosity fast approaching to tie in with the Science vs Magic and Vagine Regime vs Soy Division games on 20th August (get your tickets here), I caught up with Habs to find out more.

• Hi Habs! So, tell me: just what is Queeriosity? What's it all about?

Hi! Well, Queeriosity is an inclusive club night aimed at anyone who wants to have a nice time while enabling others to have a nice time too! Everyone is welcome at Queeriosity as long as they are respectful of others. You definitely don't have to identify as queer to enjoy the night.......but it helps ;)

• Where did you get the idea from to start your own club night and what makes it different to the rest?

While GRD has always worked really hard to raise funds for travelling to competitions, I wanted a more sustainable way to raise funds and raise awareness of our league. Roller derby has always had inclusiveness at its heart and I thought, "what says roller derby more than a bunch of queers having a great time to some amazing tunes?!"

Something that I've always found strange is that a lot of gay clubs or queer nights play only one kind of music. I wanted Queeriosity to be the name of the night but with different themes throughout the year (our last one was 90s night).

It's also been scheduled early enough that it could either be the start of a great night and at the end you can head off to somewhere else awesome (we're trying to do it on the same night as Push It, Glasgow's premier queer club night) or it's so good that you don't feel like you're missing out if you go home when Queeriosity finishes at midnight!

Our astounding lip sync competition hosts, Freya & Hamish. 

• What's your favourite Queeriosity moment/memory?

OOOOHHHHHHHH good question! It's so difficult! I always have the best time! And two out of three so far have been on my birthday so it's normally extra special!

If I had to pick it would probably be the last one. It was a 90s night and I was DJing with my partner in crime Prawn (a former Irn Bruisers jammer and all-round good guy). We were new to DJing so kept getting too excited about dancing and kept missing our cue to start the next track!

• And what's the next step in the big Queeriosity plan?

As you can imagine, Queeriosity loves dressing up so we've got a BIG Halloween night planned! It's happening on October 29th and will feature the usual great tunes, great drink offers, some lip synching and best dressed prizes!

• Finally, why should everyone buy their tickets and come along on 20th August?

Well, it's Glasgow's Pride, we have the ever-dapper DJ Future Fight throwing out some amazing bangers, cheap booze (£2 for a spirit and mixer!) and I'LL BE THERE! Lets go dancing!

Queeriosity will take place on 20th August at Garnethill Multicultural Centre, following two awesome roller derby games earlier in the day (event info here). From previous experience there will be sparkles, dancing, possibly someone dressed as a vulva and most definitely the best time of your life!

Belle from Beauty & The Beast, Heather & an orange Lycra unicorn. Because Queeriosity {there is, however, no obligation to come as a mystical creature unless you wish to do so} 

Game Report: ARRG Allstars vs GRD Irn Bruisers

Yesterday the Irn Bruisers went through to the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh to visit our friends and rivals Auld Reekie. The first game of the day saw ARRG's new All Star Rookies (ASTROs) take to the track against Dundee's Bonnie Colliders. The game finished with a very respectable win for Dundee, final score ARRG 166-220 DRG. 

After a short intermission GRD's Irn Bruisers took to the jam line against ARRG's All Stars. Unfortunately a few minutes into the first half one of our skaters suffered an injury on track and the game was stopped while she received medical assistance. Shortly afterwards it was decided that the game would be called off while the skater was seen to. 

Despite our best efforts with protective gear and high health and safety standards occasionally accidents do happen simply due to the full contact nature of the sport. We wish our Jeneral Strike a full and speedy recovery, and we would also like to thank ARRG, the officials, the EMTs and bout day crew who helped deal with a difficult situation calmly and professionally. 

Although injuries can occur from time to time days like today remind us that we are all one big family in roller derby. This is a sport where friends can compete against each other at the highest level and yet remain caring and encouraging; any rivalries on track disappear when that final whistle blows.

We don't have any pictures to show you from the early parts of the game today so instead here is a picture shared with us by GRD's own Hateball of the first GRD team to take on ARRG in 2009. 

Glasgow Roller Girls' Irn Bruisers, 2009.

We're sure we'll see our neighbours from Auld Reekie back on track soon and can't wait to take them on! In the mean time, skate hard and take care of each other.