Game Report: Why So Sirius? at FVRG's Harry Potter Sur5al Tournament

Team Why So Sirius featuring Shona Mercy, Rumbledore, Luna Shovegood, J K Fouling, #Swagrid and GRD's own Lawless, also of 5th Blocker Skates!

Merlin's beard, did you hear about the magnificent Harry Potter Sur5al Tournament that our friends over at Fierce Valley Roller Girls hosted recently? It was a MAGICAL day!

For those who reckon they know the rules of roller derby but are not familiar with this particular format, a Sur5al tournament differs from our standard game in a few significant ways: 

• Each team is made up of five players instead of the usual fourteen. This means every skater is on track for every jam!
• Each team plays every other team taking part in the tournament once for a single jam. There were ten teams taking part in this tournament so it meant we all played nine jams.
• Lead Jammer status can be awarded to the first jammer legally out the pack but they may not call off the jam early, it must run for the full two minutes.
• Teams gain five points for a win, two for a draw, and zero for a loss. It was also possible to gain one additional point for earning Lead Jammer status. 
• If any skaters foul out of the tournament their team continues with as few as four or three skaters, but any less than that and they will be forced to forfeit their remaining games. 
• The team with the most points at the end of the tournament WINS! 

FVRG pulled out all the stops and got the Ministry of Magic involved in their events team to ensure the day went off without a hitch. The witches and wizards of the NSO team were dressed in their Hogwarts House finery with jam timers announcing "Five seconds!" with a swish of their wands. Butterbeer and Polyjuice potion were available at the cake stall and even the vendors got involved with magical artefacts from Notebook as well as FVRG's own Maxx Attack and FunGhoul's (witch)crafty goods. "Sweet quaffle!" I hear you cry. But that wasn't all! There was also some bewitching  ROLLER DERBY to thrill and entertain throughout the afternoon.

Just like a normal quidditch match this was a co-ed tournament and so most teams featured more than one gender - in fact team Why So Sirius? from GRD were the only all female team taking part. Skaters from as many as twelve Scottish teams skated and most gave themselves Potter-tastic names, including Neville Wears Prada, Snitches and Bitches, the Nameless Ones and Snapes on a Plane. Many skaters renamed themselves for the occasion too - personal favourites were Luna Shovegood, J K Fouling, Ron Weavesley, Hustlepuff, and HARMione Grinder! 

But don't let the fun names befuddle you, when the teams got on track the action was as fast as a Firebolt and as hard-hitting as a Hippogriff. Neville Wears Prada took an early lead and remained undefeated throughout the tournament - no Felix Felicis was allowed on the premises, they did this all through pure skill! - and so with the Galleon podium taken care of the hotly contested spots were second and third as the Slytherwins and Golden Snatches battled it out for the Sickle and Knut, each winning seven of their nine jams.

The final scores on the board when all snitches were recaptured. Image courtesy of Sam Skipsey.

Team Why So Sirius came ninth out of ten and had a glorious time playing such fantastic competitors. For three of us this was our first co-ed experience and all had a really great time skating against friends and neighbours from local leagues. No matter what the scores on the board every single team came off track amid masses of high fives and hugs. Not a single Unforgivable Curse was uttered because the level of sportspersonship was so high! 

Individual awards were as follows:

Tournament Best Blocker: Gibb (Bairn City Rollers)
Tournament Best Jammer: Momo (Granite City Brawlers)
Tournament MVP: Kami-Tazzy (Granite City Roller Derby)

We would like to thank FVRG for hosting such a Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tournament and would award them the top grade of O for Outstanding! The organisation on the lead up and the care taken on the day far Exceeded Expectations. We'd also like to thank all the Officials, Ministry of Magic staff, announcers, photographers, and everyone else involved for making it such an enjoyable experience.

Mischief Managed! 

Game Report: Home Teams 2

Game poster for Home Teams 2, 2016.

You might remember the first event in this year's GRD Home Teams calendar, back in June. The T-Wrecks took on the Bad Omens and Death Stars and those giant green guys with pointy teeth and tiny arms were victorious! Twice! Turns out being extinct for several million years is no barrier to being successful at roller derby. If you want all the prehistoric detail, check out the blog.

The end of September saw the Bad Omens and the Death Stars finally getting their chance to fight it out, to see whether magical powers and brooms or lightsabers and something which definitely isn't a moon were the best.

Fever showing Postlewaight her magical flying smashy roller derby powers; photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy boutday.com.

It was a pretty tense game, with a tight margin between the teams throughout and multiple lead changes to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats. At half time, there were only five points in it with Death Stars in the lead 102-107.

Monifa, Belle & Lawless holding back Hadrian's Brawl; photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy boutday.com.

While the Force was strong with our local Sith Lords, any portents of doom for the Bad Omens would have been premature. They appeared to cast a spell over the opposition and created gold from base metal - finishing the game as diabolically good winners.

Final score: Bad Omens 236 - 227 Death Stars.

Despite spending much of the game reclining, the Bad Omens still romped to victory; photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy boutday.com.

The final event in our home teams' season this year will be on November 12th, with a game between the Bad Omens and T-Wrecks to see who will bathe in glory and who will bathe in gravy (or something). Get your tickets here.

Game Report: Maiden Grrders at Great Yorkshire Showdown 17.9.16

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!

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

Skate Like A Girl enamel pin, £7.

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!