SHE receives a hefty shouder charge but yet stays on her feet.She is tripped as she tries again, the crowd shrieks and draws a breath, it's only a momentary wobble though, this girl isn’t phased. Onwards again, this time she spots a gap and bolts past the pack .The Clash’s White Riot is her victorious anthem. 4 points for the team!. She is queen of the track.
What we are talking about here is a women’s sport on the ascendency. it has began to root itself in society with it’s intense core values of high-speed contact, action on wheels, merged with a brassy gloss of punk and pop culture.
Imagine a setting of an oval track of a sports hall, the skaters line up in a formation roller skating shape and a battle for points is led by two members from each team called the ‘jammers’ who lap members of their opposition team scoring a point for each one they pass. Of course it isn’t so straight forward and there always is a snarling bruising bout that always ensues in what becomes a high speed meleebattle of wits and tact; taking place in fast paced two minute rounds .Rough offenders will find themselves in the sin bin as a mass of umpires keep check with hawk-eyes. Imagine girls with names like Iron Maven, Girlzilla and Jenny Rotten all of this accompanied by a booming punk-pop soundtracks from Cyndie Lauper to The Ramones bellowing out of the arena speakers. These girls are fast, tough and sexy; the sport is Roller Derby.
A little history on it then for those of you feeling puzzled right now. First rearing its head in 1922 in America, the term Roller Derby was know to describe fast-track roller skating. Promoters Leo Seltzer and sports writer Damon Runyon took up the baton and crafted the sport, adding more endurance competitions in the 1930’s and adding more physical contact and teamwork elements. Seltzer himself reserved the name for himself, claiming it for his clan of professional skaters. Alongside the likes of baseball and football it became a national icon with teams being formed and matches being played in all major US cities. Eventually by the 1960s the sport had branched out into other monopolies such as ‘The Roller Games’ which endured rapid growth with many major cities in the US having their own sides as well as attracting international attention from Australia and Canada. It went through many booms and slides in the 1970s with many short running TV features never picking it up. In the 1980s it again tried to revive itself. Roller Games came back in the format of a WWE style gameshow where ex-Roller Derby girls made a come back to battle it out in a figure of eight style track complete with snarling Alligator pits. Alas, the derby flame eventually died and it lay in its coffin for several years but for a few one off charity matches by ex-competitors.
In the early 2000s it saw a mini-revival back in the US by a new generation of young women who wanted to breath lifeblood into the sport who created a new branch of it known as ‘Neo Roller Derby’. Leagues have since been set up in the length and breadth of America, Canada and Europe - Belgians, Dutch and finish alike now are all happily getting their skates on in Roller Derby spirit. And now teams and leagues have sprouted up all over our country in recent years from North to South. The bug is spreading!
First played competitively in London four years ago it has grown and grown in the UK and now In our very own steel city you can now get a piece of the pie.Two years ago Pauline Chalmers stumbled across the sport on the internet and decided to form her own team The Sheffield Steel Roller Girls.The team shapes itself in the mould of Neo Roller Derby and two short years on and the team has developed into a 30-plus strong squad. Recently having their opening bout in July at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. There is several recruitment drives for the team happening in the next year the latest being opened after the summer - you can now get involved yourself. I caught up with training co-ordinator Emma aka ‘Miss D’ who gave me the low down,“Over next year or so,we're hoping to host 3 or 4 games in Sheffield. In the late Autumn we are expecting a new intake of skaters, Get in contact with us and join in, there are plenty of skating and non-skating roles within the team so send us a email and come along. What we need is people with enthusiasm and resillence,” She said.
So whether you want to get involved or just watch, Roller Derby is something different. Giving something, fast entertaining and exciting for you to see and will give you a refreshing change from the typical Owls V Blades derby match you ordinarily encounter .This is definitely anti-Crucible snooker .Get your skates on and indulge yourself.
http://wftda.com/
www.sheffieldsteelrollergirls.co.uk
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