Derby Owned ....

Need some skate gear and want to buy from someone in the know?
Or, got your own derby-related shop and want to advertise to the world roller derby community?


Check out 'Derby Owned' - an free online directory of Roller Derby businesses run by Roller Derby folk.


As the site explains, 'Buying from a derby owned business is a great way to support derby girls and roller derby in general'

Special Discount at TUK Shoes

Royal Windsor Rollergirls'  sponsor TUK Shoes are offering ALL ROLLER DERBY PLAYERS & FANS a 20% discount on their website.
The promo expires this Saturday (October 31st), and you need to enter the code 'ILOVEROLLERGIRLS09' when asked for a promotion code.

Scottish Leagues Hit the Headlines

Glasgow Rollergirls and Auld Reekie bathed in the post-Whip It! attention of the media on Roller Derby, and hit the headlines of the Sunday Herald this weekend.
Check out the article HERE! 

Short & Girly

Online accessory store  Short & Girly have just released a new range of Derby-inspired jewellery and accessories.  The girls are currently offering free UK delivery, so now might be time to do some early Christmas shopping for the Derby Girls in your life!

Merby (Men's Derby!) Official Pics

For all of you keen for some snaps of yesterday's historic action - the UK's first ever Men's Derby Bout, feast your eyes on THIS!  In-Depth Photos , the official photographer to the Central City Rollergirls , has just posted the official photos from the closed bout, run by M.U.R.D.A.  in Birmingham on Saturday.

Wakey Wheeled Cats - On a Roll

CLICK HERE to see the first video to accompany Linda Lumardy's online diary of life in the Wakey Wheeled Cats.   


Here's what she has to say so far ....


Welcome to On a Roll my online diary on life in the Wakey Wheeled Cats. I joined the league in August, after being sent to write a feature on the Cats for the Express women’s magazine.  From the first tentative roll I was hooked, and luckily they let me join! It took a while for me to get my skates and I’ve only been to a few practices so far, so you’ll be with me right from the beginning.  Hopefully it will be a good read, but if anything it should be a laugh, as I’ve already had some spectacular bruises, and there will be many more to come.  Rather than bombard you with a huge first blog, over the next few weeks I’ll keep uploading snippets about roller derby life to get you all up to date. But for the first day of  On a Roll, we have something very special for Wakey Wheeled Cats fans – our first ever training blog! Luckily for those of you who don’t like car-crash-telly, it doesn’t feature me, as I’m behind the camera, but instead Cats co-founder and coach Kirsty Quinn will be taking you through the basics of a roller derby game, and fellow co-founder Stephanie Sellers will be showing you a few beginners moves.
 I hope you enjoy it!  


Subscribe to the blog HERE , and if you have any comments for Linda, EMAIL her HERE .

M.U.R.D.A. make history!

Yesterday marked an important step in UK Roller Derby history ... the first ever Men's Roller Derby Bout on UK soil.  M.U.R.D.A  - the Men's UK Roller Derby Association, an amalgamation of refs from the various women's leagues across the country, split into two teams - Black Ice & Vanilla Ice -  for the closed bout at Great Barr Leisure Centre.


The first public display of Men's Derby will take place (ironically!) at Carnival of the Strange , a Lincolnshire Bombers event in Newark on November 21st.


Congratulations lads, if any of you fancy writing a few words about the bout for The Round-Up Bout, I'm sure our readers would love to hear how things went.


Jet xxx

It's A Bomber ... It's A Bomber

Introducing a brand new blog, penned by The Round-Up Bout's very own Jetspun May-Q Dizzy.


Dizzy will be keeping you updated on all the Lincolnshire Bombers news at 'It's a Bomber .... It's a Bomber', so sign up to follow the blog ... and while you're at it, join up to The Round-Up Bout too!!

Bout Announcement - LRG v Texas Rollergirls - Hustlers

Photo by Bill Smotrilla

The London Rollergirls have finally announced the identity of their secret opponents!  On March 20th, LRG will be hosting the Texas Rollergirls' Hustlers 

The Texas Rollergirls are widely regarded as the godmothers of women’s flat track roller derby being the original league that got it all going back in 2002. The Hustlers feature several members of the fearsome Texecutioners, the TXRG all-star team (ranked #1 in the WFTDA South Central region and heading to Nationals in November as one of the top four seeds) as well as a couple of girls who have been playing derby right since the start.  In fact, 'Babe Ruthless' the namesake of Ellen Page's character in the recent roller derby film Whip It! now skates for the Hustlers!

LRG are incredibly proud and excited to host them in London, and acknowledge this will be their toughest test yet.

More info to come soon regarding venue, ticket info and other exciting derby events happening that weekend, but for now, save the date… if you’re in the UK and you love derby, London is where you want to be that weekend

Derby Networking Sites ...

Hopefully by now you're all member of Roller Derby Everywhere - the UK Roller Derby network on Ning .  


If RDE, UK Derby News and The Round-Up Bout aren't fulfilling your craving for online Derby fodder, then look no further than Derby Nation , another Roller Derby virtual world on Ning.


Derby Nation founder, Lizbeth Von Lush, welcomes you to the site ...


Derby Nation got its start when a few derby addicts decided it was time to have an internet community specifically for bringing all of us derby fiends together!!! Derby Nation's creators hope this site will become the place on the net where anyone interested in derby can look up events, bouts, bout results, leagues, teams and players - nationwide!

If you're not a player, coach, official or volunteer you are still very welcome! Because if you're not a fan yet, watch out! Derby is very addictive - and most who come in contact with it never are quite the same again!

So derby guys and girls, post your bout and event dates. Share pictures. Create groups for your league or team. Chat on the message boards. Blog about derby life.

She Did What To Who?!

Check out this blog El Toupee just discovered on Myspace, it's a Glossary of Derby Plays!


The blog comes from the page of Busta Armov , the retired Head Ref for the LA Derby Dolls , and a contributor to the amazing Derby News Network


Some of my particular favourites from the glossary include ...


The Inverse Bowling Ball - Blocker does a power slide or hockey stop and takes out the pack


Vee-gina Sandwich - Two blockers hit any other skater frpm both sides simultaneously


Tittie Takeout - A sub-category of the Johnnie Crash, in which a skater jabs their shoulder hard into the chest or breasts of the skater coming up behind them


Ass to Puss - A Booty Block in which contact is made between the front skater making the block, and the rear skater who contacts her with her crotch

An Incentive to Get Training!

Following May-Q Dizzy's awesome report on Grange Hell , the Round-Up Bout Facebook page has been buzzing with chat about one thing ... Estro Jen's arse!


And so .... especially for you guys, a little incentive to get training even harder at derby practice this week!!

Special thanks to El Toupee for completing the awful job of trawling through pics for one of Estro's bum! ;)

Tattoo Freeze Convention

Put a little money aside this Christmas and New Year, because something quite special is happening in mid-January.


The publishers of Skin Deep have decided to put on their first tattoo expo’ and, whilst they’re at it, have arranged a mouth-watering one-day Roller Derby tournament (featuring the Steam Rollers , the Suffra Jets , the Ultraviolent Femmes , and the Birmingham Blitz Dames) in addition to a whole host of other goodies.


The event is being held at The International Centre in Telford on January 17th, 2010, and tickets are £10.  CLICK HERE  for more details


So, mark the date in your diary, book the following day off work, and order your ticket as soon as…

El Toupée

VOTE to help London Rollergirls skate in the US ....

CLICK HERE to give your vote in the British Airways Great Britons competition to Kamikaze Kitten and the London Rollergirls.


What is the Great Britons Programme about?


As the official airline partner of the London 2012 Games, British Airways has launched a programme called Great Britons, which will help and inspire people in the UK to be the best they can be. This scheme will look for individuals who demonstrate the values associated with Olympic and Paralympic Games and who strive to be the best, whether their passion is in sport, music, fashion, performing arts, art and design, innovation, or community.
BA are giving 180 flights away this year to talented individuals and groups.
For many, this once in a lifetime chance gives them the boost they need for their careers to take off to the next exciting level.


What Kamikaze Kitten has to say about the competition ....



Winning would mean being able to push myself to a new level as a sportswoman, and help the fledgling women's sport of Roller Derby grow and be recognised throughout the UK. The London Rollergirls are working hard in order to raise enough funds to fly our All Stars team, of which I am captain, over to the US and take up the invitation to train with Gotham Girls Roller Derby in New York – the top ranked US Roller Derby team.
In July we hosted and won the inaugural European Roller Derby tournament in Earls Court, London. We brought together over 12 European teams for this weekend event which culminated in the London Rollergirls comfortably winning the title of European Champions. Training with the Gotham Girls will let us take UK roller derby to the next level. We are hoping to take full advantage of our trip across the pond and play at least four US teams along the East Coast of the US to maximise our learning. We are fundraising hard to raise cash for this trip – winning this competition would take us a big step towards achieving our goal.
This is more than just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and my team to play at the very top of our game; it's an opportunity for the sport of Roller Derby as a whole. Along with other members of London Rollergirls, I have been active in travelling around the UK and Europe, coaching other teams as far afield as Glasgow and Berlin. The skills we will learn taking on the titans of the sport will be passed on to benefit the entire UK Roller Derby community and this opportunity would mean really putting UK Roller Derby on the map. It’s not just one skater this would make a difference to, it’s over 400 roller derby players in the existing 23 leagues in the UK, and the hundreds that are waiting for a team to appear in their city or town. 


So ... show some Derby solidarity, and CLICK ON THIS LINK to vote for the girls to get free flights to New York.  It only takes a couple of minutes, and you can even link the site to your Facebook to make voting even easier.

The Derby Zine needs your questions .....

.... about boutfits and bout make-up!

Regulars to The Round-Up Bout will remember me posting a link to a new Derby-zine.  One of the Zine's columnists, Hula Gunn of the London Rollergirls , has specially requested the help of Round-Up Bout readers.

Hulz wants your questions and queries for a column on derby boutfits and bout make-up.  If you or your league have any questions you want answered, then email Hula Gunn HERE

Jet Stepper xx

Introducing ... The Second City Roller Bullies

The Second City Roller Bullies have raged their way into town!
The Birmingham leg of the Tri-County Rollers are hoping to bring Roller Derby to the masses and spread that Derby love across the West Midlands with sister league the Redditch Rebel Rollers !

Birmingham's newest team has started recruiting to start training in November...please contact Bitter Sweet if you're interested in joining


WEBSITE    MYSPACE  FACEBOOK 

Grange Hell School Report

Last weekend Central City Rollergirls hosted the Grange Hell Skate Academy in Birmingham  ... here's what Lincolnshire Bombers ' May-Q Dizzy had to say about her trip back to school!


After all the hype and Derby-fuelled anticipation, this event could have easily disappointed, but I am pleased to say that Grange Hell actually managed to exceed all my expectations!

Upon entering the foyer of Cocks Moor Woods Leisure Centre the atmosphere was electric, with the clang of skate cases knocking together and excited Roller Girls darting about like toddlers in a playground.

Lessons started in earnest at 11am.  These included perfecting the basics, tactical drills, endurance, Jammmer skills, and technique. Not to forget the mandatory sit ups and press ups, and optional instruction in Bonnie D. Stroir classics such as “the waitress” and the “power slide/ hockey stop”. 


Those attending were split into two groups, and then these groups were continually rotated between the two coaches.  Both Estro Jen and Bonnie D. Stroir were exceptionally knowledgeable, and happy to pass on any and all pearls of wisdom. Their passion for the sport was evident in everything they did. Plus the coaches' physique was second to none.  Most students left the Bootcamp with the new mantra ……. “I WILL have a butt like Estro Jen's!”

Throughout the weekend everyone involved was highly motivated to ensure we all gained as much as possible from their experience. With their encouraging and helpful demeanours the Central City Roller girls and guys made this a weekend never to forget.

The after party was a collection of like minds, where everyone reviewed the days events, with a little or a lot of alcohol thrown in for good measure. There was lively dancing, karaoke was sung with varying levels of success and drunken Roller Girl antics went on late into the night.

This was a must-attend spectacle and for those who couldn't make it, do not fear ... Central City Roller girls will be hosting t he Blood and Thunder  Bootcamp on the 1st, 2nd & 3rd of May 2010. 


Make sure you get a ticket as this event is guaranteed to be just as amazing. 
Thanks and Good Luck to all at CCR.



May-Q Dizzy 

Cats in the Papers

Hey Cats and Kittens,

Wakey Wheeled Cats have a bit of exciting news we’d like to share with you!

Linda LuMardy, a new skater to our league, is using her journalistic wonderfulness to write an online weekly blog about becoming a roller derby girl. This will be accompanied by a monthly, three-minute video blog of The Wakey Wheeled Cats' training sessions.
Every month you can follow us from our humble beginnings, as we’re currently a very new league, through our beginners training and beyond, eventually up to playing bouts.

We would especially love for other leagues to get involved too!

Each month we’d like to have a guest skater or coach from a different league to hold a small training session, which will be filmed and shared for all to see. We hope for this to be built up from the very basics, past minimum skills assessments and into training drills. Hopefully this can promote not just our league, but other UK leagues and UK Roller Derby as a whole.

If you’re an interested league or skater, please get in touch, either on the WWC Facebook Page or HERE 

The blogs can be found on the Wakefield Express website and on our league website too.

This Friday, the 23rd October, will be the launch of the blogs. There will be an article in the Express, plus Linda’s first blog and our (first, shaky) video will be on the website .

Derby Love,

Fu-Quinn Hell

Whip It! Film Review - (Spoiler Warning)

It's the moment we've all been waiting for .... an actual A-List movie about Roller Derby, made in living memory! (no, El Toupee those two made in 1972 don't count ;) )

Whilst Whip It! isn't due out in the UK until early next year, I'm fortunate enough to currently be in the States, where the movie premiered some weeks ago.

Those of you who are regulars of my blog will have already read Psychology Today 's Jeremy Clyman's rather dubious interpretation of the film and its lesbian fantasy elements (!) but I'll leave talking about his analysis for a later blog ... for now this is just about the movie.

Whip It! is a story about small town girl Bliss Cavendar.  Bliss's mum, or should I say 'mom', Brooke, is a former pageant queen, and pushes her daughter to follow in her footsteps, however Bliss is an indie-loving alternative teenager more at home in her DMs than in a ball gown.  On a shopping trip to the state capital Austin, Bliss bumps into some members of the Texas Roller Derby league TXRD and picks up a flier for their  upcoming display bout.  At the bout, she gushes to one of the skaters, Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), that the members of the league have just become her new heroes.  Maggie replies with the message of the film, 'Put some skates on.  Be your own hero!'

And so Bliss removes her Barbie skates from a box in the attic and teaches herself to skate, speeding first around her neighbourhood streets, and then around the banked track in record time during the try-outs, earning herself a place on the track as a 'Hurl Scout', alongside the likes of Drew Barrymore (Smashley Simpson), Eve (Rosa Sparks) and LA Derby Dolls' Kristen Adolfi and Rachel Piplica (The Manson Sisters).

Whilst the initial shots of the bout weren't particularly impressive or illustrative of roller derby, and I could imagine someone who had never seen the sport before might wonder from the brief snippets shown why Bliss becomes suddenly obsessed with derby quite literally overnight, the later scenes do make up for this.  The skating in the film is fast-paced, well shot and on the whole realistic, though I felt Drew Barrymore's character Smashley, clearly put in the film for humour value, only really served to degrade the view of Derby presented by the film.  Smashley Simpson was constantly drunk and extremely violent, breaking basic derby rules in almost every scene, and seeming to get away virtually scot-free.  There are a couple of awesome moves in the film, notably a two-man leg whip in the final jam of the championship final, and Xena stunt double Zoe Bell skates admirably in her role as Bloody Holly.

I absolutely loved the Hurl Scout uniforms, and thought the names for the five teams in the TXRD league were all brilliant, especially the 'Fight Attendants'.  All of the skaters had awesome Derby names - Babe Ruthless, Princess Slayer, Jabba the Slut, Kame Kaze, Eva Destruction ... but before you try and pinch any of them, they are all taken from active Derby girls!  In fact the real Babe Ruthless (Bliss's skater name) has actually just moved from Arizona to skate with TXRD!

But now for the rest of the film ....
I said I wouldn't mention Jeremy Clyman's article, but can I just say ... he claimed Whip It! could have been about any sport, and that Roller Derby was in no way essential to the film.  I completely disagree.  Frankly, if it weren't for the Roller Derby, there would be very little to the film.  Various issues are explored, but all rather half-heartedly.  The relationship between Bliss and her boyfriend Olly (singer Landon Pigg) is developed wonderfully, with a montage of really cute, yet not cliched scenes ... only for him to cheat on her whilst away on tour.  This could have been used really well, to show Bliss using the anger to skate faster and harder, but she basically just shrugs off his infidelity, and the good thirty minutes of the film used to develop the relationship, and that's the end of that!  There is also a sub-plot of Maggie Mayhem's single parenthood ... but again this is done somewhat half-heartedly, and you come away wondering why they bothered casting the little ginger boy as her child!  The film is funny in parts, but there are also numerous cringey moments, where you can see that humour is being attempted, but in my opinion falls flat.  Similarly some of the acting is rather hammy, and not just from the many real derby girls enlisted in from US leagues for the film.

Page is convincing in her role as Bliss, though I couldn't help feeling the character wasn't a big departure from her defining role in Juno.  The relationship with her parents was interesting, and the contrast between Bliss and her pageant loving younger sister Shania highly amusing.  Bliss's best friend Pash (Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat) makes a brilliant sidekick, and Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) is a formidable and wonderfully detestable arch-rival! Whilst Drew Barrymore's character is little more than a slap-stick add-on to the film, her directing is nearly flawless, and you really wouldn't know it was her debut behind the camera.

Despite its short-comings, I would still recommend going and seeing the film.  It IS a historic moment in Roller Derby, as suddenly the sport is being thrust into the headlines and onto magazine covers.  Whilst the way it is being publicised (something I will discuss in the 'Lesbianism and Whip It' blog later this month) is perhaps questionable, the film has already dramatically increased coverage and awareness of roller derby, and can only serve to encourage hordes more girls worldwide to try the sport.

So, grab the rest of your Derby girls, and head down to your nearest cinema the moment the flick finally hits UK screens.  And when it does, let me know what you think!

Jet Stepper
xxxx

Grange Hell Official Pics Up!!

In-Depth Photos have just released the official photos from Central City Rollergirls' Roller Derby Acadamy last weekend - Grange Hell.

The weekend was a great success, with coaching from Angel City Derby Girls'  founder Estro Jen, and San Diego Derby Dolls' founder Bonnie D.Stroir .  A full write-up of the bootcamp is still to come, but for now, feast your eyes on the official pics

David James Coxsell is the author of RD:UK   If you'd like him to take pictures at your Roller Derby event, contact him HERE .