An afternoon with Rebellion Roller Derby

I spent a Sunday afternoon trying out the fast growing sport of roller derby. Flitwick-based team, Rebellion Roller Derby, invited me for a taster session of the contact sport, which has crossed the Atlantic Ocean from America.

You may recognise the term roller derby from the 2009 American film, Whip It. Certainly this provided my only knowledge of the sport.

When I arrived at Flitwick Leisure Centre the team were sitting comfortably in the café, waiting for a more sedate game of badminton to finish before they descended to the sports hall. The women are keen to show any prospective new players the ropes so I was given a warm welcome.

Once in the sports hall I was lent the full safety equipment – and of course a pair of skates. Protected by a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards, I was ready to roll; once I learnt how to stand up of course!

Experienced players also wear mouth guards but I was excused this because I was being kept well out of harm’s way on the sidelines.

I was taken under the wing of experienced skater, Alex Bryan, and my first challenge was to make it around the hall on my new set of wheels. I was relieved to manage this without falling over, although at an extremely slow pace.

Unlike the inline blades that were fashionable when I was a child, these skates have four wheels on each foot side-by-side. They took some getting used to but after a few times round I felt my speed pick up slightly from the original snail’s pace.

Roller derby players must complete a series of tests to show their general competence at handling themselves on skates before they are allowed to compete in a match and this was the focus of the session.

One test is speed. Players must be able to skate around the circuit 25 times in five minutes, which is pretty fast. Some of the more experienced skaters can do significantly more than this in the allotted time. Guided by Alex, I went round the circuit with some of the others and managed eight loops before the whistle blew.

Other results ranged from 12 by Hannah, who only started skating two weeks before, to 38 by one of the old hands.

Then we moved on to skills while skating, some of which I was able to complete but most of which I left to the team members, who were less likely to execute an inexperienced and painful fall. These ranged from different postures to skating on one leg and propelling yourself forwards without lifting your feet. I was also taught some of the various ways to fall safely and different ways of stopping; something which clearly needs a lot of practice!

I fared better with lifting a skate up and stepping forwards and to the side without rolling away but a grapevine-style leg cross was beyond me.

Later I rolled myself to the edge of the hall to watch a practice scrimmage, or match. One of the managers explained the basics for me. Matches last for up to two minutes and the full game takes an hour, split into two halves.

Five players from each team compete in a match; four blockers and a jammer. The jammers have to overtake as many blockers from the opposing team as possible. They get a point for each one they overtake and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins. Blockers gather together in a pack to stop the opposing jammer from getting through and to make a clear path for their own jammer. The leading jammer can stop the match once they have enough points.

This is where the contact element comes in when the players try to knock each over out of the way. There are strict rules of how this should be done, however, so it’s not a free for all. And, I was assured, there are very few injuries, despite all the pushing and shoving!

After watching this for a while it was time for a cool down, going the opposite way around this time, clockwise, to balance the muscles out a bit. All in all it was a fun and interesting way to spend the afternoon.

Rebellion Roller Derby was formed three years ago and the team has been competing in the league for about a year. More teams are springing up across the country all the time and although most of them are female – the sport’s traditional players are women – some men are also being bitten by the roller derby bug and they have their own teams.

The players all have their own vicious sounding derby nicknames. Alex’s is CatFace KillHer for example but don’t be put off as they are all very friendly and keen to help the beginners.

They want more women, aged 18 plus, to join their team so why not give it a go? Rebellion Roller Derby train at Flitwick Leisure Centre every Sunday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm or 6pm. More experienced players also meet in Bedford every fortnight on Wednesday evenings.

Sessions cost £5 for two hours and £7 for three but your first four sessions are free. Plus they will provide the equipment while you try it out. Take along a bottle of water because it is thirsty work.

You don’t need any experience. In fact most of the team hadn’t worn a pair of skates since they were little when they first turned up for training. And they will make sure you know all the easier moves, such as the ever-important how to fall safely, before asking you to do anything tricky.

To find out more contact Jade on 07944 513358 or [email protected] or Karen on 07772 522005 or [email protected]

You can also visit the website at www.rebellionrollerderby.co.uk

To see the professionals in action search for Team USA Roller Derby on Youtube.