Capital City Fresh Meat

Edinburgh’s first Men’s Roller Derby team are recruiting! On Sunday 21st April, Capital City Roller Derby will hold their first Fresh Meat intake from 7pm – 9pm at The Crags Community Sports Centre, Edinburgh.

CCRD are looking for skaters aged 18 and over of any level (novice to expert) who are dedicated, enthusiastic and want to be part of their awesome team.  They are also looking for potential referees or NSO’s (Non-Skating Officials – both male or female) to register for their Fresh Meat program.

Equipment for this session can be loaned by existing members of CCRD, but they ask that you please register beforehand to avoid disappointment. Email newskaters.ccrd@gmail.com with your contact details and a member of CCRD will confirm your place.

For further details, please see the CCRD’s Fresh Meat Event on Facebook.

CCRD Fresh Meat Poster – image courtesy of Tequila Jammer

Lets hear it for the boys…..

A female perspective on Merby and CO-ED Roller Derby.

Up until the past couple of years Roller Derby has been a sport ‘rolled’ out on a predominantly female playing field. There have always been men around, be it in an official capacity or those of the infamous derby widow – ship.

However those who wished to play on a competitive level have taken the proverbial bull by the horns with Merby leagues are popping up all over the UK. Scotland in Particular has no less than 4 up and coming all male leagues. Their collective bouting team the Jakey Bites have been established for over a year now.

The arrival of Men’s Roller Derby has been met with mixed reaction on roller derby scene, some embracing it fully and others feeling a little put out that the male specimen are perhaps trying to steal our feminine thunder………God can’t they let us have anything!?

Being part of a league who have taken to Integrating with open arms, I have had a fantastic opportunity to skate and compete with the some of the Jakey Bites in the past year, skating in the Uk’s first ever CO-ED derby bout with The Jakey Tayzers last September.

As a result I have become a keen supporter for CO-ED and men’s roller derby. The thought of this might seem a bit overwhelming for some but I believe it can make you a more rounded and skilled skater in the long run. I have skated for 2 years now, predominantly in all female training and bout situations and I thought I would take this opportunity to answer some of the questions or allay some of the fears people might have about Male and Co-Ed roller derby.

DO THEY HIT HARDER?

I hate to emasculate anyone here but the answer to this is not really. I have found that taking a hit from a guy is no different from being hit by the girls. The fact that they don’t really have hips takes a bit of getting used to but the impact of the hit isn’t as scary as it might seem.  Put it this way, if you have ever been hit by Cider from Auld Reekie then you have nothing to worry about and are fully prepared…

ARE THEIR TACTICS DIFFERENT?

Whenever we first started training for the CO – ED bout this was definitely one of our questions, in all honesty we thought for some reason they were going to be all offence and no discipline (not sure why, guess we were stereotyping). This wasn’t the case at all; for the most part their tactics are exactly the same as what we are doing on the female side of things. They are definitely very skilled and know their stuff; I didn’t find it any different from skating with my female team mates. They have had to adjust to the new rule set exactly the same as we have. From watching various Merby bouts last year there really wasn’t much difference in the tactics played and there certainly wasn’t any less glitter surprisingly.

IS IT AWKWARD?

As we all know, roller derby can be a very ‘handsy’ sport, it is full contact and I suppose it would be normal to wonder if it gets a bit awkward when playing CO-ED. This one is really in the eyes of the beholder to be honest, I personally haven’t ever felt awkward or anything likes that whilst skating. Whether that comes from knowing them quite well or from being in the zone on track I’m not sure but it certainly has never been an issue. You know the bond you have with your team mates on track, well that bond is completely possible in CO-ED as well and it is a pretty gratifying experience.

ARE THEY BETTER THAN US?

The answer to this hangs on the word better; it’s not so much a case of better as different. Roller derby caters for differences; it’s one of the most appealing aspects of the sport which is known for celebrating individuality. In some cases they may be a little stronger and taller than us but……being a big player or a hard hitter isn’t the be all and end all if you are smaller and faster. In truth they are as varied and unique as we are on the female side of things. Tall, small, fast, strong, hard-hitting, positional and/or agile everyone has strength it’s just finding out how they compliment each other.

ARE THEY JUST A BUNCH OF “LADS?”

Cracking dirty jokes and messing around? As for the dirty jokes I know some female skaters who could make them blush……….But in all seriousness the answer here is no. They are 100% dedicated to the sport and the progression of their regional leagues, the passion they have for the sport is no less than we have in the female leagues and the drive they have shown in starting from scratch has been nothing short of impressive. As a female skater they have always been nothing less than welcoming and supportive of me and since skating with them I have seen a real improvement in certain areas of my skating.

From a personal perspective I am fully in support of Merby in the UK. I would urge everyone to support their local Merby league alongside their local derby league, Capital City in Edinburgh, Mean City in Glasgow, The Skelpies in the Central Belt and The Tayminators in Tayside. I have had the pleasure of knowing people from most of these teams and can tell you they are a cracking bunch of guys, we should be proud to have them as a part of the Scottish Roller Derby scene. I hope to see a lot more CO-ED action in the future with my Jakey Tayzers. The Skelpies League, Bairn City are already establishing a Co -Ed league so it is onward and upward.

If you want to make up your own mind or have a male friend you’d like to wrangle into taking up the sport, the Jakey Bites (Comprising of members from 3 out of 4 of the aforementioned teams) have a bout coming up against The South Wales Silures on April the 6^th in Grangemouth. Check their Facebook page for event details and ticket sales. The venue only holds 100 so buy in advance to avoid disappointment. Bairn City men’s team will also be playing South Wales the day after on the 7^th at the same venue, for more details and ticket sales check their Facebook pages.

http://www.facebook.com/events/122071404642449/      (SKELPIES VS. SILURES)

http://www.facebook.com/events/432929060108875/     (JAKEYS VS. SILURES)

Roller Derby: It’s Not Just for Girls!

The Scottish Roller Derby community has traditionally comprised of female-only teams. Well, 2013 is the year where all that will change!

We gave you a sniff of Men’s Roller Derby last year with the introduction of The Jakey Bites – Scotland’s All Star Men’s Team, and as seems to be the way with the sport, this single team has inspired other competitive skate-loving people to get involved! Four offspring leagues have now been born, covering Glasgow & the West; Edinburgh & the Lothians; the Forth Valley; and Tayside & the North East. We expect to see a lot more from each of these leagues over the coming year, so now is your chance to swat up on Who They Are and Where They Come From!

We caught up with reps from each league to learn a bit more about them and how you can contact them if you’re interested in joining their ranks.

Capital City Roller Derby

An interview with Tequila Jammer

When was your league founded, and by whom?

Officially Capital City Roller Derby was launched in December 2012 (making us the newest men’s league) but informally it’s been around for a little longer. It was founded by a bunch of Jakey Bites players (Judder Jam, WKDeid, Genuine Miller Daft, Tequila Jammer, Duff McKegger and Panda). I guess the birth place of Capital City was in Deans Community High School car park on a cold Sunday morning after training, Bairns and Mean City were established and we thought… why not. All of us had skated for a long time with the Jakey Bites and were up for the challenge of starting our own regional league.

What area of Scotland do you cover?

We cover mainly the Edinburgh and the Lothians but we have some seriously committed skaters who travel from Fife, the Borders and the Falkirk area.

What made you decide to start up the league?

Men’s Roller Derby in Scotland was beginning to take off in a big way with the formation of Mean City, Bairn City Rollers and The Tayminators – it made sense to have a league in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is already well established in the derby community and having strong links to other leagues is important to us. I guess we just want to be part of that spirit and prove we are a capable league who take the sport seriously but know how to have a good time as well. The founders have a clear passion for the sport and, honestly, we can’t get enough of it!

Tell us about your plans for 2013, and where you would like to be by this time next year?

2013 looks to be a busy year for us. We have started regular training and are looking to recruit new members and Fresh Meat. From that we hope to gain new members and start to develop a seriously kick ass team as playing some hard hitting, epic men’s derby is our ultimate goal.

Like we said before, building links with other leagues is very important to us as well as promoting men’s derby. Hopefully this time next year Capital City will have gone from a small bunch of Jakeys to a cohesive team of awesome individuals. Also skating (and winning) a bout or two would be pretty sweet.

How can people contact you if they would like to join your league?

Potential awesome Fresh Meat can contact us through our Facebook Page, e-mail us directly (capitalcityrd@gmail.com) or if you see one of our friendly faces at local bouts don’t be afraid to come up and say hi. Also, if people love men’s derby but playing doesn’t appeal to them, there are lots of ways of getting involved. Leagues wouldn’t exist without an awesome NSO and Ref crew.

Bairn City Rollers

An interview with Mega Blocker

When was your league founded, and by whom?

Bairn City Rollers was founded in September 2012 by myself and iHorror (Anthony Sweeney). We were the first men’s league to be established outside of the Jakey Bites Scottish All-Stars.

What area of Scotland do you cover?

As the name suggests, we are based in Falkirk area but that stretches to all of Central Scotland. We have had some enquiries from Edinburgh and Glasgow but we tend to point these guys to Capital City or Mean City, and that has also been reciprocated.

What made you decide to start up the league?

I wanted a ‘Fresh Meat’. I had went along to the Jakey Bites NEDS (non-experienced derby skaters) but I couldn’t keep up. They are a great bunch but it wasn’t what I needed. I had not long taken up skating and had heard great things about the FVRG Fresh Meat programme and thought that it sounded perfect for me, so BCR was born. iHorror and me had a few people interested – in the main people who had never skated so we set about getting things together. We held a launch party and had our Fresh Meat the week after. It’s been awesome!

Tell us about your plans for 2013, and where you would like to be by this time next year?

Well, our first bout – the first male league bout ever in Scotland – is happening on April 7th at Grangemouth Sports Complex, Skelpies against South Wales Silures. That is exciting and terrifying in equal measure but the help we have had from other leagues has been awesome. We also have another couple of bouts lined up but I’ll keep them close to my chest at the until they are signed up.

The other huge thing that happened very late last year was that we went co-ed. The girls in the league are awesome and they are going to have some big news very soon – they would kill me or at the very least flatten me on track if I told though!

The next 12 months are going to be very busy. We will be looking to grow our skating pool, we have Fresh Meat this Sunday (3rd February), and are busy getting the boys bout ready. We have a brilliant social night coming up at Stenhousemuir Cricket Club with Magic Pete on 1st March, new Skelpies t-shirts and then a big charity event in April.

We’ve had brilliant support from the derby community and will hopefully repay that by supporting other leagues as they bout, so you can expect to see us at bouts supporting FVRG, DRG, GRD, ARRG & Mean City to name but a few!

How can people contact you if they would like to join your league?

Via our Facebook Page or Twitter is the easiest. If people are interested, it doesn’t matter if you can skate – all that matters is that you want to join the most awesome sport and bunch of people ever!

Mean City Roller Derby

An interview with BruiseDog

When was your league founded, and by whom?

August 2012 by BruiseDog 6 (Jason Crawford) & Stan Lee Knife 7 (Colin Selfridge)

What area of Scotland do you cover?

Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

What made you decide to start up the league?

I had always wanted to play Roller Derby, however there were not options for men to play in Scotland at the time. So I became a referee as Partick Skateman for the then Glasgow Roller Girls (now Glasgow Roller Derby). I met Three Majors (Colin) whilst reffing and he mentioned that there was interest from many referees and derby widows in setting up a men’s league, perhaps not enough to cover Glasgow but on a wider scale across Scotland.

We both became founding members of The Jakey Bites (Scottish All Stars); we always had the intention to form a Glasgow Men’s league but we realise it may take a little longer to raise the profile of Men’s Roller Derby in Scotland. We knew that there were a lot of misconceptions regarding men in the sport and we needed to let the female leagues know we were serious about this and we were going to treat the sport with the respect it deserves.

After The Jakey Bites had grown, we had gained a lot of bout experience and players – a lot of whom could not face the long drives to Perth where The Jakey Bites trained. We decided it was time to start the first regional league and formed Mean City Roller Derby with some of our teammates from the Glasgow area.

We now have 10 skating members and 1 non skating member due to injury, but that has not put him off. We have regular hall space and three 2 hour practices per week. We are very active in the derby community and often visit other leagues to train, and we also host co-ed skating skills sessions.

Tell us about your plans for 2013, and where you would like to be by this time next year?

2012 was very much about the foundation of the league. 2013 will mostly be about growth. We had our first Fresh Meat intake on the 26th of January at the ARC – a familiar location for those attending Scottish roller derby bouts. We will take on new skaters at any level of skating experience and give them an introduction to roller derby, plus teach them some of the basic skills needed to play the sport. This will be followed by a full newbie intake program for those that would like to stay on and learn the sport.

We hope to have some bouts scheduled in later in the year, starting with some of the local Scottish men’s leagues which have recently formed.

How can people contact you if they would like to join your league?

Anyone that is interested in skating with us can drop us a line at meancityrollerderby@gmail.com, or get in touch via our Facebook Page.

The Tayminators

An interview with Danimal

When was your league founded, and by whom?

The league is still in the process of starting up. It was founded by me, then shortly afterwards I had Phil (Optimus Grime) on board to get things going.

What area of Scotland do you cover?

We aim to cover all areas in the Tayside region and we are most likely going to be based in Perth and/or Dundee – although we have a few skaters wishing to be part of The Tayminators from as far as Aberdeen! So I guess we’re mostly the North East of Scotland.

What made you decide to start up the league?

The idea actually came from Stan Lee Knife (aka 3 Majors/Skol Krusher – a man of many names!), Bruise Dog of Mean City RD, and my Jakey Bites teammates. They suggested that I put the wheels in motion for a team to cover my area now that the local teams are coming together in Glasgow, Falkirk and Edinburgh.

Up until now there has only been one team in Scotland, the Jakey Bites. When we started a year ago we had to pull together from across the country to form the numbers and to bring the men’s game to the table. Now we are looking to expand and the local teams will most certainly do that. It doesn’t mean the end of the Jakey’s though! It’s just the beginning for Scottish Men’s Derby in general!

Tell us about your plans for 2013, and where you would like to be by this time next year?

2013 is definitely the year for Scottish Men’s Derby to step up and be counted!

For The Tayminators, 2013 is the year we are going to put in the legwork to form a dedicated team and train hard to be ready to take on all challenges presented to us! I’m excited to get going! This time next year we hope to have a bouting team, possibly with a game or two under our belts! (As well as the after parties!)

How can people contact you if they would like to join your league?

The most convenient way to get in touch is on our Facebook Page. If anyone is interested, we’d love to hear from them! We are going to have our first meetings and training sessions very soon.

Although we are a men’s team, all are welcome to train with us (male and female) so if anyone from any league fancies an extra chance to skate, they are welcome to join us to train and learn. Of course, we welcome anyone that can share their experience too.

Tyne and Fear Vs The Jakey Bites-Mens Roller Derby

Image courtesy of Tyne And Fear

On the 21st of April 2012,a little bit of Derby history will be made,Scotland’s first Mens Roller Derby league,the Jakey Bites will play in their first public bout against Tyne And Fear,brother league to Newcastle Roller Girls
The bout is part of a double header,with the first bout of the day between,NRG’s Whippin’ Hinnies and Hull’s Angels Roller Dames.The action takes place at the Walker Activity Dome,Wharrier Street,Newcastle Upon Tyne,doors open at 12:30pm and entry is £4.50.