An Interview With Lily Lethal

Photograph by Dave McAleavy

The Scottish Roller Derby blog presents an interview with one of Team Scotland’s Co-Captains,Lily Lethal of Glasgow Roller Derby

How does it feel to have been chosen as Co Captain of your national squad at the first Roller Derby World Cup?

Being selected to play for my National team was really enough of a personal achievement to be honest. If I hadn’t been selected as co Captain then that would have been fine,but I didn’t take the role on half heartedly. When Crazylegs from Auld Reekie was up for the other Co Captain position, it kind of put me at ease. Despite being in different leagues, we know each other well and my previous experiences with her have always been positive ones.

What are your World Cup highlights,both personally and for the team?

I suppose on of the highlights for the team was beating Argentina and Brazil in the same day! Knuckles our bench manager said, “now that wouldn’t ever happen in football”. The team relished the chance to play against most of our Derby heroes in Team America and skating past and seeing Scotch Corner and all our fans that had travelled was fantastic support. The free lasagna and tampons were great too! as was the general atmosphere.

Do you think that the team’s performance reflects the 11th place position?

I think, that in true Scottish style, we got a difficult first group. The teams were seeded on point differential so unfortunately that put us with Australia in our first seeded bout. They ended up being fourth overall, it was a difficult game and it was our third of the day. If we had been selected in a different group, things may have been different but we were happy with 11th Place. I think New Zealand came 8th and they only beat us by 13 points.

How difficult was it for you and your Co-Captain,Crazylegs,to select teams for the opponents you faced during the World Cup?

Team selection was hard. it’s hard enough having to do it once or twice a month but 6 times in 36 hours! In between that we had to deliver both disappointing and good news to our skaters with regards to whether they were skating or not. It’s human nature to be disappointed with non-selection for whatever reason but in this instance, you didn’t really have time to dwell or get over it! Then, we had line ups to write and strategy to discuss…it was a relentless week of hard work, but we both came away from this experience knowing that we did pick the right teams for the bouts we played. In future events like this, i would probably consider only taking 16 skaters instead of the 20.

Was being Co-Captain what you expected?..and will you put yourself up for re-election when the time comes?

I don’t think that being Captain was exactly what i expected. It was hard work and i don’t think that i would put myself up for reselection. I think it’s a role that needs to be taken up by someone with a lot of Captaining and Derby life experience.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing,is there anything more Team Scotland could have done to prepare for the World Cup?

This job would have been easier if the team had the time for more practices and bouts together. This is why i feel the team should reselect skaters and Captains as soon as our term is over in march and regularly practice. To be a good Captain, i think you need a lot of respect and trust from your team it’s hard to get that when you skate for a different league and are usually seen as the opposition. This needs to be worked on regularly and practice is the only way to do it.

What did you take from your own experience of the World Cup to improve as a skater and what lessons can be learned for the team as a whole?

We all came back with our own individual goals on how we can improve ourselves and this no doubt will be passed on to our individual leagues. Roller Derby is progressing at such a fast rate that things are changing constantly and you have to be in the loop .You have to constantly evolve or you get left behind.

With the European Cup cancelled, are there any other international bouting plans?

Team Scotland had hoped to play Team Ireland in March but it doesn’t look like this is happening now. I don’t know if any other national teams are free on the 17th March? but with the Euro cup cancelled, there are no plans at yet.

Glasgow Roller Girls have a busy season with upcoming bouts against Berlin,Stockholm and Paris.What else are the Glasgow Roller Girls up to this year?

And as for Glasgow Roller Derby as we are now known……well….watch this space!
We have a BIG year ahead of us! changes all round. We as a league are heavily focused on being a constantly evolving sport! The correct image that allows us to be taken seriously as athletes is so important! We have gone through a rough patch and lost and gained some fantastic skaters. It takes time to gel as a team and this is now happening at an alarming rate! Glasgow Roller Derby are going to be a force to be reckoned with this year! We hope that our European Games will help to spread the word and with our own tournament taking place in August, it would be the icing on the cake for us to come out top and with our full WFTDA membership around the corner?…
Onwards and upwards….

Team Scotland MVP-Marla Mayhem

This is guest post from Bryan McWilliam aka Flyin’ Bryan Killman,Bryan is the manager of Chicks Ahoy! of Toronto Roller Derby and a freelance journalist from Toronto. He has covered roller derby for Gear Up For Sports and his writing portfolio can be viewed at Bryan McWilliam.com.

Last December, Blood and Thunder Magazine hosted the first-ever Roller Derby World Cup, in conjunction with Toronto Roller Derby at The Bunker in Toronto, Canada.

The tournament had several exciting moments, from the overall dominance by USA, to host country Canada playing to a silver medal. The event also featured a bout where 500 points was scored by one team and the rare appearance of a “ghost jam,” which occurred during the Ireland/Finland bout.

Team Scotland added some astounding moments of their own into the mix, having played one of the hardest hitting bouts of the weekend against New Zealand, adding their rendition of “Flower of Scotland” to the opening ceremony and scoring a thirty point jam of their own, courtesy of jammer Marshall Lawless.

However, what could arguably have been the most exciting moment of the tournament came upon its conclusion. A most valuable player award was handed out to one member of each team for their outstanding performance over the course of the weekend.

An impressive list of skaters from around the world such as Iron Wench for Canada, Francey Pants for France, Swede Hurt for Sweden, Shortstop for Australia and Joy Collision for USA earned the honour for their teams.

When Lisa Donati a.k.a Marla Mayhem, a member of Team Scotland who also plays for Glasgow Roller Girls, was announced as the MVP for her nation she had a look of wonder on her face when she ran up to accept her award and pose with the other MVP’s for the press photos.

Perhaps Marla was surprised by the announcement, but with the kind of tournament she had against some of the top skaters in the world, the award should have been expected.

Marla showed no fear from the jammer position as she fought through tough packs and took bodily damage over the course of the three days. She scored a large majority of her team’s points along with fellow jammers Lawless, Blazin Phoenix and Clinically Wasted and the tournament decided that her effort and “never say die” attitude was worthy of the MVP honour.

After getting back from the World Cup, getting over the loss of her voice, working through a mountain of work from her two businesses and spending time with her two pre-schoolers she managed to answer some questions for Scottish Roller Derby.

Bryan Mcwilliam: How did it feel playing in the first ever World Cup?

Marla Mayhem: A great honour and amazing experience. I feel hugely inspired to do better having skated with the world’s greatest skaters, especially so many in a short space of time.

BM: Did you enjoy Toronto? How do you think Blood and Thunder and Toronto Roller Derby did hosting the event?

MM: Toronto was great. I’m a fan of cities built on a grid system; it’s clean and from what I experienced, most efficient. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze in some sights too, once I recovered from our post cup celebrations.

Blood and Thunder have got off to a great start laying the foundations for future World Cup events. The tournament ran to schedule, B&T were great hosts, always available, & willing to help. Having the opportunity to get injuries dealt with on site with Dr Rick was a godsend and definitely a requisite for all future tournaments. I met some amazing people and hope I have the opportunity and good health to be up for more.

BM: What were some of your personal in-game highlights?

MM: Well, skating with athletes at the top of their game wasn’t too shabby. New Zealand was tight and that’s my kind of game. USA was crazy and brilliant together, it’s the only footage I’ve seen and I had to watch myself through my cringing fingers – those women really are something. Each game had its own merits and delivered its own highlights for different reasons, but when Team Scotland delivered what we were aspiring to, it couldn’t get any better.

BM: Did you think you would win the MVP for Team Scotland? Why do you think you were chosen?

MM: Not at all, especially as our first day was so challenging. It’s difficult to comprehend that you’re doing okay when you’re taking such a battering and defeat.

BM: If you could give your MVP award to any one of your team-mates who would it be?

MM: I think I’d need to share it with Wild Oates, Marshall Lawless & Mistress Malicious. Malicious knows tactics and play like no-one else. I love watching her thought process filter from brain to skate – as ever, it was in top form in Toronto. Oates and Lawless have been training like devils and it really shows; every time I see them they get fitter, stronger and up the challenge for the opposition.

BM: What does the future hold for Marla Mayhem in life, in derby and in any other interesting aspects?

MM: Ah, life. I’m shifting the whole focus of my life, work and derby this year. I am intending to make 3 training sessions this year, 2011 I was lucky to make 1 or 2. We have a great season lined up – Berlin, Paris, Malmo, and Rainy City – and I’d like to bring my best to the Glasgow Roller Girls’ Irn Bruisers. I have 2 young daughters whom I’ll be mainly hanging out with until August when they start nursery and primary school, a bit of skating with them hopefully. I have 2 businesses, one of which I will be stepping back from, the second of which, I launched last year ,Psycho Pants, and will be putting my energies into progressing that to the next phase.

Off-skates training I try to build into normal life, for example cycling with the girls in a trailer in the back, running to the shops, squats in the garden, etc. I loathe wasteful time, like sitting on a bus or in the car when I could cycle, walk, do something rather than nothing. Other than that, random things I’d like to do is explore the old, disused underground network in Glasgow, it’ll be freaking scary, but good scary. I’d also like to try trapeze and to design a font.

The future seems bright and busy for Marla Mayhem as she looks to bring her success from the World Cup to her home team in Glasgow. If she keeps up the type of play she did in December she will definitely be a skater to watch for as the Glasgow Roller Girls season begins in 2012

Many thanks to Bryan for this interview and to Dave McAleavy for kindly supplying the photo of Marla Mayhem.

An Interview with Tarce

Tarce in action at the Roller Derby World Cup in December - photo courtesy of Dave McAleavy

The skaters always seem to be the stars of the Roller Derby show, but realistically, a live bout would dissolve into chaos if we didn’t have Team Line Up Managers, Bench Managers and Non-Skating Officials (NSOs).

Tarce, a skater with Glasgow Roller Girls, unexpectedly found herself positioned as Line-Up Manager for Team Scotland only a few weeks before the World Cup kicked off! The person in this role is a vital part of any team as they take the time to understand each skater’s strengths and weaknesses, and can make clear decisions on which skaters will play together per jam, and how to recover when players are sent to the penalty box.

We catch up with Tarce to hear how she found the World Cup experience and just what the job entails.

How did you become involved with Roller Derby?

It was back in February 2010 when I got a message about the Glasgow Film Festival on Facebook. The message also contained a part about a roller derby bout that Saturday between Glasgow Roller Girls and London Rockin’ Rollers. Now I’d never heard of roller derby before but something about women on skates possibly hitting each other somehow drew my interest! I decided to go along by myself to check it out and as soon as I entered the room I knew I was in the right place for me! So this was where the cool people hung out!

I went along to the after party too and got talking to one of the refs (who I’d met before through our mutual tattooist) and him and his lovely wife talked me into coming along to the next newbie intake, which just happened to be that same Tuesday! I also remember talking to a rather drunk Marla Mayhem of GRG and the Fabulous Mighty Mighty Bash of LRR and thinking these were women I could definitely get along with.

I plucked up the courage to go along to newbies that very Tuesday and managed not to break anything or embarrass myself too much .. and I’ve been hooked ever since!

How did you get involved in Line-Up in general, and what made you sign-up for the World Cup?

Haha now here comes the funny part! When I did the line up managing for Team Scotland’s first game against New Zealand at the World Cup, that only the second time I had ever done it! To say I was slightly nervous would be a small understatement; I’d much rather have been skating at that point that much I knew!

Back in February last year, Viper, our head of league training at GRG at the time, was in the first stages of trying to organise a national team for Scotland and she was desperate for people to help out. To play to my strengths, I volunteered to administer the Team Scotland forum as I sit in front of a computer all day at work and I’d done that sort of thing before anyway.

To cut a long story short, before I knew it I was Chairperson of Team Scotland and I was off to Toronto in a few weeks! It was at that late stage that the person we had in the role told us that due to family commitments she would be unable to attend theWorld Cup. My one previous time doing line-ups (TS vs Northern Allstars) had filled the captains with enough confidence that they asked me to do it again for Team Scotland – the crazy fools! Well, I was going to be there anyway and I knew all the skaters, whats the worst that could happen?!

What makes a good Line-Up Manager?

Well you definitely need to remain calm and focussed in the eye of the storm! Exuding an air of confidence and that you know what you’re doing are very important too (even if you are actually bricking it inside!). You have to make instant decisions and stick to them. Stay focussed on whats happening on track and in the penalty bin and listen to what the bench manager is shouting at you too. You have to be able to be firm with the skaters as well as they will either be giving you puppy dog eyes to go on next, moaning that they want to go on with their best buddy or crying cos they ain’t getting played enough! It’s a tough job! You’ve also got to keep an eye on them, especially the jammers, to see how tired they are and if they maybe need to sit off for a couple to get their breath back. Its definitely not a job to take on if you want to get a good view of the bout, that’s for sure!

How did you prepare for the World Cup?

When I realised that I was going to be the one doing the job, I made sure I went along to all the training sessions and watched and got to know all the skaters that weren’t from my own league. I needed to familiarise myself with the roles they played when skating; who only blocked, who would jam and block, who was confident pivoting, etc. I’d have liked to have been able to perform the role at more bouts or even scrimmage sessions but unfortunately there just wasn’t the time.

I also spoke to Knuckles, our bench manager and got as much information and tips from him as possible. He does an amazing job and it was great working with him.

Has the experience changed how you would manage Line-Up in future?

I don’t want to do it ever again! Haha. Seriously though, I did gain a lot of confidence in the role by being thrown in at the deep end; it is full on and it is stressful but at the end of the day as long as you get enough skaters on track you’ve done your job! Lol. If I do it again in future I wont worry so much about trying to stick to the written line-ups provided by the captains; after that first person goes to the penalty bin you can basically throw them out the window. Just stick to the general ethos in your head of what they want and just go with what feels and looks right to you at the time. I think trying to work to that bit of paper definitely made things more stressful. So I guess the lesson to learn is: know your skaters well, know their strengths and weaknesses and know the tactics that the captains are playing to.

What do you think the World Cup has done for Roller Derby in Scotland?

It’s really given skaters new enthusiasm and motivation! Something new to aim for; who wouldn’t want to make it on to their country’s national team! We showed this year that Scotland is definitely a force to be reckoned with and basically anything is possible for us. Roller derby is going to keep on growing exponentially from here, its going to be huge and Scotland has a chance to be a big name in the sport. We have some amazing new skaters coming through who have a real hunger to do well. I see great things ahead for us! This first World Cup for a bit of an experiment really but it totally worked! I cannot wait to see what the next one will look like… it’s going to be immense! Watch out USA, Scotland is coming for you!

Do you have any advice for anyone considering becoming a Line-Up Manager for their local league?

All those non-skating roles are vitally important to the sport as a whole; if we didn’t have people to fill bench and NSO roles then we couldn’t play, simple as! All leagues need those people that are dedicated to the sport and want to do their bit even if it doesn’t involve skating. And the skaters are hugely thankful that they come along and do what they do.

Come along as often as you can for scrimmage sessions especially. Get to know everyone and feel part of the team. Know the rules inside and out and watch as much roller derby as you can – just like being a skater really! Practice makes perfect, the more you do it the more confident you will get. I don’t think there are any big secrets to it, it’s just about being level headed, sensible and logical really. And if the skaters know they can rely on you they will love you forever!

An Interview With Ballistic Whistle

In another World Cup interview,we talk to Ballistic Whistle,Head Coach of Team England

Photo of Ballistic Whistle by Dave McAleavy

At the World Cup,Team England placed a well deserved third,how does it feel to have represented your country and managed a squad of skaters to such an amazing achievment?

Well, technically I haven’t represented my country….being Australian and all. I did take a sick joy from writing myself into what my countrymen would consider the wrong side of that classic sporting rivalry though. However, I do feel that English derby is truly where my heart lies. Having invested so much time and effort into the sport in this country it was emotional to have the opportunity to lead a team of excellent skaters at an event which saw sickening amounts of national pride.

From the streamed footage everything seemed to run very well,what were your impressions of the World Cup?

I thought it was really well produced for a first event of its kind. Obviously there were some elements that I would’ve preferred were different – for example the pillars in the middle of the track – but given the scale of the event I thought Black Dahlia did an amazing job of pulling together something that no-one, up until now, had decided to brave attempting.

What are your World Cup highlights? Both personally and for the Team

My actual highlight from the world cup can’t go in print so I’ll just say that I loved the New Zealand Haka as well as watching the USA v USA bout. The thing that really sticks with me was just seeing so many different countries representing their brand of derby. It was great to watch. That, and being able to coach some fantastic skaters that I don’t normally get the opportunity to.

Team England drew a varied group with Ireland and Argentina,interestingly, Team Ireland featured some skaters from The London Roller Girls,given that those skaters are well versed in the way you work,how did that affect your tactics for that bout?

Well, for whatever reason Team Ireland chose not to play those skaters in our game against them. We had the luxury of being able to observe the Ireland team before we played them so had an idea of how they were going to set themselves out. Having said that, they certainly played a style we weren’t expecting and made our opening game really tough which, given points differential was vital to the knockout phases, put a little extra pressure on us for the remaining group game.

A sizeable chunk of the Team England squad had played in the Eastern Region Playoffs as part of the London Roller Girls team where you were also Coach,how much of an edge do you think that experience gave you over most of the other teams in the World Cup?

Getting better by playing better teams is one of the hard and fast derby truths that LRG swears by, so having the opportunity to go to Regionals just made those participating players stronger, both physically and mentally. I can imagine that a lot of the players at the cup would never have felt the experience of being involved in such a large-scale, high-profile event such as that, so having players who were able to put all that to one side and focus on the job at hand was quite advantageous to us

Argentina were one of the unknowns in the competition,how impressed were you with them and the newer,less established teams?

It was almost impossible for us to do research on many of the unknown teams. Footage doesn’t exist and you only really find some snippets of the one or two “stars” playing with their own league. Argentina and Brazil were especially exciting to watch during the cup as they were essentially representing the newest frontier of derby (out of the teams at the cup anyway). I was incredibly impressed with how well Finland did and am just sad that I didn’t have more free time to catch more of their games.

Looking back at England’s World Cup bout scores,it seems that you sailed through almost every match,however,scores rarely reflect how hard fought a bout was,who among your opponents gave you the hardest bouts?

The Canada game was the toughest by far. We never really got into the game and were working hard just to stay within touching distance. We got off to a terrible start against Australia, but just needed to take a breath, have a chat, and we were able to regain control of that one. For me, the most unexpectedly tough game we played was against Ireland. Not because it was our first bout of the tournament, not because it was played at 9:30am on a Friday, but because Ireland played a really strong, disciplined game. They gave us a fight right from the start and pretty much made us re-evaluate our tournament game plan.

What do you think of the European Cup that has recently been announced?,can we expect to see Team England there?,or do you have any other international bout plans?

I love the idea of a Euro Cup. I think whoever takes responsibility for organising it is going to have to deal with headaches Blood & Thunder avoided, now that the teams are established and have a voice. Something that Dahlia started catching more and more as the prep for the World Cup went on. I would hate for a Euro Cup to happen without Team England there. The team took the festive season off, but we’re going to be discussing how we want to move the forward in 2012. Obviously a lot of the players have hectic derby schedules already, so working out how we can fit it in is going to be somewhat tricky. As for other international bouts, there are some things that are being discussed, but I can’t divulge anything at this stage.

2012 will be an exciting time for Roller Derby here.There are new full WFTDA and apprentice leagues all over Europe and the Track Queens competition coming up for them later in the year,plus the European Cup.All of which can only improve the standard of the sport right across the board.How do you see the future of Derby in Europe?

I have fingers crossed that WFTDA will consider formalising the European Region in terms of the existing Big5 tournaments. It’s going to be tough to work out how a Region with such a small number of teams and such a diverse ability level will fit into their tournament structure though. That’s a task I don’t envy. I’m hoping that the Euro Cup will give an opportunity to some other European Countries to establish their national teams as well. The Track Queens tournament is really exciting as well. I realise there have been localised tournaments such as Tattoo Freeze and Highland Fling, but I’m hoping this can be the spiritual continuation of Roll Brittania wihich is now so long overdue. 2011 saw me witness European teams playing strategies that were less than 3 months old at the time. That many of the established teams have reached that point means their progress should accelerate even more rapidly in 2012. Exciting stuff.

Many thanks to Ballistic Whistle for taking the time to do this interview

Roller Derby World Cup 2011-Photography Round Up

Just in case you haven’t quite had your fill of World Cup pictures,here is a round up of some of the best.

Kicking off with the official Team Scotland photographer,Dave McAleavy
As you might expect,lots of shots of Team Scotland in action and all of the superb quality that marks all Dave’s work.

Sean Murphy is head photographer for the Renegade Derby Dames,Alliston,Ontario and has an impressive array of galleries,covering not only the World Cup,but also a range of bouts that feature some of the top names in American and Canadian Roller Derby.It’s a superb site and he has a great beard!

Jason Ruffell has some excellent World Cup work on show,including some of Team Scotland and Team England.Plus an archive of top English bouts that goes back to 2009.

Greg Russell has some amazing work,split into days rather than bouts.

Colorado based Wicked Shamrock Photography has a lot of quality work covering Team Ireland,click,’Roller Derby’ then ‘Special Events’

Team Finland photographer Marko Niemelä has an excellent gallery on his national team.

Please note:All images on these sites are the property of their respective photographers,permission must be obtained before reproducing these images.

An Interview with Wild Oates

The first-ever Roller Derby World Cup may be over, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped talking about it!

Team Scotland secured a very respectable 11th seed, and made a great impression on the other teams and commentators alike. One of the most-talked about Scottish skaters was Wild Oates, from Glasgow Roller Girls, who gained quite a reputation for scoring Team Scotland’s only point against the favourites, Team USA. She was even rewarded with a custom designed t-shirt from their star jammer, Juke Boxx! We catch up with Wild Oates on her return from Toronto to ask, “How was it for you?”

First of all, huge congratulations on your performance in the World Cup! It was great to see the support for Team Scotland from fans back home, but what was the support like over in Toronto?

We had a little group of fans that came and showed support during each bout we played and that was seriously awesome. We also ran out of merchandise to sell on one of the days. Those Team Scotland T-shirts proved to be quite popular so we may have gained a couple of new fans during the weekend!

How did you and the team react when you found out that you’d be up against Team USA in your second bout?

I was watching the live draw on DNN when it was picked and I actually screamed when I realised we would be getting the chance to play either Canada or USA in the first bouts. I may have done a little dance around the sofa when it finished and I knew we were up against New Zealand and USA. Then of course anxiety set in as there are 20 skaters on the team but only 14 can picked for each roster. I think the Captains had a really hard time deciding who would play in each game. I know they wanted to go in all guns blazing against New Zealand to ensure we got a good position in the initial seeding. The USA game was more of an opportunity to play against derby royalty. I don’t think anyone had any misconceptions that we were going to come out on top against their line up. However, it was all very exciting to get to be a part of it.

Once the group line-ups were revealed, how did you prepare for the challenge ahead? It must have been tough knowing that you’d be playing your first two bouts within a couple of hours of each other!

Well, a few of us only landed in Toronto an hour before Team Scotland’s scheduled training time the day before our first bouts. It was a case of getting up at 5am in Glasgow, jumping on a seven hour flight, landing in Toronto and getting in a hire car to the venue before strapping my skates on for a two hour practice. Panic did start to creep in as the tiredness didn’t make for particularly good balance and agility! I had planned to stay at The Bunker to watch the Team USA vs Team USA but had to make the decision to go back to the apartment to try and get some rest before the next day, which in the end was the best idea as by about 8pm I was close to tears I was so tired.

The first two bouts we played the following day were only 20 min periods so shouldn’t have been as physically taxing as we would normally be used to. Getting knocked about by the amazing blockers of Team NZ and Team USA was quite gruelling though. When we then found out we’d be playing Australia later on and it was their first bout of the day, we were a little concerned we may not have as much reserve energy as they might do coming into the bout fresh. I think we all just tried to stay hydrated and make sure we ate something sensible in between bouts. Some of us even managed to have a nap in the skater’s area but I was too nervous for that.

What was it like skating with the tournament favourites, Team USA, and then getting presented with a custom-made t-shirt from them?

Well, before the bout I was speaking to one of the skaters from New Zealand and they had likened blocking against Team USA to “trying to hit very fast moving refrigerators”. I think that’s a pretty good description. Those skaters have cores of steel and it’s impossible to move them! Even holding one of their jammers back for a second felt like a huge achievement, as they ran round us scoring at least 30 points each jam – ha ha! At one point Deranged turned to block me backwards and I tried to run at her chest to no avail, she may even have smiled at my attempts to budge her. But hey, once you’ve played against skaters like that, you are never going to worry about being hit by anyone again as you’ve been hit by the best!

The lovely Juke Boxx made my t-shirt as she had seen my rambling DNN interview. Our bench manager Knuckles found me, said he had a surprise for me and I had to follow him. I was convinced it was a hilarious cunning plan to get me back working on the Team Scotland merch stall but instead he led me to Juke Boxx and Disco who presented me with the shirt and took my photo. Disco customized it, Juke wrote my name and Fisticuffs mum wrote the script underneath. I kind of want to wear it everyday then get buried in it but I’m worried if I put it anywhere near a washing machine I’ll ruin it, so currently it’s hanging up in my bedroom as an amazing souvenir of an awesome weekend.

What was your most memorable experience of the tournament?

Possibly when my girlfriend Jen came out with a birthday cake at the end of our final game against Brazil and the team sang Happy Birthday to me, I ended up bursting out into tears. There were loads of memorable moments on track. Lawless getting that 30 point power jam in our first game was a pretty big one. Marla being awarded MVP was another. Thank goodness Dave McAleavy was with us to capture them all on film for us!

You skated alongside some extremely talented skaters – did you pick up any top tips from them, or strategy plans that you’re keen to try out back in Glasgow?

I think everyone probably took something different away from their experience. I was already aware of my need to improve my posture and stride and getting put on to jam a few times during the weekend really hammered home the importance of me improving these as I just wasn’t anywhere near as quick as the other jammers once I was out of the pack. Also Team USA hit you really effectively, just in the right spot to buckle your knees from under you – learning to do that would be pretty useful!

There have already been rumours of a European Cup – if this materialises, would you try out for Team Scotland again?

Definitely! Any chance to play more derby will see me trying out for the team. It would be great to play against more of the European Teams as Germany was the only one we had the chance to at the World Cup.

Are there any plans to catch-up with skaters from the international teams sometime soon? I bet you met lots of people that you’ll want to stay in touch with!

Well, they all have an open invitation to come and stay in Glasgow whenever they like! I’m a bit socially awkward at the best of times so wasn’t particularly great at walking up to amazing skaters and striking up conversation, but luckily for the socially inept like myself there is Facebook so I can stay updated if there are any meet-ups arranged. My league, Glasgow Roller Girls, are playing some European teams (Berlin,Paris,Malmo) this year so hopefully I’ll be seeing a few familiar faces.

What about your Team Scotland teammates? Can we expect a reunion and a challenge for ‘the best of the rest’ of Scotland’s roller derby players?

I think there are hopefully going to be more bouts on home ground for Team Scotland, the team stays fixed until March and then there is another selection so I’m sure the current Captains are keen to organise some bouts before then. There was talk of organising regular training sessions which I am excited about.

What advice would you give to skaters who want to try out for the next international roller derby tournament, whenever that may be?

Even if you don’t think you’ll get on the team, try-out anyway and play your heart out, you might surprise yourself. I had pretty much decided there was no way I would be selected for the team but saw the try-outs as an extra opportunity to skate with girls I hadn’t trained with before and perhaps learn something new. I was totally over the moon when I got the call to say I’d made it on the roster.

An Interview With Violent Bob

Photo courtesy of Wicked Shamrock Photography

In the first of a series of post World Cup interviews,we talk to Violent Bob,Head Coach of All Ireland Roller Derby.

You have managed a national team and represented your country at a world class event,can you put into words how that feels?

It feels amazing. Thinking back to only a mere 2 years ago when Dublin Roller Girls held their first meeting, and I myself pulled on a pair of skates for the first time and started this journey, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be coaching the first national team at the first ever World Cup. It’s been a long year that involved a lot of hard work from a lot of people, and it was a tough week while we were over there, but it was an experience like no other and I’m proud to have been a part of it.

What were your impressions of the World Cup?

I know there has been some backlash from supporters, podcasts etc, regarding the live stream, the venue, the pillars which blocked people’s’ view etc, but I can genuinely say that the atmosphere at the event was incredible. I think there has been a definite divide between those who were there and those who watched online. The closeness of the crowd to the track, the packed bleachers, flags, the banners, the sheer noise and volume… I’ve never known anything like it. The support was brilliant, (I think Team Ireland converted a lot of the neutral fans which was nice), and the camaraderie in the locker room between all of the teams was fantastic as well. It felt like a mini-community in the venue, between teams, staff, supporters, I really can’t speak highly enough about the whole thing.

I also think that everyone was big enough to realise that it was the first time something of this magnitude had taken place. There were some issues with the buses to get everyone to and from the venue etc, simple logistical things like that, but honestly I think everyone just rolled with the punches. It can only improve, I think everyone will be able to learn from this event and it will help it run more smoothly next time.

What are your World Cup highlights?

There are a few things that really stood out to me over the weekend. From a Team Ireland point of view, finishing in the Top Ten was THE highlight. We’d gone over with that as our goal, and we were delighted to have achieved it.

Otherwise, a few more specific things, the performance against Team England was huge for us. Granted, the scoreline got away from us a little in the end when England won out by a score of 199 to 64, but to have rattled them the way we did with only a 20 point difference going in at halftime, and to have pushed them all the way and make them work for every point that they scored, this was really like a Team Ireland “Coming Out” party! We showed the world that day that we were here to play, no matter who the opponent. I think I speak for everyone on the team when I say that we felt like we won that bout!

The bout against Team Finland was another highlight, the closest game of the whole tournament, and what so many people came to tell me was the high point of their weekend.

On a personal note as well, I also enjoyed how the crowd got behind us. I’d jokingly dubbed us the “Green Machine” before the tournament until someone could come up with a better nickname, but it seemed to stick, and to hear huge sections of the crowd chanting that back at us gave me goosebumps. Definitely something I’ll never forget!

Ireland drew quite a mixed group with England and Argentina as opponents,obviously England were always going to be a hard team to play,but Argentina were one of the competitions unknowns,how do you prepare tactics for teams that so little is known about?

This admittedly was a tricky task. There was talk about the Argentina team being the unknown entity in the tournament, but I was adamant all along that we would go into every bout with the same approach. We knew that we had quality in our team, but that people would underestimate us due to our lack of experience – I stressed to the team before every bout that we needed to respect our opponent no matter who they were.

Like many teams in the competition,Ireland’s squad was made up of skaters of different levels of experience and some of your skaters had only bouted a handful of times,what difficulties did that raise?

We made sure to get experience together as a team prior to travelling for the tournament. By bouting three times in the UK before we went over, it meant that regardless of people’s’ experience in terms of bouts with their home leagues, we had plenty of time on the track together and this helped enormously when we went into our games in Canada.

The only other concern was the 3 skaters we had practice and meet with the team for the first time when we arrived, Wile E Peyote, Canadian Psycho and Pippi Strongsocking. However after our practice session together it was clear that these skaters were fitting in beautifully, so it worked out perfectly!

Ireland’s bout with Finland was one of the most exciting of the whole competition to watch,how was the bout for you?

Stressful! Looking back on it now, it was a hell of a bout, so back and forth, and had we had maybe one more jam, who’s to say the result might not have been different?! I’ve never been one to get hung up on the “what ifs?” though. All credit to Team Finland, they’re an amazing team with an amazing coach, we’d both wanted the chance to play one another during the tournament and I’m glad it turned out to be such a great bout.

For me, that one was where I feel like I could have done more. Feel like I spent a lot of time yelling at the officials rather than focusing the team, and I think I got something of a reputation among the officiating crew after that bout!

But it was awesome. I love that Team Finland went on to finish 5th in the world, they deserved it, but we’ll definitely be hitting them up for a rematch!

Part of Derby is learning from all your opponents,whatever their skill level,what lessons have you learned from the teams you faced during the competition?

We learned something from every team we played, without a question.

The heart of Team Argentina and Team Brazil, both of whom played every game with a smile on their face and took on all comers. The improvement shown over the course of the weekend was nothing short of breathtaking, and if they can do what they did in the space of 3 days, they’ll definitely be ones to watch in a few years!

Team England taught me that no matter how much a game might go differently to how you expect it to, by sticking to what you do well and keeping your head, you can effectively shut down an opponent and finish the game ruthlessly.

Team Finland, I can’t say enough about. They taught not only me, but the whole world, that experience might stand to a lot of people, but clean, disciplined play, staying out of the box, and working together as a shiny silver machine will win out.

And Team Germany, with no disrespect to anyone else we played over the weekend, were simply the strongest team we played. I think skater for skater our two teams matched up very well, but on the track… those walls were impenetrable! They played a super effective team game and fully deserved to win the 9th/10th place game. Another rematch we’ll definitely be looking for though!

What has the press and public reaction been like in Ireland,since the team returned from Canada?

It’s been excellent, I must say. The cynic in me would say that it’s a pity that despite our best efforts before we went over, no-one wanted to know, but since coming home, I’ve had both RTE and The Irish Times contact us for interviews and coverage, which can only benefit the sport.

This also seems an opportune moment to say a massive thank you to the online support we got from people all over the world, but especially those in Ireland. One of my favourite parts of every day was getting back to the hotel and checking in to Facebook to read the outpouring of well wishes and support. You’re all awesome, thank you!

What do you think the interest in Roller Derby generated by the World Cup will do for the sport in Ireland?

Like I said, I hope it will just raise the profile. With more media coverage, we might attract more sponsors, attract more freshmeat, attract bigger crowds… The possibilities are endless! Also, I truly believe it will raise the bar for the existing leagues. Like I said to the skaters when I got home, 2 years ago the Dublin Roller Girls, and Roller Derby itself, barely existed in Ireland, and we go on to finish tenth in the world. There’s talk of another tournament 2 years from now, and so I expect Ireland to be even stronger next time around.

With the first Roller Derby World Cup a success,there have been fresh suggestions of a European Cup,what do think of that idea?

Where do I sign up?!

Roller Derby World Cup 2011 Schedule

It’s finally here,the first ever Roller Derby World Cup,thirteen national teams from across the world,two hundred and sixty skaters plus support staff.All gathered in Toronto on the eve of making Roller Derby history.Win or lose,each of these girls will go home to their respective countries as Derby royalty.

Just in case you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks,lets rewind to the Preliminary Groups draw..

 

So that gives us four Groups,three with three teams and the remaining Group with four, each team will play the other teams in their Group and the results will be used to sort out a seeding order for the elimination phase of the competition.The Groups look like this…

Group A

Brazil – Sweden – Canada – France

Group B

Australia – Finland – Germany

Group C

New Zealand – USA – Scotland

Group D

Argentina – Ireland – England

Here are the bout times for the first two days….please note these times are UK/GMT

Thursday 1st December

10 P.M., Track 1: Canada vs. France
10:30 P.M., Track 2: Australia vs. Germany
11:20 P.M., Track 1: Argentina vs. Ireland
11:50 P.M., Track 2: New Zealand vs. U.S.A.
12:40 A.M., Track 1: Brazil vs. Sweden
1:10 A.M., Track 2: Australia vs. Finland
2 A.M., Track 1: USA vs USA expo bout

Friday 2nd December

2:30 P.M., Track 1: England vs. Ireland
3 P.M., Track 2: New Zealand vs. Scotland
3:50 P.M., Track 1: Canada vs. Sweden
4:20 P.M., Track 2: Finland vs. Germany
5:10 P.M., Track 1: Brazil vs. France
5:40 P.M., Track 2: Scotland vs. U.S.A.
6:30 P.M., Track 1: Argentina vs. England
7 P.M., Track 2: France vs. Sweden
7:50 P.M., Track 1: Brazil vs. Canada
9 P.M. – 10:30: Welcome Ceremony: Parade of Nations
10:30 P.M. – 3 A.M.: Beginning of elimination round

And start/finish times for the elimination and placement phase,which takes up the remaining two days.

Saturday 3rd December

2:30 P.M. – 1:30 A.M.: Elimination and placement rounds

Sunday 4th December

3:30 P.M. – 11:30 P.M.: Elimination and placement rounds
11:30 P.M. – 3 A.M.: Closing celebration and awards

Finally,you can watch it all here

Team Australia-Roller Derby World Cup 2011

Image courtesy of Team Australia

Last,but by no means least in the World Cup team roundup we have Australia.
Roller Derby is really well established in Australia,there are almost 80 leagues that are well supported by both fans and the media, many leagues regularly feature in their local press, radio and even on tv.There are regional competitions and many Australian skaters are no strangers to large scale bouts,having played at the likes of The Great Southern Slam.

Final Roster:
Amykazee,Bambi Von Smasher,King Cam and Short Stop Canberra Roller Derby League
Blockodile Dundee,Cookie Cutter,Lady-Killer,Muzzarati,Rose Rruin,Scully.Slawat Dawta and XL Sun State Roller Girls
Fang Fiend and Juke Nukem Brisbane City Rollers
Dodge & Bolt Coastal Assassins Roller Derby
Haterade Sydney Roller Derby
Ruby Rib Crusher and U Sooze U Lose Victorian Roller Derby League
Susy Pow Newcastle Roller Derby League
Tricksey Beltem Adelaide Roller Derby

Coaching Staff:
Mark Madden from SSRG

The sheer size of the country and the cost involved in travel means that Team Australia have not played any warm up bouts or been able to have the entire team together for any practise time.However,many of their skaters are from experienced and well established leagues and may not need much time to gel as a team,plus they will be eager to show everyone that down under Derby is a force to be reckoned with.

Team Brazil-Roller Derby World Cup 2011

Image courtesy of Roller Derby Brazil

Roller Derby is a brand new thing in Brazil,all their leagues were formed in the last year or two and if you were to add up all the Brazilians involved in Derby,it would come to less than 200 people.Getting recognition for any sport that isn’t Football in Brazil is like pushing custard uphill,as a result practise venues and sponsors are hard to come by and many of the Brazilian leagues practise outdoors.That is not their only difficulty,items like skates and wheels are another obstacle,due to high import taxes in Brazil,skaters can expect to pay up to three times the cost price to have them delivered from outside the country.Despite all this,there are already ten leagues across Brazil and i suspect the national team appearing at the World Cup will inspire others to start their own leagues or join the existing ones.

Team Roster
Brazil have somewhat oddly opted not to have derby names,but among their skaters are
Brazilian Bombshell of South Bay Derby Mizfitz
Brazilian Nut of Gotham City Roller Derby
Matadora of Stuttgart Valley Roller Girlz
the rest of the squad come from Sugar Loathe Derby Girls , Ladies Of Hell Town , Gray City Rebels and Capital City Derby Dolls

Coaching staff
Head Coach: Lyon Aragão-Sugar Loathe Derby Girls.
Assistant Coaches: Denis Araki-Ladies Of Hell Town.
and Ju Leal-Gray City Rebels.

Information is a little hard to come by,but as far as i can find out Team Brazil have played no warm up games,in fact ,it would appear that no league in Brazil has actually bouted yet!So,playing at the World Cup will be their first bouts,international skaters aside.Those first two games will be against Sweden and Canada,which will make for a pretty steep learning curve for them.
Team Brazil have seemed to have the most difficult journey to Toronto out of the participating teams and potentially are the team that will learn the most from the experience.