My first Roller Derby Game (Spectating)

I’ve always wanted to watch a roller derby game as I’m curious about this strange game on wheels which has very little publicity over here in the UK. My friend Chris aka Horndog was having his debuting match so this seemed to be a good opportunity, especially then as I had a team to root for. This match was different from normal as men and women play separately. In this bout it was the Men of Southern Discomforts Roller Derby’s newly formed B Team versus the girls of Croydon Roller Derby’s Riot Squad.

You may think the guys would go easy on the girls, but no. It was pretty vicious out there. Both sides hitting back just as hard as each other. I knew the basic rules but at times I did find it hard to follow exactly what was going on. There were some exciting moments like when you see some fancy footwork with the ‘jammer,’ narrowly missing a bump from the opponent. All the more impressive that they’re all using quad skates as I find them so much harder to use than inline skates.

It was great to Chris in this game, especially since it was only a year ago he was looking a little unsteady on the Easy Saturday Skate, in Battersea Park. That man is a machine. He asked me if I wanted in on this game too. After seeing a guy get stretchered off during the match the answer is looking negative. His howling pain is still echoing. I can definitely see the appeal with school playground memories of ‘British Bulldog,’ and the whole team entity. However for me I’ve got plenty of other disciplines of skating to keep me occupied for now.