Comedy Night, August 25th

Dublin Roller Girls -v- Liverpool Roller Birds

Wheeling in the Years – Ireland’s First Ever Roller Derby Bout!

Halloween Party with the DRG

 

It’s going to be fun

New Logo

Introducing our lovely new logo. Coming soon to a t-shirt near you By the very talented Dave Purcell.

Skater of the Month – September

Norma Thorax

Age: 32

When did you start skating? 4 months ago

How did you first hear about roller derby? On Facebook and through a friend.

What attracted you to the sport? There was never much heard about it, so when I went along on my first Freshmeat Sunday it opened up a whole new world for me.

What do you like most about it? I love that every bruise or knock received is purely from another skater who is so passionate about it!!! No malice at all. Just pure derby love.

What do you like least about it? A sustaining injury.  It truly sucks not being able to skate because of one. Oh and NOT having a bruise to show for all of your hard work the next day.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about joining the DRG? Do it, do it and do it!  You wont regret it.

Greatest derby moment so far: All of it.  I look forward immensely to going to training with all the girls (and guys!).

Where would you like to see the league go in the future? Having our own hall/stadium, regular bouts with international teams.

What is your favourite:

- Dublin pub: The Thomas House, followed very closely by The Duke.
- Ice-cream: Mint chocolate chip.
- Pain-reliever after practice: A cold alcoholic beverage of some sort.
- Kick-ass heroine: A very close aunt of mine who showed the whole family what true bravery and courage was.

DRG Newsletter – September 2010, Issue 3

The last month has seen another hugely successful DRG fundraiser with our Birds of Prey table quiz, articles in the mainstream and online media, the launch of the DRGs blog and another batch of Freshmeat graduated to mid-week sessions, leaving room for a brand new set of recruits. The DRG and the Rebel County Rollers have been up and down between Cork and Dublin for training sessions and we welcome the new Galway league to our derby family. There’s also another fabulous Skater of the Month for you to meet.

Q & A with Birds Of Prey! by Andrew Ronan

Q & A with Birds Of Prey was the second table quiz event organised by the Dublin Roller Girls since they skated and bashed their way onto the scene last year.  After the success of the first quiz in Doyles last February, word was spread of another night of head-scratching fun in Sweeney’s Mongrel on Dame Street.  Even though it was a school night, the basement of the pub was packed with DRG devotees crammed around tables, eager to rack their brains in the hope of winning some of the kick ass prizes on offer.

A whole bucket-load of questions was posed by the quizmaster during the evening, with each round satisfying the inner geek in all.  No matter if your specialty was movies, music, or just general malarkey nobody could have felt like they were wearing the dunce’s hat at their table.  Fans of dodgy 90’s rave music rejoiced when “Rhythm is a Dancer” blasted out of the speakers and assaulted our senses.  Movie buffs racked up the points during the round in which you had to name the movie by its last line.  The dark side was brought out in some people when they had to state the cause of death of a certain celebrity (how many people thought Mama Cass choked to death on a ham sandwich?). During the “how well do you know roller derby” round, provided you were quick enough, each table could buy a foxy derby girl to help out with any lack of roller derby knowledge.  As the round was in the latter stages of the quiz, the girls were snapped up like hot cakes by those tables scrapping for the number one spot on the leader board and those prizes.

It wasn’t all about the prize hunting though, as there was plenty of entertainment in between rounds including some brave souls showing us their best demonstration of a roller derby pack, and two up-and-coming female rappers spitting roller derby poetry like it was going out of fashion.  As usual, there was a whole manner of delicious treats such as chocolate-orange brownies and rocky road available to top off what was another excellent night in the name of the Dublin Roller Girls.

DRG in the Media and on the Web

In the last month, the DRG have appeared twice in the national press!  A reporter from the Sun tried her hand at roller derby for an article at the end of August and you might have spotted Kitty Cadaver on the front of the Sunday Tribune a few couple of weekends ago.  You can read the Tribune article in full (with photos!) here.

On the web, the DRG were featured as Geeks of the Week on Geek Girl on the Street; you can read that interview here.

Damien James O’Farrell gave along to a DRG training session last month and took some great photos of the Dublin Roller Girls in action. Check out the photos here. More of Damien’s work can be found on his website.

Roller Derby comes to Galway

The DRG were delighted by the news last month of a new roller derby league starting up in Galway. They are still in the beginning stages at the moment and we wish them the best of luck. Check out their Facebook page for updates or e-mail siobhan.g.lynch@gmail.com if you’re in the Galway area and would like to get involved.

Let’s roll! – roller derby & the DRG

Welcome to the Dublin Roller Girls’ blog. We are the first roller derby league to have been established in Ireland. Before we can regale you with tales of practices, bouts and fundraisers and introduce you to our skaters, we’ll tell you a little bit about roller derby and about the Dublin Rollers Girls league (DRG) itself.

What is roller derby?

Roller derby is a fast and furious sport played on quad roller skates. It began in the early twentieth century in the US. Roller derby in its current form began to develop in Austin, Texas about a decade ago.

How is it played and what are the rules?

Roller derby is played on an oval track, either flat or banked – the DRG play flat-track roller derby. Two teams made up of three blockers, one jammer and one pivot each compete against each other in two-minute jams over the course of an hour-long game. The blockers and pivots skate together in a pack; the pivots are basically blockers who have the added privilege of being able to take over the jammer’s role. The jammer is the point-scoring player. She scores points for every member of the opposing team she passes. Her own blockers try to help her and hinder the opponent jammer; the opposing jammers have to do everything in their power to stop her from scoring – knock her down, push her out of bounds, block her path. It’s rough, it’s ruthless and it’s a lot of fun!

Does anyone ever get hurt?

Everyone soaks up a few bruises but there are stringent rules about where you can hit people and how, and also about the minimum protective equipment that has to be worn. All derby girls have to be dolled up to the nines in helmets, mouthguards, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. Like with all sports, there are risks involved, but you won’t see any clotheslining, elbowing or punching a la Whip It!

Are the outcomes not staged, like in pro-wrestling?

Roller derby was primarily a form of sports entertainment in the twentieth century – skaters co-ordinated blocks, falls and hits and in the 60′s and 70′s the sport became like pro-wrestling in its combination of athleticism and scripting. Modern roller derby, however, is played ‘for real’ so although you might not see a five-skater pile-up or a mid-air somersault, you’ll have the excitement of knowing that every hit thrown and every point scored is as unexpected to the skaters as it is to you.

So what about the Dublin Roller Girls?

We’re a flat track roller derby league, established in Dublin in October 2009 – the first in Ireland. Our aims are to promote roller derby in Dublin and Ireland, to encourage athleticism and sportmanship in women of all ages, backgrounds and sporting abilities, to support our local community through charitable work and, of course, to become a competitive team on the roller derby circuit.

Can we see you play?

Unfortunately we have no bouts, or games, scheduled right now but keep checking back because we hope to play our first bout some time in the coming months.

This sounds really cool, how can I get involved?

Girls hoping to join the DRG and girls and guy who would like to referee or volunteer in a non-skating capacity are always welcome. You can email us at dublinrollergirls [at] gmail [dot] com to find out when we’re next taking new girls into our freshmeat training program or to find out about reffing, officiating or otherwise helping out.

Aw shucks, I’m not in Dublin. Now I’ll never have the combined thrill of speed and shouldering that roller derby offers.

Don’t panic! Rebel County Rollers are situated in Cork, and Belfast have a team too! Keep an eye on this page for girls in your area who want to get their skates on.

Where else can I keep up with you guys?

We’re on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Make sure to visit regularly so you don’t miss any DRG news!

DRG Newsletter – August 2010, Issue 2

This month we have details about the next DRGs fundraiser, feedback from last month’s Fresh Meat and information about your chance to design the new DRG logo.  There’s also news about the continuing meet-ups between leagues around the country. Hopefully we will see you all at the fundraiser on August 17th or the next Fresh Meat session on September 5th.

Q & A With Birds of Prey!
The next DRG event is a table quiz in Sweeney’s Mongrel (Le Cirk) on Dame Street, this Tuesday August 17. Tables are €20 with a max of 5 players. Our last table quiz was very well attended and we expect this one to be no different! As ever, there will be amazing prizes, fantastic cakes and buns and a general good-time to be had by all!

Do you have what it takes to go ten rounds with the DRG?!
Tuesday August 17 @ 8pm
Sweeney’s Mongrel (Le Cirk),
Dame St, Dublin 2.

Fresh Meat
Every six or seven weeks, the DRGs recruit new members. Our next Fresh Meat session is Sunday September 5th.  E-mail dublinrollergirls@gmail.com if you would like to attend. Sandra, Moa and Martina joined with the July Fresh Meat. They tell us how they found that first session and how they have been getting on since then.

“The first I heard of the Dublin Roller Girls was when they arrived into Fibbers Rock Bar one night. It was after their karaoke fundraiser and they were wearing their derby shirts and giving out tasty treats! Me and my friend Martina had been curious about roller derby ever since we saw a trailer for “Whip It”, so when we got home we looked up DRG on the Internet and befriended them on Facebook.

We saw that there was a Fresh Meat day and decided to give it a go.  I had no clue what to expect, I didn’t think I would even be able to stand up in skates. I was pretty nervous but when we got to the hall everyone was so friendly. Being paired up with a Dublin Roller Girl was really helpful.

As well as the one to one support, everyone there gave advice and positive encouragement and I was put completely at ease. It was quite the workout, I could hardly move the next day but I felt great and I’ve enjoyed every Sunday since.”
Sandra McAllister

“I crave motion to the extent that I once took up my least favourite exercise; running…twenty minutes of sheer pain for the sake of happy endorphins and self-confidence.  When I joined the Dublin Roller Girls’ Fresh Meat the emotions were mixed. I knew little of Roller Derby, and a little more after watching it on youtube. I could not remember when I last wore a pair of skates; my body stiff with fear of falling, friendly faces and voices would momentarily fade out and get replaced by the sound of my own breath.

My body was aching that week. After I swept the floor at work I stood staring at the pile of rubbish wondering how in the world I would manage to get it off the ground.

I found myself counting the days and looking forward to Sunday and I have ever since. Our bodies warm with pumping blood and eyes sore from sweat dripping down our faces. At a glance; a jungle of ruthless, lightly clothed women…but also, ladies in every possible way. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip.

This weeks practice reinforced the importance of falling correctly, as I am now paying (standing) for losing my balance and hitting my coccyx.  As our six weeks are almost coming to an end I can only cross my fingers, hoping that I can take on those corners without loosing speed. All I want for Christmas is skates!”
Moa Hogarth

“My first encounter of the Dublin Roller Girls was in Fibbers Rock Bar, myself and fellow Fresh Meater Sandra were drinking some beers when the DRG’s strolled in with the most delicious rocky road treats and envious tee’s…then came google search engine, facebook and our first fresh meat practice in Inchicore!

Going to our first day of roller derby I had no idea what to expect, I didn’t know the rules and I had never seen anybody play it in real life, so all I knew about it is what I had heard from other people, i.e. that it involved roller skates, girls and tattoos(which is nearly true!)

I used to skate and rollerblade and had been skiing when I was younger, so I had basic skating skills and the knowledge of universal stopping move that is ‘the plough’.  I had also just bought my first pair of shorts(since the age of twelve) so took the predominance of shorts within derby as a definite sign that it was meant to be!

At our first practice and indeed every practice so far, all of the girls and Chris have been extremely friendly and helpful. Learning that it is OK to fall felt quite bizarre to me in the beginning, but once I fell over a few times, that eliminated the initial fear and I realised that falling is all part of the game and is warmly welcomed amongst the team, which is great!

I really enjoy going to practice each Sunday and I am very happy I decided to try out. It may be the one of the most sweaty experiences of my life, but it is definitely one of the most fun!”
Martina McDonald

Rebel County Rollers
In the July Newsletter, there was coverage of the All-Ireland Training day in Dublin when derby girls from Cork and Belfast joined the DRGs for a morning of skating and scrimmaging. To continue strengthening the bonds between leagues in Ireland, the DRGs will be travelling to Cork for a training session with the Rebel County Rollers this Sunday. The DRGs are looking forward to meeting-up with their derby sisters again!

The RCRs had their official launch night on July 30th and you can find them their Facebook page here – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebel-County-Rollers/118498811495528

Logo Competition
The DRG are currently in the market for a new logo. If you can design a logo that is eye-catching enough to be seen on a girl’s chest as she flys round the track, we want to see it!

Logos should be sent as a vector, 300 dpis on a transparent background. They should only use three colours – black, white + 1 more and please note any fonts used. Send a colour copy and a black and white copy of your logo to dublinrollergirls@gmail.com

Deadline is 31st August 2010.

Skater of the Month – August 2010

Scarlett McCabre

Age: 29

When did you start skating? I don’t remember exactly how old I was but I remember being in big trouble when I was a little girl for kicking my roller skate through my parents patio door, they were the metal skates that you would attach to your own shoes. From then on I spent most of my childhood on rollerskates, progressed to ice skating almost every weekend in my teenage years (drunk on Hooch and Two-Dogs!) and also took a brief trip to the darkside on my brother’s roller blades (shudder).

How did you first hear about roller derby? My friend Block E. Horror from Central City Rollergirls introduced me to the sport. I went to my first practice with CCR in July 2008 but moved to Dublin shortly after, I had to go without derby for a year before I cracked and started up the DRG.

What attracted you to the sport? I just wanted to get back on wheels, it’s a bit of a throwback to my childhood I think!

What do you like most about it? I love each and every member of the league, they are such a wonderful group of girls and boys! I was pretty lonely in my first year in the country, now I don’t have time to miss Birmingham, my head is full of derby!

What do you like least about it? Pad stink.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about joining the DRG? You will LOVE it!!

Greatest derby moment so far: Texas Roller Girls and Blood & Thunder boot camps in the UK.

Where would you like to see the league go in the future? I can’t wait to start bouting other teams in Ireland and the UK and maybe someday across the world!

What is your favourite:

- Dublin pub: The Thomas House; home of far too many after training sessions!
- Ice-cream: Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food
- Pain-reliever after practice: A cold beer in a hot bath.
- Kick-ass heroine: My Gran, she’s 93 and still kicking ass!