| London Rollergirls present: ROLL BRITANNIA The First European Roller Derby Tournament www.rollbritannia.com | |
The time has finally arrived: roller derby fever has been spreading through Europe like wildfire, old-fashioned roller skating is making a huge comeback, and London Rollergirls are hosting Europe’s first competitive tournament in historic Earl’s Court.
12 teams from England, Scotland and Germany will battle it out over the weekend of 18-19 July 2009 to find out who will emerge victorious as the European champions. Expect fast-skating, hard-hitting, furious derby action!
There will also be all London Rollergirls’ usual fun: huge afterparties; games and prizes; DJs playing electro, pop and punk; live commentary; stalls selling skate gear, clothes, accessories and jewellery; and a licensed bar.
Details
Venue: Brompton Hall, Earls Court, Warwick Rd, London, SW5 Dates: Sat & Sun 10am-8pm Tickets: Day tickets (plus booking fee) £16/12yrs & under £8, Weekend ticket price £30/12yrs & under £15.
Both available to buy online at www.rollbritannia.com
What’s roller derby again?
"One of Britain's fastest-growing grassroots sports… the perfect pastime for feminists with attitude" The Guardian
"Rapidly becoming the next big thing" The Independent
"The most exciting sport on wheels" Time Out
"Exhilarating speed, hard hits and a DIY spirit" thelondonpaper
It's an all-female sport played with two teams of four skating around an elliptical track, and one point-scorer per team (the "jammer") trying to battle her way past them all and lap them as many times as she can. The jammer gets one point for each opposing player she passes. You can't trip, grab or punch, but you can shove opposing players off the track using hips or shoulders, and try and knock them off balance. It originated in 1930s America, but there’s been a major new revival that started in Texas in 2001. The fact that Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Juno star Ellen Page turned up at a roller derby match in LA shows how much this independent, grass-roots sport has hit the big time. Whip It!, a film directed by Drew about a young rollergirl played by Ellen is expected to hit cinema screens later this year.
And who are the London Rollergirls?
The London Rollergirls formed in April 2006 to bring roller derby to the UK. We're made up of three league teams (Suffra Jets, Ultraviolent Femmes and Steam Rollers), and an all-star travel team (London Brawling) and reserves/B-team (Brawl Saints) that play teams from other cities around the world. London Brawling is currently undefeated against Glasgow's Irn Bruisers, Team Canada and the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames. We play to 500-capacity sell-out crowds at games (called "bouts") that also include DJs spinning rock, pop and punk; charity raffles; prizes; cupcakes; a fine merch stand and a riotous afterparty.
London Rollergirls are available for interview and brave journalists are welcome to join us for a special training session. Email [email protected] for more info, or [email protected] for images.
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