Birmingham Blitz Dames

Last updated
Birmingham Blitz Dames
Birmingham Blitz Dames.jpg
Metro area Birmingham
Country United Kingdom
Founded2006
DissolvedJuly 2021
TeamsAll Stars (A team)
Bomb Squad (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueFutsal, Newtown, Birmingham
Affiliations WFTDA
Org. typenon-profit
Website birminghamblitzdames.co.uk

Birmingham Blitz Dames (BBD) was a women's flat track roller derby league based in Birmingham in England. Founded in 2006, the league was a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). [1]

Contents

History

BBD was founded in October 2006 by American transplant Brenda Bentley (Bee Sting née Iva Issues), who introduced roller derby to the West Midlands. [2] The league was the first to form in the UK outside London, [3] and was originally named the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames. They took part in Europe's first roller derby tournament, Roll Britannia in 2009, hosted by the London Rollergirls. The tournament featured 12 teams from the UK and Germany, and was held at the historic Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. [4]

In 2009 the league was restructured and the name shortened to the Birmingham Blitz Dames. The league had two travel teams and over 70 members, recruiting and training new skaters on an ongoing basis.

The Dames were founder members of the UK Roller Derby Association. [5]

Two skaters from the league were selected for the Roller Derby World Cup in 2011: Violet Attack for Team England, [6] and Roisin Roulette for Team Ireland. [7] In 2014 Roisin Roulette was again selected to compete for Team Ireland in the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup held in Dallas, Texas. [8]

In 2021, it was announced that Birmingham Blitz Dames would merge with Central City Roller Derby to form Birmingham Roller Derby. [9]

WFTDA

Birmingham joined the WFTDA Apprentice Program in October 2014, [10] and became a full member of the WFTDA in September 2015. [11]

Rankings

Season Final ranking [12] Playoffs Championship
2015NRDNQDNQ
2016179 WFTDA [13] DNQDNQ
201785 WFTDA [14] DNQDNQ

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

London Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league and a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league were founding members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Newcastle Roller Derby (UK) is a flat track roller derby league from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The league is a member of both the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and plays by the WFTDA ruleset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Rockin' Rollers</span> Roller derby league

London Rockin' Rollers (LRR) is a flat-track roller derby league based in London, England. Founded in 2007, the league is a member of both the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlesbrough Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Middlesbrough Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in Middlesbrough, England. The league is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Steel Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Sheffield Steel Roller Derby (SSRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in August 2008,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league, based in Lincoln, England. Lincolnshire is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolly Rockit Rollers</span> Roller derby league

The Dolly Rockit Rollers (DRR) are a flat track roller derby league based in Leicestershire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central City Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Central City Roller Derby (CCR) was a women's flat track roller derby league based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Founded in 2007, the league was a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and played under the WFTDA ruleset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Glasgow Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 2007, the league consists of two travel teams, three home teams and a skater training course for players and referees. Glasgow is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA), and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

Royal Windsor Roller Derby (RWRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Berkshire, England. Founded in 2007 as Royal Windsor Roller Girls, RWRD was Berkshire's first roller derby league, and one of the first in the UK. The league trains in Ascot and plays its home games at Windsor Leisure Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger Bay Brawlers</span> Roller derby league

Tiger Bay Brawlers (TBB) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded in April 2010, the league has two teams that compete against teams from other leagues. Tiger Bay is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Dublin Roller Derby (DRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 2009, Dublin Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greensboro Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Greensboro Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league established in 2010 and based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The league consists of three home teams: the Battleground Betties, the Elm Street Nightmares, and the Mad Dollies. Each home team is named after a prominent street in Greensboro. Additionally, the league maintains two travel team, the Gate City All-Stars, which is the WFTDA charter team and competes against other WFTDA teams from around the world in sanctioned game play, and the B team, Counterstrike. Greensboro Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottingham Hellfire Harlots Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Nottingham Hellfire HarlotsRoller Derby was a flat track roller derby league based in Nottingham, England. Founded in April 2010, the league had two travel teams who played against teams from other leagues. It was a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league announced their disbanding on the 3rd of August, 2023, citing the difficulties with continuing to run a grassroots sports team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Leeds Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Leeds, England. Founded in 2007, the league has two travel teams which play against teams from other leagues across Europe. Leeds Roller Derby is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainy City Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Rainy City Roller Derby (RCRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Oldham, England. Founded as Rainy City Roller Girls in 2008, the league consists of four adult teams, which compete against teams from other leagues, and a junior roller derby team, Rainy City Juniors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfast Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Belfast Roller Derby (BRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in January 2010, the league consists of two teams that play teams from other leagues, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaside Siren Roller Girls</span> Roller derby league

The Seaside Siren Roller Girls (SSRG) was a roller derby league based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in England. Founded in 2009, the league consists of two teams, which compete against teams from other leagues. Seaside is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Rockers Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Brighton Rockers Roller Derby (BRRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Brighton in East Sussex, England. Founded in 2010, the league consists of three teams, which compete against teams from other leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Roller Birds</span> Roller Derby League

Liverpool Roller Birds (LRB) are a flat-track roller derby team based in Liverpool, Merseyside. They joined the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) in 2015, and became a member of the WFTDA Apprentice Program in December 2018. They graduated as full members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in February 2019.

References

  1. "Birmingham Blitz Dames – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. Bee on a Roll with US Craze", Redditch Advertiser , 30 October 2006
  3. Meet GRD Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , Glasgow Roller Derby
  4. "BBDD came second against all Odds. Dames get team rolling", Redditch Advertiser , 9 January 2007
  5. "Member Leagues – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. UKRDA. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  6. Mercy Less, "Team England 2011 World Cup Roster Archived 2011-10-13 at the Wayback Machine ", Derby News Network , 10 August 2011
  7. Hurt Reynolds, "World Cup Team Ireland Roster Archived 2012-01-13 at the Wayback Machine ", Derby News Network , 13 September 2011
  8. "2014 World Cup Squad | Team Ireland Roller Derby". teamirelandrollerderby.com. Team Ireland Roller Derby. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  9. Apex, The (2021-07-23). "Blitz Dames and Central City to Merge — Say Hello to Birmingham Roller Derby!". Medium. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  10. "WFTDA Welcomes New Member, Apprentice Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  11. "WFTDA Adds 15 Member Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  12. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  13. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  14. "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
Preceded by
New competition
British Roller Derby Championships Tier 3 Champions
2015
Succeeded by
Incumbent