Bristol Roller Derby

Bristol Roller Derby

Metro area	Bristol
Country	England
Founded	2010
Teams	Bristol Roller Derby A (Women's) Bristol Roller Derby B (Women's) Bristol Roller Derby Men's Team Vice Quad Bristol Roller Derby Allstars (Co-ed team)
Track type(s)	Flat
Venue	Merchants Academy Bristol
Website	www.bristolrollerderby.com

Bristol Roller Derby (BRD) is a roller derby league based in Bristol. Founded in 2010, the league consists of two women's roller derby teams, a men's team, a Co-Ed team and a fledgling juniors team. ^[1]

History

The league was founded early in 2010 by Tuisku Sarrala, Anna Wong, Laura Phillips, Laura Lopez, Maria Cormack, Simone Bennett and Verona.^{[ citation needed ]} Anna Wong, who had previously played the sport in New Zealand, became the league's head coach for the inaugural year, before returning to New Zealand in January 2011. ^[2] Originally known as the Bristol Harbour Harlots, ^[3] that title is now reserved for its travel team. By mid-2011, the league had more than seventy skaters, and had hosted a sell-out bout. ^{[4] [5]}

One of the league's founder members, Tuisku Sarrala (derby name The Blizzard), competed for Team Finland at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

On 1 November 2012, Bristol Roller Derby merged with another local roller derby team, Anarchic Die Hard Derby (ADHD). ^[9] ADHD's founders were skaters who were unable to join Bristol Roller Derby during a period in which Bristol's recruitment was closed. ^[9] Following the merger, ADHD became Bristol's fourth home team, bringing the number of active skaters to over 50. Together with officials, the Fresh Meat intake of October 2012, and non-skating members, the league membership stood at over 100 members at the beginning of November 2012.^{[ citation needed ]}

In December 2012, the league was accepted as a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association. ^[10]

In 2016, they were discussed in an article on bears associated with Bristol, in which members Grizzly and Bear Thrylls featured. ^[11]

League Structure

Travel Teams

• Bristol Roller Derby A (women's, previously known as The Harbour Harlots). ^{[12] [13]}
• Bristol Roller Derby B (women's, referred to as The Bees). ^[14]
• Vice Quad (men's team) ^[15]
• Bristol All-Stars (co-ed) ^[16]

Home Teams^{[ citation needed ]}

The league has four women's home teams:

• ADHD
• Daughters of Anarchy
• Project Mayhem
• Smash Vandals

Drop in Derby

"Drop In Derby" sessions are run for anyone over 11 wanting to skate or learn roller derby. ^[17] Unlike other training sessions organised by the league, attendees do not have to be a member of the club to participate. There are no attendance requirements or prior skating skills required.

British Roller Derby Championships

In 2016 both the women's A team and the men's team achieved promotion in the British Championships tournament, the men into tier 3 and the women into premier tier 1.

Their 2017 season was featured in the local press. ^[18]

On 16 September 2018, the Co-Ed All-Stars beat the North Wales Men's team to gain promotion into Tier 2 of the British Championships. This game was streamed on BBC Sport, a first for the team.^{[ citation needed ]}

Bouts

The table below lists the bouts played by the Bristol Roller Derby's travel teams – the Harbour Harlots

Date	Event	Home/Away	Team	Opponent	Results	Won by	Venue
11 December 2010	Tinsel and Torture	Away	Harbour Harlots	Severn Roller Torrent	138–60	SRT
15 January 2011	Star Check : First Contact	Away	Harbour Harlots	Tiger Bay Brawlers	173–37	TBB
9 July 2011	Painspotting	Home	Harbour Harlots	Severn Roller Torrent	195–91	BHH	UWE Sports Centre
13 November 2011		Away	Harbour Harlots	Croydon Roller Derby	123–117	CRD
26 November 2011		Away	Harbour Harlots	Cardiff Roller Collective: Rude Birds	134–125	CRoC
4 December 2011	I love Block'n'Roll	Home	Harbour Harlots	South West Angels of Terror: A Team	167–107	SWAT	WISE
2 June 2012	Hell and High Water	Away	Harbour Harlots	Nottingham Hellfire Harlots	203–118	NHH
9 June 2012	Grime and Punishment	Home	Harbour Harlots	Swansea City Slayers	276–46	BHH	WISE
16 June 2012	Helter Skelter Belter	Away	Harbour Harlots	Seaside Siren Roller Girls: Coastbusters (A team)	193–43	BHH
8 September 2012	Central City Rollergirls: Double Header	Away	Harbour Harlots (A)	Central City Rollergirls: Slay Belles (B team)	24–211	BHH	Doug Ellis Sports Centre
14 October 2012	October Double Header	Home	Harbour Harlots (B)	Wiltshire Roller Derby	217–130	BHHb	WISE
14 October 2012	October Double Header	Home	Harbour Harlots (A)	Croydon Roller Derby	207–138	BHHa	WISE
3 November 2012		Away	Harbour Harlots (A)	Birmingham Blitz Dames: A team	171–185	BHHa	Futsal, Birmingham
11 November 2012		Away	Harbour Harlots (B)	Norfolk Brawds	153–224	BHHb
2 December 2012		Home	Harbour Harlots (A)	Rain City Roller Derby - Tender Hooligans
2 December 2012		Home	Harbour Harlots (B)	Wolverhampton Honour Rollers
26 January 2013		Away	Harbour Harlots (A)	Dolly Rockit Rollers	116–237	BHHa	Midlands Roller Arena
2 March 2013		Home	Harbour Harlots (A)	Leeds Roller Dolls - Whip-Its	245-91	BHHa
2 March 2013		Home	Harbour Harlots (B)	Mean Valley Rollergirls	162-227		WISE
23 March 2013		Away	Harbour Harlots (A)	Big Bucks High Rollers	132-184	BHHa
13 April 2013		Away	Harbour Harlots (B)	Royal Windsor Rollergirls	204-131	RWRG
21 April 2013		Away	Harbour Harlots (A)	Lincolnshire Bombers Bombshell Bruisers	171-193	BHHa
21 April 2013		Away	Harbour Harlots (B)	Lincolnshire Bombers Damebusters	148-128

References

1. Roig, Estel Farell (8 February 2020). "15 unusual ways to get moving in Bristol". BristolLive. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
2. SPYKSMA, HANNAH (13 April 2012). "Skaters redefine the sport". Stuff. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
3. "Girls on a roll with destruction derby", Bath Chronicle , 2 August 2010
4. "Skate sport makes city comeback | This is Bristol". archive.ph. 5 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
5. "UWE Sports Centre to hold first Bristol Roller Derby public event". Guide2Bristol. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
6. "Bristol Derby girl rolls off to the world cup", Bristol 24/7, 28 November 2011
7. "Team Finland Announces World Cup Roster | Derby News Network". 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
8. Parkes, Pamela (3 December 2014). "We're on a roll with Bristol Roller Derby". Bristol 24/7. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
9. "Die Hard derby love in Bristol! | Bristol Roller Derby". 28 July 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
10. "Welcome to UKRDA Bristol Roller Derby – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
11. Parkes, Pamela (4 July 2016). "15 bears of Bristol you may not know about". Bristol 24/7. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
12. "About BRD | Bristol Roller Derby". 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
13. "Bristol Roller Derby (Women's) | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
14. "BRD Women's B Team | Bristol Roller Derby". 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
15. "Bristol Roller Derby Men | Bristol Roller Derby". 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
16. "Bristol Roller Derby (coed) | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
17. "Drop in Derby | Bristol Roller Derby". 24 July 2021. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
18. Cable, The Bristol (3 August 2017). "Clash Of The Skaters: Bristol Roller Derby". The Bristol Cable. Retrieved 19 September 2022.