London Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league.[1] The London Rollergirls play to the rules of - and are a member of - the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[2] The London Rollergirls are founding members of the United Kingdom's national governing body of roller derby, United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA), alongside other leagues within the UK.[3][4] The league has four active travel teams which play competitive roller derby across the UK and the world: London Brawling (A), Brawl Saints (B), Batter C Power (C) and a newly created D-team, which are yet to be named.[5] London also has a recreational league; recruiting new-level or 'rookie' level skaters for their Roller Derby Fundamentals course from the Greater London area.[6]
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating counter-clockwise around a track. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly inside the United States.
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition (ULC), but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501(c)(6) business league organization, a type of nonprofit organization.
The United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) is the National Association for roller derby in the UK. The association was formed in 2010 with 15 member leagues, and was recognized by the British Roller Sports Federation soon after.
Founded as London Rollergirls by Courtney Welch (known on the ring as '"Bette Noir"),[2] Lauren Langston and Danielle West, London is the oldest all-female roller derby league in the United Kingdom.[1] Since London Rollergirls began in April 2006,[1][7] the league has grown to include over 60 members, plus referees and support crew. The London Rollergirls held the first public women's flat track roller derby bout held in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2007,[8] to a sold-out crowd of over 500 people. The London Rollergirls held their first British inter-league bout in March 2008 against the Glasgow Rollergirls' travel team; The Irn Bruisers, and their first international bout in June 2008 against Team Canada,[9] a Canadian team made up of members from Toronto Roller Derby, Oil City Derby Girls (Edmonton), Terminal City Roller Girls (Vancouver), Calgary Roller Derby Association, and Saskatoon Roller Derby.[9]
Team Canada represents Canada in women's international roller derby. The current team was first formed to compete at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup, and finished the tournament in second place to Team USA, losing the final 336 points to 33. Team Canada has finished in the top four at each Roller Derby World Cup thus far.
Toronto Roller Derby (ToRD), is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 2006, the league started play in 2007, and held its tenth season in 2016. Operated and managed by its skaters and members, ToRD has four house teams, one rookie team, and two travel teams. Since 2011, the league has operated out of a space in Downsview Park, but announced in January 2015 that they were in search of a new home.
Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor".
In July 2009, the London Rollergirls hosted Europe's first roller derby tournament, "Roll Britannia", featuring twelve teams from the UK and Germany. The tournament was held at the historic Earls Court Exhibition Centre at Earls Court in London, England. London won the tournament, and became the first champions of European roller derby. On 4 November 2009, London Rollergirls joined the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) under their Apprentice Programme, and graduated to full membership status in June 2010. London was the first league outside North America to become a member of the WFTDA.[2][10] The London Rollergirls won the British Airways Great Britons competition in Winter 2009; providing them free tickets on BA to fly to the United States of America east coast in April 2010 - to train with and play some of the top leagues in the US.[11]
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect, C. Howard Crane. With the active support of London Mayor, Boris Johnson, in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by English Heritage, and its demolition was duly completed in 2017. The area has since returned to its former state of "waste ground" only with an adjacent devastated Green corridor.
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice is the program affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). In operation from 2009 until early 2019, the Apprentice Program served to onboard new member leagues into the WFTDA. In February 2019, the WFTDA announced it was retiring the program, to be replaced with a new "New Member Program" in the near future.
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, headquartered at Waterside, Harmondsworth. It is the second largest airline in the United Kingdom, based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet. The airline is based in Waterside near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain. IAG is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index. British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than $1 billion on a single air route in a year.
Team England represents England in women's international roller derby, at events such as the Roller Derby World Cup. The team was first formed to compete at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup, and finished the tournament in third place, losing by 161 points to 90 to Team Canada in the semifinal, but beating Team Australia by 203 points to 85 in the third-place playoff. Before the event, The Guardian noted that the team was one of the three favourites, with Canada and Team USA, to reach the final.
The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup was an international women's roller derby tournament organized by Blood & Thunder magazine. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world were fielded to compete for their respective nations.
Team Sweden represents Sweden in women's international roller derby. The team was first formed to compete at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup, and finished the tournament in sixth place.
Their legal company name: London Rollergirls Limited are a private company limited by guarantee, and a not-for-profit organisation, based in London, England. The aims and objectives of the skater-owned and run league includes promoting athleticism, charity,[1] teamwork and confidence in women, and aims to represent the diverse London area in regard to body shape, occupations, sexual orientation, race and nationality.[9] The name 'London Rollergirls' and their associated logo are registered trademarks owned by London Rollergirls Limited in the United Kingdom and Europe.
In British and Irish company law, a company limited by guarantee (LBG) is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A company limited by guarantee does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors. The guarantors give an undertaking to contribute a nominal amount in the event of the winding up of the company.
A nonprofit organization, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members. Nonprofits are tax exempt or charitable, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization. They can operate in religious, scientific, research, or educational settings.
London is the capital of and largest city in England and the United Kingdom, with the largest municipal population in the European Union. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
The London Rollergirls is a D.I.Y. member-run organisation,[2] with a board of directors and committees.[13] League committees include: Administration, Bout Production, Events, Merchandising, Public Relations, Referees, Sponsorship, Coaching, Tech, and Venues. There are also visitor coordinators to provide hospitality to visitors from other roller derby leagues. League members are eligible to vote in league matters and participate on committees. London trains participants to roller skate and to play roller derby under a structured training programme. Although skaters are all women, men are allowed to be involved in all other league roles; such as referees, support crew, and announcing.[1][9]
In 2010, London also started a recreational league, which offers a training ground for skaters new to derby. Tryouts are required for recreational league skaters to enter the main London Rollergirls league.
At the beginning of the 2019 season, London Rollergirls, disbanded their recreational league, absorbing skaters of that strand into their main league. This led to the creation of their D-team. In August 2019, London announced a rebrand as London Roller Derby.[14]
In April 2011, London Rollergirls hosted the first WFTDA tournament outside of North America, and played host to Charm City Rollergirls (Baltimore), Montreal Roller Derby, and Steel City Derby Demons at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. In September 2011, London participated in the WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament, 'Nightmare on 95'. They entered the competition as the tenth seed, and finished in fifth place – then the largest jump by a bottom-ranked team in WFTDA playoff history.
In September 2012, London Rollergirls again qualified for the WFTDA East Region Playoffs, entering the tournament as the sixth seed, and finishing in fourth place, again bettering their seeding and establishing themselves as the top non-US team worldwide. The first European Roller Derby Championships were held in Berlin in November 2012. London entered the tournament as the top seed and won the tournament, defeating hosts Bear City Roller Derby in the final.
A second North American tour in June 2013 saw London head to the west coast to take on five American and Canadian teams. Wins over Terminal City Rollergirls, Jet City Rollergirls and Rat City Rollergirls, and narrow losses to Rose City Rollers and Oly Rollers set London in a position to comfortably qualify for the 2013 WFTDA Playoffs. The London Rollergirls took part in the 2013 WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs, hosted in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[16] At Fort Wayne, London took on Rose City Rollers, Denver Roller Dolls, and Montreal Roller Derby. London Brawling beat Rose City and Montreal, but lost to Denver. They entered the Playoff tournament as the fourth seed, and finished the tournament in third place, qualifying for that year's WFTDA Championships as the first team outside of North America to do so.[17] In London's first Championship visit, they were eliminated after their first game when they lost to the Atlanta Rollergirls, 184-169.[18]
The London Rollergirls have an all-star travel team, London Brawling, whose name is inspired by the song London Calling by UK punk rock band The Clash. Official travel team/league colours are pink and black. The London Rollergirls' B team, or reserves team, is called the London Brawl Saints, who debuted in June 2009. The London Rollergirls' C team is called Batter C Power, inspired by the London landmark the Battersea Power Station, and debuted in autumn 2011.
In summer of 2008, three permanent home league teams were formed: The Steam Rollers, The Suffra Jets, and the Ultraviolent Femmes. A fourth team, Harbour Grudges, had their debut in 2010.
7 September 2007: "The Great Rock n' Rollerderby Swindle"; first UK Roller Derby bout, intra-league bout; Team Pink 77 v Team Black 100.
29 March 2008: "Riots of Spring"; first LRG inter-league bout; London Brawling 163 v Irn Bruisers 31 (Glasgow Rollergirls' Travel Team).
7 June 2008: "Mutiny on the Mountie"; international inter-league bout; London Brawling 128 v Team Canada 45.
28 April 2009: "Grand Slam"; inter-league bout; Ultraviolent Femmes 171 v Barockcity Roller Derby 15; first UK intra-league championship bout, Suffra Jets 97 v Steam Rollers 73.
6 June 2009: "Double Trouble"; inter-league bout; London Brawl Saints (B team, debut bout) 156 v Leeds Roller Dolls 47, inter-league bout; London Brawling 249 v Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames 20.
18–19 June 2009: "Roll Britannia"; European tournament; London Rollergirls 1st, Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames 2nd, Glasgow Roller Girls 3rd.[41]
20 March 2010: "A Fistful of Rollers"; inter-league bout; Hustlers (Texas Rollergirls home team) 84 vs London Brawling 63, inter-league bout; London Brawl Saints 79 v Irn Bruisers 19.[42]
10, 17, 18 April 2010: "2010 East Coast Tour"; first UK team to play inter-league bouts in the USA. Philthy Britches (Philly Rollergirls home team) 103 vs London Brawling 102, CT RollerGirls 50 vs London Brawling 179, Providence Roller Derby 60 vs London Brawling 157.
16–18 September 2011: "Nightmare on 95"; WFTDA East Region Playoffs. First team from outside North America to play at a regional playoff tournament. Having initially been seeded number 10, London managed to finish the tournament in 5th place with Stefanie Mainey picking up the honour of tournament MVP.
28–30 September 2012: "Sugarbush Showdown"; WFTDA East Region Playoffs. Entering the tournament as 6th seed, London defeated old rivals Montreal, before losing to Philly and Charm City to end the tournament in 4th place, narrowly missing out on a trip to Championships.
1–8 June 2013: "2013 West Coast Tour"; second major North American tour including first UK-Canada bout held in Canada, London defeating Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver. First win over a WFTDA Top Ten ranked team, defeating number 6 ranked Rat City Rollergirls.
In April 2014: London played Toronto Roller Derby's A-team, CN Power, at the Spectrum Centre in Guildford, defeating them 477–41.[43]
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