When I first joined London Rollergirls in January 2007 we had recruitment issues. We were trying to play a sport that no one had heard of in a town full of badminton teams. On a good day we might have enough girls to scrimmage at practice, but only if everyone played every jam. A public bout was a pipe dream. A far off mythical land that would take years to trek to. We kept on keeping on, giving our blood sweat, and love to this crazy game that by now we were all completely addicted to. Thanks to various publications and ye olde London grapevine numbers began to gently swell.

By September 2007, with a little help from our friends at Stuttgart Valley Rollergirlz we managed to field two teams of 11 girls for the UK’s first public roller derby bout. We fretted about playing to an empty sports hall, but ten minutes before the doors opened BigCatMerv announced that we had sold out!

Nineteen months after that first public game, a few broken bones and some torn shoulders later we hosted our first proper season championship game. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, it was a double header, with the Ultraviolent Femmes opening the night by hosting Barockcity Rollerderby. It was Barock’s first public game and they admitted that they were as nervous as could be. Their roster ended up only having eleven girls on it after one player couldn’t make it last minute. Despite their inexperience and depleted numbers meaning that everyone had to pretty much play every other jam, these girls grinned through the whole game. The crowd were right behind them celebrating every point these girls fought for. They were happy to be in London and they played hard we were so proud to host these gals, what fantastic opponents. We love you Barockcity! Final score Ultraviolent Femmes 171 Barockcity Rollerderby 15.

Next up was the main event. Suffra Jets vs Steam Rollers. The nerves were clearly evident for both teams. There was a lot of pride riding on this game. Both had trained hard and both were going to go all out for the win. After a joint warm up session that looked more like synchronised swimming on rollerskates, led by Miss E Fit, strong inter-team friendships were put to one side for an hour or so. War paint and lame were donned. Wheel nuts tightened, toe stops adjusted. By the time they took to the track the anticipation in the changing rooms was almost tangible.

The Suffra Jets took an early lead but the Steam Rollers were never more than a couple of good jams behind them in the first half. BigCat will fill you in on the details later but needless to say the sold out crowd were clutching their cupcakes with excitement throughout the game. It was the last game with her team for Suffra Jet co captain Kitty DeCapitate, and she did her team (and her league) proud as the Jets eventually triumphed with a score of 97 – 73, claiming the title of the FIRST London Rollergirls season champions.

In the immortal words of Tori and Dean – “Look how far we’ve come after all”.

Rose Hypnol. xoxo

photos by Steve Newton