Live Roller Derby: Two weeks and counting...

I have never been to a roller derby bout.

I know. This is quite possibly a mortal sin. Especially as I’ve been training with Manchester Roller Derby for the past four months.

I could give my excuses and explain that I’m not often free on a Saturday, and I was ill one time, and double-booked another time. Or I could just tell you how excited I am that in just two weeks I will AT LAST be watching my first live roller derby bout!

Manchester Roller Derby are hosting an amazing double-header bout on Saturday 15^th September. Yes, two bouts. The first sees MRD's Women's B team Phoenix Furies, skating against Furness Fire Crackers. And in the second bout, MRD's Men's team New Wheeled Order take on Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder.

Oh, I have so many reasons for being excited.

At last I’ll be able to witness first hand all the live jamming and blocking action. I mean, I’ve been to scrimmages, which are essentially practice bouts. I’ve watched and been a non-skating official at scrimmages. I've seen all the skills and techniques, the hard hits, penalties, falls, the fast jamming. But, I know from photographs, video clips, and talking to people in my league that bouts are a whole different experience.

My five reasons to be excited about seeing a live bout for the first time:

1. The Noisy Crowd

I can’t wait to be shouting, cheering and clapping along with more than two hundred other people. I want to hear the roar that Captain Malice from New Wheeled Order says you can hear on the track and from anywhere in the building whenever there is a big hit. I’m not sure whether I dare sit in the suicide seats right at the front. But I will be there, right in the middle shouting go, go, go!

2. The Skate Outs

I can’t wait to see the teams skating out, and hear their names introduced by the announcer. And some of my friends will be skating out, so I think I might yell until I’m hoarse when their skate names are called out. So many derby names are clever or funny plays on words or puns, and hearing those names over the PA, as the teams skate out… that’s got to be exciting… especially when they are names I know and love.

3. The Boutfits

Roller Derby is well-known for its amazing, alternative style. Personally I think it’s the coolest sport around. I love that each player can be an individual, as well as wearing team colours or patterns. All the face paint and war paint, the painted numbers on arms, the crazy socks, the hot pants, fishnets or patterned tights, the bandanas, the glitter and glam. And that’s just the girls...

4. The Derby

Of course, I’m there to watch the sport. I know how hard all the players train on their skills and endurance. I can’t wait to see it all put into action on the rink. Derby is so many things as a sport. It’s fast, skilful, tough, exciting, nerve-wracking, full-on contact. I can’t wait to watch the jammers racing round the track, the blockers trying to get in their way, assists breaking through so the jammer can whizz round again and score (hopefully many) points.

5. The Whole Event

Add to all the above... The stalls selling all kinds of cool (from jewellery to derby kit to cakes)... The fact that kids come along and get excited watching their mum, dad, big sister or brother playing derby and get high fives from all the players after each bout... All the derby love that fills the whole rink because people so genuinely LOVE playing, watching and talking about derby... And (hopefully) the after party

Sigh.

Two weeks and counting down...

Tickets are on sale now at only £7 if you book in advance (£6 concessions) or £10 on the door. Click here to buy tickets and/or RSVP on Facebook

Many hands make light work

Roller derby is an all-consuming pastime, as anyone involved in its ‘extra-curricular’ activities will attest to, but it doesn’t have to be.

I’ve been a member of Manchester Roller Derby’s committee since it was born in May 2011, and acted in a similar capacity before its birth. As PR Manager, it has been my job to promote the club and its events, oversee the design of any publications, write press releases, develop and maintain relationships with media professionals, ensure consistency in branding, and oversee social network management and website design. Bit of a mouthful I know, and that’s not even all of it.

It all sounds a bit boring and corporate, but can be lots of fun and very satisfying. The main reason I do it is because I want to use the skills I possess to let everyone know about the club I love and am hugely proud to be a part of. The fruits of this labour have seen us featured on BBC Manchester Online, The Telegraph, Chimp Magazine and the Manchester Evening News.

We have a club filled to the brim with talented individuals from all walks of life. We do what we do with minimal funding and outside support. Everyone who works to make the club the best it can be is a volunteer driven purely by passion and belief. Many of the volunteers in committee roles have been involved in some capacity since they started skating at MRD.

It can be easy to criticise how things are done, but it is important to remember that the people involved in the running of your roller derby club generally aren’t professional managers and are doing the best they can with the skills and resources they have. It is so difficult to make fair decisions that affect 80+ individuals with such colourful personalities and strong opinions as roller derby seems to attract! You will never please everyone.

As a skater for MRD’s A-team, the Checkerbroads, I will admit that my involvement in the adminstrative side of roller derby has on occasion affected my mental state when I should be focusing purely on skating, tactics and working with my team - whether it’s focusing on the wording of a release that needs to be written and sent out rather than a specific drill, or separating myself from various aspects of bout preparation in order to focus on the bout in hand. I guess this is an inevitable side-effect of not being ‘just a skater’, but it is beneficial to have more of a rotation of those involved and those not, like many clubs do these days.

Everyone at MRD has a life outside of roller derby. My life outside currently involves working long and/or late shifts at a shop (with the week’s rota decided a couple of days before if we’re lucky), practicing with my band, nights out for gigs, looking after my two kitties, weekly fitness classes and seeing my derby widow whenever our timetables allow. Some people have kids, work 12-hour shifts in stressful jobs, are carers, have Masters and PhDs to work on or have other important commitments. Despite these commitments, you will still find these people offering hours of their time and effort to help the club grow. This isn’t something that will happen of its own accord.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘We have a club filled to the brim with talented individuals from all walks of life.’ If you skate for us and have the skills, time and enthusiasm (or any of these things) – speak up! MRD has so many great ideas, but not always the manpower to make them happen. If we had people coming up with ideas and then going ahead and making these things happen, well… the sky would be the limit!

This is a call to arms. Don’t just skate for your roller derby club, own a part of it.

Much love,
Kate Push #11

MRD tearing it up. All images by our official photographer Shirlaine Forrest.

Getting involved...

MRD member? Get involved! Below is a brief description of each area and its current key contact.

• Bouts (Cecil B. Demented) - Event management for our home bouts, also works hard to ensure our away bouts run smoothly. Works closely with PR and finance.
  
• Training (Vic Tori Bee) - Our training taskforce. Concerned with all aspects of training - from session plans to recruitment to ensuring our floor-time is efficiently used. Works closely with secretary and PR.
  
• Secretary (Jowanna Clout) - The backbone of everything at MRD. Arranges committee meetings, takes minutes, records training attendance, collects subs, looks after club documents/policies, insurance and much more.
  
• Officials (Skabarella) - Our group of incredible referees and NSOs. MRD is very proud to be able to field our own dedicated officials team - both for home and for away games (not just for our own club either!). Also arranges training for budding refs/NSOs and works alongside PR to promote recruitment of officials.
  
• Treasury (Ma Rollin' Munster) - For the accountants in town, or anyone who likes numbers. Makes sure our outgoings don't exceed our incomings, keeps lots of records and works out how we can turn a profit! Works closely with merch and our secretary.
  
• Merchandise (Skulldozer) -Involves research of new items, evaluation of current stock, writing merch reports, looking after the online shop, selling advertisements in home bout programmes and stalls at bouts. Works closely with PR and MRD's sponsors.
  
• Fundraising (Kerried Alive) - Looks into any grants we may be eligible for, applies for funding, arranges fundraising events. Works closely with PR and treasury.
  
• PR (Kate Push) - All about shouting about our club and raising its profile. This involves writing/sending out press releases, arranging all promotion for home bouts and other events and looking after our website and social media presence. Works closely with fundraising and merchandise.

SkullDozer's musings on life, love & merchandise

Dear friends,

I’ve been Head of Merch with Manchester Roller Derby for two years now and have seen it grow from a few t-shirts ordered on the spur of the moment to a fully functioning, profitable business. Bearing this in mind, now seemed like a good time to write a little blog about merchandise, its importance and how it can help your league. It’s good to share!

While working through the initial ideas that every league has (Which logo do we use? What colours should we have? How should we organise ourselves?) one of our members decided to take the plunge and order a few t-shirts, just to see how they would look. Needless to say they were an instant hit, if only with ourselves – OMG! We have our new league ON A T-SHIRT!! Newer leagues thought of all that PR stuff before they’d learnt to skate together but we took things slowly, step by step, and figured it out as we went.

The t-shirts proved popular and soon made the money back, although didn’t make any profit initially as they were sold at cost price. The next order we put in had our names on the back and these arrived on the day of our first bout. You can imagine our excitement! We had ordered a few extra to put out on a stall at our first game and made a little profit with that. We put this profit back into the club and placed a larger order next time. Through this process we slowly, slowly built our monetary reserves with a small profit each time, and gradually began to expand our range of merchandise.

First off, we invested in badges, and then stickers. Now we stock fridge magnets, keyrings, tote bags and we are expecting our very first delivery of embroidered patches any time soon! We found that little cheap things sell the best, the “pocket-money” priced things. Everybody wants a souvenir from the game, especially if it was a particularly exciting game or your team did a win - and not everybody can afford £10 for a t-shirt.

My advice to new leagues is to DO merch. Do a decent range and do it early. Build up your pennies by small profit margins at first, increasing this as you get more established. Use your money wisely – see what other teams are selling and constantly research suppliers. New supply companies are popping up all the time and you can often benefit from the new deals they use to lure people in. Loyalty is a great thing and it’s easy to find a company then stick with them, but if you find somewhere that prints the same quality shirts for cheaper, or they can offer you other advantages, move to them.

It’s very easy to get caught in the trap of “Well I want it, so why wouldn’t anybody else?” but think carefully before you order 1000 custom-made onesies, or glittery deely-boppers – ask the rest of your league to see what everyone else thinks! Pay attention to what the public ask for at your games and if you’re not sure – don’t order.

Legally you must declare your takings for taxation purposes, but only if you earn over a certain amount. Work closely with your treasurer, write down absolutely EVERYTHING that’s sold and keep records. Excel is amazing, I keep everything on a spreadsheet and report back to the treasurer once a month. Keep ALL your receipts and don’t spend your own money if at all possible, your treasurer should have a process in place for requesting funds, so follow them and work things out together.

It’s also useful to have a sub-committee to help with the organisation and research. We recently set one up, which means I only deal with three people ordering personalised t-shirts, as opposed to 70! Set up something similar and delegate to them. It’s much easier to ask one person to research keyrings, someone else to research promotional items such as pens and another to look at posters, rather than bog one person down with all the research and consequently end up with nothing. Derby is a life-eating hobby as it is - its easy to ignore the seemingly less important aspects!

Another thing: have an online shop! So many leagues only sell their merch at games and they really are missing out. If time is an issue, give another member a selection of stock and ask them to post out items bought online. It’s important to think carefully about postage costs – don’t underestimate them as your league will lose money, but don’t overestimate them either; no-one wants to pay £6 postage on a £10 t-shirt! Consider selling a goody bag for the small items - its pretty pointless listing a badge for 50p, then charging £1 postage on it. Always put a postage policy on there and state your responsibility for items lost in the post.

Finally, work with a web developer to build a decent platform for your online shop and have a photographer take photos of your merch items at their best! Consider using real people to model the clothing - you’ll probably find you have quite a few camera hogs in your league and this will show off the fit so much better than a plastic dummy or laying it flat on the floor.

If you are lucky enough to have a sponsor, work closely with them also, find out what works for you both and use it. We are sponsored by Extreme Largeness who are currently listing our products on their website, you can see our stuff here.

We are currently working on our website and building our own online shop, come see the results so far and see what you think! http://www.manchesterrollerderby.co.uk/

love,

SkullDozer

Photographs taken by Shirlaine Forrest, featuring SkullDozer and Penny Pinch'er of MRD

AmsterJAM: MRD fundraiser band night

So, when we said we'd play the Amsterdam Derby Dames away, logistics were not at the forefront of our collective mind. As has often been the way at MRD, we like to jump in feet first and work it out as we go.

Hence, we're holding a band night at Manchester's beloved Roadhouse on Newton Street - a cosy/sweaty venue where you'll have seen many a band over the years - to raise pennies that'll help us towards the cause.

We've got three fantastic local bands playing and there'll be skaters galore milling about, trying to look all comfortable and aloof off eight wheels.

BANDS

Incassum "blend a vicious combination of melodic vocals, snarling growls and screams with a hint of face tearing riffs".

valkyrianmusic.com

Pocketknife "mix chunky distortion with scratchy chords, with vocals influenced by Pj Harvey and Brodie Dalle. Their stop-start clipped style cuts through the full sound to create a semblance of a band who aren’t bothered by making listening to them difficult. But it’s certainly worth it".

alaintolhurst.wordpress.com

Twin Planets "amalgamate the best of their New Wave & Post-Punk idols with a contemporary, alternative dynamism (and) are - without doubt - going to continue to rise."

Alex Mortimer-Jones, Top Hat Magazine

E-tickets are available from our website, here, and they'll also be available on the door for the princely sum of £5.

AmsterJAM takes place on Thursday 2nd August 2012 at The Roadhouse, Manchester - doors open 7pm. Your local roller derby club needs your support!

What's going on at MRD right now?

Good question! I believe LOTS is the answer.

This blog post will provide a brief summary of events coming up that you may (read: will / should) have more than a passing interest in. We know that there's nothing worse than finding out something very exciting happened yesterday or last week and you weren't involved - so we're doing you a favour!

Saturday, 21 July 2012, 6pm - 8pm

MRD ROLLER DISCO at Sporting Edge

Skates! Music! Cake! What more could you want? Fancy dress encouraged (we're going with a spaceman theme... let your imagination run wild). Children are welcome if accompanied by an adult and skate hire is also available. Entry is £2, you can RSVP to our Facebook event here.

Thursday, 2 August 2012, 7pm

AmsterJAM - An MRD fundraiser at The Roadhouse

We are proudly hosting a band night to help raise money to get us to Amsterdam so that we can bout the Amsterdam Derby Dames this October. Bands TBC very soon (but should include Incassum and Pocketknife, amongst others). £5 entry, Facebook event here. E-tickets will be available via our website very soon.

What else?

In addition to these largely social affairs, we will also be involved in some skating and hitting. This will take place on Saturday, 28 July 2012 in the form of the GREAT YORKSHIRE SHOWDOWN (GYS). It really is great, you know. This will be MRD's third year in the tournament - the first year being MRD's first ever bout and the first ever GYS. This time we have a full squad of skaters new and old and cannot wait.

Also on the weekend of 28 July (as if it wasn't busy enough!) our amazing men's team, New Wheeled Order, will be heading over to Birmingham for the first ever Men's European Roller Derby Championship. It's kind of a big deal. Like them and we will like you.

Then MRD has a bit of a break (I think...) until mid-September when we host another roller derby double-header in our beloved hometown. Think we shall save that for a blog post of its own though, eh? Can't harm to RSVP though, gwan - Facebook event here.

Is that the crazed scribbling of important dates in diaries we can hear?

Finally, although not exactly in-keeping with this summary of forthcoming events - MRD would like to say a massive WELL DONE to our B-team, the Phoenix Furies, for fighting so furiously in their bout against Liverpool Roller Birds on Saturday. You did yourselves and MRD proud!

Skatanico on the Phoenix Furies...

As Manchester Roller Derby is growing at a fantastic rate, we now have three established teams; New Wheeled Order (our all male team), Checkerbroads (all-female A team), and I am very proud to be a skater with the Phoenix Furies (all-female B team). The Furies work closely with their dedicated captain Ma Rollin’ Munster and vice captain / aspiring referee Undutchable to develop strategies and ensure game play is included in practice sessions in the run up to bouts.

Phoenix Furies’ first bout against Preston Roller Girls (PRG) on Saturday 21st April was an absolute delight! As far as I’m concerned, no one would have guessed that this was some skaters’ first bout as the scores were very close all the way through. A couple of skaters had played in a rookie bout hosted by MRD called Bonfire Fight on 5^th November 2011.

In the end Preston took the well deserved win at 148-115. Every single skater for the Furies was on top form and both teams were forced to work equally hard throughout the bout. We had a few 15 point jams from Faunication, and Spozilla received a well-earned ‘Best Jammer’ award! Both teams enjoyed the game and the day as a whole, gaining friends as well as experience. It was amazing to have our very own Checkerbroads watching and cheering us on, as well as some skaters from our neighbouring league Rainy City Roller Girls.

Since our first bout the league has had another intake of skaters, and our training manager Tori Bee has nurtured many of these new skaters through their minimum skills. They have now flown the nest to get their feathers ruffled in scrimmage and to become beautiful bout-ready Phoenixes! Everyone at MRD has been massively impressed by how quickly the new skaters have adapted to the addition of game play and strategies, with all of them excelling in MRD’s mixed fortnightly scrimmage (and often stepping up to the jam line!).

It’s clear to see that our newest Furies have fallen victim to the inevitable bite of the derby bug, and their determination and perseverance is paying off. Now that they have had a taste of scrimmage they want to sink their teeth into a full-on bout and we will be so proud to be stood with them on the track when they do so during our next game against Liverpool Roller Birds B-team on Saturday 7^th July at Greenbank Sports Academy!

For more information and for ticket links, visit the LRB event page here.

- Skatanico

NSOing – How to support your league off skates

By Captain Malice

Non-skating Official

non-skating official [non-skeyt-ing uh-fish-uhl]

noun

1. To officiate without wearing roller skates.

I love this sport. Consider me well and truly bitten by the derby bug - any excuse to be around it, I’ll take. I’ve been training for around nine months, delayed by work, weather and injury. For most of that time I have been pre-minimum skills. We needed people to help out with NSOing at scrimmage, so the lovely Minx Subordination taught me how to NSO allowing me to spend time watching and learning whilst supporting my league. When I was asked to help out with NSOing a bout, I thought, ’Sure, why not? I get track-side seats and get to help out.’

My first bout, working under El Toupee, saw me penalty timing for the inaugural bout of the team I’d been training with. I’ll be honest, I broke the cardinal rule and I cheered… three times. El Toupee gave me the disapproving look each time, I don’t recommend it. But other than breaking the cardinal rule of officiating, I did a good job. The players and refs went for their victory high fives and that was it. I stood there, trying to remember if the NSO’s get high fives and no one moved. Minx was in charge, she didn’t go for high fives and she asked us to tidy up, and then off to the pub it was!

Nursing many a beer that evening I couldn’t help but think that I’d earned a high five; refs and skaters get their high fives and NSOs are just as needed. Couldn’t help but feel a little sad. However, my next NSO job was at Hot Wheel and they let me. I ran that track, took my high fives with pride. I felt better about things, but to date that’s the only bout where the NSO’s have been encouraged to run a lap of high fives. NSOing isn’t a thankless task; we’re always appreciated by the refs and the players, but NSO’s need high fives too. (Editor: There's got to be a t-shirt in this somewhere...)

I’ve learnt more about the game of roller derby from NSOing than watching countless videos online. Now I’ve passed my minimum skills I won’t be able to NSO at as many bouts. I’ll never hang up my NSO shirt, but my derby life is moving towards playing in bouts with perhaps even some bench managing down the line. In addition, I will shortly be making my announcing debut in Liverpool for our awesome Phoenix Furies bout against Liverpool Roller Chicks! I’m fine with it now, but I know the same nerves I had on the way to my first training session and my first scrimmage will kick in on the drive over on the 7th July and I’ll be fine the moment I start, same as I always am.

With every new intake we have at MRD I’ll always recommend that our newer skaters take up an NSO role (at least at scrimmage but also at a bout if they can) and I’ll continue to do so to every new skater I meet. Helping the league to put on a bout might not seem like much, but the advantages for new skaters are well worth the time invested - they get to see a whole new side to the game. You won’t be in the programme, your name won’t be cheered - if you do your job perfectly, no one will give you a second thought - but without NSOs, bouts don’t happen. A better understanding of the game is there for the taking and the comfort and knowledge that you are helping your league. So go out and NSO, you never know, you might get a high five out of it. ;)

Captain Malice and the lovely Esjay NSOing

(image copyright Shirlaine Forrest)

- Captain Malice