The weeks leading up to the bout were hard; constantly feeling like I had to justify my position on a team alongside such awesome derby players as Gorgon Roller, Rushin’ Doll and Bruise ‘Em Banshee (to name a select few!). Mistakes magnified themselves into catastrophies, tears were shed, a general crisis was had.

To cap it all off, as if the decision of what tights to wear wasn’t enough for a bout virgin to contend with, an old back problem flared up. More tears were shed and I seriously doubted that I’d be able to play: two days before the bout, I could hardly get out of bed without screaming in pain and certainly couldn’t muster the strength to strangle the osteopath when she said ‘No Way!’ to me playing the bout. Long story short… a visiting friend had, for 10 years, managed to hide the fact that she’s some kind of under-cover Masseuse Extraordinaire. Back fixed. On with the show.

Now all I had to worry about was a) getting there on time, b) remembering all my kit and c) London Rockin’ Rollers. Trust me to time my debut bout with a meeting with LRR. Notorious as some of the hardest-hitting derby girls in the UK, tales of injuries sustained at boot-camps, inflicted by LRR players, reverberated round my head. And let’s face it, my Body Shop eyeshadow and waterproof mascara was never gonna win a fight against their AWEsome war paint.

I was surprised at how un-nervous I was, to start with. I could rest easy, safe in the knowledge that I wouldn’t be on track that much. The first whistle went, first jam was underway and I could hear my name being spoken… by the line-up managers. They wanted me on track in the second jam… I was expecting, like, 15-20 mins to, er, watch the game, kick back, relax? No? Seems they had other plans for me. It wasn’t until I was sat in that chair that the nerves kicked in. I gripped that damn chair so hard whilst I looked round for the nearest fire exit, that I nearly took it on track with me.

Clinging desperately to Rushin’ Doll’s assertion that she didn’t think of me as a new player, I headed for the pivot line, praying that LRR didn’t have my picture pinned to the centre of their collective mental dartboard. Casting Hayley aside, I quickly channelled the spirit of Livid Doll.

Cross fade camera pans to Roxy Carolla……….

I was nervous; my heart was in my mouth, I had never been so terrified. 3 times I nearly went on the track but was held back (line up changes people in the box, ya know the score). But now my time was here…..What the hell was I doing here? 35 year old mother of 2, lining up on the pivot line with Chernobelle, on track with the likes of Gorgon Roller; up against one of the toughest leagues in the country! What was I thinking? I don’t even have a tough name! Then the whistle blew and I was off, I was part of it and I have never been so exhilarated! And then I got sent off. I thought it was after 5 seconds after the whistle I was assured afterwards that I did make it round the track a few times before getting a major. Back on again in the next jam and I felt I made no impact, sat on by the Mighty Mighty Bash, and “gazelled” by the LRR blockers my rookie status was showing through! I didn’t want to let the Dolls down.

I had two more chances in the pack I had to show that my training had been worth it and that rostering me wasn’t some insane mistake. All I needed to do was hold that line and that’s what I did for those jams I was working with my pack and stopped the jammer getting through! I focused on working with Rikkter Scale and Rigor Morris…. everything else was a blur, but one thing is for sure I want more! Watching the Rotten Rollers square up against the Rockin Rollers and give them a run for their money was twice as thrilling when watching from the team bench. Skating out and feeling the cheer wash over me will be a cherished memory forever. I’m going to be getting better and training harder, I’ve had a real taste of Roller Derby adrenalin and it tastes good!! And to think I couldn’t even skate in August 2009!

Skaters: Livid Doll #45 and Roxy Carolla #0405

Rotten Rowwers Raring to go!

The much anticipated 10 mile row across Windermere took place on Saturday 12th June. The motley crew of Rotten Rowers consisted of Caesar Maniac, Luna Landing, Gorgon Roller, Chernobelle, Shere Carnage and Venus De Pileup. The fundraising row was organised by St. Gemma’s Hospice and pitched to the Leeds Roller Dolls by our own Livid Doll.

By the half way point at Bowness the girls found a self belief unrivalled and after a quick turnaround, the metallic dream of a trophy win shone brightly in their eyes.

Nearly at the Finish line!

When all was said and done, all rowers back on shore, Leeds Roller Dolls (Rudderless) Rotten Rowers finished in an outstanding 3rd place. No trophy to collect this year but happy to collect their well earned framed certificate.

Skater

Caesar Maniac #67

A champagne finish!

Medals all round

At the afterparty, when someone asked me if I wanted to give it a go, I got caught up in the excitement of the day (or was that the beer?) and said yes. A couple of people held me to my word and I ended up at practice a few weeks later.

I’ve never really been a sporty person, the closest I got was throwing a javelin through the PE teacher’s trouser leg on sports day so I was really nervous, (plus the fact that I hadn’t been on roller skates for about 15 years!) but I shuffled into the sports centre and was handed a pair of skates. The first session I spent wobbling about like a weeble only without the ability to keep upright. I went home and thought that I’d never be as good as the dolls, so wouldn’t go again, but thankfully I had someone to tell me to “shut up and carry on going”. So I did!

The dolls were (and still are) so supportive, encouraging and friendly which is really comforting, especially when you’re starting something new and don’t know anyone. I was soon buying all my own stuff and actually looking forward to Sundays. There’s nothing like a 3 hour practice to banish that Sunday feeling!! Now several months on and the amazing training from everyone means I’m improving all the time. I can’t thank the dolls enough, I’m so proud to be part of LRD, and would recommend it to anyone. No matter how awful you think you’ll be, just remember that loads of the dolls were rubbish at first, so stick with it!

Shere Carnage, #209,  skater

Headed by the ever fabulous Chernobelle, I went along with Bob’nWeave for some flyering action and to spread the word of Roller Derby to the youth (and their parents) of Leeds. Dot Rotten was there to assist Chernobelle in the presentation, Vandal Liza, Lava Croft, Gorgon Roller, Doll Ce vita made up the rest of the LRD official representation for the evening. We had some other dolls out in force to – notably Scarlet Go Faster, on crutches, but finally potless!!

The Hyde Park Picture House is a beautiful, traditional cinema, and I would recommend checking it out; the staff are lovely and the whole experience is top notch. The carpets in particular are beautifully plush, not exactly ideal for skating as you can imagine, so we were glad to get there early and practice our entrance skate in the auditorium (while risky to skate down the carpet was quite fun to walk/run up!)

Vandal, Lava, Gorgon, Doll Ce and Bob made a great start on the flyering at the door and most people seemed delighted that there was a local Roller Derby team, and we spotted a few potential derby girls there who we hope will get in touch.

When everyone was seated Chernobelle and Dot did a great introduction to the film and LRD, finishing up by setting the audience a little competition to win a Leeds Roller Doll goody bag “What is the name of the position of the Roller Derby Girl with the star on her helmet?”; and invited the audience to stay after the screening for the revealing of the winner and a Q and A session.

We waddled off to our seats and settled in to watch the film. WHIP IT is a great little rom com with some pretty funny lines. I (and the other Dolls) of course would have loved a bit more Derby, but really when the real deal is so much better and we are getting more and more, I’m not going to complain…..oh and just so you know that is not an official review.

We were thrilled with the number of people that entered the competition and stayed for the Q and A session. The winner was great and we’ll be looking forward to hearing him cheer at Viva Bash Vegas on the 24th April. Questions came readily and were ably answered by Chernobelle and Vandal. The first question being a classic “Do you get pushed out of the track as much as they do in the film?”; the answer of course being a big YES (but no fists!).

All in all it was a great evening and it was fab to be joined at the end by Rushin’ Doll, Matt the Knife and Rigor Morris…straight from practice (yes we did have to sadly miss a practice). Thank you so much to the Festival organizers for inviting us and to the Hyde Park Picture House. We hope to see some of you film goers at our next bout – Viva Bash Vegas on the 24th April - and the many others to follow.

Roxy Carolla #0405
LRD

It’s 2010. It’s just past mid-winter, and as the Yorkshire wilds prepare for the inevitable thaw into spring-time, we at the Leeds Roller Dolls HQ thought it was high time for one last winter fling. On Saturday 30th January we’re holding our 2nd home bout. It’s a Snow Brawl between us and the lovely Central City Rollergirls. We’ve met CCR on track before, at the Northern EXPOsure tournament at the end of Summer 2009. We won then – what will happen this time? I’m jam timing and can tell you that I’ll be finding it hard to keep my nerve with such an exciting re-match.

We have so much fun playing roller derby, and we hope that you’ll have lots of fun watching. CCR were great to skate with last year and we’re really looking forward to spending time with them again. The after party is at our favourite Doll’s house: FAB cafe. Anyone with a bout programme gets free entry.

30 January, Leeds University

So – let’s refresh our memories of what the Dolls look like in action with a picture post re-cap of the Northern EXPOsure tournament:

Gorgon Roller breaks thorugh the Quad Squad pack

Frantic going for the jammer

CCR and LRD love

Northern EXPOsure
LRD vs Quad Squad 157 – 16
LRD vs Central City Rollergirls 102 -54

Last November Leeds Roller Dolls played Manchester’s Rainy City Rollergirls and won! There’s a wonderful write up here (thanks Jessica!)

War of the Roses
LRD vs Rainy City 138 – 127

Thank you to In Depth photos for the Northern EXPOsure piccies!

Get your Snow Brawl tickets at our website: http://www.leedsrollerdolls.co.uk

Rikkter Scale #21 skater, LRD

Middlesbrough and Sheffield!

The Rainbow Centre in Middlesbrough saw its normal Saturday activities make way for this dynamic derby duel, much to the surprise of some of the leisure centre’s regular users who stayed to spectate. The atmosphere in the room was surprisingly friendly, as both teams organised themselves and their war paint, ready to take each other on.

After a short wait around the track was laid (in super quick time I might add!) the teams were given chance to warm themselves up. The Middlesbrough girls demonstrated the joy of plyometric exercises (and omega 3 oils, these girls are tough!) whilst Sheffield opted for a more traditional skate based warm up. Both sides were ready, and shouts of “MMR!” and “SSRG!” were heard as each team tried to outshout the other!

Mia Malice jamming strong!

This match was close,the whole way through, with no more than 30 points difference between each side at ANY point. Sheffield valiantly lead for most of the bout but Middlesbrough fought harder to keep the scores neck and neck and at the half time break there was only 20 points in it.

Parma Violence became Sheffield’s first injury victim with a badly twisted knee in the first half taking her out of the game and putting them one down against the local side.

Oompa-Thump-Ya jamming through!

Strong jamming was definitely the order of the day with Skate Crasher, Rio de Jam Hero and Mia Malice all scoring high for Sheffield and Toxic Pink Stuff, Lou Ella D’Kill, Rita Von Sleaze and Oompa-Thump-Ya jamming hard for Middlesbrough in return.

Sheffield came back strong in the second half, putting on two or three really strong jams and establishing more of a lead. Middlesbrough in return worked harder to even the scores. Two further injuries in the second half (Rio De Jam Hero – SSRG twisting her ankle and Eve O’Lution falling foul of a top down Jam Sandwich from Skate Crasher) didn’t keep either side down and both worked hard to keep themselves in the game.

PILE ON!

Final scores on the doors were 111 to Sheffield with a close 83 to Middlesbrough. It was truly an excellent game, fought hard the whole way through. To celebrate the Milk Rollers initiated a full on derby girl pile on before both teams left to eat, drink and be merry at the after party!

Tired Nuke??

I have to give special mention, of course, to our lovely Leeds Roller Doll guest skaters Nuclear Missile and X Con Vick who joined Sheffield and Toxic Pink Stuff and Chernobelle who skated for Middlesbrough, good job ladies!

And second big ups (!) to our Action Men who helped out on the day in the form of Ref Matt the Knife and NSO’s Crash Matt, Boris Snarloff and El Toupee.

Coming soon…… MERBY! And our very very exciting game on Saturday 28th against Manchester. Hope to see you there!

Magic 8-Brawl
Leeds Roller Dolls #7

(All pictures courtesy of Germaine Leer of the Middlesbrough Milk Rollers)

A pity I didn’t tell the cats (I currently have six) who decided to wake me at 4:30. Ah, well, what’s half an hour…

Road trips can be stressful, so I’d already planned for every contingency, or so I thought. Getting nine Leeds Roller Dolls, two Zebras, and a Coach in the same place, at the same time, when they’re not bouting (and without alcohol as an incentive) is an achievement… and I failed. I shall name no names, but two people managed to forget to set any alarm clocks (but one of them is “60ish”). A slight detour ensued and the missing Carrie On… crew were rounded up and the fun began.

Oh, did I mention that the mini-bus was limited to 62mph (I now know how Jenson Button et al feel in the Pit Lane!). I only found that out as we hit the A1(M). Ho, and indeed, hum.

By roughly 8:00 we were breakfasting at the greatest greasy spoon in the country – Scotch Corner Truck Stop – and then took in the view travelling along the A66: the camel farm, clouds in the valley beneath us, and the desolation that makes up the County Durham/Cumbria borderlands. Oh, and everyone got to see the famed Smithy in Gretna during a comedy ‘need to find a toilet’ detour. Stressed? Not even close!

Once in Glasgow, and having dropped off a Zebra at traffic lights near the venue, I found us a parking space a few minutes walk from the ARC Sports Centre – and hit another speed bump. The event ran from 11:30 to 16:00, but I could only park for four hours. Ah, well… I’d figure something out.

And so, on to the event itself.

Romsey Town Rollerbillies, in their debut bout, took on Maiden Grrders in what I can only presume was an officially ‘unofficial’ bout – two twenty minute periods instead of the usual thirty minutes a half. That confusion aside, it was possibly the most exciting bout I’ve seen yet. Whilst Big Cat Merv did a sterling job of play-by-play commentary the Grrders and Rollerbillies fought tooth and nail to a time-limit draw. The crowd, who you *could* call slightly partisan, were simply loving it, and weren’t shy about letting said fact be known. The bout went to an Overtime Jam, with Romsey eking out by 3 points!

And congratulations to Darmonatrix (Rollerbillies), who bagged Best Blocker and Best Take Down awards.

During the intermission I legged it back to the LRD Battle Bus to look for suitable alternative parking near by. Once the main event finished (if it did so on time) I would have eight minutes to get move it otherwise. Stressed much? Ha! Bring it on!

Having been joined by Skatrix (Severn Roller Torrent ), and sharing brief asides with Ms’Isle (Liverpool Roller Birds ), I settled in for the first half of the main event: GRG’s Irn Bruisers vs. the Rainy City Rollergirls. As Big Cat Merv reminded us that the Bruisers were the third placed team at Roll Britannia, it quickly became apparent that Rainy City were in for a hard time. I’m not going to sell them short: they fought hard, and pulled off some pretty neat stuff on track, but even with the Bruisers down to two players on track they couldn’t quite get their groove on.

And yes, there was a *lot* of penalty box action – GRG regularly seemed to be playing short on track. 

(At half time, I legged back to the mini-bus, and moved it – we could do without parking tickets or wheel clamps!)

Evel Von Detta! image from http://londonrollergirls.fotopic.net/p59893539.html

Rainy City were in with a chance when the bout re-started, having chipped away at their opponent’s score through a series of powerplays, but the Bruisers simply stepped it up a notch. Rainy City’s Mookchops and Dee-Mise deserve special mention, as does Feral Fairy, for gutting it out against the Bruisers’ defense and putting more points on the board, but when you’re skating up to Evel Von Detta (who’s skating *backwards* whilst smack-talking you) and you’ve got Dreaded Dragon simply *gliding* around the track like she’s on rails, then maybe it’s too steep a mountain to climb.

The Irn Bruisers won, convincingly, but Rainy City definitely punched above their weight for the first half. I’m sure the Dolls were paying attention too – LRD travel to RCRG on November 28th.

Various chins were wagged, and LRD’s Rushin’ Doll (who’d travelled up separately) gave us the heads up on where to park for the after party. For my part, I nattered with a few of my stripey brethren,

Zebra Huddle!

then rounded up everyone and made tracks to Sauciehall Street (where Matt The Knife and I nom-nom-nom’d KFC and the Dolls went slightly more up-class). A few (soft) drinks later I suddenly realised I hadn’t paid the meter when we’d parked up for the after party – but there was no parking ticket, and no wheel clamp! Someone, somewhere, obviously likes me… can’t think why ; )

However, before the after party truly got into gear, we had to gracefully bow out and hit the road. Suffice to say, it took much longer to get home, and I think my head finally hit the pillow at about 1:30. And the cats woke me at 4:30 again… but who wants to lie in on a Sunday anyway?

Written by El Toupee, LRD ref in training.

Next up – LRD versus RCRG!
See http://rcrg.co.uk/ for more details

Leeds Roller Dolls and Central City Rollergirls at Northern Exposure

When we at Doll and Action Man HQ heard that our derby sisters, the wonderful Rainy City Rollergirls were celebrating their first birthday with a pickup scrimmage and a purple, black and silver themed party we uttered a collective “Heck Yeah” and set off westwards to join in.

In the end five Dolls and our lovely head ref, Matt the Knife, landed on the amusingly tilted ‘Fit City’ sports centre (“not FAT city, FIT city” Anna Tomic, RCRG travel team skater, emphasised as we took the first of many wrong turnings en route). Strapping on skates and messing about on the track we were heard chirruping “Coo when does the scrimmage start?” and “Eeek the famous C-Rex of London Rollergirls is here! Hope we don’t get smushed by her!”.

We all split into teams of black tee shirts versus white tee shirts, and then the scrimmage was ON! Skating with people whose names you do not even know, never mind their skill level or on-track foibles, really shakes you out of any complacency you might have grown when only scrimmaging with your own team mates. Hearing skaters from other leagues comment on how good your team mates are garners two thumbs up. And, inevitably getting smushed by C-Rex and Hooligal (London Rocking Rollers) cannot help but improve one’s determination to improve one’s getting out of the way/ counter blocking skills!!

The wonderful rainy city league had plenty more treats in store for us other than pick up scrimmaging  – pass the parcel pace-lines, queen of the track, stuck in the mud and ‘refs versus rollergirls’ scrimmaging all preceded the afterparty. And yep, Rainy City do know how to party!

Thanks to Rainy City for such a lovely day of derby love… now we Dolls *really* cannot wait to boutyou in November! Please keep checking our website, twitter and this blog for further announcements about Leeds Roller Dolls versus Rainy City Rollergirls.

Next up for the Leeds Roller Dolls will be our birthday trip to Carrie on Skating… aha! Another chance to party with the Rainy City ladies!

Written by Rikkter Scale #21, skater for LRD

STOP PRESS: A write up of our **win** at the exhibition bout Northern Exposure is still to come. Keep checking back

Sheffield Steel Rollergirls – 58

Summer Horror Day, August 22nd, Savile’s Hall Leeds Royal Armouries.

Most Valuable Player for LRD: Nuclear Missile
Most valuable player for SSRG: Skate Crasher

Whoop! We debuted our shiny new travel team the Rotten Rollers and scoop our first win while hosting the great Yorkshire public’s first taste of roller derby mayhem. Oh wait – did I say “shiny new” about the Rotten Rollers? I mean, of course, grimy from the grave reanimated undead roller queens of the track.

Our first home bout! It was amazing, a real team effort off and on-track. From the “You touch-a our jammer, we smash-a your face” apple and blackberry jam on our merch tables, through the cool calm mockney cockney hands of our very own Dot Rotten as bout manager, to the bench team of skaters and line up managers. The atmosphere was all warm and cuddly, our Sheffield sistren hopefully made welcome and warming up on track alongside us. Warm and cuddly, yes. Warm and cuddly until one dreadful moment: there the Rotten Rollers were… skating dreamily along to the strains of Cliff Richard’s monster hit, “Summer Holiday”, when oh! terrible! – the record skipped, scratched, metamorphosed into the Misfits’ “Die Die My Darling”. Our summer holiday derby love-in had become a Summer Horror Day: The Rotten Rollers fell flat onto the track. And then slowly, horribly, reanimated. They became the fearsome force that was to go on to dominate the game.

The first half was mainly dominated by the Rotten Rollers. The nerves of the Sheffield ladies showed in the first couple of jams, but their steel shone through and they were soon defiantly holding their own. Leeds’ jammers including Bruise ‘em Banshee and captain Rushin’  Doll proved too nimble for Sheffield to hold back. Gorgon Roller skipped through the pack with her trademark fancy footwork. A Leeds lead grew inexorably.

The game paused for a half time zombie competition, voted for by crowd cheers and won by a very bloody young gent.

In the second period Sheffield had regrouped. Their blockers held firm, and more than one Rotten Roller jammer was downed onto the track as a result. The home crowd cheered wildly as Sheffield rallied. But our unstoppable Vandal Liza roused cheers of her very own as she zoomed through the pack as if they weren’t even there.

That’s not to say that the Sheffield jammers were to be taken lightly. Skate Crasher and captain Rabid Kitten made the Rotten Rollers call on every trick they had in the pack to try to stop them.

We were hungry for our first win (and for brains of course – this was a Horror Day after all) and, as you will know if you’ve ever seen a Romero film, ZOMBIES ALWAYS WIN.

Who will be next and what will be left of them? Oh hello, that would be the Quad Squad in the Northern Expo. Pity them dear reader, the Rotten Rollers cannot rest in peace while other teams still walk the land of the living.

Enormous thanks to Royal Armouries, FAB cafe, Tamsin’s awesome zombie make up, Deep Freeze and Big Cat Merv’s announcements, Eddie and Mr Kalamity for the artworks, KT and Jason for the media and listings help, Disco Dave and all the referees, non skating officials and support staff from Leeds Roller Dolls, Sheffield Steel Rollergirls and our lovely brilliant and shining UK roller derby sistren and brethren*. Lastly thanks to the skaters themselves. Leeds has never seen the like before, but from the crowd reaction they will be queueing around the proverbial block to see the Rotten Rollers again.

Next up:

Northern EXPOsure

Middlesbrough Milk Rollers v Leeds Roller Dolls’ Rotten Rollers v Central City Rollergirls v The Quad Squad

19th September, The Dolphin Centre, Darlington

£free  – email boroskates@hotmail.co.uk for tickets and info

*Sorry I don’t know all the urls for your websites and blogs, please add them as comments below.

Amazing photography from the bout here: http://www.jason-ruffell.co.uk/roller-derby.html

Written by Rikkter Scale #21, skater for LRD

We had a closed bout at the end of November 2008 only not with MMR but with the awesome Auld Reekie Roller Girls (ARRG)! Think it’s fair to say that all Dolls were training hard and awaiting our debut bout with much anticipation and what a bout it was! ARRG started as they meant to go on – focused and hard – and took an immediate lead in the first two jams. That just fired us Dolls into a frenzy and went out in the third jam all guns blazing, ready to show ARRG what we’re really made of! Unfortunately this jam proved fatal for the derby career of our dear co-captain Miss Treats who fell awkwardly and broke both bones in her lower leg – ouch! This pretty much shocked the room and the few family spectators we had. It was touch and go whether we would continue play. Then, truly inspirational, Miss Treats couldn’t believe that we were considering stopping the bout which fuelled us on to go out and bout for her! The first period was cracking, scores pretty close. The second period LRD got even more fired but couldn’t quite take the lead – ARRGs first (but by no means their last) victory!

Apart from the obvious and ensuing post traumatic stress, it was a great day, we all love ARRG and can’t wait to meet them on the track again! Miss Treats however, has decided to hang up her skates for good and we miss her dearly. I believe she’s still our number 1 fan though! Miss Treats – we love you.

We’ve met ARRG a few more times since November last year, mixed practices, scrimmages, GlasVegas bootcamp and had a few gorgeous ARRGs guest skate as Dolls for our debut public bout against the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames in April ’09 – Lily Lethal, Candy Savage and Crazy Legs – thanks ladies. Wow, another great bout! The Dolls played hard and clean and learnt a lot from the day while the Dames were gracious in their victory against us. We would like to thank all of our fans who were so noisy in their support on the day, wonderful banners, wonderful support and thanks to all those who bought a ton of our brand new, home made merch (wowsers, it’s worth coming to see us bout just to buy some goodies from our merch stand – check out the knickers, cushions and bags galore!). Some of you reading this post will know what a kerfuffle our bout against the Dames caused. Again, thanks for all those who supported us through this weird time and thanks to the brilliant Dames for hosting our first bout and popping our public bout cherry – you’re ACE!

So, we left Brum with a ton of tips of how to move forward. Our training increased immensely, working on close team work, hard drills, endurance and had a little help in hand from Toxic Spice from the States – thanks lady, you ROCK! This was all in preparation for our next public bout against the simply spectacular London Roller Girls B team – Brawl Saints on 6th June ’09. In between Brum and London bouts our most fantastic league captain and star Jammer Rushin’ Doll was asked to guest skate with the Molls of Glasgow Roller Girls interleague bout – Bonnie and Collide – while the fantastic Nuclear Miss-ile and myself were asked to skate with the Dolls of the same bout! Again, awesome day, cat and mouse playing with the scores all the way through the bout and the Dolls eventually take the winning score; 100 the Dolls, 99 the Molls! Can’t get much closer than that. Thank you so much GRG for the opportunity to skate with you all, we had a ball and love GRG soooooo much

Bonnie and Collide was just a week before Double Trouble where Leeds Dolls took on the Brawl Saints of London. Then, disaster strikes the Dolls again when our beautiful Rushin’ Doll fell during an endurance drill and broke her jaw in 2 places! She’s doing fine by the way, still only eating semi-solid food but should be back on her wheels by August / September time (mind you, if I know Rushin’ like I think I do you can bet yer bottom dollar she’ll be on wheels well before that!). A bit of team bonding was required after that shock and I am still in awe of how us Dolls pulled together and in true Doll form hit London with a revitalised spirit. We fought our little hearts out on the London track, performed so much better than in Brum, really melded as a team and our passion shone throughout the day! We had the most AWESOME time had so much support from the packed out audience and, of course, our captain in the crowd came and gave us support during half time. The London ladies played hard and well, we took their blocks and gave them right back to them…it was a sight to behold. We managed to get 47 jammer points which were well fought for and awarded but, alas, the Brawl Saints took the lead and finished with 156. Don’t let that score reflect on your assumption of the bout in hand, it was hard and the Dolls were stars throughout – I’m so proud of us Dolls -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGSV0TMz80A

Double trouble ended with a second bout, BBDD vs LRG A team and what an amazing show that was. Think all who were there will remember the streaker most but we should not let him take the glory for the day – London Roller Girls…you are rock hard and we love you tons and tons. Would be lovely to see some of you in Leeds sometime for a mixed practice and to get to know y’all better – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS4jrxEX2pU

So, LRD are now looking for their first victory – could it be at Roll Britannia in July one wonders? Ooo, and there’s Nass Fest the week before (11th July) where the Jacofights will take on the BattleAxels. So much derby going on this year but never enough.

Derby love and shoves to all you happy readers and fans and watch this space for our first home public bout coming soon.

Doll-ce Vita #14 proud to be a Leeds Roller Doll

PS You can view many more pics of Dolls in action during all of the above events by logging onto our facebook group.

xXx