For quite a while now I have been wanting to go to a roller derby bout. It’s a relatively unknown sport in the UK but it looks like so much fun: funky outfits and spunky names with a speck of violence thrown in for good measure. Roller Derby stands for the alternative, the feminist, the punk, the sassy, the inked, the powerful. My local team is the Birmingham Blitz Dames but alas I am not free for Roll Britannia, a two day tournament being held in London this weekend.
I am determined to get to a bout at some point though. There was a podcast about Roller Derby by the superb Stuff Mom Never Told You (from the How Stuff Works super-site) which was very informative about the history of roller derby and whether it is a sport or a spectacle (conclusion: a bit of both!). I love the foxy names which the competitors give themselves… I wonder what mine would be? Kat Nip? Kiki Pow? Unfortunately, my favourite Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is already taken.
I am looking forward to seeing the new film Whip It (Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut) – here’s the trailer:
Ok, I’m sold. Trailer rocks – I’ll def come to a bout with you!
I skate with Kitty Kitty Bang Bang on the Austin TX Rec League, she kicks ass and is very much not retired
she does have one of the coolest names though! Do hope you make a bout–you may want to join a team 
I’ll be skating with the Leeds Roller Dolls (moving there this August, after 3 seasons of Derby in TX) I’ll be taking my kids to Whip It–can’t wait 
Oh cool! Glad to hear my dubious research was incorrect! Would be a shame for such a cool name to go unused! Good luck on your move to the UK and maybe I will get to see you skate sometime!
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