Metro area Belfast Founded 2010 Venue Valley Leisure Centre | Country Northern Ireland Track type(s) Flat | |
Teams Belfast Banshees
Norn Iron Maidens | ||
Belfast Roller Derby (BRD) is a Roller derby league based in Belfast in Northern Ireland. Founded in January 2010, the league consists of two bouting teams; the Belfast Banshees and the Norn Iron Maidens.
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History
The league was founded in 2010. With increasing interest in the sport throughout the UK, helped by the release of the film Whip It in 2009, the league was able to arrange training with skaters from Dublin and Glasgow. BRD was the first roller derby league in Northern Ireland, founded six months after Dublin Roller Derby, the first league in Ireland.
BRD played its first home bout in November 2011 as an intra-league competition with the Titanic Titans and the Hellfast City Hit-Girls.
League Affiliations
In May 2012, BRD was accepted as a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association.
The league has been sponsored by Laverys Bar Belfast since January 2014. In May 2014, the league was accepted as an Apprentice League of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and became a full member league in December 2014.
Six members of BRD (Hannahbolic Steroids, Maul'er Malone, Ra-Ra Rasputina, Roisin "Jessica Rammit" McGrath, Puscifer and Patricia The Ripper) were also members of the 2014 Team Ireland Training Squad. In September 2014, four members of the Belfast Banshees (Maul'er Malone, Ra-Ra Rasputina, Puscifer and Roisin "Jessica Rammit" McGrath) were chosen to be part of the Team Ireland 2014 World Cup Squad.
Teams
From the outset of the league, the 'A' team has been known as the Belfast Banshees. They played their first bout against Dublin in February 2012. In 2013, the Norn Iron Maidens were formed as the BRD 'B' team and competed in their first major bout against the Limerick Roller Girls 'B' Team on September 28, 2013.
Belfast Banshees
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Norn Iron Maidens
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