Canberra Roller Derby League

History

The Canberra Roller Derby League (CRDL) was established in 2008 as a volunteer organisation intended to promote roller derby, women's health and sport in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The league was created by Bullseye Betty (Kate Murphy) and Dr Hell (Helen Doyle). Other early members include Roulette Rouge (Lucy Quinn) and Peachy Keen. The league was intended to resemble the burlesque, and was the first roller derby league in the ACT.

The league's first practices took place in parking lots around the Territory. Dr Hell and Bullseye Betty helped get a screening of the Roller Derby Dolls on 28 July 2008 at The Front Cafe and Gallery in Lyneham in order to generate membership in the new league. At the start of its first season, the league had 26 skaters. The first public bout in 2009 took place at Southern Cross Stadium, Tuggeranong, before a sell out crowd. At the end of the 2009 season, additional information nights were held at The Front Cafe and Gallery on 25 August 2009 and The Hush Lounge in Phillip on 30 August 2009, and the league held a demonstration at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. On 21 November 2009, it held a roller derby rodeo at the Southern Cross Stadium with tickets being sold at Smith's Bookshop. By 2011, tickets for the league's events would be sold through Ticketek.

The presence of the league in Canberra has helped change the perception of the sport in the capital from an entertaining sideshow to a mainstream women's participation sport. The popularity of roller derby in Canberra has meant that the CRDL cannot accommodate all the women in Canberra who want to participate. To address this issue, in 2011, some roller derby enthusiasts worked on starting a new league as a student organisation at Australian National University.

The CRDL stepped up to help other leagues in the country. In 2009, members of the Canberra Roller Derby League competed as substitutes for the Sydney Roller Derby League's Screaming Assault Sirens in its grand final, after one member of the Sirens was quarantined with swine flu, and several other skaters were out injured.

The Canberra Roller Derby League was featured in the 2012 documentary film This is Roller Derby (2012 film).

Organisation and structure

Bullseye Bettie was the league president from 2008 to 2009, followed by Cherry Axe-Wound from 2010 onwards. The league only allows female skaters to participate, Members of the league are drawn from many backgrounds, and include women who are medical doctors, mothers, finance works, electricians and tradies. The CRDL is considered the most professional league in the country.

The league is structured to protect the safety of its skaters. New roller derby competitors advance through tiers. At each level, they learn and perfect specific derby skills, experience and general fitness. This helps to avoid injury and improve the quality of the competition. The time between joining and getting to compete in a bout is generally nine to twelve months. Skaters practice for roughly eight total hours a week, mostly during two weekly practices that last around three hours.

In April 2013, Canberra was accepted as a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program.

Vice City Rollers

The 2011 all star-squad is composed of members of the teams of the Canberra Roller Derby League, who compete as a team in interstate bouts as the "Vice City Rollers" The name is a play on the fact that Canberra has a legal 'adult' industry. The 2011 squad was composed of:

The Vice City Rollers competed in their first interstate bout in June 2010 in the Great Southern Slam hosted by the Adelaide Roller Derby. They lost to Adelaide in the pool stage, but beat the Van Diemen Rollers; their record was insufficient for the team to advance to the quarter finals.

In 2010, the team also played in bouts in Wollongong, Sydney and Melbourne. The October 2010 match in Sydney against the SydneyCity Assassins featured a Star Wars theme. On 11 December 2010, the Vice City Rollers competed against the Sydney Roller Derby League's all-star team, the Assassins, in a bout at AIS Arena billed as the "Lord of the Rink: The Two Towers", in their first home interstate bout. In the previous meeting in Sydney between the two teams, Canberra lost by four points. The 2010 squad members were managed by Anne Thrax and Belly Up. The captain was Bambi Von Smash'er, and the vice-captain was Dr Hell. Squad members included Amykazee, Faunacat, King Cam, Melicious Damage, Ova Bearing, Aunty Aggro, Cassatrophic, Dee Nature, The Dutachass, Pink Mist, Roulette Rouge and Short Stop.

The Vice City Rollers competed in several bouts in 2011, including a 19 March 2011 bout against the Victorian Roller Derby League All Stars, a 9 July bout against the NBR Brawl Stars of the Brisbane Roller Derby League in Brisbane, and a 9 August bout against the SSRG Fancy Pants at AIS Arena. They competed at the Eastern Region Roller Derby Tournament Finals on 1 and 2 October in Penrith, New South Wales, where they came in first place. When the Vice City Rollers competed against the Victorian Roller Derby League team, Canberra was competing against the current national champions. The Canberrans lost to the Victorian squad in front of a crowd of 3,500 spectators. In August the Vice City Rollers lost to the Sun State Roller Girls' Fancy Pants. At half time, the Fancy Pants were leading by fifty-five points. Queensland had the advantage of player size going into the bout, and were the number two ranked team in the nation at the time. Shaggle Frock was Canberra's leading jammer, scoring twenty of Canberra's forty-eight points. The Vice City Rollers are scheduled to have a 5 November 2011 bout in Geelong, Victoria against the Bloody Marys of the Geelong Roller Derby League.

Blood and Thunder Roller Derby World Cup is the major international roller derby event, with nations sending representative teams, and Vice City Rollers Amykazee, Bambi von Smash'er, King Cam, and Short Stop were chosen for Team Australia.

Black N Blue Belles

The Black N Blue Belles were created in 2009. The team's name is a play on the ACT floral emblem, the Canberra Bluebell. The team is known inside the league for its fast skating and hard hits, and were the 2010 season champions. The team had eight new skaters in the 2011 squad, which was captained by ShortStop and Melicious Damage. The squad's 2011 sponsors include Allsports Mouthguards, and Cactus – Tattoo Artist North Lyneham.

Brindabelters

The Brindabelters were formed at the start of 2010 season. The team's name is a play on Brindabella Ranges, located in the ACT. The team had a number of new skaters join the competition squad for the 2011 season.

Red Bellied Black Hearts

The Red Bellied Black Hearts were formed at the start of 2010 season. The name is a play on the name of a local snake, the Red-bellied Black Snake. The squad is known for their good looks and their willingness to pick fights. The 2011 squad was captained by Roulette Rouge. The Vice Captain was Bambi von Smash'er. The team had a number of new skaters join the competition squad for the 2011 bout season. The Red Bellied Black Hearts lost the opening bout of the 2011 season when they were defeated by the Surly Griffins.

Surly Griffins

The Surly Griffins were the 2009 season champions, and 2010 runners up in 2010. The team's name is a play on Walter Burley Griffin, who designed Canberra. Seven new skaters joined the 2011 squad, which was captained by Dr. Hell; the vice captains were Annethrax and Rainbow Spite. The team's sponsors for 2011 include Jake's Performance and CJ's Style. The Surly Griffins won their first bout in the 2011 season when they defeated the Red Bellied Black Hearts.

Referees

The Canberra Roller Derby League has its own referee squad known as Team Zulu. For the 2011 season, the referees were Magic Strat, Refucious, J Ref. K, Fair-as Bueller, Sin Bin Laden, and Major Dyck. Canberra Roller Derby League referees have been involved with interstate bouts, and Refucious, John Ref Kennedy and Magic Strat were part of the squad that refereed the Sydney City Assassins versus Vice City Rollers bout on 12 December 2010. John Ref Kennedy, Fair-as Bueller and Major Dyck were part of the referee squad for the Vice City Rollers bout against the Sunstate Roller Girls Fancy Pants on 6 August 2011.

2009

There were only two teams in the league in 2009, the Black N Blue Belles and the Surly Griffins. At the start of the season, there were 20 skaters. The first public bout of the league's history had over 1,000 spectators in attendance and sold out within twenty-four hours of tickets going on sale. Including the finale, the season featured three bouts, the second of which were sold out within days. The Surly Griffins were the inaugural season Champions. The season's finale was played at the Southern Cross Stadium with tickets selling for A$10.

2010

The Canberra Roller Derby League had an intake more than 90 skaters at the start of the 2010 season during the Fresh Meat and Boot Camp intakes. The 2010 season saw the creation of two new teams, the Red Bellied Black Hearts and the Brindabelters. Canberra became only the second city and league in Australia to have four or more teams in their league when the teams were added at the start of the season, which kicked off on 11 September, with Brindabelters competing against The Black ‘n’ Blue Belles. The championship was held on 13 November 2010. The Black N Blue Belles were season champions in 2010, with the Surly Griffins as runners up. At bouts in 2010 and 2011, attendance was as high as 5,000 people per bout and the league had its own training venue. Tickets continued to sell out within 24 hours of going on sale during the 2010 season.

2011

Four hundred women signed up for the 2011 Fresh Meat intake, and many potential derby players were wait listed. The 2011 season had six scheduled bouts, all of which were held at the Southern Cross Stadium. The first was on 2 April when the Surly Griffins competed against the Black N Blue Belles (Griffins win). The second was on 20 April when the Red Bellied Black Hearts competed against the Brindabelters (Black Hearts win). The third was on 28 May when the Surly Griffins competed against the Brindabelters (Brindabelters win). The fourth was on 18 June when the Black Bellied Black Hearts competed against the Black N Blue Belles (Belles win). The fifth was on 27 August when the Red Bellied Black Hearts competed against the Surly Griffins (Black Hearts win). The sixth was on 24 September when the Brindabelters competed against the Black N Blue Belles. The 2011 Derby Darby Cup, dubbed Skate-Icus, was held on 22 October, and was a double header at AIS Arena featuring all four all teams. The Canberra Weekly Magazine ran a contest with prizes incling entrance to the bouts and league related merchandise. The opening bout saw Surly Griffins compete against the Brindabelters for third place, the Griffins winning 142 to 130. The grand final bout pitted the Black n Blues and the Red Bellied Black Hearts. Teamwork, tactics and effective blocking eventually won a close bout for the Black Hearts, 138 to 134.

The major sponsors for the 2011 season were Allsports Mouthguards, CJ's Style, Can Print, Jake's Performance, Bridges Canberra, Tattoo artist – North Lyneham, Impact Comics, Atlas Sports Physiotherapy, Stryking Signs, GXO, SkaterHQ, Elite Physique, Scope – Mount Stromlo, The Blue Olive, Fitsistas, and Jordo's Chop Shop. Bouts included live music being played during the half time intermission. Musical acts that performed during the season included Knight-Hammer, a medieval-Viking-lyrical themed-fusion 80s metal progressive parody band that wears Viking costumes while performing, and Mudpie Princess, a Canberra-based indie rock band. In 2011, the CDRL hosted official after parties after each league and interstate bout, which were held at the Hellenic Club in Tuggeranong.

2012

The round on 8 September 2012 was won by the Surly Griffins over the Red Bellied Black Hearts. Half-time entertainment was by local rock group, "The London Circuit".

Media

Bouts are filmed and are aired on television on Channelvision at a later date. ChannelVision also creates highlight films that appear on the network. 666 ABC Canberra sent journalists to a practice to cover and report on the league. In 2009, Bullseye Betty and Roulette Rouge joined Greg Bayliss in 666 ABC's studio to teach him how to block. The pair also discussed the Canberra Roller Derby League on his show. The league was one of several Australian based teams to appear in the movie, "This is Roller Derby."