Metro area London Founded April 2006 | Country United Kingdom Track type(s) Flat | |
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Teams London Brawling (A travel)
Brawl Saints (B travel)
Batter C Power (C travel)
Former home teams
Steam Rollers
Suffra Jets
Ultraviolent Femmes
Harbour Grudges Venue Crystal Palace National Sports Centre | ||
The London Rollergirls (LRG) are an all-women flat track roller derby league. Their legal company name: London Rollergirls Limited are a private company limited by guarantee, and a not-for-profit organisation, based in London, England. Founded by Courtney Welch (known on the ring as 'Bette Noir'), Lauren Langston and Danielle West, the London Rollergirls are the oldest all-female roller derby league in the United Kingdom. The aims and objectives of the skater-owned and run league includes promoting athleticism, charity, teamwork and confidence in women, and aims to represent the diverse London area in regard to body shape, occupations, sexual orientation, race and nationality. The London Rollergirls play to the rules of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
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The London Rollergirls are founding members of the United Kingdom's national governing body of roller derby, United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA), alongside other leagues within the UK.
The league has three active travel teams which play competitive roller derby across the UK and the world. The teams are: London Brawling (A), Brawl Saints (B), and Batter C Power (C).
The LRG also have a recreational league; recruiting new-level or 'rookie' level skaters from the Greater London area.
The name 'London Rollergirls' and their associated logo are registered trademarks owned by London Rollergirls Limited in the United Kingdom and Europe.
League history
Since London Rollergirls began in April 2006, the league has grown to include over 60 members, plus referees and support crew. The London Rollergirls held the first public women's flat track roller derby bout held in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2007, to a sold out crowd of over 500 people. The London Rollergirls held their first British inter-league bout in March 2008 against the Glasgow Rollergirls' travel team; The Irn Bruisers, and their first international bout in June 2008 against Team Canada, a Canadian team made up of members from Toronto Roller Derby, Oil City Derby Girls (Edmonton), Terminal City Roller Girls (Vancouver), Calgary Roller Derby Association, and Saskatoon Roller Derby.
In July 2009, the London Rollergirls hosted Europe's first roller derby tournament, Roll Britannia, featuring twelve teams from the UK and Germany. The tournament was held at the historic Earls Court Exhibition Centre at Earls Court in London, England. London won the tournament, and became the first champions of European roller derby. On 4 November 2009, London Rollergirls joined the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) under their Apprentice Programme, and graduated to full membership status in June 2010. LRG was the first league outside North America to become a member of the WFTDA. The London Rollergirls won the British Airways Great Britons competition in Winter 2009; providing them free tickets on BA to fly to the United States of America east coast in April 2010 - to train with and play some of the top leagues in the US.
London Rollergirls became the first non-USA team to break the Derby News Network (DNN) top 20 power rankings in May 2010, after a successful North American tour; where they beat Providence Roller Derby, the CT RollerGirls, and lost by one point to the home team Philthy Britches from Philly Rollergirls.
In April 2011, London Rollergirls hosted the first WFTDA tournament outside of North America, and played host to Charm City Rollergirls (Baltimore), Montreal Roller Derby, and Steel City Derby Demons; at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. In September 2011, LRG participated in the WFTDA East Region Playoffs, 'Nightmare on 95'. They entered the competition as the 10th seed, and finished in 5th place – the largest jump by a bottom-ranked team in WFTDA playoff history.
Eleven members of the London Rollergirls were selected to represent Team England at the inaugural Roller Derby World Cup, which was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in December 2011. LRG skaters also represented Team Sweden and Team Ireland.
In September 2012, London Rollergirls again qualified for the WFTDA East Region Playoffs, entering the tournament at number 6, and finishing in 4th place, again bettering their seeding and establishing themselves as the top non-US team worldwide. The first European Roller Derby Championships were held in Berlin in November 2012. LRG entered the tournament seeded number 1, and won the tournament, defeating hosts Bear City Roller Derby in the final.
A second North American tour in June 2013 saw London head to the West Coast to take on five US and Canadian teams. Wins over Terminal City Rollergirls, Jet City Rollergirls and Rat City Rollergirls, and narrow losses to Rose City Rollers and Oly Rollers set London in a position to comfortably qualify for the 2013 WFTDA Playoffs.
The London Rollergirls took part in the 2013 WFTDA Playoffs, hosted in Fort Wayne. They entered the Playoff tournament as seed 4, and finished the tournament as the third seed. This made London Rollergirls the first team outside of North America to qualify for the WFTDA Championship tournament.
During the WFTDA 2013 Fort Wayne Playoff tournament, London Rollergirls team, London Brawling, took on Rose City Rollers, Denver Roller Derby, and Montreal Roller Derby. London Brawling beat Rose City Rollers and Montreal Roller Derby, but lost to Denver Roller Derby.
In London Rollergirls' first Championship visit, they left the tournament after their first game, when they lost to the Atlanta Rollergirls. The final score was 184-169 to Atlanta Rollergirls.
Teams
The London Rollergirls (LRG) have an all-star travel team; London Brawling, whose name is inspired by the song London Calling by UK punk rock band The Clash. Official travel team/league colours are pink and black. The London Rollergirls' B team, or reserves team, is called the London Brawl Saints, who debuted in June 2009. The London Rollergirls' C team is called Batter C Power, inspired by the world famous iconic London landmark the Battersea Power Station, and debuted in autumn 2011.
In summer of 2008, three permanent league teams were formed: The Steam Rollers, The Suffra Jets, and the Ultraviolent Femmes. A fourth team, Harbour Grudges, had their debut in 2010.
Notable bouts
7 September 2007: "The Great Rock n' Rollerderby Swindle"; first UK Roller Derby bout, intra-league bout; Team Pink 77 v Team Black 100.
29 March 2008: "Riots of Spring"; first LRG inter-league bout; London Brawling 163 v Irn Bruisers 31 (Glasgow Rollergirls' Travel Team).
7 June 2008: "Mutiny on the Mountie"; international inter-league bout; London Brawling 128 v Team Canada 45.
28 April 2009: "Grand Slam"; inter-league bout; Ultraviolent Femmes 171 v Barockcity Roller Derby 15; first UK intra-league championship bout, Suffra Jets 97 v Steam Rollers 73.
6 June 2009: "Double Trouble"; inter-league bout; London Brawl Saints (B team, debut bout) 156 v Leeds Roller Dolls 47, inter-league bout; London Brawling 249 v Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames 20.
18–19 June 2009: "Roll Britannia"; European tournament; London Rollergirls 1st, Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames 2nd, Glasgow Roller Girls 3rd.
20 March 2010: "A Fistful of Rollers"; inter-league bout; Hustlers (Texas Rollergirls home team) 84 vs London Brawling 63, inter-league bout; London Brawl Saints 79 v Irn Bruisers 19.
10, 17, 18 April 2010: "2010 East Coast Tour"; first UK team to play inter-league bouts in the USA. Philthy Britches (Philly Rollergirls home team) 103 vs London Brawling 102, CT RollerGirls 50 vs London Brawling 179, Providence Roller Derby 60 vs London Brawling 157.
9–10 April 2011: "Anarchy in the UK"; first full WFTDA-sanctioned bouts to be held in the UK. Four-way tournament featuring London Rollergirls, Charm City Roller Girls, Montreal Roller Derby and Steel City Derby Demons.
16–18 September 2011: "Nightmare on 95"; WFTDA East Region Playoffs. First team from outside North America to play at a regional playoff tournament. Having initially been seeded number 10, London managed to finish the tournament in 5th place with Stefanie Mainey picking up the honour of tournament MVP.
28–30 September 2012: "Sugarbush Showdown"; WFTDA East Region Playoffs. Entering the tournament as 6th seed, London defeated old rivals Montreal, before losing to Philly and Charm City to end the tournament in 4th place, narrowly missing out on a trip to Championships.
1–8 June 2013: "2013 West Coast Tour"; second major North American tour including first UK-Canada bout held in Canada, London defeating Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver. First win over a WFTDA Top Ten ranked team, defeating number 6 ranked Rat City Rollergirls.
In April 2014: London played Toronto Roller Derby's A-team, CN Power, at the Spectrum Centre in Guildford, defeating them 477–41.
League structure
The London Rollergirls (LRG) is a D.I.Y. member-run organisation, with a board of directors and committees. League committees include: Administration, Bout Production, Events, Merchandising, Public Relations, Referees, Sponsorship, Coaching, Tech, and Venues. There are also visitor coordinators to provide hospitality to visitors from other roller derby leagues. League members are eligible to vote in league matters and participate on committees. LRG trains participants to roller skate and to play roller derby under a structured training programme. Although skaters are all women, men are allowed to be involved in all other league roles; such as referees, support crew, and announcing.
In 2010, LRG also started a recreational league, which offers a training ground for skaters new to derby. Tryouts are required for recreational league skaters to enter the main London Rollergirls league.