As the end of another home season draws nigh, we are really looking forward to the DOUBLE HEADER HOME SEASON FINAL at Meadowbank Stadium on Saturday, April 6th.

This time, you get twice the bouting action for your buck, with the Cherry Bombers taking on a special guest team, The Gravehearts. The Gravehearts are made up of a selection of players from Scottish Roller Derby Leagues ranging from local Lothian Derby Dolls to Inverness’s Nasty Nessies, the Dundee Roller Girls, Glasgow Roller Derby, Aberdeen’s Granite City Rollers to the Forth Valley’s Fierce Valley Roller Girls.

After the Cherry Bombers take on the Gravehearts, stick around for the ARRG Home Season Final where The Skatefast Club will battle it out against the Leithal Weapons in what promises to be an epic home season clash of yellows and blues that will perch you on the edge of your seats as the skaters block and juke their way to a home team title. What a main bout it’s promising to be!

Saturday, April 6th at Meadowbank Stadium 
12:30 – Doors open
13:00 – Bout 1: Cherry Bombers vs The Gravehearts
15:00 – Bout 2:  Leithal Weapons vs The Skatefast Club: THE FINAL

Get your tickets now for £5 each at http://arrghsfinal13-es2.eventbrite.com/ or on the door for £7. Under 14s get in free.

Come along and be sure to visit the merchandise stalls to get your paws on the limited edition East Coast Derby Extravaganza merch and help send the Twisted Thistles to represent Auld Reekie in Philadelphia this June.

Zillah 23

Home Team Affiliation: Cherry Bombers
Joined ARRG in: Sept 14^th 2008
Favourite position to play: Jammer/Pivot
Best ARRG memory: The Highland Fling game against Glasgow. Actually, they are ALL the best ARRG memory; every single thing I have done with them.
Favourite after skate drink/snack: BEER. Usually because I can’t drink at all a couple weeks before a game.
Worst Derby injury: Does breaking a front tooth count?
Best Derby advice: Even the best skaters out there have bad days or ups and downs and self doubt. Just keep at it and you will do well.
Any funny/embarrassing derby stories? Breaking my tooth.
Derby Hero: First it was Suzy Hotrod. But then I moved on to Kelley Young. But then she retired so it moved to Soulferic Acid. But then SHE retired. Admiral Attackbar is the next big thing. I’m not joking either.
What do you do outside of derby: Sweet FA.
Favourite film of all time: Hackers. “It’s in that place where I put that thing that time?”

The Auld Reekie Roller Girls pleased to announce that our limited edition Auld Reekie Roller Girls fundraising merch will be going on sale very soon, and is available for pre-order now! This special line of merch has been designed to raise money needed to send the Twisted Thistles to ECDX in Philadelphia! All proceeds will be going to the ARRG Travel Fund.

You can place your pre-orders in our super snazzy online shop.

There are a few important things to note: all of the online sales are pre-orders and orders need to be made by 15th April. We will then make the merch to order and post it, and you should receive it between 22nd and 26th April.

This merch will also be available to buy at bouts, starting with Anarchy III in Guildford/London on 27th and 28th April, the Thistles vs Hotwheels bout in Huddersfield on 4th May, and the Belles vs Vienna bout at Meadowbank on 18th May.

This is special limited edition merchandise that ARRG are selling to raise funds for ECDX, and once it’s gone it’s gone. Hence if you don’t want to chance your luck and leave empty-handed, pre-order your Party ARRG! merch now!

 

50 bouts | 3 rinks | 1 weekend

Auld Reekie’s all-star travel team, the Twisted Thistles, have been invited to take part in the East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX) roller derby tournament in Philadelphia, USA, from 28 to 30 June 2013.

This year marks the seventh year of ECDX and will feature ARRG battling it out with the best teams from America, Canada and the UK, in what is one of the biggest events in the derby world. ECDX’13 will be three days filled with 50 bouts happening simultaneously across three rinks, drawing in more than 1,000 skaters and 200+ referees.

As Scotland’s first team to become recognised by WFTDA, Auld Reekie Roller Girls have always worked hard and competed at the highest level and it doesn’t get much higher than bouting with the big girls at ECDX. Fresh from placing fourth in Europe at the Track Queens Tournament in Berlin in November, the Twisted Thistles are guaranteed to be fighting fit and ready to take on the best that Philly’s got to offer.

Keep an eye on the news, like us on Facebook and follow ARRG on Twitter (@AuldReekieRG) for EDCX news and ways that you can get involved with Easyfundraising and help send ARRG to Philly.

We are also accepting direct contributions to our trip via the ‘Donate’ page of our website!

Because, as ARRG Captain Lianne Parry (Crazylegs) said:

“The USA will not know what hit it when Auld Reekie rolls into town.”

Judging by the training footage that has leaked earlier this week, Philadelphia is in for a treat indeed!

They are flighty creatures but we managed to catch up with two of the new Leithal Weapons skaters. Read all about them here!

 

Princess Die #82

I started roller derby in March 2012; I’d seen a poster for a bout, and I was like ‘aye please’ as I’d seen Whip It! and I really love Ellen Page and Juliette Lewis, and I wanted to be cool like them. I did some research and found out more about ARRG and decided to apply to their fresh meat: they looked like a professional league and I totally like their presentation. I roped my pal Kate into starting with me (she now skates for Leeds Roller Dolls).

I don’t have a why… I guess because I liked the idea of derby; I liked the philosophy and the camaraderie and, in a masochistic way, the idea of being hit for fun. I’d considered boxing before, but had a bit of an issue with being a comparable woman in a predominantly men’s sport. So when I discovered derby, I was like, aye I’ll try that.

I didn’t actually choose my derby name; my friend Kate did. Well, she short-listed it for herself and I was all, ‘I need to be called that!’ so she let me have it.

My goals for this year: To get on the Belles by November, to be a better skater and to get lower! This season I was massively looking forward to having my friends and family come to watch me skate – which they did for the first bout and it was awesome! My mum even came for the first half and she’s NOT a sports fan.

The best thing about ARRG is the coaches. We are so incredibly lucky to be coached by some of the best skaters in the country; in fact, in the world! Their dedication and encouragement is amazing. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it to be a Thistle but I do know that I stand a much better chance by being taught by the best.

 

Sharlotte Fever #1924

I first remember seeing derby on the internet and thought that it looked really exciting and it was maybe something that I could do.  I put my name down on a waiting list and kind of forgot all about it.  About 6 months after having my son I got an email saying that there was a space on Fresh Meat for me.  I was so excited! It was just what I needed:  something that was just for me where I could by anything else other than a mum!  Derby was an outlet for me, somewhere to breathe and let off steam.

The best thing about ARRG is the fantastic people that I’ve met.  ARRG is very inclusive and you’re always made to feel a part of the league.  The best thing for me personally is I got to meet my derby wife, Princess Die, who has been an absolute rock for me!

My Clark Kent persona is that I work in social services for the local authority.  This is a really rewarding career as I get to promote independence to individuals.

If I could give advice to new skaters it would probably be to never give up on yourself and don’t compare yourself to others.  We all progress at different levels.