We asked ARRG’s Temple of Doom to tells us all about the up and coming trip to D2 playoffs. Here’s what she said…

In only three short weeks from now, ARRG’s All-Stars will be packing their bags, heading over the pond and braving Trump’s America: all to compete as the number one seed in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s (WFTDA) division 2 playoffs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Getting to the WFTDA playoffs has been a long time coming for ARRG. In 2014 we were ranked 72 at the time of playoffs seeding and still had a few spots to climb before we would be eligible.  After working hard in 2015, we were just outside the rankings cut-off for D2, which back then was 60, and we were ranked at 63. In 2016, we qualified!… but due to various factors beyond our control, couldn’t send a team and someone else gratefully took our spot. So here we are in 2017 and not only have we qualified, but this year we’ve steadily climbed the entire D2 bracket and come out at the top! As a team, we draw confidence in the fact that every climb we have made over these last few years represents genuine improvement in our gameplayEvery game, scrim, extra practice, additional work with a guest coach, time spent analysing footage, off-skates session and early morning gym trip has meant that each rankings increase has been hard fought and deserved.  This year we’ve had the privilege of being pushed even harder by a B-Team that’s currently kicking ass in British Champs  and going from strength to strength. (Photo credit: Marko Niemiela Photography. Marko Niemelä Photography)

Despite being a long time coming, it is also a very good year to be joining the WFTDA play-offs structure. It’s the year that Gotham (NYC) has finally been dethroned of their world number one spot by VRDL after what’s seemed like a lifetime and the first time one of the playoffs locations has been hosted outside of North America (oh hai Malmo!). This year there are more “international” teams represented in the WFTDA playoffs brackets than ever before. I say “international” because, since it’s reboot at the turn of the millennium, roller derby very quickly spread beyond the USA. Yet “international” often still gets applied to non-US teams, even though really it’s just one big playing field (well, derby track) that we’re all playing a part in, whether you’re in the US or not. This year, in division 2 there are teams from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, France, England and USA represented – how cool is that? We are the only Scottish team going to playoffs  this year, and we want to help build up Scottish derby on the roller derby radar. For ARRG, it is great for us to be taking part in what will hopefully be the year we can stop talking about “international” roller derby and just call it roller derby.

Pittsburgh is a long way to go, there’s no doubt about it – getting there will cost us in time, money and our collective carbon footprint. To some extent you could be forgiven for asking, “is it worth it?” But for us, totally, it’s worth it 100%. I’ve already talked about being part of pushing the boundaries of internationalism within the sport. There’s loads for us to gain as a league from mixing up the gene pool: Playing different teams with different behaviours and styles of play is really important for flexibility and depth in our own game. It stops weird rankings enclaves from building up. Put simply, when the same teams play each other locally all the time, this can skew the rankings (which has historically had a negative impact on teams outwith North America), big international tournaments can iron things out. There’s also the small differences in where refs and officials draw the lines of what is or isn’t a penalty which are good to learn from and adapt to. Then there’s the mental focus and endurance that’s needed to play multiple games across a weekend on an unfamiliar floor in a different time zone, which can only help build resilience and strength individually and as a team. Throughout this, we want to learn and assimilate new information so we can take it back to our amazing league and we can all level up.

So, that’s just some of the reasons why we’re excited about heading stateside in a few weeks – and why we hope you’ll be following us and the Division 2 tournament on the 18^th – 20^th August. We will be adding game times and scores on our our “Division 2 Tournament” page  so be sure to check back to see how we’re doing. Our first game will be on Friday 18^th August against Dublin (entering the tourney as 16^th seed), who we last took on and won against in 2016.

Then, if we’re able to repeat our previous success against Dublin we’ll be heading on to play No Coast Derby (hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska) or Ohio Roller Derby, and we’ll be charting new territory with either league. And as for the rest, we’ll update you with news as we have it!

Next week in our blog we’ll be bringing you some of the many things we’ve been doing to prep for this tournament so we are at our peak mentally, physically and as a team when we take to the track in Pittsburgh. See you then!

In the mean 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!

Last month, we got some excellent news: one of our long-time referees and excellent ARRG-er all round, Cherry Fury, was awarded her Level 2 WFTDA refereee certification!

As we were so excited to have a WFTDA certified ref in our ranks, we decided to ask Cherry a couple questions about her experiences, her reffing life to date and any of the tips she’s picked up along the way!

When did you join ARRG?

I was at the first meeting in Bannermans, April 2008. I’m the one in the photos with the dodgy pony tail and red scarf, standing next to the pool table. I was completely unaware of the significance and impact that meeting would have on my life.

How did you decide to become a ref?

I like to think officiating found me, but in truth I don’t remember exactly. I knew I wanted to be involved with ARRG, and the wider roller derby world. Officiating appealed more to my neurotic and obsessive tendencies. It also allows me to travel more often than a career in competitive skating would allow, because I’m not limited to one team.

Having said that, I’ll always remember my first public bout as a skating official, thanks to Lincolnshire Bombers. It was the longest bout in history and I had a hard time! Working with Birchingbomb, angri-la, Slice Andice and Fox Sake inspired me to persevere with the challenge. To quote a lovely LRG announcer, I guess I had to “man up, grow a moustache and get on with it”! Thanks Hyps.

What sort of work did it take to become WFTDA certified as a referee?

It takes a lot of work, effort and commitment to earn the WFTDA ref cert. There are no shortcuts for anyone, no matter where in the world they are. Opportunities to crew WFTDA regulation or sanctioned bouts in Europe are becoming more frequent, but officials in the US still have to travel across their state, or even the country, to gain the required evaluations.

It’s true you must collect evaluations, which is a tough and integral part of the process, and skating skills and rules tests are critical, but it’s not as simple as officiating a number of bouts and passing some tests. You get what you put in. Consistency was my priority when working on my application. It took me around 14 months from deciding to work towards it until receiving my certification. Of course I had to travel to crew  applicable evaluated bouts, but I also had to behave like the WFTDA official I wanted to be at every single moment.

You have a level of control over the outcome of the rules and skating tests – they’re hard, but they’re pass or fail. There’s nothing to say a submitted evaluation is a positive one. So you have to treat every bout, every crew meeting and every second you are involved with a bout as if you are being evaluated. It all counts, and is all considered.

We hear you also regularly ref men’s derby – what are the differences
between reffing the two genders?

It’s the same game, same track, same rules for male, female, and co-ed bouts (sometimes extending to boutfit styles!). Every bout I work is a challenge. To me there is no difference. When I stand at the track I don’t see men or women, I see colours and numbers. Everyone has a place in roller derby, and we are lucky to have such diversity in our sport.

What are your derby plans for the future?

Officiating makes me happy, and I’d like to keep doing what makes me happy; working with new leagues, debating the finer points of rules with my peers, and supporting the development of European officiating. I’d like to work towards a culture where completing post-bout evaluations for officials is second nature. I’d like to widen the support offered to all leagues, to increase the understanding that officiating is vital to the sport’s development. I’d like to maybe go further, and ask developing leagues to include recognition of this in their policies, particularly as it applies to team captaincy, referees and NSOs.

Working towards my WFTDA level 3 and maintaining my MRDA official’s patch is a priority. The year between applications is an excellent opportunity to improve my existing skills and learn new ones. Working with other officials and experiencing new challenges is my way of doing this – feedback is like catnip to me.

And of course, travel. I’m very lucky I get to travel, so I’ll be looking forward to Spring Roll, Euro Crash, a weekend with Helsinki Roller derby, trips to Berlin and London. I hope to make the crew for the MRDA champs and the Berlin Tournament in December. I’m very excited about the Men’s European Roller Derby championships in July!

What is your favourite rule?

I have two favourite rules: 2.2.2 and 9.3.1.2. They demonstrate that when officiating we must keep play safe, fair and never impact or impede the game. We do a great job when no-one notices us doing it.

What’s the best thing about being a ref?

Being part of a great crew. Officials are a unique community, and it’s a great experience learning and working with others. We support each other, whether it’s trying to skate better, learning the latest rule updates, or just keeping each other smiling though tough times.

Have you got any top tips for any new refs out there?

Be the official you want to be – at all times. Be consistent. Be open to feedback. There is no perfect bout. Every bout is a learning experience – take the lessons to the next bout one. Keep smiling and let the game come to you.

What is your best ref experience to date?

I’ve been so lucky to be involved in many great events with awesome people. At the Roller Derby World Cup I got to work with some amazing officials. I learned a hell of a lot and it really helped me improve. Last year’s MRDA championships was another benchmark – the level of skating and officiating changed my approach and helped me step up a level.

Thanks to Cherry Fury for all her reffereeing and for answering our questions!

The Auld Reekie Roller Girls are proud to announce we have graduated to full membership in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the US-based governing body of world roller derby.

WFTDA is the governing body of flat track derby worldwide, and membership means ARRG can have a say in the collective future of the sport, as well as participate in official rankings and statistics. We’re very excited!!

Currently the only other member league in Europe is the London Roller Girls, but the movement is spreading fast – four UK leagues (including the Glasgow Roller Girls) were accepted into the association’s apprenticeship programme in July 2011, taking their first steps on the road to full member league status.

Between WFTDA membership and our skaters’ participation in Team Scotland for the upcoming Roller Derby World Cup, ARRG is rolling onto the world stage in a big way. It’s an exciting time for Scottish derby!