Digital News: Roller Derby Research

I have been doing a lot of research into roller derby so i can understand the game as if i played the sport. I think this will not only help when writing the script but also help to connect with it and understand what we should film and what is going on during training.
Our current idea is to focus on the fact that roller derby is the fastest growing female sport in the UK, something that i did not know about. I found out this information through various news articles but found it difficult to find any facts or figures to support this.

Here are the articles i found:

http://thepositive.com/roller-derby-female-sport-britain/

"The Positive talks to the stars of roller derby, the UK’s fastest growing female sport

As Britain nurses the hangover from London 2012, there has been some concern that the legacy of the Games is bypassing women. But there’s one almost exclusively female sport that is thriving and gaining momentum in the UK: roller derby."

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/roller-derby-rollers-who-are-rocking-the-world-of-women-6268604.html

"It has been described as "a series of muggings on skates" and is the fastest-growing women's sport in the UK."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23085953

"A sport which originated in Chicago in the United States of America in the 1930s is enjoying a resurgence - and is the fastest growing women's sport in Wales."

Due to this lack of statistics and facts i had to search through UK surveys to try and find some hard evidence to support this statement. I felt that if the independent are calling it the fastest growing women's sport  in the UK it must be the case though.

I eventually stumbled across this:

http://rollerbillies.com/2009/04/05/hello-world-2/
"the first UK league, the London Rollergirls, was established in 2006 by American and Australian ex-pats" 
http://ukrda.org.uk/?p=90
"Arriving in the UK in April 2006, roller derby is a unique, fast-paced and fast-growing female-dominated sport. In the beginning, there were only a handful of active leagues, now just over 4 years later, there are currently in excess of 70 leagues nationwide." (February 2011)
http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/archive/2006/10/30/993771.Bee_s_on_a_roll_with_US_craze/?ref=arc
"Bee, 36, from Studley, has been skating for 30 years and is recruiting other women to take up the sport so a Birmingham league can be formed." - October 2006

Two further leagues would form in early 2007 - glasgow and a 2nd in london.

Here are some other useful stories -

http://ukrda.org.uk/?p=90
"Roller derby recognised as a sport in the uk - February 2011"

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/18/could-the-men-of-roller-derby-become-sports-first-male-feminists
"Revitalised on the back of third-wave feminism, roller derby, a contact sport on skates that is created, owned and managed by women, is a direct challenge to the male domination of sport. A sport that says women can be just as aggressive, just as competitive and just as entertaining. And a sport that demands women get top billing – just as men do everywhere else."

http://www.kentrollergirls.com
More information on the league we will be featuring.

What is roller derby?

Roller Derby Bootcamp:

The people of roller Derby: 

Roller Derby Culture:

I found these videos really useful as they helped me to understand the rules and some of the calls involved in the sort. I like this idea that roller derby is more than just a sport its a lifestyle and the culture and everything behind it really intrigues me. Obviously it is much easier to learn the rules of any sport through participation so i felt that perhaps watching a game would help me further.

Here is a game of roller derby in action, i like the filming style and commentary and hope to create something similar for our piece:

I have also been watching whip it, the roller derby film from 2009. Whip it was the directorial debut from drew barrymore and features 2 of my favourite actresses Kirsten Wiig and Ellen Page. Here is the trailer for the film. 

One of the things i found interesting about roller derby are the nicknames. 

here is a video explaining a little bit more about how Roller Derby names:

I also fund an interesting and ultimate guide to roller derby names:

http://svrollergirls.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-your-roller-derby-name/

All of these videos and articles have really given me a better understanding of the sport and i feel confident in getting the right portrayal things across. 

Stay safe,

Helen