Women in Belfast are getting their skates on for a new sport proving to be very different to your average netball game. It’s an extreme contact sport on wheels that began in America called roller derby. Northern Ireland’s first derby team will be competing under the name ‘Belfast Banshees’.
When a team in Dublin emerged it spurred on civil servant Hannah ‘Hannahbolic Steroids’ Whitall (24) to start the Belfast team earlier this year.
“The name has Irish folklore mixed in, it’s something to be feared and it’s associated with women,” she said.
Miss Whitall said that roller derby was something she always wanted to do after being involved in ice-skating and rollerblading so decided to start a team herself. “I set up a Facebook group and everybody joined, it just snowballed really.” To date The Belfast roller derby Facebook group has attracted nearly 500 members.
During a match two teams skating in a pack will block and tackle their opponents as a ‘jammer’ from each team tries to break through the pack to rack up points.
Roller girls dress up for bouts in little more than their protective padding and have their derby alter-egos adorned on their shirts. The outfits may be tongue-in-cheek but the action certainly isn’t, as games are extremely fast, aggressive and exciting to watch.
Sound technician Thayna ‘LilyBee’ McLaughlin (27), currently helps train the new team. She joined a roller derby team two years ago when she was living in Glasgow and says she was “hooked instantly”. “Traditional sports never really appealed to me, derby just seemed a lot more fun and a challenge. It’s more than just a sport it’s like being part of a community,” she said. “I have enjoyed training with the Belfast roller derby and as I don’t expect anyone to have skated before it’s great to see everyone improving week by week and building up their skills.”
Recently the Belfast team had an intake of new members and also joined the first all-Ireland roller derby training session in Dublin. They joined the Dublin Roller Girls and new team Rebel County Rollers from Cork at the Dublin team’s training venue in Inchicore to rough each other up.
Roller derby has become extremely popular, aided this year with Drew Barrymore’s derby film ‘Whip It’, which hit the cinemas in April.
In the past three years the number of teams in the UK has increased from three to at least 20, with three now in Ireland. The sport has built up globally from grass roots, so Miss Whitall has dedicated herself to getting the team up and skating.
“It’s taken over my life. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but it doesn’t leave room for much else. It’s definitely worth it though.”
The team are still seeking more local girls to sign up, men are also needed to be coaches and referees.
Belfast roller derby are recruiting new members, email belfastrollerderby@hotmail.com for more information
Men are welcome to join and can help with coaching, refereeing and committee work. Each match has up to seven refs so anyone interested should sign up.