Bath Roller Derby Explained

Bath Roller Derby
Founded:14th of September 2012
Teams:Bath Spartans (A),
Bath Romans (B),
Bath Gladiators
Metro Area:Bath
Country:England
Tracks:Flat
Venues:Wellsway School, Keynsham,
Beechen Cliff
Url:http://www.bathrollerderby.co.uk/

Bath Roller Derby is a roller derby league based in Bath, Somerset. Founded in 2012, the league plays to the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) ruleset.[1] The league has been a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) since May 2015.[2]

League History

The league was founded in 2012 by several local skaters as Bath Roller Derby Girls but rebranded in 2018 and dropped the 'Girls'. They held their first public session in September 2012 and henceforth began holding regular training sessions.[3] Half a year later, the league held their second recruitment intake and numbers begun to increase[4] with a third intake following in November of that year.

In April 2014, they played their first international game against Lisbon Grrrls Roller Derby, taking home a 152–132 victory.[5]

Bath won the 2018 Bath Sports Awards' Community Club of the Year award in 2018.[6]

League skater Amy Buller (derby name Scarlett O’ Harma) died of breast cancer in September 2020, and the league have since hosted the "Peeka Hurt You Cup" in celebration of her life and to raise money for Dorothy House, a local hospice charity.[7]

League Structure

The league currently has two teams drawn from all league skaters:[8]

The Bath Gladiators team is made up of those skaters not currently drafted to a Travel Team or currently injured and not skating. The Bath Skeleton Crew is the league's official crew, providing skating and non-skating officials (NSOs) for home and away games.

Five Nations Roller Derby Championships

The league participated in the British Roller Derby Championships 2015 Women T4 South West tier. They played Wiltshire Roller Derby, North Devon Roller Derby, Bridgend Roller Derby and Riot City Ravens, winning three out of their four games.[9] This performance qualified them for Women T4 Playoffs - Western, where they won against North Wales Roller Derby, 165–128, but lost to Wirral Roller Derby's Savage Lilies, 294–78.[10]

In 2016, they found themselves in Women Tier 3 South. They had a difficult start to the competition, losing their first four games against North Devon Roller Derby, Kent Roller Derby, Cornwall Roller Derby and Surrey Roller Girls, before beating Plymouth City Roller Derby.[11]

A restructured tournament in 2017 saw the league in the Women's T3 Regional tier. They faced Granite City Roller Derby, Norfolk Roller Derby, Sheffield Steel Roller Derby, North Devon Roller Derby, Dorset Roller Girls, Riot City Ravens and Cornwall Roller Derby.[12]

In 2018, they were promoted to Women's T2 UKRDA National in a further-restructured competition. They won their game against North Devon Roller Derby, but lost all their other games against SWAT Roller Derby, Royal Windsor Roller Derby, London Roller Derby's Batter C Power (C).[13]

Their performance qualified them in 2019 to compete in the Women's T1 Premier tier. They faced up to London Roller Derby's Batter C Power, Norfolk Roller Derby, SWAT Roller Derby and Cambridge Rollerbillies.[14]

In 2021, the British Championships rebranded as the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships.[15]

Ranked Games

The table below lists the bouts played by Bath Roller Derby Girls as recorded by Flat Track Stats

DateEventHome/AwayTeamOpponentResultsWon by'
5 April 2014Day of the BruisesAwayBath Roller Derby GirlsLisbon Grrrls151-132BRDG
3 May 2014Ruthless RomansAwayBath Roller Derby GirlsNeath Port Talbot Roller Derby130-160NPT
24 May 2014Rumble in the Docks: Lairy RoseAwayBath Roller Derby GirlsPortsmouth Roller Wenches102-236PRW
14 June 2014UnnamedAwayBath Roller Derby GirlsSwansea City Roller Derby (B)152-156SCRD (B)
27 September 2014Blood BathHomeBath Roller Derby GirlsDevon Clotted Screamers200-136BRDG
25 October 2014UnnamedHomeBath Roller Derby GirlsNeath Port Talbot Roller Derby187-237NPT
7 February 2015Shove Me TenderHomeBath Roller Derby GirlsGrid City172-210GCD
21 February 2015UnnamedAwayBath Roller Derby GirlsCornwall Roller Derby (B)313-28BRDG
14 March 2015SW:UK 2015AwayBath Roman RollersSevern Roller Torrent (B)175-89BRDG (B)
29 March 2015British ChampionshipsAwayBath SpartansRiot City Ravens325-108BRDG
11 April 2015UnnamedHomeBath SpartansSwansea City Roller Derby (B)380-115BRDG
11 April 2015SW:UK 2015HomeBath Roman RollersBristol Roller Derby (B)127-341BRD (B)
16 May 2015British ChampionshipsAwayBath SpartansBridgend Roller Derby369-93BRDG
21 June 2015British ChampionshipsAwayBath SpartansGrin 'N' Barum137-142GNB
18 July 2015UnnamedAwayBath SpartansCork City Firebirds198-122BRDG
18 July 2015UnnamedAwayBath Roman RollersGalway She Devils257-185BRDG (B)
22 August 2015British ChampionshipsHomeBath SpartansWiltshire

Unranked Events

This table lists unranked and one-day tournament events in which BRDG has competed

DateEventHome/AwayTeamsResultsWon by
22 November 2014SK8 Britain TournamentAwayBath Roller Derby Girls, Suffolk Roller Derby, Grid City Division, Killa Hurtz Roller Girls, Voodoo Roller Dollies, Devon Clotted Screamers, Wrexham Rejects, Riverside Rebels1stBRDG

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Blog Archives . 2022-09-19 . Bath Roller Derby . en.
  2. Web site: 2020-09-24 . Member Leagues United Kingdom Roller Derby Association . 2022-09-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924140558/https://ukrda.org.uk/member-leagues/ . 24 September 2020 .
  3. Web site: 27 September 2012 . Fast and furious roller derby comes to Bath . https://web.archive.org/web/20150620214041/http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Fast-furious-roller-derby-comes-Bath/story-16999081-detail/story.html . 20 June 2015 . 19 September 2022 . Bath Chronicle.
  4. Web site: We Are Recruiting! . 2022-09-19 . Bath Roller Derby . en.
  5. Web site: Rose . Neil . 11 April 2014 . Lisbon lionesses looking to bring roller derby excitement to Bath . https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000716/http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Lisbon-lionesses-looking-bring-roller-derby/story-20948579-detail/story.html . 15 July 2014 . 19 September 2022 . The Bath Chronicle.
  6. Web site: Evans . Daniel . 2018-11-21 . The winners of the 2018 Bath Sports Awards revealed . 2022-09-19 . SomersetLive . en.
  7. Web site: Amy is given a rousing send-off . 2022-09-19 . The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald . 8 October 2020 . en.
  8. Web site: Teams . 2022-09-19 . Bath Roller Derby . en.
  9. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2015: Women T4 South West Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  10. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2015: Women T4 Playoffs - Western Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  11. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2016: Women Tier 3 South Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  12. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2017: Womens T3 Regional Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  13. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2018: Womens T2 UKRDA National Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  14. Web site: British Roller Derby Championships 2019: Womens T1 Premier Roller Derby Stats & Rankings Flat Track Stats . 2022-09-19 . flattrackstats.com.
  15. Web site: 2021-04-07 . Five Nations Roller Derby . 2022-09-19 . Five Nations Roller Derby . en-GB.