Roller Derby and the Case of the Shameless Request For Money

This post does exactly what it says on the tin. I’m gonna be talking about roller derby. And I’m gonna ask you for some of that sweet sweet cash.

What we’re doing

My derby team, the East Coast Cyclones, are doing something seriously awesome this month. We’re hosting our very first national derby tournament- which also just so happens to be the first of its kind in the country. The Queen Bee Tournament is Ireland’s first competition for establishing teams and B-teams.

I know. Kind of a big deal.

Why would you do that?

Why would we put ourselves through organising a tournament? Why an establishing/B-teams tournament?

You see, derby has kind-of exploded in Ireland in the last couple of years. While there are a few teams that have been around since as far back as 2008 (I’m lookin’ at you, Cork Firebirds and Dublin Roller Derby), most of us popped up in the past two years or so. Loads of us have just started playing actual games in the past year. And while we love watching the established A teams kick ass on the track (and oh gawd do they kick ass), we want in on the action too. The derby action.

So we’re hosting a tournament for the rest of us.

But, like, aren’t you guys like.. less good? Why would I support less-good?

It’s true. There are skaters in this country (especially on those A teams) who could destroy the likes of myself in a matter of nanoseconds. At least, there are right now. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t put on a good show and fight some hardass derby. We’ve all been training our butts off and, let me tell you, the standard of derby in the newer teams in Ireland has gone through the roof in the last few months. It’s going to be a hell of a show.

Also? There’s nothing like watching a tournament with teams that are pretty darn well matched to each other. The Queen Bee is up for grabs and I have no idea where it’s gonna go.

How awesome is that, like?

You mentioned a small matter of cash? Money, dollars, euros, pounds? That kind of thing?

Doing this kind of thing is expensive. Pricey. Not cheap. And a small-town derby team like the Cyclones? We’re not exactly rolling in cash. We’ve got halls to rent, tape to buy, mile-high stacks of sandwiches to make, and a million other tiny things that add up to a hefty chuck of currency to make this happen.

So we’re gonna do what we always do. We’re gonna skate.

Tomorrow evening, we’re taking to the Bray Promenade for a 10-mile sponsored skate to help fund the tournament. We’re gonna skate our bums off! And in return, all we’d like are your sweet, delicious donations.

Do us a favour? Click on the picture below and throw a coupla quid our way, won’t ya? And if you haven’t the cash (I know the feeling!), give us a share and get your loaded friends to support us. G’wan. Do it for the derby.

queenbee

Roller Derby and the Case of the Shameless Request For Money
{advertisement}

WE WANT YOU

Are you living within striking distance of Bray? Have you ever found yourself curious about roller derby? Maybe you think it sounds fun but you’re a bit apprehensive? Or maybe you’ve been dying to strap on some skates and knock people over but never quite knew where to start?

LOOK NO FURTHER! My derby league, the East Coast Cyclones, are holding an open skate on February 24th for anyone interested in trying out our fresh meat training programme, or just curious to see what it’s like to get on eight wheels. There’s no pressure to sign up- although you’re of course welcome to!- and no skating experience is required. Just pop us an email with your shoe size so we can get you kitted up, and come have some wheely fun.

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook, while you’re at it, and spread the derby lurrrrve <3

We Want You

If you’ve any questions about derby, let me know in the comments and I’ll be only too happy to answer

WE WANT YOU

Change is Afoot, and I Go Hiking

You may have noticed (I certainly did) that things have been a little quiet around here for the past few weeks. I’ve been distracted both by important things- sorting myself out with places to work and live after this month- and by even more important things- diving headfirst (sometimes literally) into roller derby fresh meat, exploring Dublin and surrounds on my new bike, and perfecting my brownie recipe. That last one is mainly important directly after the first two, by the way.

Because I’ve been delightfully successful in all of these, some changes are afoot! Since I’ll be spending a bunch of hours every week at work (hurrah!), I’ll have less time to devote to posting here. I’ve decided to keep to a schedule of two sizeable posts per week, since that leaves me plenty of time to go to work, fall off my roller skates, and post 100s of pics of my bruises all over Tumblr.  What this means is, of course, that there’ll be plenty of space for guest posters! I’ve loved everyone’s guest posts over the past month or so. I’ll be out scouring the country for people with interesting things to say. Beware the gleam in my eye when I hear you expounding on your favourite topic in my presence. You have about 2 minutes to get out of there before I start haranguing you for articles.

Now that that’s out of the way? Have a bunch of pretty pictures of a ‘nice quiet walk in the countryside’ I went on last week, courtesy of wicklowwalks.com. Shortish walk, they said. Easy, they said. More mud than you have ever seen in your life, they conveniently omitted. Good thing the views outshone the mud, many times over.

P1030472

Lakeside
That tall thing on the left? Steeper than it looks. Definitely steeper than it looked.

Steep

Sunset

Feets

Hello

Change is Afoot, and I Go Hiking