Birmingham Blitz Dames

Birmingham Blitz Dames (BBD) was a women's flat track roller derby league based in Birmingham in England. Founded in 2006, the league was a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[1]

Birmingham Blitz Dames
League logo
Metro areaBirmingham
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded2006
DissolvedJuly 2021
TeamsAll Stars (A team)
Bomb Squad (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueFutsal, Newtown, Birmingham
AffiliationsWFTDA
Org. typenon-profit
Websitebirminghamblitzdames.co.uk

History

BBD was founded in October 2006 by American transplant Brenda Bentley (Bee Sting née Iva Issues), who introduced roller derby to the West Midlands.[2] The league was the first to form in the UK outside London,[3] and was originally named the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames. They took part in Europe's first roller derby tournament, Roll Britannia in 2009, hosted by the London Rollergirls. The tournament featured 12 teams from the UK and Germany, and was held at the historic Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England.[4]

In 2009 the league was restructured and the name shortened to the Birmingham Blitz Dames. The league had two travel teams and over 70 members, recruiting and training new skaters on an ongoing basis.

The Dames were founder members of the UK Roller Derby Association.[5]

Two skaters from the league were selected for the Roller Derby World Cup in 2011: Violet Attack for Team England,[6] and Roisin Roulette for Team Ireland.[7] In 2014 Roisin Roulette was again selected to compete for Team Ireland in the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup held in Dallas, Texas.[8]

In 2021, it was announced that Birmingham Blitz Dames would merge with Central City Roller Derby to form Birmingham Roller Derby.[9]

WFTDA

Birmingham joined the WFTDA Apprentice Program in October 2014,[10] and became a full member of the WFTDA in September 2015.[11]

Rankings
Season Final ranking[12] Playoffs Championship
2015 NR DNQ DNQ
2016 179 WFTDA[13] DNQ DNQ
2017 85 WFTDA[14] DNQ DNQ

References
  1. "Birmingham Blitz Dames – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. Bee on a Roll with US Craze", Redditch Advertiser, 30 October 2006
  3. Meet GRD Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Glasgow Roller Derby
  4. "BBDD came second against all Odds. Dames get team rolling", Redditch Advertiser, 9 January 2007
  5. "Member Leagues – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. UKRDA. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  6. Mercy Less, "Team England 2011 World Cup Roster Archived 2011-10-13 at the Wayback Machine", Derby News Network, 10 August 2011
  7. Hurt Reynolds, "World Cup Team Ireland Roster Archived 2012-01-13 at the Wayback Machine", Derby News Network, 13 September 2011
  8. "2014 World Cup Squad | Team Ireland Roller Derby". teamirelandrollerderby.com. Team Ireland Roller Derby. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  9. Apex, The (2021-07-23). "Blitz Dames and Central City to Merge — Say Hello to Birmingham Roller Derby!". Medium. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  10. "WFTDA Welcomes New Member, Apprentice Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  11. "WFTDA Adds 15 Member Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  12. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  13. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  14. "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
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