Central City Roller Derby

Central City Roller Derby (CCR) was a women's flat track roller derby league based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Founded in 2007, the league was a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)[1] and played under the WFTDA ruleset.[2]

Central City Rollergirls
League logo
Metro areaBirmingham, West Midlands
CountryUnited Kingdom
FoundedNovember 2007
DissolvedJuly 2021
TeamsBelles of Centrinnians (A team)
Slay Belles (B team)
Raging Belles (Travel Team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueCocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre, Birmingham, UK
Doug Ellis Sports Centre, BCU, Birmingham, UK
AffiliationsWFTDA
Org. typeNon-profit
Websitehttp://www.centralcityrollergirls.co.uk

League history

A group of girls who already had some skating experience first set up an informal practice in November 2007. This group expanded quickly and the league has since grown to boast over 70 full members including referees and support crew.[2] CCR first became affiliated with the UK Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) in 2008. CCR became an official member of UKRDA in 2010 alongside other founder leagues [3] In March 2012, the league was accepted as a full member of the WFTDA.[4]

In 2021, it was announced that Central City Roller Derby would merge with Birmingham Blitz Dames to form Birmingham Roller Derby.[5]

Teams

CCR fielded two teams which travel the UK and Europe to typically play all star teams of similar leagues; these are the A Team and B Team.

The 2010/11 season saw the debut of CCR's intra-league teams, Bad Apples, Disco Beaters and Queens of Steel. These teams played each other once during the season in a round-robin format - with the top two teams qualifying for a grand final at the end of the season. The 2012/13 season intra-league final saw the Queens of Steel victorious over the Bad Apples in June 2013.

WFTDA rankings
Season Final ranking[6] Playoffs Championship
2013 125 WFTDA[7] DNQ DNQ
2014 152 WFTDA[8] DNQ DNQ
2015 140 WFTDA[9] DNQ DNQ
2016 83 WFTDA[10] DNQ DNQ
2017 92 WFTDA[11] DNQ DNQ

International

In 2011, league member Hustle Her was named to Team England for the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup,[12] and coach Barry Fight was named a coach for Team England as well.

Agent Dana Scurry and Tinchy Slider were selected as part of Team Ireland for 2013-14 and went on to compete at the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup in Dallas, while Viv LaFrance was selected for Roller Derby France.

In 2013, coach Ill Billy was selected as part of Team England Men's Roller Derby, and was named Head Coach of the women's Team England.

2016 Jelly Mean was selected as part of Team Belgium to compete in the 2018 Roller Derby World Cup.

Membership

CCR welcomed potential new members every week and did not require previous roller derby experience, or roller skating experience to join the league. CCR had a dedicated training session for new skaters every week, as well as including them as part of the main league training session at weekends. CCR welcomed both men and women, though men cannot compete as part of CCR and are encouraged to train as referees or coaches.

Boot Camps

CCR arranged its first boot camp with guest coaches Bonnie D Stroir and Estro Jen after members met with them at RollerCon in 2007 in Las Vegas. Grange Hell was CCR's first 2-day Boot Camp held in October 2009 at Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre and skaters from leagues travelled the country to attend.

In May 2010 CCR hosted the first Blood and Thunder three day Boot Camp in Birmingham. Bonnie D Stroir and Estro Jen returned with Quadzilla, Coach Pauly and Shirley Insance whilst Miss Trial, Conan the Vegetarian and London Rollergirls coach Ballistic Whistle ran a referee boot camp. The event proved extremely successful.[13]

May Bank Holiday 2011 saw the return of Blood and Thunder boot camp to Birmingham. Guest coaches at the 2011 event were Ballistic Whistle, Black Dahlia, SmackYa Sideways, Coach Smarty, Teflon Donna and Varla Vendetta.[14]

References
  1. "Central City Rollergirls – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  2. "Roller Derby growing in Birmingham". BBC. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  3. "UKRDA Members". United Kingdom Roller Derby Association. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  4. "WFTDA Welcomes 14 New Member Leagues Archived 18 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine", 1 March 2012
  5. Apex, The (23 July 2021). "Blitz Dames and Central City to Merge — Say Hello to Birmingham Roller Derby!". Medium. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  7. "Rankings: December 31, 2013 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  9. "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  10. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  11. "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  12. Less, Mercy (10 August 2011). "Team England 2011 World Cup Roster | Derby News Network". www.derbynews.net. Derby News Network. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  13. "Blood & Thunder Bout!". Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  14. "Birmingham – 28th to 30th May – Blood & Thunder Bootcamp!". Rollin' News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
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