Tab tries roller derby

Spending a Saturday being hounded by several girls on roller skates may not be everybody’s cup of tea.

Our chance to try Roller Derby came when the Belfast City Rockets held an open skate.

We boldly joined the rest of the newbies in the scuffed up hall to sign a piece of paper saying it’s not their fault if we are severely injured and to collect some smelly kit to wear.

The fear was real as we were kitted out in all manner of safety gear, the Rockets tirelessly tightened helmets and hunted through dozens of wrist guards until we all had fitting kit.

Though my knee pads were a bit wet, I hoped it was with sweat and not the blood of the previous owner.

At first we wobbled around the track like toddlers learning to walk, but under the ‘instruction’ (demands) of the coach most of us started to get steadier on our feet.

It was a bit like that scene in Bambi where he learns to walk. It was downright beautiful… until the real work began.

“You’ll be sweating out of places you didn’t even know existed”  a Rocket had warned us beforehand, and she wasn’t wrong.

The drills had our faces beetroot red and t-shirts soaked, and more than one of us had fallen hilariously, me so hard on my arse that I felt it in my face, but the Rockets helped us all up and cheered us on as we teetered around the hall.

Of course none of us were good enough to play a proper game of derby (like you saw in Whip It) but we did finish with a little health competition involving sweets.

Each skater was given a paper plate of wrapped sweets and we had to circle the hall trying to steal sweets from each other.

Some were able to swoop in elegantly and cherry pick sweets of plates, some (naming no names) dropped their sweets in a panic and had to crawl on their knee pads and wrist guards to get them back.

No matter your ability every person was cheered on and supported, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the session. 

The Rockets are a very friendly team and encourage new sign ups, so if you want to try something new and different then it’s a good bet you’ll enjoy roller derby.

The bruises are well worth it- and the whole time you’re skating there’s a safety net of derby skaters  telling you to bend your knees and stick out your bum more. 

Helpful advice which can be applied both in and out of the rink.