As the world heads into who knows which wave of you know what, hope is on the horizon. For British and Irish Roller Derby there is some good news for 2021.
The unfortunate news that the British roller derby championships have been canceled was announced in September on the British Champs website.
But It’s not all doom and Gloom
The good news was that there are new initiatives for returning with a bang, bash, or a smack. This is Because all teams in the United Kingdom and Ireland have been invited to join the new Five nations group. The new group announced by British champs provides an exchange of ideas for returning to training, coaching, etc sustainably. Of course, Game days can start being organized. to find out more about the group contact British Champs
Say byebye to the British roller derby champs!
What’s this? A rebrand! The current “British Roller Derby Championships” notably does not include any mention of Ireland(Republic of). Going forward, re-branding to “Five Nations Roller Derby Championships” takes care of that!. Not only does it take care of that, but it could start broadening the structure of the competition to fit better regionally and globally!
And just to clarify that image of the logos is not the new one we just threw it together, as the new branding is yet to be announced!
“We will work with UKRDA, WFTDA, MRDA (Men’s Roller Derby Association), JRDA (Junior Roller Derby Association) and other National Governing Bodies to look at how we can integrate national championships into regional and global play so that derby can return stronger than ever.“
British Champs original release
This is a great opportunity for Irish Roller Derby to participate in the current champs structure and raise the profile of Irish Roller Derby. I Can’t wait to see some of these games happening in 2021. So, watch out UK Ireland has some hard-ass players just waiting to check you back to whence you came!
But why?
Some Twitter users may have noticed British champs released a survey about the rebrand in July 2020.
The British Roller Derby Champs started in 2012 as a six-team tournament in the Midlands of England. But It grew! It became one of the largest tournaments in the world. Now the competition has 60 to 80 WFTDA, MRDA and JRDA-aligned competitors .
According to British Champs, “The competition has always been open to teams in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but has struggled to attract them.”
Branding Branding Branding!
So in true British fashion British champs have taken a while to recognize the colonial implications of the current logo. They realized it is alienating to many as it heavily features the Union Flag. That means they need a new logo. In fact, they will be changing the whole brand identity of the competition. This seems like a positive move forward and from a personal perspective having both British and Irish citizenship I am glad to see this more inclusive approach.
— Update—
The New logo is now official Let us know what you think on our Facebook page
Who are these Five Nations?
The Five Countries included in this supersonic new competition are England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
So what Teams have Brits been missing out on?
Hopefully they have not missed a jam as there has been roller derby happening accross the borders for some time.
But if you have missed the teams in Ireland(all of Ireland) then you can check them out below.
Irish National Teams:
- Team Ireland Roller Derby (Women’s) – www.teamirelandrollerderby.com
- All Ireland Men’s Roller Derby – www.facebook.com/MerbyIreland
Irish Women’s Teams:
- Belfast Roller Derby
- Boomtown Rollers ( in Dublin)
- Cork City Firebirds
- Derry Roller Derby
- Dublin Roller Derby
- East Coast Cyclones ( in Wicklow)
- Galway City She-Devils
- Limerick Roller Derby
- Southland Sirens Roller Derby (Waterford)
- Waterford City Viqueens
Irish Men’s Teams:
- Harland Wolves (Belfast)
- Men Behaving Derby (Challenge team from all over Ireland)
- Southland Buccaneers (Waterford)
