Stat Man's Christmas Awards

Alright, the selections are in, and it's time to announce the winners!

Best Freshmen Men's Team:
Crash Test Brummies!
  Formed just in time for the MERDC tournament, it took them about 2 months to get their first win.  Nonetheless, they're now ranked #44 in the UK & Ireland, so they're the best new men's team.

Best Freshmen Women's Team:
Hull's Angels Roller Dames!
  Ranked one place above the Brummies, HARD's loss to Newcastle [B] helped to boost them up the standings to win this award.

Most Improved Men's Team:
Tyne & Fear!
  Tyne & Fear spent most of the season in the 40s, dropping as low as #50.  Then, their excellent performance at MERDC raised them 28 places to UK & Ireland #22.

Most Improved Women's Team:
Middlesbrough Milk Rollers!
  MMR started the year in the upper 30s, and are now knocking on the door of the top-10.  At USA-England, someone held up a sign "MMR are coming."  They weren't kidding!


Congrats to all the winners, you've clearly had a great season!

± and beyond

I just had to give it a great title, to see what happens when a computer tries to alphabetize that character.


Right now, individual skater stats usually end with the ±, or plus minus.  That's number of points scored by that skater's team whilst she was on the track, less number of points scored by the other team whilst she was on the track.

• Advantages
• Easy to understand: a skater with a positive helped her team win, a skater with a zero just broke even.
• Easy to calculate: for-against, could be done without computer assistance.
• Disadvantages
• Hard to calculate with: ± is centred on 0, and 0 is very difficult to factor in to future calculations.
• Boundless: there is no minimum value or maximum value.  Theoretically, a blow-out win could be orchestrated by 1 jammer, who's ± would be something like +80.

In my opinion, those advantages make the ± a great thing for coaches and individual skaters, on a bout-to-bout basis.  However, it's not as easy for derby journalists, statisticians, and fans of the game.


For those groups, there is another option: the jamming/blocking average.  This is the percentage of points that were scored whilst the skater was on the track, that were scored for that skater's team.  Thus, if the jam score was 4 to 1, the lead jammer's jamming average would be .800 and the other jammer's would be .200.

• Advantages
• Easy to use for calculations: it's centred at .5, so a 0 is exceedingly rare and refers to 0 impact on the bout.
• Bounded: all skaters will have a value between 0 and 1.  There is no possible greater or lesser value.
• Easy to understand: we're used to percentages by now.  A jammer has .525, she just slightly won.  .725, and she's got good control.  Easy!
• Disadvantage
• Difficult to calculate: this one requires a computer to come up with.

I think it's a much better option for fans, journalists, and statisticians.  It gives you, at a glance, how much a jammer or blocker affected the scoreboard in her favour.  As well, it can be compared more easily between bouts and skaters.


There is, as well, a third option.  The first two are concerned with every point scored.  What if we instead looked at benchmarks?  (Thanks to The Mighty Bush for help on this one.)

1. A jammer's job is 1st to get lead jam.  Thus, let's look at the percentage of jams where a jammer got lead.
2. A lead jammer's job is to record a full pass, denying her opponent any points.  Thus, let's look at the percent of lead jams where the lead jammer scored at least 4 points more than her opponent.
3. A non-lead jammer's job is to deny a full pass to her opponent.  Thus, let's look at the percent of non-lead jams where the lead jammer scored less than 4 net points.

• Advantages
• Easily to understand: this battery of three stats tell right away how successful a jammer is at those three aspects of the game.
• Bounded and easy for calculations: centred at .5, bounded between 0 and 1, so easy to apply further.
• Disadvantage
• Difficult to calculate: this one definitely requires a computer to calculate all the "if...then..." portions.

This option is great for coaches and skaters, as it gives simple yet detailed feedback on three vital aspects of the game.  As well, it's great for journalists, statisticians, and fans as it breaks down a bout and can give a great "why" for a team's success/failure.

So, there are a few good options to measure jammers.  How to measure blockers?  Maybe later I'll argue for why I like to use the exact same metrics to measure their performance.  What do people think?

Derby 1st

Is everyone done bouting for the holiday season?  Good.  Stop thinking about how to help your team win next season.  Stop that right now.  Now is the time to think about how you can help the sport overall next season.

Maybe you can get some people into skating, NSOing, or even just being fans.  Maybe you can mentor a beginning skater or league.  Or maybe you're quite advanced, and can help an intermediate league get over that hump.

What if they come back and beat you next year?  Well, that means there's now one more team playing at your level!  That means there's one more team giving you a challenge!  That means that the overall quality of the game has improved!

Remember, skaters are only your competition for 60 minutes at a time.  The entire rest of the time, they're your compatriots.  They're the ones working with you for better recognition from the public, better venues and practice space, more research into high-quality equipment, and higher quality bout production.

In the long run, they're on your side.  It's not you versus them, it's you and them versus all the obstacles derby faces.

Every team that plays with sportsmanship, with respect to officials and fellow skaters, with a bit of flare and panache, with excitement and drama, and with a smile on their faces helps to improve the game.

Every team that plays only to win, that games the system rather than plays the game, that undercuts referees and fellow skaters, that sees the skaters in the other team only as opponents instead of also as fellow skaters works to set the game back.

Honestly, I tell you that if the game wins, we all win.  If the game grows, we all grow.  If the game improves, we all improve.

If you lose a bout, but the game wins, then we all win.  Including you.

If you win a bout, but the game loses, then we all lose.  Including you.

I have seen jammers who were a little banged up but off the track crawl onto it to force the jam to be called off.  I have seen jammers call out "NO PACK" as they approached, causing them to not be touched as they scored their points.  I have seen blockers aim a shoulder at the other jammer's face intentionally.

They all may think that they gained an advantage, and for a moment they did.  For 1 or 2 seconds and 3 or 4 points they gained an advantage.  And they hurt all of us in the process.

Every one of those actions makes the game less legitimate, less sporting, less enjoyable.  Every one of those actions is a show of contempt for fellow skaters, officials, fans, and the game itself.

However, I have seen teams hold boot camps, and invite local 'rivals' to train with them.  I have seen teams skate a bout Saturday, then run practice together on Sunday.  I have seen ad-hoc teams created by their opponents, just so those leagues that only have 2 skaters past min skills can have somebody with bouting experience.

I have seen leagues produce training videos, showing their tactics and skills to the world.

Every one of these actions helps the game itself grow.


Now is the season to put aside your own growth and think about the growth of the game.  Derby 1st, everybody.  Let's put derby 1st.

If you'd like, think of it as a holiday gift to derby.  "This Christmas, I will give derby my time, helping new skaters get through min skills."  "This Hanukkah, I will give derby my know-how, bench-coaching a team that only has 13 members in their first few bouts."  "This Mayan long-count new year, I will give derby my support, going to every game I can and cheering loudly for every skater."

I'm willing to help any team, near or far, with numerical analysis of their skaters, bouts, etc., and I will hold no secrets.  I will publish my algorithms as open source, so that those with better ideas can improve upon them and make them their own.


What will you do to put derby 1st?

Final Rankings for 2012

		Team	Wins	Losses	Rank Pts
	1	London Rollergirls	2	0	234.8
	2	Glasgow Roller Derby	7	1	157.8
	3	Central City Rollergirls	6	4	128.4
	4	Rainy City Roller Girls	3	2	125.2
	5	London Rockin Rollers	6	2	115.1
	6	Leeds Roller Dolls	4	4	109.4
	7	Auld Reekie Roller Girls	5	7	107.0
	8	London Rollergirls [B]	3	0	98.4
	9	Tiger Bay Brawlers	6	3	83.9
+1	10	Big Bucks High Rollers	4	4	48.1
-1	11	Brighton Rockers	5	1	47.7
	12	Hellfire Harlots	6	2	46.7
+1	13	Hot Wheel Roller Derby	8	4	42.1
-1	14	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers	6	2	41.8
	15	Birmingham Blitz Dames	4	4	36.7
+5	16	Southern Discomfort	9	0	34.0
+6	17	Quad Guards	7	2	33.3
-1	18	Lincolnshire Bombers	2	6	33.2
-3	19	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls	2	5	32.4
-2	20	Dublin Roller Girls	6	2	30.1
+5	21	Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder	3	0	29.9
-3	22	London Rollergirls [C]	1	2	29.9
-3	23	Royal Windsor Rollergirls	4	2	27.8
+3	24	Dolly Rockit Rollers	3	8	21.5
	25	Newcastle Roller Girls	5	5	21.5
-2	26	Bristol Roller Derby	8	3	21.3
+6	27	Tyne & Fear	6	4	21.1
-6	28	Croydon Roller Derby	3	4	20.6
	29	Leeds Roller Dolls [B]	2	3	19.9
	30	Glasgow Roller Derby [B]	5	2	19.9
-3	31	London Rockin Rollers [B]	0	3	19.9
	32	Manchester Roller Derby	6	4	19.5
+2	33	Expendables	4	4	18.8
-3	34	Kent Rollergirls	3	2	17.9
+5	35	New Wheeled Order	5	7	17.8
-2	36	Central City Rollergirls [B]	2	4	15.8
+6	37	Inhuman League	5	10	14.7
-2	38	Dundee Roller Girls	5	1	12.3
+3	39	Granite City Roller Girls	1	4	12.1
-2	40	Auld Reekie Roller Girls [B]	2	2	11.5
	41	Cork City Firebirds	0	2	11.3
-5	42	Liverpool Roller Birds	1	6	11.3
-4	43	Rainy City Roller Girls [B]	3	3	9.6
	44	Seaside Sirens Roller Girls	4	3	8.7
+4	45	Crash Test Brummies	1	7	8.6
-1	46	Imposters Roller Girls	2	3	8.5
-1	47	Romsey Town Rollerbillies	3	5	7.9
	48	Severn Roller Torrent	0	6	6.8
-2	49	Plymouth City Roller Girls	3	3	6.7
+1	50	Cardiff Roller Collective	5	0	5.9
-1	51	Newcastle Roller Girls [B]	8	1	5.5
	52	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls [B]	4	4	5.4
+5	53	South West Angels of Terror	4	0	5.2
	54	Hulls Angels Roller Dames	0	6	5.0
-2	55	Lincolnshire Bombers [B]	1	4	4.9
-1	56	Belfast Roller Derby	3	4	4.6
+4	57	Jakey Bites	0	5	4.0
-1	58	Dolly Rockit Rollers [B]	3	2	4.0
	59	Wolverhampton Honour Rollers	1	2	3.8
	60	Central City Rollergirls [C]	3	0	3.6
-5	61	Tiger Bay Brawlers [B]	3	1	3.4
+3	62	Bruising Banditas	2	2	2.8
	63	Liverpool Roller Birds [B]	1	2	2.7
-2	64	Milton Keynes Concrete Cows	5	1	2.6
+7	65	Bristol Roller Derby [B]	3	0	2.5
+1	66	Nottingham Roller Girls	0	2	2.4
+1	67	Dublin Roller Girls [B]	3	1	2.4
-4	68	Swansea City Roller Derby	3	4	2.4
+1	69	Mean Valley Roller Girls	3	2	2.2
-4	70	Furness Firecrackers	1	4	1.9
-2	71	Rebellion Roller Derby	4	3	1.9
+1	72	Portsmouth Roller Wenches	3	0	1.6
+1	73	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers [B]	0	2	1.5
+1	74	Limerick Roller Derby	0	2	1.5
-4	75	Oxford Roller Derby	3	6	1.4
	76	Norfolk Brawds	2	2	1.3
+1	77	Fair City Rollers	0	4	1.3
-1	78	Wakey Wheeled Cats	1	2	1.2
	79	Fierce Valley Roller Girls	1	2	1.2
+1	80	Wiltshire Roller Derby	0	3	1.1
+4	81	Birmingham Blitz Dames [B]	1	2	0.9
-2	82	Hell's Belles	1	5	0.9
+1	83	Shoetown Slayers	0	3	0.8
-2	84	Bedfordshire Roller Girls	2	3	0.8
-2	85	Preston Roller Girls	1	1	0.8
-->	86	Kernow Rollers	0	2	0.7
-1	87	Manchester Roller Derby [B]	2	3	0.7
-1	88	Vendetta Vixens	0	5	0.5
-->	89	Dorset Roller Girls	1	1	0.5
-2	90	Evolution Rollergirls	1	3	0.4
-2	91	Wirral Whipiteres	0	3	0.2

Enjoy your holiday break, everyone, and I hope we all do better without those pesky minors.

December 15 & 16 bout guide

This weekend is the LAST for minors in the UK!  Boy, am I a happy man about that one!

Details:

#14 Hot Wheel look to settle yet another score against #25 Newcastle, who hold a 1-0 record in head to head competition.  A big win could see Hot Wheel overtake #13 Middlesbrough, or Newcastle overtake #24 Bristol.

#33 Tyne and Fear host #26 Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder in the first meeting of the two teams.  Lincolnshire here with an opportunity to finish 2012 with an unblemished record.

#58 SWAT challenge #47 Plymouth City in the SWUK tournament.  SWAT are currently undefeated, but their ranking took a nose dive when one of their early bouts expired.  Look for them to try to earn back that top position within the tournament, currently held by PCR.

Also in that tournament, Dorset and Kernow both have their 2nd bout.  This means that both will make their debut on the chart this Monday, and one will have a win to boot.

Finally, the #65 Bruising Banditas host #50 Newcastle [B] in the absolute FINAL minor-penalties bout in the UK EVER.  Luna, captain of the Banditas said that she hopes her team will "make this game a memorable swansong for the 2010 rule set."


Enjoy the derby, and cheer for every minor you see!!!

UKRDA & the off-season

The UK is lucky, in one sense, because there's a voluntary, democratic national governing body for roller derby, the UKRDA. Not many other countries have taken this step. This is a huge potential benefit for the future of the game throughout the UK.

However, so far the mission of the UKRDA appears to be to collect signatures and name leagues as members on their website. They have run tournaments in the past, and I have heard that they do an excellent job of it. But it takes more than that to be a useful governing body.

Now, I've heard through the grapevine that the UKRDA is planning on doing rankings and sanctioning bouts in the future. At first, I scoffed at the idea. There are already 5 rankings that cover UKRDA leagues, listed in increasing order of coverage:

1. Mine, which covers all UK & Ireland travel teams
2. European Roller Derby Rankings, which covers all leagues in Europe
3. EuroDerby, which also covers all Euro-leagues
4. Flat Track Stats, which covers all reported bouts and leagues
   AND
5. DNN Power Rankings, which covers all leagues, worldwide, who are big enough to merit ranking

Thus, a UKRDA ranking would be the 6th scheme to rank member leagues. Not much added value, or so it seems.

Sanctioning, as well, seems a near pointless exercise at first. Just how much extra does it mean for a bout to be 'sanctioned' as opposed to 'unsanctioned'? Will fans pay more? I doubt it. Will unsanctioned bouts not count for the record or something?

AH-HAH!!!

A way of getting rid of that pesky closed-bout problem, maybe? Allow teams to play 'friendlies' that don't count, then bout for rankings in sanctioned contests...

UKRDA are on to something here...

This brings me to my second point in the title. More than a few skaters and coaches have stated the need for an off-season in derby. It would reduce the number of stress-related injuries, it would reduce derby-burnout and early retirement, it would give skaters and leagues a chance to get back to basics in training rather than advanced tactics.

The problem is that leagues which observe an off season don't always observe the same ones. LRG's seems to follow the calendar year, whereas CCR's is tuned to football season.

Here's where UKRDA have the opportunity to help the UK derby scene take a massive step forward:

Only sanction bouts between [March] and [September].

I put the months in brackets because the timing is not the point. The point is that UKRDA can offer an incentive for member leagues to observe the same off-season, and thus clean up one issue facing the game. They can simultaneously demonstrate wisdom and good leadership. And they can ensure that their ranking and sanctioning system will have an important place in the UK derby scene.

This is one of those opportunities that don't come around very often.  This is one of those times for a true continental shift in the game. UKRDA, the lack-of-a-ball is in your court. Use it wisely.

Also, let me say, just because UKRDA exist doesn't mean there shouldn't be a Scottish RDA or a Welsh RDU, or even an East Midland Derby Alliance. The South West UK tournament acts similar to the Football League, as does the End of the World Series. These are de facto governing institutions and cooperative unions for their respective leagues.  

It makes a large amount of sense for local area leagues to unionise to share bout planning, venue hire negotiation, council negotiation, etc.  We all want the sport to grow, let's keep working together to make that happen.

Results & Table for 10 December

What a day of bouts.  Junior derby now underway in Wales, what a wonderful era we live in now.

Also, #9 Tiger Bay lost a close one to #2 Glasgow, 113-107.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to move them up to #8, but did move them up 10 ranking points, over 30 clear of #10.

#70 Mean Valley slipped 162-196 to #85 Birmingham Blitz Dames [B], moving the two closer to each other on the table.

Dublin [A]#18 & [B]#68 both defeated Manchester [A]#32 & [B]#86, lifting the A-team further up the chart.  Manchester end the short tour winless, but undoubtedly learned a few lessons to work on over the holidays.

#14 Hot Wheel "settled their score" in serious fashion, 296-71, over #27 Dolly Rocket.  However, neither move, indicating that it was the expected performance.


Full Table:

		Team	Wins	Losses	Rank Pts
	1	London Rollergirls	2	0	237.8
	2	Glasgow Roller Derby	7	1	159.2
	3	Central City Rollergirls	6	4	129.8
	4	Rainy City Roller Girls	3	2	124.0
	5	London Rockin Rollers	6	2	116.6
+1	6	Leeds Roller Dolls	4	4	110.7
-1	7	Auld Reekie Roller Girls	5	7	108.5
	8	London Rollergirls [B]	3	0	100.2
	9	Tiger Bay Brawlers	6	3	85.5
+1	10	Brighton Rockers	5	1	51.0
-1	11	Big Bucks High Rollers	4	4	50.6
	12	Hellfire Harlots	6	2	47.0
	13	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers	6	2	41.9
	14	Hot Wheel Roller Derby	7	4	41.2
+1	15	Birmingham Blitz Dames	4	4	38.0
+2	16	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls	2	5	33.6
	17	Lincolnshire Bombers	2	6	33.2
+2	18	Dublin Roller Girls	6	2	31.9
+2	19	London Rollergirls [C]	1	2	31.3
+2	20	Royal Windsor Rollergirls	4	2	29.8
-6	21	Southern Discomfort	9	0	25.1
+2	22	Croydon Roller Derby	4	4	24.4
-4	23	Quad Guards	7	2	24.3
+1	24	Bristol Roller Derby	8	3	23.8
+1	25	Newcastle Roller Girls	5	4	23.1
-3	26	Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder	2	0	22.4
	27	Dolly Rockit Rollers	4	8	22.3
+5	28	London Rockin Rollers [B]	0	3	21.0
	29	Leeds Roller Dolls [B]	2	3	20.6
+1	30	Glasgow Roller Derby [B]	5	2	20.1
-1	31	Kent Rollergirls	3	2	19.5
	32	Manchester Roller Derby	6	5	19.0
-5	33	Tyne & Fear	7	3	17.9
+1	34	Central City Rollergirls [B]	2	4	16.6
-1	35	Expendables	4	4	13.5
+2	36	Dundee Roller Girls	5	1	13.2
+4	37	Liverpool Roller Birds	1	6	12.7
-1	38	Auld Reekie Roller Girls [B]	2	2	12.5
+3	39	Rainy City Roller Girls [B]	3	4	12.0
-4	40	New Wheeled Order	5	8	12.0
+2	41	Cork City Firebirds	0	2	11.9
-2	42	Granite City Roller Girls	1	4	11.7
-4	43	Inhuman League	5	10	11.2
	44	Seaside Sirens Roller Girls	4	3	10.5
	45	Imposters Roller Girls	2	3	8.8
+2	46	Romsey Town Rollerbillies	3	5	8.6
-1	47	Plymouth City Roller Girls	3	2	8.3
+1	48	Severn Roller Torrent	0	6	7.1
-2	49	Crash Test Brummies	1	7	6.3
	50	Newcastle Roller Girls [B]	7	1	6.1
	51	Cardiff Roller Collective	5	0	6.0
	52	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls [B]	4	4	5.6
	53	Lincolnshire Bombers [B]	1	4	5.0
	54	Hulls Angels Roller Dames	0	6	4.7
	55	Belfast Roller Derby	3	4	4.5
	56	Tiger Bay Brawlers [B]	3	1	4.4
+2	57	Dolly Rockit Rollers [B]	3	2	4.1
-1	58	South West Angels of Terror	3	0	4.1
-1	59	Wolverhampton Honour Rollers	1	2	3.7
+1	60	Central City Rollergirls [C]	3	0	3.6
-1	61	Jakey Bites	0	5	2.9
	62	Milton Keynes Concrete Cows	5	1	2.9
+1	63	Liverpool Roller Birds [B]	1	2	2.7
-1	64	Swansea City Roller Derby	3	4	2.6
	65	Bruising Banditas	2	1	2.5
+2	66	Furness Firecrackers	1	4	2.5
+2	67	Nottingham Roller Girls	0	2	2.4
-2	68	Dublin Roller Girls [B]	3	1	2.4
+1	69	Rebellion Roller Derby	4	3	2.2
-3	70	Mean Valley Roller Girls	3	2	1.9
	71	Oxford Roller Derby	3	5	1.8
	72	Bristol Roller Derby [B]	2	0	1.8
+2	73	Portsmouth Roller Wenches	3	0	1.6
-1	74	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers [B]	0	2	1.5
+3	75	Limerick Roller Derby	0	2	1.4
+1	76	Norfolk Brawds	2	2	1.4
-1	77	Wakey Wheeled Cats	1	2	1.4
-4	78	Fair City Rollers	0	4	1.4
	79	Fierce Valley Roller Girls	1	2	1.2
	80	Hell's Belles	1	5	1.0
+1	81	Wiltshire Roller Derby	0	3	0.9
-1	82	Bedfordshire Roller Girls	2	3	0.9
+1	83	Preston Roller Girls	1	1	0.9
-1	84	Shoetown Slayers	0	3	0.8
+3	85	Birmingham Blitz Dames [B]	1	2	0.8
-1	86	Manchester Roller Derby [B]	2	3	0.8
-1	87	Vendetta Vixens	0	5	0.6
-1	88	Evolution Rollergirls	1	3	0.4
	89	Wirral Whipiteres	0	3	0.2

December 8 Bout Guide

Here's what to look forward to this Saturday out on the track:

• #67 Mean Valley host #88 Birmingham Blitz [B] in a bid to continue their climb this season.  BBD did not field a B-team in bouts for almost 16 months, and this will be their third bout since their reintroduction.

• Manchester Roller Derby send both A and B teams over to Dublin for a double header. #85 MRD[B] are 2-2 right now, and can finish the 2012 season with a winning record if they can take down #66 DRG[B], who also need a win to finish 2012 above even.
  
  The A-team bout features #32 MRD travelling to #20 DRG. The Irish side won their one previous meeting, and have managed to increase the distance between the two leagues on the chart ever since. However, according to MRD's SkullDozer, "This time it's a very different team, we have worked very hard on adapting to situations & reading the other team for their tactics. I think it'll be a tough game, but if they keep their heads & work hard I think they stand a chance!"


• #27 Dolly Rockit are heading to #14 Hot Wheel for the third bout between the two leagues. Head-to-head, DRR have a 2-0 lead, and the two have traded the higher position on the rankings 3 times in the last 12 months. HWRD have been climbing into the teens, though, whilst DRR are still trying to climb back up after a disappointing July and August.
  
  I spoke with Jerry Atric from HWRD, who explained to me that it's part of his grand strategy to bout against difficult teams, then "settle the score" if they win the first time. Hence the back-to-back bouts against DRR and Newcastle, both with winning records over Hot Wheel. "Both the Dollies and Newcastle have both shown historically that they can play some solid roller derby and they are certainly not bouts to be taken lightly," he told me.  Saturday should show if they've made that turnaround.


• In the headline bout of the weekend, #2 Glasgow, fresh off a great performance in Europe and an 11-month undefeated stretch in the UK, take on #9 Tiger Bay, looking to establish themselves as permanent members of the top-10 club. Both teams made significant climbs up the chart this summer, and even a good perfomance in a loss for the Brawlers should cement their reputation as one of the UK's power leagues.
  
  However, the reason this bout is my headliner isn't the two big-name teams taking the track second. It's the two junior derby teams taking the track first! I think this is the first time I'm excited for a bout that won't go into the ranking scheme, or produce stats, or anything like that. This time I'm excited because British derby will be taking a massive step forward, led by the Brawlers, with the public growth of the junior game.

Good luck to everyone this weekend, and the best to those under-18s skating in Wales!  Roll Britannia!

See the future...

This weekend, the Tiger Bay Brawlers' junior derby outfit, the Tiger Cubs, take to the track for the first time.  This marks a quantum leap in British derby, as now the new generation of skaters will be learning derby as teenagers, not as young adults.

The first junior roller derby league was established in Tuscon, Arizona, in 2006.  By now, the Junior Roller Derby Association list over 40 leagues in 5 countries, of which only a few are JRDA members.


Why junior derby, though?

Someone once asked a great skater, I believe it was Suzy Hotrod, what she did to be the greatest skater in the game.  Her answer was simply that she had been skating derby longer than anyone else.  A junior derby team is that investment of time into the derby future.

It's the future of the league.  The Brawlers are, like other leagues, normally limited to recruiting over 18s, due to liability issues.  Generally speaking, these recruits have had no derby experience, and must be built up from zero.  Soon, the next generation of Brawlers will have been skating derby for years before even turning 18.  They'll already have all the basics: tactical know-how, equipment, skate skills, and perhaps even a derby name!

It's the future of the fans.  In the US, the growth of youth soccer in the 90s is largely responsible for the growth in fan support for the game.  The parents watch their kids play, get to like the game, then start watching it at the top level.  The same will likely be true in derby; parents will eventually come to bouts that do not even involve their children!

It's the future of Wales.  Two out of the four junior derby teams I've found in the UK are located there.  Perhaps unintentionally, the Welsh have set out to grow their national team from a virtual "M4 Derby Academy" with teams in Cardiff and Swansea.


If you go on Saturday, make an effort to show massive appreciation to these junior derby skaters.  Look around you.  You'll be seeing the future of British derby right there.

Recap and rankings for 3 December

Qualtiy derby this weekend!

Newcastle spoiled Central City [B]'s bid at an even 3-3 season with a solid 102-118 win, earning them a one-position improvement to #26 on the chart.

Bristol [B] debut on the chart at #72 with their strong 224-127 win over #58 Wolverhampton Honour Rollers.  Rainy City [B] were defeated, but with a statistically advantagous 145-124 scoreline.  They actually improve to #42 on the chart, with Bristol [A] holding at #25.

Further north, #85 Manchester [B] were able to keep their hopes of a winning 2012 campaign alive with a 192-108 victory over #87 Evolution, and the Mancunian men's team forced the #47 Brummies to look elsewhere for their 2nd victory convincingly, winning 236-123.

On to the chart!

		Team	Wins	Losses	Rank Pts
	1	London Rollergirls	2	0	242.3
	2	Glasgow Roller Derby	6	1	168.8
	3	Central City Rollergirls	6	4	129.3
	4	Rainy City Roller Girls	3	2	118.1
+1	5	London Rockin Rollers	7	2	111.5
+1	6	Auld Reekie Roller Girls	5	7	111.2
-2	7	Leeds Roller Dolls	4	4	111.2
	8	London Rollergirls [B]	3	0	105.0
	9	Tiger Bay Brawlers	6	2	71.0
	10	Big Bucks High Rollers	4	4	53.8
	11	Brighton Rockers	5	1	52.0
	12	Hellfire Harlots	6	2	50.4
	13	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers	6	2	44.1
	14	Hot Wheel Roller Derby	6	4	40.5
	15	Southern Discomfort	9	1	38.5
	16	Birmingham Blitz Dames	4	4	38.3
+1	17	Lincolnshire Bombers	2	6	35.0
+1	18	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls	2	5	34.8
-2	19	Quad Guards	7	2	34.4
	20	Dublin Roller Girls	5	2	33.6
	21	London Rollergirls [C]	1	2	30.8
+1	22	Royal Windsor Rollergirls	4	2	29.4
-1	23	Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder	2	0	29.1
	24	Croydon Roller Derby	4	4	26.2
	25	Bristol Roller Derby	8	3	25.6
+1	26	Newcastle Roller Girls	6	4	24.2
+1	27	Dolly Rockit Rollers	4	7	23.9
-2	28	Tyne & Fear	7	3	23.8
	29	Leeds Roller Dolls [B]	2	3	22.4
	30	Kent Rollergirls	3	2	22.3
	31	Glasgow Roller Derby [B]	5	2	21.9
+1	32	Manchester Roller Derby	6	4	20.5
-1	33	London Rockin Rollers [B]	0	3	20.1
+1	34	The Expendables	4	4	19.1
-1	35	Central City Rollergirls [B]	2	4	17.5
	36	New Wheeled Order	5	8	16.3
+1	37	Auld Reekie Roller Girls [B]	2	3	15.7
+1	38	Dundee Roller Girls	5	1	14.6
+1	39	The Inhuman League	5	10	13.9
+1	40	Granite City Roller Girls	1	4	13.3
+1	41	Liverpool Roller Birds	1	6	13.3
+8	42	Rainy City Roller Girls [B]	3	4	12.5
+1	43	Cork City Firebirds	0	2	11.8
-1	44	Seaside Sirens Roller Girls	4	3	11.4
	45	Imposters Roller Girls	2	3	9.5
+1	46	Plymouth City Roller Girls	3	2	9.0
-1	47	Crash Test Brummies	1	7	9.0
+1	48	Romsey Town Rollerbillies	3	5	8.8
-1	49	Severn Roller Torrent	0	6	7.6
+2	50	Newcastle Roller Girls [B]	7	1	6.9
	51	Cardiff Roller Collective	6	0	6.6
+2	52	Sheffield Steel Roller Girls [B]	4	4	5.8
+2	53	Lincolnshire Bombers [B]	1	4	5.6
+2	54	Hulls Angels Roller Dames	0	6	5.5
+2	55	Belfast Roller Derby	3	4	4.9
+5	56	Tiger Bay Brawlers [B]	3	1	4.8
-20	57	South West Angels of Terror	3	0	4.3
-5	58	Wolverhampton Honour Rollers	1	2	4.1
+1	59	Dolly Rockit Rollers [B]	3	3	3.9
-1	60	The Jakey Bites	0	5	3.9
-3	61	Central City Rollergirls [C]	3	0	3.8
	62	Milton Keynes Concrete Cows	5	1	3.2
	63	Swansea City Slayers	3	4	3.1
	64	Liverpool Roller Birds [B]	1	2	3.0
+1	65	Bruising Banditas	2	1	2.9
-1	66	Dublin Roller Girls [B]	2	1	2.8
	67	Mean Valley Roller Girls	3	1	2.7
+3	68	Furness Firecrackers	1	4	2.7
-1	69	Nottingham Roller Girls	0	2	2.5
-1	70	Rebellion Roller Derby	4	3	2.4
-1	71	Oxford Roller Derby	3	5	2.0
-->	72	Bristol Roller Derby [B]	2	0	1.9
-1	73	Middlesbrough Milk Rollers [B]	0	2	1.8
	74	Fair City Rollers	0	4	1.7
-2	75	Portsmouth Roller Wenches	3	0	1.7
	76	Wakey Wheeled Cats	1	2	1.7
-2	77	Norfolk Brawds	2	2	1.6
-1	78	Limerick Roller Girls	0	2	1.5
	79	Fierce Valley Roller Girls	1	2	1.4
	80	Hell's Belles	1	5	1.2
	81	Bedfordshire Roller Girls	2	3	1.1
-4	82	Wiltshire Roller Derby	0	3	0.9
-1	83	Shoetown Slayers	0	3	0.9
	84	Preston Rollergirls	1	1	0.9
-2	85	Manchester Roller Derby [B]	2	2	0.9
-1	86	Vendetta Vixens	0	5	0.7
-1	87	Evolution Rollergirls	1	3	0.4
-1	88	Birmingham Blitz Dames [B]	0	2	0.3
-1	89	Wirral Whipiteres	0	3	0.2