Canberra Roller Derby League

The Canberra Roller Derby League (CRDL) was established in 2008 as a volunteer organisation intended to promote roller derby, women's health and sport in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The league was created by Bullseye Betty (Kate Murphy) The league was intended to resemble the burlesque, and was the first roller derby league in the ACT. At the start of its first season, the league had 26 skaters. The first public bout in 2009 took place at Southern Cross Stadium, Tuggeranong, before a sell out crowd. At the end of the 2009 season, additional information nights were held at The Front Cafe and Gallery on 25 August and The Hush Lounge in Phillip on 30 August, and the league held a demonstration at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. On 21 November 2009, it held a roller derby rodeo at the Southern Cross Stadium with tickets being sold at Smith's Bookshop. By 2011, tickets for the league's events would be sold through Ticketek. The league's presence in Canberra has helped change the perception of the sport in the capital from an entertaining sideshow to a mainstream women's participation sport. CRDL helped other leagues in the country. In 2009, members of the league competed as substitutes for the Sydney Roller Derby League's Screaming Assault Sirens in its grand final, after one member of the Sirens was quarantined with swine flu, and several other skaters were out injured. Canberra Roller Derby League was featured in the 2012 documentary This Is Roller Derby. ==Organisation and structure==

bus painted with an advertisement for CRDL. This advertisement was paid for by four of the league's sponsors. Bullseye Bettie was the league president from 2008 to 2009, followed by Cherry Axe-Wound from 2010 onwards. The league previously allowed only female skaters to participate, but now affirms WFTDA's gender policy and states that membership is also open to "any other gender identities who most closely identify with women's flat track roller derby". Members of the league are drawn from many backgrounds, and include medical doctors, mothers, finance workers, electricians and tradies. Skaters practice for roughly eight total hours a week, mostly during two weekly practices that last around three hours. In April 2013, Canberra was accepted as a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program, and graduated to full membership in October 2014. ==Squads==

Vice City Rollers The all-star squad is composed of members of the teams of the Canberra Roller Derby League, who compete as a team in interstate bouts as the "Vice City Rollers". The name is a play on the fact that Canberra has a legal "adult" industry. The Vice City Rollers competed in their first interstate bout in June 2010 in the Great Southern Slam hosted by Adelaide Roller Derby. In 2010, the team also played in bouts in Wollongong, Sydney and Melbourne. The October 2010 match in Sydney against the SydneyCity Assassins featured a Star Wars theme. On 11 December 2010, the Vice City Rollers competed against the Sydney Roller Derby League's all-star team, the Assassins, in a bout at AIS Arena billed as the "Lord of the Rink: The Two Towers", in their first home interstate bout. In the previous meeting in Sydney between the two teams, Canberra lost by four points. The Vice City Rollers competed in several bouts in 2011, including a 19 March 2011 bout against the Victorian Roller Derby League (VRDL) All Stars, a 9 July bout against the NBR Brawl Stars of the Brisbane Roller Derby League in Brisbane, and a 9 August bout against the SSRG Fancy Pants at AIS Arena. They competed at the Eastern Region Roller Derby Tournament Finals on 1 and 2 October in Penrith, New South Wales, When the Vice City Rollers played VRDL, Canberra lost to the current national champions, in front of a crowd of 3,500 spectators. In August the Vice City Rollers lost to the Sun State Roller Girls' Fancy Pants, the number two-ranked team in the nation at the time. Shaggle Frock was Canberra's leading jammer, scoring twenty of Canberra's forty-eight points. The Vice City Rollers are scheduled to have a 5 November 2011 bout in Geelong, Victoria against the Bloody Marys of the Geelong Roller Derby League. The Roller Derby World Cup is the major international roller derby event, with nations sending representative teams, and Vice City Rollers Amykazee, Bambi von Smash'er, King Cam, and Short Stop were chosen for Team Australia for the 2011 edition. In 2018, Canberra qualified for the WFTDA post-season for the first time, for the North American West Continental Cup held in Omaha, Nebraska in the United States. The Continental Cups model groups teams regionally by geography, and without sufficient numbers to hold a standalone tournament in the Asia Pacific region, Canberra was sent to Omaha. Canberra was the second seed at Omaha, and went unbeaten in capturing first place. WFTDA rankings Black N Blue Belles The Black N Blue Belles were created in 2009. The team's name is a play on the ACT floral emblem, the Canberra Bluebell. The team is known inside the league for its fast skating and hard hits, and were the 2010 season champions. The team had eight new skaters in the 2011 squad, which was captained by ShortStop and Melicious Damage. The squad's 2011 sponsors include Allsports Mouthguards, and Cactus – Tattoo Artist North Lyneham. Brindabelters The Brindabelters were formed at the start of 2010 season. Red Bellied Black Hearts The Red Bellied Black Hearts were formed at the start of 2010 season. The team had a number of new skaters join the competition squad for the 2011 bout season. The Red Bellied Black Hearts lost the opening bout of the 2011 season when they were defeated by the Surly Griffins. The team's sponsors for 2011 include Jake's Performance and CJ's Style. The Surly Griffins won their first bout in the 2011 season when they defeated the Red Bellied Black Hearts. ==Referees==

The Canberra Roller Derby League has its own referee squad known as Team Zebra. For the 2011 season, the referees were Magic Strat, Refucious, J Ref. K, Fair-as Bueller, Sin Bin Laden, and Major Dyck. Canberra Roller Derby League referees have been involved with interstate bouts, and Refucious, John Ref Kennedy and Magic Strat were part of the squad that refereed the Sydney City Assassins versus Vice City Rollers bout on 12 December 2010. John Ref Kennedy, Fair-as Bueller and Major Dyck were part of the referee squad for the Vice City Rollers bout against the Sunstate Roller Girls Fancy Pants on 6 August 2011. ==Seasons==

2009 There were only two teams in the league in 2009, the Black N Blue Belles and the Surly Griffins. Including the finale, the season featured three bouts, the second of which were sold out within days. The Surly Griffins were the inaugural season Champions. The championship was held on 13 November 2010. Tickets continued to sell out within 24 hours of going on sale during the 2010 season. The 2011 Derby Darby Cup, dubbed Skate-Icus, was held on 22 October, and was a double header at AIS Arena featuring all four all teams. The Canberra Weekly Magazine ran a contest with prizes including entrance to the bouts and league related merchandise. The grand final bout pitted the Black n Blues and the Red Bellied Black Hearts. Teamwork, tactics and effective blocking eventually won a close bout for the Black Hearts, 138 to 134. and Mudpie Princess, a Canberra-based indie rock band. In 2011, the CDRL hosted official after parties after each league and interstate bout, which were held at the Hellenic Club in Tuggeranong. 2012 The round on 8 September 2012 was won by the Surly Griffins over the Red Bellied Black Hearts. Half-time entertainment was by local rock group, "The London Circuit". ==Media==

Bouts are filmed and are aired on television on Channelvision at a later date. ChannelVision also creates highlight films that appear on the network. 666 ABC Canberra sent journalists to a practice to cover and report on the league. In 2009, Bullseye Betty and Roulette Rouge joined Greg Bayliss in 666 ABC's studio to teach him how to block. The pair also discussed the Canberra Roller Derby League on his show. The league was one of several Australian based teams to appear in the movie, This Is Roller Derby. ==See also==