Roll up for a new game in town
The Abu Dhabi and Dubai teams will go against each other on this afternoon at du Forum
On your marks, get set and roll. The first Roller Derby match in the region is set to take place this afternoon — and you’re invited.
The all-female Abu Dhabi Roller Derby, which was founded in 2012, will play a game with the women of Dubai Roller Derby today, between 3-5pm, at du Forum in the capital city. Though the event is free and open to the public, spaces are limited to about 100, organisers have told tabloid!.
“We’re doing it as an exhibition match — Roller Derby is such a technical sport that you kind of need a practice run before doing it for real. It’s going to be the first one for several of our referees and our non-skating officials and the vast majority of our skaters, too. We’re kind of doing it as a soft opening,” said Liz Wright, founding member of Dubai Roller Derby, which was also formed in 2012. She was a founding member of the Montreal Roller Derby in Canada in 2006.
“What we’re actually doing is mixing the teams, so that’s why we’re saying Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We’re not doing Dubai versus Abu Dhabi just yet,” she said. “That way, we get to spread the skill and experience around, and it’s a good learning opportunity for everybody.”
Roller Derby, a contact sport most common among female players, was first played in the 1930s in Chicago, and was revived during the noughties in Texas. The sport is played in ‘bouts’, 60-minute play periods that are split into two. Five people from each team — you can have a bench of up to 20 players — skate competitively around a track for two minutes at a time.
Four members of each team are dubbed blockers, and one is a jammer, as identified by a star on their helmet. The jammer’s role is to score points for their team by passing opposing team members. The blockers assist their jammer while block attempts by the opposing team’s scorer, playing both defence and offence at the same time.
“People who have never seen it before might think that it’s a bit chaotic, and they might not recognise all of the strategy and the skill that goes into it,” said Wright, whose Derby name is Liz On Ya #1990. “They have the idea that we’re allowed to elbow each other, or they think that we’re allowed to push each other, which is not true. It’s a little bit like if you’ve ever watched ice hockey or rugby, and if you don’t understand what’s going on, it’s pretty confusing, but it’s still high-paced and fun to watch.”
Rarely do Roller Derby matches still take place on banked tracks — ovalshaped skating surfaces with elevated, sloped turns as seen in the Drew Barrymore-directed flick, Whip It. Most matches, including the UAE one, take place on flat tracks.
Current members of the Dubai Roller Derby practice twice a week, once with their competitive players, and once with their low-contact, recreational members, who want to avoid ‘big hits’ or don’t have the time to train as athletes.
A night for new skaters — you must be 21 and over — will take place on May 4, at a venue near Safa Park. Interested parties can email info@ dubairollerderby.com to register and receive a location map. Though the Dubai Roller Derby is currently open to female competitive skaters only, men can get involved as coaches, referees or recreational skaters.