Seaside Siren Roller Girls

Seaside Siren All Stars v Dolly Rockit Rollers 21/04/2013 – by Jenna Tail’ya

Killer Bite — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:06:44 +0000

We love a goooooood bout. You know the kind. Where the blockers are all over each other from start to finish and the jammers have to claw for every single point they get. Where both teams are so evenly matched that it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top. Where the skating and skill is top notch and you are astounded by some of the tricks you see. I know you know what I mean – a goooooood bout!

God love those lush London boys of Southern Discomfort Roller Derby for inviting us to open their home bout against the Crash Test Brummies at Tottenham Green Leisure Centre. And against the formidable Dolly Rockit Rollers (DRR) of Leicester none the less! We knew that particular game on Sunday the 21st was going to be a goooooood bout, we just didn’t realise exactly how good.

DRR and the Sirens have a long history of a lot of love – both teams were founded around the same time, with one of the DRR’s founders being a red-blooded – not orange-skinned – Essex girl (Hi Slamabama!). DRR catapulted themselves up through the UK derby scene as a force to be reckoned with, and we were impressed and awed with how quickly they were able to take to the game and make it their own. The Sirens’ own assent to awesomeness was a slow and steady incline in comparison so, needless to say, this bout was a long time coming.

The game kicked off to a packed house with what seemed to be an equal amount of Siren and Dolly supporters in attendance. Both teams have a bit of a reputation for being loud, lairy and a lot of fun, so it was always going to be a bit more noisy than usual. A ‘bit’ turned out to be an understatement!

The first jam saw Force Ten Gail (FTG) of the Sirens up against Nitro Noush of DRR. Power blockers from the Sirens – vice captain The Bexorcist, Hula Gunn, The Beckoning and Frocky Balboa – were able to hold Noush in the pack while FTG snuck around the outside of the pack dodging heavy hits from DRR’s blockers to get lead jammer status. She scored six points before Noush escaped the pack and called off the jam.

The second jam saw Killer Bite (KB) against the aforementioned Slamabama. The Bexorcist was back on the track and landed a huge – and unfortunately illegal – hit on Slam, making her the first penalty box trip of the game. None the less KB got lead jammer status, scored and killed the jam dead.

Between KB and FTG rotating one on one off as jammers, the Sirens managed to hit over 50 points within the first jams of the game. The Siren jammers, possibly tiring, gave away a few power jams to the Dolly’s jammers who took full advantage of the Sirens’ time off the track. They managed to even up the score very quickly and then surpassed the Sirens’ score within the first ten minutes of first half. Thus began the rotation of power jams; KB sitting down only to be joined by DRR’s jammer, captain Onya Case, which released KB back to the track. And back and forth we went like that.

Meanwhile, the packs from both teams fought hard and displayed impressive tactics. DRR were excellent communicators constantly feeding information to their team-mates while the Sirens’ heavy hits from Frocky Balboa and Doc, coupled with their impressive recycling abilities, managed to slow the bleed from DRR and claw back a few points of their own. The teams went into the second half with the Sirens ONE POINT in the lead, 77 to 76.

The second half began exactly where the first half left off. FTG wore the star for the Sirens, Onya Case wearing it for DRR. Both jammers struggled to get through the tough packs, but FTG managed to escape first and get called lead jammer. Onya was hot on her heels forcing FTG to call the jam off early and no points were scored. KB hit the track for the second jam of the half and got a cut track penalty, giving DRR’s jammer, Major Mickey Taker, the opportunity to change the score lead again. She catapulted the score to 91 – 77 in the Dolly’s favour and called the jam early to start the next with KB still standing in the box. Holly Sheet of DRR took to the track to do some more damage, but the Sirens’ pack were all over her and managed to prevent her scoring anymore points before KB rejoined the game. KB broke through the pack first but couldn’t be lead, and she didn’t manage to circle back around and score before Holly broke through, was called lead and killed the jam immediately.

Ten minutes into the second half and DRR are up 102 to the Siren’s 89. The penalties are heavy from both teams, but the Sirens blockers aren’t slowing. Some excellent jammer assists from Hula Gunn were well timed and hugely beneficial, while The Beckoning worked her magic at the back of the pack holding down the opposition jammer. DRR’s power blockers – Thrashin Bones and last-minute sub Evel Von Deta – weren’t making it easy either, targeting the Sirens’ defence and attempting to destroy their formations and their concentration.

The teams hardly went more than ten points from each other through the entirety of the second half and tensions in the crowd and on the benches were high. This was well and truly anyone’s game!

With 1:26 to go until the final whistle the score was a dead even 162 to 162. Jammers KB and Nitro Noush were taking turns rotating in and out of the penalty box, when KB cut the track and fouled out of the game with too many penalties! The jam ends and FTG is forced to take KB’s place in the penalty box where Noush is already sitting, and the jam starts with both jammers in the box! With hardly any time left on the period clock this is very clearly going to be the last jam of the game.

FTG is released almost straight away and she starts passing. The Sirens’ bench and supporters are all on their feet screaming and cheering her on! She passes once, and then twice, and starts on her third pass when Noush is released from the box and starts on her first pass with 30 seconds on the clock. The Sirens power blockers – The Bexorcist, Hula Gunn and The Beckoning – manage to keep her in the pack, rotating and recycling, driving Noush off the track and forcing her to the back and through again. DRR’s blockers are focusing all their attention on trying to stop FTG from scoring any more points and Tottenham Green Leisure Centre is rocking from the noise! Before Noush can score the final whistle sounds, ending the game with the Sirens ahead at 178 to 162. And the crowd goes nuts!

It was a goooooood bout!

The Sirens would like to thank Southern Discomfort for hosting us, the referees for their whistle skills, and the NSHo’s who were FANTASTIC as always, and the truly excellent Dolly Rockit Rollers for putting us through our paces.

Congratulations to the award winners from DRR:
Thrashin Bones – Best Blocker
Lil Crash – Best Jammer
Nitro Noush – MVP

And the same to the Sirens’ award winners:
The Beckoning – Best Blocker
Force Ten Gail – Best Jammer
The Bexorcist – MVP

Our next public outing will be at home in Garon’s Park Leisure Centre against Manchester Roller Derby’s Checkerbroads! Tickets are £5 in advance, £6 on the door and, as always, there’ll be beer!

Image copyright: Andrew Sims

Beyond The Thunderdome

Killer Bite — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:55:28 +0000

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in April, the Seaside Siren Zebras-in-Training headed to Oldham – home of the Rainy City Roller Girls – and boy did it live up to its name!

We arrived at our stable for the night under heavy grey clouds and could only expect there to be a downpour in a city nicknamed Rainy! It had been a long trek and we wanted to put our hooves up before the day of skating that awaited us. So after a hot meal, we settled in with our Ovaltine (Clawd’Ya) and knitting (Rosie the Refetor) and pondered what lay before us at the Referee Clinic.

Bright and early on Sunday morning we re-fuelled, packed our saddlebags, and headed to The Thunderdome!

After navigating some horrible one-way systems littered with roadwork’s, we finally arrived. The Thunderdome was once a theatre in Oldham town centre – now it is the home venue of The Rainy City Roller Girls, who refurbed the venue in 2011 to suit their needs by laying a new concrete floor and designating bench areas and the penalty box.

We were met at the door by Matt the Knife, Yvel Saint Laurent and Emmeline Pancakehurst, who were without keys. The wind was blowing, and the herd of zebra’s was growing rapidly. Finally, Karl Lagerfilled arrived with the keys and we trotted up the stairs in anticipation of the day ahead.

We had been warned that The Thunderdome could get quite cold, but I don’t think anyone was fully prepared for the chill that awaited us! So, with mugs of warm drinks and several layers of clothes we gathered at the end of the room for the slideshow!

Matt and Karl introduced themselves officially, and we were all wowed by their years of experience and the certifications under their belts. We were definitely in good hands to learn the ropes. Labelled as an event for Beginner-Intermediate level ref’s, the day promised to teach us more about pack definition, making clear calls, professionalism, how to perform kit checks and more.

The morning session was made up of several PowerPoint presentations, and included role- play (no, not that kind of role-play!) of what to expect from an Official Review. Most of all, Matt and Karl stressed how a referee should be professional at all times, and ensure that you remain calm and in control of any situation as things can get heated on bout day! It was really informative and we came away with plenty to think about.

After a swift lunch, we strapped on our skates and donned our stripes (some of us for the first time ever!) for the afternoon session of skating. Matt promised that this half of the day would teach us the skills we would need for the track, and put the theory session to the test. After kit-checking each other and a quick warm-up, we set about on an obstacle course designed to put several skills into practice. Starting with a jump over the fallen skater, or cones in this case, transition to backwards to follow the front of the pack, then turn again to chase. Stopping at the next cone we were greeted with a penalty card and colour and number card, helpfully held up by some of the Rainy City skaters and refs, to which we had to clearly call the penalty and ensure we made the right hand signal. Can anyone say pressure?!

There were several more drills, and some of the Rainy City A-Team came to help with some pack work. We were split into three teams of seven (a full ref crew), to ref the pack at varying speed. Not only that, but they were holding up cards with different penalties written on them for us all to call. The cries of a herd of zebra can be quite deafening at times!

After a quick briefing by Matt, we were told the day would be ending with a closed-door bout between Furness Firecrackers and the home team, Bet Lynch Mob. Great, we thought, we can watch a ref crew up close and personal. But no, Matt told us that WE would be ref’ing the game! Making our bout debut was a scary thought, but we knew we had been preparing for this moment all day. After a quick group hug, the Seaside Siren Trainee Zebra’s went into battle armed and ready.

Matt was based on the inside track and would oversee us from there, helping with any calls or issues. Karl was watching from the Outside and was ready to debrief us after the game. We were split into teams of seven again, and would be skating four jam rotations and we would get the chance to try out all the different positions (that’s what she said!). Rosie the Refetor was in the first group, and Clawd’Ya and 7 Deadly Sims followed in group two. After the first rotation, all the zebras were starting to get into the swing of things, and even enjoying themselves!

With the bout whistled to an end, Matt called us in to the middle for the last zebra huddle of the day. We all felt that we had improved, and were leaving having gained some great knowledge and experience. The most profound being:

Rule 2.2.2 – The Team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
You need skaters to score the points
You need referees to count the points
You need NSO’s to track the points

Without any of the above, there is no game. So remember Rule 2.2.2 when you are next at a game, and remember that ref and NSO training is just as important as skater training. Without us, the track would be carnage!

Rosie the Refetor, Clawd’Ya and 7 Deadly Sims would like to extend a MASSIVE thank you to The Rainy City Roller Girls, and especially to the Matt The Knife, Karl Lagerfilled and all the ref crew for organising such a great day out. We hope to host you at the decidedly warmer seaside soon!

Capsizing for Charity – by Sam Awry

Killer Bite — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:31:02 +0000

The grey March sky hangs over The Ship pub in Leigh-on-Sea, and it’s quiet and empty – a stark contrast to the later plans that were about going to rock this boat (sorry)! By 1pm on the 30th the pub was filling with music-lovers congregating to see nine, mostly local, bands throughout the day. The Capsize charity all-dayer covered from rock to punk alongside a mainly metal line up of epic proportions, including acts that have shared the stage with Funeral For A Friend, and graced the stage at Bloodstock metal festival.

The Capsize event was organised to promote the local metal music scene and to raise money for two charities, firstly Fanconi Hope, and secondly for the Seaside Sirens’ chosen charity Southend YMCA. This is where I come in. As the organizer, Luke Kinsella, is a close friend of mine, I was able to put Southend YMCA forward, which has landed myself at a table collecting money for two brilliant causes for the day (please have a look at the links at the end of my blog to see what each charity does). Two of my fellow Sirens joined me to provide some well desired help – Hell Broke Luce and Mock The Weak. We had a ball working most of the day, but as we only saw about 3 bands between us throughout the event, I’ll leave the summing up of the action to the creator of Capsize himself.

“The day kicked off with the newly reformed Black Spring Rising. At first I was concerned that the turnout wasn’t so good for them, but as the set went on the pub started to fill, and people were drawn upstairs to be greeted by a fantastic performance. By the second band we were pushing 60 people piling in downstairs to see Ethereal Fire, who did a kick ass extended set with some superb covers alongside their own music. More and more people kept showing up and I knew, by then, the day was going to be a success. The line-up continued with Rough Divide, Walk In Coma and 7786 taking to the stage in quick succession. Next up were Minerva Falls, playing their hearts out to raise money for a charity very close to them – Fanconi Hope. Their set, as always, blowing away the crowd, and setting up for a brilliant performance from Forged In Black (previously Merciless Fail) who were showcasing their new lead guitarist with some quite frankly amazing solos. Later into the night we had Second Rate Angels followed by Last Superheroes, who, for me, stole the show. They managed to end what was an awesome day so epically, fully capturing the spirit of the day in with their 30 minute set that ended dead on midnight. Each band that come came and rocked The Ship helped us reach the huge and entirely unexpected total, making every stress from the day so very worth it. If you were there and you don’t know who I am, I was the tall moshing mass of hair at the front, loving every minute, and if this has sounded like something you’d want to experience, we will be doing it again, so keep your eyes peeled, and I hope to work alongside the Sirens again in the future.“

In all we had at least 150 people through the door throughout the day and raised just shy of £450 (which has now been brought up to £450 exactly) which is going to be split equally between the 2 charities. So here I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved and to all those who came and gave so generously – you all officially rock in the eyes of the Sirens and team Capsize! \m/ \m/

-Sam Awry

http://www.fanconi.org.uk

http://www.southendymca.org.uk

Bazooka Salt – She’s a good egg!

Bazooka Salt — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:11:51 +0000

Hello from the ‘New Girl’! For those that don’t know me yet I’m Bazooka Salt 186 (JL in the real world).

In November 2012 I made the scary jump to transfer from London Rollergirls Rec League to the Seaside Sirens. My long term partner is an Essex boy and despite living in Bromley I throw myself up the M25 two or three times a week to come to training. Some people think I’m crazy but it felt the right thing to do both in my derby ‘career’ and my personal life (if anyone hears of a good horse job this side of the water, hit me up so I can move over!).

I’ve been skating since 2010 and despite an 8 month injury break have not looked back. Skating means the world to me so thinking about changing leagues was a really big decision. I knew The Bexorcist from LRG and speaking to her and seeing how passionate she is about the Sirens was a huge boost of confidence for me. I came to a few training sessions in October and by mid-November I knew that I absolutely had to put in to transfer.

Since turning up to my first training session I have felt nothing but complete acceptance and was immediately integrated into the group. I did not feel like there were expectations placed on me because of where I come from.

I made the top 20 draft in January which was both unexpected as I was so new and hugely exciting. Again, I felt nothing but support from the league despite being new and potentially taking a spot from skaters that had been with the league longer. I also became a coach within the league and normally take my share of our A team, league scrimmage and fitness sessions. As a riding instructor by trade, I’m used to leading sessions and formulating training plans but doing so for a new league was really intimidating. I had nothing to worry about! I didn’t at all feel like I had anything to prove despite never coaching to a higher level than fresh meat in the past. I am keen to develop my coaching further to help boost the league’s level using my skills as a blocker. I believe that we all have something we can contribute to our team and am keen to gather feedback during sessions from the other skaters so that we can work together to push ourselves upwards. Again, my methods have been accepted and I’m really enjoying leading my sessions.

I made the roster for our season opener against the Romsey Town Rollerbillies. We won by a strong margin and I won the Best Blocker award. It was my first one ever and I was thrilled as I’ve been working really hard during our training sessions. We have fantastic captains who I think are going to drive us forwards for the rest of the season. We had an off-skates training session after the game where we reviewed the bout footage as a team including our ace bench coach and line-up manager. Not only was it a fantastic team learning experience it was great for bonding as well. We were all able to openly discuss each other’s strengths and weaknesses in order to help each other improve.

Unfortunately I’ve had a bit of a whoopsie and have managed to break my fibula resulting in some nifty metalwork being put in my leg (an ORIF if anyone is interested). I had surgery on the 23rd March and will be in plaster for 6 weeks. Although I am completely gutted about injuring myself so close to the start of the season, I have to say I have never felt more supported. The league have been exceptional, be it sorting out my car, visiting me in hospital, bringing baked goods, lifts to training or simple get well soon messages. It’s given me a massive boost during a tough time and I couldn’t be more thankful.

I have 5 weeks left in plaster and I can’t wait to undertake my physio so I can get back on skates (and my horses!). It’s going to be tough, but I’m rostered for our first European bout in Cologne at the end of May. It’s ambitious, but so am I, and I think I can make the trip with my skates rather than as a bench warmer. Either way, I know my lovely Sirens will support my decision.

I’ll write back when I’m out of plaster and on my way back to recovery.

Onwards and upwards,

JL x

Image copyright: Andrew Sims

A Healthy, Happy You – Abi Sin Ya

Abi Sin Ya — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:08:30 +0000

So we’re already in the 3rd month of the year and it’s usually around now that the new year’s resolutions start to pale into insignificance and the chill of March has me eating comfort food and curling up indoors like some kind of overweight tortoise, hibernating with a pack of jammie dodgers and a bucket of tea. Well this year is different for me – I’ve decided to make a change and I am dragging as many Sirens as I can along for the ride!

I was given the idea of creating a slimming group by a friend that used to slim as a competition with her buddies, the biggest loser winning the pot of cash that they’d all paid into to join up.

From there, out little SSRG shrinkers group was born and after just one week I was astounded by the amount of positivity and support that’s being shared. One common goal can bring people together in such an amazing way. You only have to look at the Roller Derby community in general to see that that’s the truth.

I’m quickly realising how this group of ladies, that might have got together to lose a few extra pounds, have a lot more than just that in common. I’m noticing a ‘chicken and egg’ kind of deal going on with low self-image and a lack of self-esteem fuelling weight issues, weight issues that are quite commonly caused by a lack of self-esteem and low self-image! So how can we break this spiral of low self-worth?

I wholeheartedly believe that boosting your general mood and outlook on life can help you to change your eating habits and promote your desire to exercise, socialise and experience a better quality of life. I’m going to share some basic tips and hints that can help you to stay motivated and positive about your body image and your progress. I, personally, believe that without a positive self-image you will never allow yourself to succeed at anything. Self-loathing is willing oneself to fail.

Here are some great little pointers I found to help you look at what might be holding you back on your path to truly accepting who you are and what can make you happy.

The 10 tools to help you feel stronger and more hopeful:

1) Connect with others. Fight stress with friendship.
Look after your friends. Make them laugh, make them cry. Connect with people. Loneliness is a huge factor in depression and anxiety, so reach out to someone, today.

2) Stay positive. Changing your thinking can change your life.
Try to remember the positives in what you’re doing, whether it’s that little jump you did on the track without falling over or the half a pound you lost. Congratulate yourself on what you have achieved instead of beating yourself up for the things you’ve yet to achieve.

3) Get physically active. Exercise can make you happier.
It’s widely documented that increasing your activity boosts your immune system, reduces risk of heart disease and generally makes you feel like you can kick ass!

4) Help others.
You may feel better serving soup at a shelter than sipping Martinis at happy hour. The Southend YMCA is our chosen charity for the first half of this year, though there are lots of local charities that could always use a helping hand, and nothing makes you feel warmer inside than helping someone in need.

5) Get enough sleep.
Being tired can hurt your health and your relationships. Increasing activity and cutting out caffeine will aid a good night’s rest. Feelings of depression and anxiety are heightened by poor sleep, so treat yourself to an early night every now and then!

6) Create joy and satisfaction.
Feeling good is good for you, so have a laugh, find a hobby or just kick back. Patch Adams had it right – it’s widely believed that laughing boosts immunity and releases physical tension and stress, it can possibly protect you from heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.. Laughter really is the best medicine!

7) Eat well.
The right foods can fuel your mind, boost your body and fight disease. Eat regularly, eat healthily, eat happily. Don’t feel guilty for having that treat, just take responsibility for what you eat and respect yourself enough to put the right fuel in your tank.

8) Take care of your spirit.
Praying, meditating or just connecting with your deeper self can enrich your life. Taking a little time each day to tune out of the world and into ourselves is so important. Lie down in a dark room; take some time to think about how good it feels to just be. Research has shown that meditation not only calms but helps with anxiety and depression, and can help with many more serious conditions.

9) Deal better with hard times.
Coping tools can help you through a rough patch.
Try to use adversity as a stepping stone. See finding something difficult as your fuel to power you into learning how. If you’re afraid of something, let that fear motivate you to become braver. This hard time you’re facing now might be the only chance you will get to prove to yourself that you are resilient.

10) Get professional help if you need it.
If you feel that your issues run deeper than Abi’s self-help tips can deal with, get help. See your GP, take steps to take back your life and regain control.

The shrinkers, although we are competing to win the pot of cash at the end of each week, are a group of people that are aiding each other on a path to being happier and healthier. For some it’s losing a stone or so, for some it’s a different battle altogether. Some aren’t even getting weighed at all and are literally connecting with people in the group, working on their own issues and, possibly inadvertently, helping others with theirs.
Also new for 2013 is the Seaside Sirens Wellbeing Committee, expect a lot more tree hugging and high fiving, coming to a blog near you!

Abi Sin Ya.

Sleeping Isn’t Always Easy – by Sam Awry

Sam Awry — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:48:28 +0000

It was a challenge issued to the league that has landed me and Hell Broke Luce in a cardboard box on a cold march night for charity. It’s 4am on March 2nd, the temperature has just hit -4°c, there is frost on everything, there’s not a sound in the car park and I seem to be the only one awake (dressed as a panda may i add). It is almost painful to breathe, but all I’m thinking is two more hours and then I get a hot breakfast and go home to a warm bed – I am so very lucky. I’m sleeping rough for one night to raise money and awareness for the Southend YMCA at their 1st annual Sleep Easy event.

A few years back I faced having nowhere to stay – I lost my job, lost my flat, and moved back home to find that I couldn’t stay in the family home. I was so scared that I would end up homeless, but I was lucky to have my mum who came through for me and offered me her spare room. So when the opportunity came up to help out people who face homelessness without a support network like mine, I couldn’t say no – what was one night, when many face days/weeks/months sleeping rough?

On the day over 65 people descended on the Southend YMCA’s car park around 7pm, so it was time to grab a box and pick a spot. One very creative group combined their boxes to make a huge shelter for them all making my half assembled box look shameful in comparison, but we, unlike a rough sleeper, had the means to do this with tape at our disposal.

We were treated to some music, a campfire and soup, before bed. I returned to my box find that my sleeping bag was covered in ice already and with eight hours to go I was worried, but Hell Broke Luce and I bedded down for the night. I wriggled into my box, but I couldn’t sleep. I lay in that box, the sides baring down on me, thinking about how hard it must be to do this every night. I was getting a cold that day and had a choice whether or not to do it, but even if a rough sleeper is ill, they have to do it. After two hours I had to get out. After a trip to the loo and a hot coffee it was back to the box for me, but this time I turned it into a deck chair recliner box and sat up for the rest of the night. In total I slept for about an hour that night.

In the morning we all felt a quiet sense of achievement, as we all knew how hard it was, and so with a tea and a bacon butty we packed up and went back to the warm.

Imagine sleeping for only an hour a night, being cold, hungry and scared. Hell Broke Luce and I only got a very small insight into how it feels to sleep rough in the winter. Southend YMCA raised a total of just over £11,000 for this event and I’m pleased to say that, between the two of us, so far we have raised £284.55.

If you want to sponsor us please visit -

Sam Awry - https://www.justgiving.com/Samantha-Wilson6

Hell Broke Luce - https://www.justgiving.com/HellBrokeLuce

Or if you want to give it a go next year visit - http://www.southendymca.org.uk/

Still getting warm

Sam Awry

Pie ‘N’ Bash – we did a win! – by Lady GoreGore

Lady GoreGore — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:20:38 +0000

It’s that time of the year again folks! We kicked off our third (yes, THIRD!) bouting season with a bang this past Saturday at Pie ‘N’ Bash, taking on our East Anglian sisters the Romsey Town Rollerbillies from Cambridge.

The Rollerbillies have long been good friends of the Sirens and back in the early days, I remember taking many a trip down to the infamous Romsey warehouse (RIP!) for mixed scrims and training sessions. However, Pie ‘N’ Bash was the first time that we’d officially met on the track and it certainly made for an awesome match-up!

Fresh for the new year the Seaside Sirens’ A-team’ is now captained by the awesome Frocky Balboa and vice captained by the fearsome Bexorcist (proof that good things come in small packages). The girls have all been working hard since their last win against Croydon in November.

As the hall at Garon Park filled up with spectators hungry for derby, the teams took to the track for their skate outs. It‘s a well-known fact that here at the Sirens we do love a good skate out and the girls in green certainly didn’t disappoint, throwing out some awesome moves to MC Hammer’s ‘Can’t Touch This’. Loving your style ladies!

Of course, we had some surprises of our own up our sleeve and we debuted our brand new skate out song to the home crowd – a mash up of ‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside’ and Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Sirens’.

With the skate outs done and dusted, it was time to get down to business. From the outset, the Sirens’ jammers proved too slippery for the Romsey blockers to hold, with Killer Bite and Force Ten Gail both bolting through the pack to gain lead status jam after jam.

The Sirens have been training hard for the past few months, with a focus on conditioning and pack-work. It certainly showed on the day and, as one spectator said, they were a ‘well-oiled machine’ on the track. We’ve learnt some hard lessons from previous games so it was fab to see our girls working so well together on the track.

The Rollerbillies put up a strong fight however, and showed some fantastic work on the track. Valiant efforts from the Romsey blockers to break up the Siren’s defense, with Test Monkey in particular proving a formidable force to be reckoned with in the pack. Jammers Dusti Knuckles and Hemaphroditie both held their own, obtaining lead jammer status and taking a couple of key powerjams for the ‘Billies.

Extra special props go to Bare Thrills, one of Romsey’s primary jammer’s, who told me at the after party later that she didn’t even jam usually! Awesome stuff!

The final scores were 287 – 73 to the Seaside Siren Roller Girls. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. Massive thanks to the Romsey girls for coming down to the seaside and giving us such a brilliant game. Come back and see us soon!

More Scrimmy Fun Times! – by Ella-GNAW

Ella-GNAW — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:56:39 +0000

ANY derby skater worth their salt will tell you that the best way to gain experience on the track is to skate against people you don’t know, so the Seaside Siren Roller Girls were delighted to welcome the London Roller Girls Recreational League last week to scrimmage with our skaters.

On Sunday, March 3rd, we all arrived at our scrimmage venue, Clements Hall, ready to learn. There was nervous excitement in the air from our cherry popper girls, who would be facing opposing skaters for the first time in their derby lives, while our A-team girls, the Seaside Siren All Stars, were looking forward to putting into practice all the hard work and skills they’ve been dedicating themselves to since the start of the 2013 season.

Thanks to our Head of Referee’s, T, and our Head NSHo, Ragna Rock, who is rocking the socks off of Europe with her officiating skills, organisation and vision, we were fielding a full group of officials to ensure all skaters got the most out of the visit from the Londoners.

Mixed scrimmages are perfect opportunities to mix showing off your game play with having fun on the track and doing what you love the most, and all our Sirens had a chance to get on track and mix it up with the LRG Rec women.

Black and Deck Her showed her big hits off to the Sirens while Tights made sure she had the track covered thanks to her agility! And more than that, we had a BALL playing with them. Everyone was up for it. Our newer skaters, who have never skated against derby girls other than the Sirens, did us proud, proving they’ve made the most of all those drills and skills training sessions.

I think it was safe to say that everyone had a great time, and the icing on the cake – we got to skate with our honorary Siren Tiny Temper.

So thank you to the LRG Rec League for travelling down to the seaside for some super scrimmage!

We would also like to thank our fabulous referee squad and our class-A NSHo’s for bringing it on the day.

If your team would like to visit the Seaside Siren Roller Girls for some Sunday Scrimmage fun times, then get in touch, we’d love to hear from you! Just email admin[at]seasidesirenrollergirls.com

Image Copyright: Andrew Sims

NSHos – (Ragna) Rockin’ all over the world – by Ragna Rock

Geek Le Chic — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:55:53 +0000

The Sirens’ NSO team, the NSHos, are known for their travelling ways and can often be found winging their way around the UK and the rest of Europe. At the end of last year, Hos Krystal Vice, Slack Al and Ragna Rock attended Crime City Rollers’ Officiating bootcamp in Malmo, Sweden, and Sam Awry and Ragna officiated in Helsinki, Finland at the first merby bout in Scandinavia. This time however, it was Krystal Vice and Head NSO Ragna Rock’s mission to attend the WFTDA Officiating Clinic, hosted by London Roller Girls and Surrey Roller Girls in Guildford, and then to jet off to ply their trade in Denmark, officiating bouts between Copenhagen Roller Derby, Helsinki Roller Derby, Nidaros Roller Derby and Crime City Rollers.

First up was the WFTDA clinic – a weekend of rules, practising and practising again, and, of course, Nerf guns! This year the NSO track was taught by WFTDA ninjas Nine Inch Wheels and India Pale Al who had kindly hopped over the pond from the US to pass on their great knowledge. Sessions included tips and tricks on every NSO position, plus the all-important clarifications that can help put an end to many a tricky situation. There was also a scrimmage between LRG skaters and Surrey Roller Girls – including some weird situations to test those grey cells! All officials also got the chance to take the famous ‘hella-hard’ NSO / Referee WFTDA certification test – it certainly lives up to its name! So close: we’ll get you next time hella-hard! Both Ragna and Krystal came away feeling they had learnt really useful stuff to take back and share with the Ho’s at home, having spent the weekend in the great company of old and new officiating pals.

The following weekend the girls jetted off to Copenhagen, bright and early (why do we never book later flights?!) and spent the day in the city being all touristy. Ragna got rather over-excited at the Viking relics in the National Museum and eventually the girls and Billy Smelliot (Copenhagen Head Ref and all-round expat British lovely person) were asked to leave due to overstaying their welcome. Or possibly the closure of the museum. A great evening of dinner and drinks with fellow officials followed, together with preparation for the bouts the next day.

Saturday’s bouts included Copenhagen’s Rollin’ Heartbreakers vs Helsinki Roller Derby, and their Kick Ass Cuties vs Nidaros Roller Derby. Both proved fast paced, exciting bouts which kept all the officials on their toes. Marching in to the hall to the NSO Army of Darkness theme was also a highlight, to the storming cheers of the 700+ crowd!

Copenhagen sure knows a good afterparty – but then partying with the Sirens is never a quiet night either…

Seeing Copenhagen Head NSO Ironmonger in a spangly gold dress is now burned into the two girls’ memories – it suits a heavily bearded man rather too well…

The next day they were off to Malmo to officiate a closed door bout between Crime City Rollers’ B team and Nidaros Roller Derby, then to the pub (standard) and straight to the airport! Fingers crossed they can travel EasyJet again, after a few disagreements with airport staff regarding getting things out of and back into bags…

Both Krystal and Ragna had an amazing weekend with great derby friends and hope to return as soon as possible! And finally, for those who were there over the weekend: FYBJ!

Ragna x

Sirens Bowl Up A Storm! – by Snarley-Davidson

Snarley Davidson — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:24:19 +0000

I’ve always found Valentine’s Day to be a bit predictable, and Valentines weekend can be a nightmare if you fancy getting a bite to eat in town, what with all the smoochy couples with their champagne and roses.

Not so at our Anti-Valentines Bowling Competition! For our first fundraiser this year we decided to put the fun back into fundraising and have a jolly old evening at the local bowling alley.

When we arrived at the venue (1st Bowl Southend) we found that we had been given the alleys in the bar area, which quite frankly suited us to a T! We had a bit of a drink to lubricate our sporty physiques and then took to the lanes. After choosing our balls (this took me ages) and typing our names in, we were off.

In all honesty I was flipping excellent at bowling and I have no idea why my score didn’t reflect that.
Apparently Mr. Dr. Terrorbrawll had the highest score and therefore won the trophy.

I think he was a ringer!