Winsor

Roller Derby is both physically demanding and highly tactical, and yet there is a place for everyone, no matter what their background.

Since we began in late May 2010, we have always aimed high. Initially we set out to be the first team to bring live Roller Derby to Nottingham. We achieved this on June 4 2011 with our first highly successful home bout against Yorkshire’s Hotwheel Roller Derby, where we emerged victorious.

2011 also saw the Hellfire Harlots become members of the UK Roller Derby Association (UKRDA).

We are also working towards becoming part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) – currently apprentice status – which would allow us to compete at an international level with some of the best teams in the world.

By the skaters for the skaters

Our league is committee led, with an ethos of ‘by the skaters for the skaters’. There are currently ten committee members charged with the task of overseeing the operation of the team, which is run on a par with a small business, despite our not for profit status.

We currently have a league of sixty members, and we recruit for new members, including men, who can get involved as referees or NSOs.

Our team is comprised of all kinds of different women, of different ages, shapes and backgrounds.

Amongst our members we count photographers, business women, mothers, musicians, jewellers, magazine editors, teachers, graphic designers and many more. We all share the goal of pursuing our sport as far as we can and expanding it globally.

The average demographic is 25 – 45 year old women, but we have members as young as 18, and members as old as 52, as well as trained referees, and a crew of off skates’ officials (NSOs) who help to run the league.

In recognition of all our hard work over the last few years, the Hellfire Harlots were awarded the 2012 Nottingham Sport Club of Year.

Some other cool things our team has achieved:

  • becoming WFTDA apprentices
  • facing London Roller Girls in September 2012 (the UK’s most established league)
  • teaching Daley Thompson, Sharron Davies and John Inverdale to skate when they visited for the 2012 Join In weekend
  • playing our first international bout in April 2012 against Sweden’s Crime City Rollers.
  • becoming a member of the UK Roller Derby Association (UK RDA)
  • winning Broxtowe Borough’s Sports Club of the Year 2011
  • actively working with charities such as Nottingham Women’s Centre and CP Sports to help raise funds for good causes.