Access All Areas March 2018 | Page 23

FEATURE ACCESS All AreAS Rolled gold eventcity hosted the Roller Derby World cup 2018, helping put the emerging sport on the map I f roller derby is not exactly on your radar, you’d be forgiven. However, the game has achieved cult status in the UK, with a passionate fan-base that bring a real sense of drama and intensity to the high-impact, high-paced sport. Roller derby made a comeback in the early 2000s as an all-female, woman- organised amateur sport, with US state Texas leading the charge, and many European countries following behind. The sport, which proudly embraces accessaa.co.uk its grassroots appeal and LGBT contingent, revels in its outsider status. However, with a dim chance roller sports could be included in an upcoming Olympic Games, it could yet reach mass audiences. Currently, roller derby is played by around 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the United States. The game is played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction (counter-clockwise) around a track. Game play consists of a series of short match up