Stockholm Roller Derby is expecting some tough competition from London and Munich this weekend, as they warm up in preparation of meeting some of the best European teams at the WET tournament.
Stockholm Roller Derby’s double-header this Saturday features the B-team Stockholm BSTRDs going head to head with Munich Rolling Rebels and the A-team Stockholm Allstars meeting London Brawl Saints. The London Rollergirls A-team is the number one ranked team in Europe, and the Brawl Saints are their B travel team. Stockholm’s co-captain Rebecka Bengtsson, aka Becky Lawless, expects a tough match:
They are going to be tough opponents. Even though the London B-team is outside of the official WFTDA ranking, they are one of the best teams in Europe. They get to train every week with and against one of the best teams in the world, London’s A-team. So that has obviously made them very strong.
Stockholm Roller Derby’s main goal this autumn is the WFTDA European Tournament 2014, also known as WET. It will be held in Malmö 14th to 16th of November. The tournament brings together the top ten European teams, who will battle it out for the title of the very best team in European Roller Derby.
We have been training the whole autumn in preparation for the WET tournament. This bout against the Brawl Saints is our warm-up for the important tournament and we are totally pumped ahead of it. Our aim is to play a great match together – and hopefully we’ll win.
Another interesting development in Swedish Roller Derby is that an Elite Series has been started this season. The Swedish Championships will be held for the third time in 2015 and the teams in Sweden have been wanting to play each other in a series format ahead of the Championships. The first season has just been kicked off with a match between Dock City Rollers and Västerås Roller Derby on the 18th of October.
Rebecka tells the Stockholm team is having difficulties booking venues for matches, especially since Stockholm Roller Derby has three different teams that should all get the chance to play matches.
We are approaching this newly started Elite Series by having a team for the series that consists of a mix of players from our three teams. The main focus of our Stockholm Allstars team is getting ahead internationally within the WFTDA.
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, or the WFTDA, runs the official international ranking of the sport. Stockholm is currently ranked number 69 in the world, having climbed considerably during this year after getting the chance to play some high-ranked US teams in a Florida tournament in May.
If you want to read more on the background of Stockholm Roller Derby, check out our earlier feature here.
Don’t miss your chance to see top-level Roller Derby on Saturday the 8th of November at Solnahallen. The Stockholm BSTRDs vs. Munich Rolling Rebels match starts at 15:00 and the Stockholm Allstars vs. London Brawl Saints bout is at 17:15. Get your tickets.
All photos by Nina Uddin – from Stockholm Roller Derby vs. Helsinki Roller Derby in September
