Update!

Just thought we should give you all a quick update (apologies for the lack of communication recently).
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Firstly, we have finalised our logo, as you can see! This will be available on T-shirts and badges that we will be selling to raise funds for insurance, hall hire and other set-up costs.

Secondly, we will be selling the merchandise at our "big sister" league's first home bout on November 17th. Details on the bout are below. If you've never seen roller derby before, I strongly recommend you come and check it out. We will be there to answer any questions you may have :-)

On Saturday 17th November, Fierce Valley Roller Girls' Parma Violents will play host to Wirral Whipiteres Roller Derby in For Whom the Skate Rolls!

The Peak, in Stirling will be the venue for our first home bout, and we are hoping to make the Metallica-themed day one to remember!

Tickets are priced at £7 on the door, or £5 in advance if you buy online from Brown Paper Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/283751 Children are welcome to attend - under 14s go free when accompanied by an adult. Doors open at 2pm.

Thirdly, if you're wondering when we'll be starting then we're aiming for Feb/March 2013. We know this is a while away, but starting an Under-18s roller derby league has been more challenging than we first envisaged. We are the first league of its kind in Scotland, so have been doing this alone. We want to make sure that everything is set up properly before we start coaching your loved ones (some of our own kids will be joining too, so we understand the need to have all the i's dotted and t's crossed). Policies and constitutions are currently being written along with our training plans, and we hope to be able to furnish you with these at the start of 2013.

Fourthly, our coaches have all passed the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) mimimum standards for derby skaters and are all experienced rollerskaters. Our coaches are all enhanced PVG checked.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to e-mail us or send us a message on Facebook.

 

Frocky Horror

Wheel Amnesty

We realise that sourcing equipment for potential Cubs can be difficult, not to mention expensive, so with that in mind, we are asking if anyone could donate any old indoor wheels for us to use.  We can fit them on to Cubs' skates so they can keep their other wheels for outdoor practice.  Sets of 8, or even 4, indoor wheels (we don't need bearings) would be much appreciated.  If anyone can help, please email us at cubs@fvrg.co.uk and we will try to arrange collection.  A big Cubs thank you!

Back on track

Due to a busy time with Fierce Valley Roller Girls, with Fresh Meat, mins, try-outs and two bouts coming up, the Cubs has taken a bit of a back seat, but we got back on track this weekend.  Skaters representing FVRG and FVRC took part on Saturday in a launch event for The Helix in Falkirk (www.thehelix.co.uk), signing up potential Cubs, skating, meeting Mark Beaumont and generally spreading the FVRG word.

From there, it was straight to Grangemouth to take part in the nationwide Roller Derby Torch Relay, a sponsored skate in aid of SportsAid.  Collectively, skaters from FVRG managed almost 12,000 laps (or 434 miles), the first 10 of which were skated by one of our Cubs, Cam Cam Thank You Ma'am.  He did a great job in getting the night started and we loved having him along.

On Sunday, a couple of us headed to the Scribbler's Picnic in Stirling with a stall to promote all of our activities.  Depsite the weather (we were plagued with rain all weekend), we spoke to lots of people and drummed up interest in the Cubs and our big sister.

All in all, a great weekend taking part in community activities and spreading the word.  Hopefully we're a huge step closer to getting started with the Cubs and we look forward to taking part in many more events like these.

The Big Day

It was with nervous anticipation that I waited for the Fierce Valley Roller Cubs first public outing – The Fierce Valley Roller Girls Craft Emporium <http://www.fvrg.co.uk/news-story.php?id=31>. I was worried that I would not be able to answer any questions, worried that no one would ask questions and worried that we would have no one visit us all day.

The table was set up in lightening-speed time as the clock approached midday and our first guests started to visit us. Thankfully they knew about roller derby and asked some helpful questions about the age range of junior roller derby, and how this affected game play – thankfully questions we were able to respond to. Our next visitor was interested in finding out some more information for her niece and appeared happy with our responses and the leaflets that she went away with.

The next few hours seemed to pass by quickly with enquiries, people popping by to complete our questionnaire, and adults and potential Fierce Valley Roller Cubs taking part in our fundraising activities. We had an afternoon visit from the girls behind the Roller Grrls Comic < http://www.rollergrrrls.com/ >, and they were telling us all about their new venture Lil Rollers.

With the help of our founding cub members ‘Cam Cam Thank You Mam’ and ‘Itty Bitty Bang Bang’ we had the Fierce Valley Roller Cubs t-shirts being fashioned around the hall and Falkirk. Cam Cam took a stint on the table encouraging visitors to Find the Treasure and Guess the Number of Sweeties in the Jar. Unfortunately ‘Jenny and I Scream’ didn’t get her chance as she wasn’t well on the day.

All go...

The committee is deep in prep mode for this Saturday's Craft Emporium (come along - Masonic Temple, Lint Riggs, Falkirk, 12-4pm!) where we'll have a stall of games and goodies, plus skaters on hand to answer any questions.  Frocky Horror and Evil Moogle have been hard at work producing these great documents: What is junior roller derby, an equipment checklist, and FAQs - all found on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/fiercevalleyrollercubs/app_119178388096593

We're also the subject of a great article from Scottish Roller Derby: http://scottishrollerderby.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/the-fierce-valley-roller-cubs-are-coming/  Big thanks are due for that, we're so excited that other people are taking such an interest!

Action!

Derby stance, a few jumps and even a swish wee turn at the end - go Zombocalinsay!

Coach-in-training

I'm keen to be a coach but don't have much experience - that's where my niece comes in handy as a willing guinea pig!  Zombocalinsay (as we'll call her) and I went for an outdoor skate today, but my plans to show her a few basics were scuppered when I found out she could do it all already...  A few tips on derby stance and a quick run through of stops were about all I managed before she was off, scooting around, hopping and jumping and finishing off with a few flashy turns.  And as I was trying out my retro disco style skates for the first time (such a difference from derby skates), she was skating rings around me and showing me up.  Great.  Ah well, it's a learning experience for everyone - I could claim that what she was able to do was down to me being super coach, but really, I don't think anyone would believe that!