Halifax Bruising Banditas (HBB) are a flat track
roller derby league based in
Halifax, West Yorkshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Established in 2011, they are the first roller derby league in the Calderdale and Kirklees area.
They play to the ruleset of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and have been members of the
United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) since 2013.
League History
The Halifax Bruising Banditas was founded in June 2011, led by Lauren Artington who had been skating with another league for two-and-a-half years. She brought together others who had begun to skate with
Hot Wheel Roller Derby
Leeds Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Leeds, England. Founded in 2007, the league has two travel teams which play against teams from other leagues across Europe. Leeds Roller Derby is a member of the United Kin ...
and
Leeds Roller Dolls and aimed to spread the sport to the wider
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
area.
The league was originally called Bruising Banditas, but was changed to Halifax Bruising Banditas in 2012 to draw a link to its home town.
The league was accepted into the
UKRDA
The United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) is the National Association for roller derby in the UK. The association was formed in 2010 with 15 member leagues, and was recognized by the British Roller Sports Federation soon after.
The UK ...
in October 2013 and debuted in the rankings in Q2 2015.
They are keen participants in local community events, and took part in the 50th Brighouse Charity Gala in 2015.
League Structure
The Banditas have one travel team, the Halifax Bruising Banditas, who play against teams from around the country.
The league is run by its members which include non-skaters. All aspects of league organisation are run on a voluntary basis including coaching, promotion, recruitment, fundraising and game organisation. The league is led by the Board which is voted in annually as well as the Captain and Vice-Captain roles.
The team practises twice a week at Calderdale College. In the past the league has trained at venues around both
Halifax and
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
.
Seasons
2012
HBB's first open bout was against the Hulls Angels Roller Dames on 13 May 2012 which resulted in a win for Halifax. Throughout the year they played a total of 3 games with a total of 2 wins and 1 loss.
2013
In 2013 HBB played a total of 5 games and competed in 2 tournaments, Great Yorkshire Showdown 2013 and Hassle in Newcastle 2013. The normal season concluded with 4 wins and 1 loss. HBB finished second in their group at both the Great Yorkshire Showdown and Hassle in Newcastle competitions.
2014
There were 6 games for HBB in 2014 as well as 2 tournaments. In normal play the Banditas finished the season with 4 wins to 2 losses. They competed in the Great Yorkshire Showdown 2014 finishing second in their group and won the inaugural Humberstruck tournament
2015
Halifax Bruising Banditas played in and hosted the first ever game of the British Roller Derby Championships. HBB competed in the Tier 3 North table finishing bottom of after 5 losses in 5 games. They finished the season with a win in a non-championship game against Spa Town Roller Girls.
2016
HBB finished second in the Tier 4 North table with two wins and two losses. They beat Blackpool Roller Derby and Durham Roller Derby and lost to eventual first place finishers
Granite City Roller Derby
Granite City Roller Derby (GCRD) is a roller derby league based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Founded in 2008, the league currently have two teams which compete with teams from other leagues.
League Structure
The league consists of two travel team ...
and third place finishers Spa Town Roller Derby. They were promoted to Tier 3 along with Granite City and Spa Town Roller Derby for the 2017 competition.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Halifax Bruising Banditas websiteUKRDAFlat Track Stats
Sport in Halifax, West Yorkshire
Roller derby leagues established in 2011
Roller derby in England
Roller derby leagues in the United Kingdom
Women's sports clubs and teams in England