Nottingham Hellfire Harlots Roller Derby is a flat track
roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.
Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
league based in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England. Founded in April 2010, the league has two travel teams who play against teams from other leagues. It is a member of the
United Kingdom Roller Derby Association
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 U ...
(UKRDA) and the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...
(WFTDA).
History
The league was founded in May 2010 by seven former members of the
Nottingham Roller Derby
Nottingham Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in Nottingham, England. Founded in 2013, from a merger of two local leagues, it was the first league in the UK to host a co-ed roller derby competition.
League Structure
The ...
. The main focus was to create a driven and, most importantly, competitive amateur sporting team. They initially trained at Sport Nottingham, but lost access to the venue and, after a long search, moved to the
Djanogly City Academy before finally setting up their permanent home at Southglade Leisure Centre.
In December 2011, the Hellfire Harlots won the Broxtowe Sports Club of the Year award. Later that year, the league joined the
UK Roller Derby Association
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 2012, the Harlots were accepted as a member of the
WFTDA Apprentice Program
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice is the program affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). In operation from 2009 until early 2019, the Apprentice Program served to onboard new member leagues into the WFTDA. ...
,
[22 Leagues Join WFTDA Apprentice Program]
", WFTDA, 18 October 2012 and became a full member in December 2013.
In May 2014, the Hellfire Harlots took part in the
Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...
's tribute to
Torvill and Dean
Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean) are English ice dancers and former British Ice Figure and Dance Championships, British, European Figure Skating Championships, European, Figure skating at the Olympic Games, Olympic, and Wor ...
, Mass Bolero, and can be seen towards the end of the piece.
In February 2015, the Hellfire Harlots won their first British Champs game against
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 ...
in their first Tier 2
British Roller Derby Championships
The Five Nations Roller Derby Championships is an annual competition for roller derby leagues in the United Kingdom.
History
The tournament originated as the End of the World Series, a 2012 league of six roller derby teams in central England. T ...
.
The Hellfire Harlots also took part in their first WFTDA tournament, "A Skate Odyssey", hosted by GO-GO Gent Roller Derby, in
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
15–17 May 2015.
In April 2016, the Hellfire Harlots took part in ''West Track Story IV'', hosted by Nantes Roller Derby, in
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
.
In January 2017, the Hellfire Harlots took part in WFTDA tournament ''Slip It'', hosted by Roller Derby
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...]
28-29 January. The same year the league hosted their first European ''Track Attack 2017'' tournament at Lee Westwood sports centre located at
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
. Teams featured were Brussels Derby Pixies, Dundee Roller Girls and
Leeds 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 ...
. In November 2017, the Hellfire Harlots took part in ''Brabo Cup'', hosted by Antwerp Roller Derby, in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
In April 2018 saw the Hellfire Harlots return to
''West Track Story VI tournament'', hosted by Nantes Roller Derby. Hellfire Harlots took the win after winning every single one of their games. In October 2018, the league hosted for the second time their European tournament ''Track Attack 2018'' at Lee Westwood sports centre. Teams featured were Antwerp Roller Derby,
Amsterdam Roller Derby
Amsterdam Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 2009, the league consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby ...
and Crime City B Team.
In September 2018, the Hellfire Harlots hosted 'Harlot Fest', a night of celebrating local music in Nottingham.
Currently, league consists of skaters, non-skating officials and referees. As with most roller derby leagues, they are non-profit and funded by both league membership and fundraising activities. The league has a committee made up of current league members, and all positions are voluntary. The main ethos is "by the skaters, for the skaters". The team motto encompasses this: "Together. All of us."
National Team Representation
The league's el VISIOUS skated for
Team England at the
2011 Roller Derby World Cup
The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup was an international women's roller derby tournament organized by ''Blood & Thunder'' magazine. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world were fielded to compete for their respective nations.
The inaugural 20 ...
.
At the
2018 Roller Derby World Cup, Katie Tokarski was part of the
Team Ireland Roller Derby
Team Ireland Roller Derby represents Ireland in women's international roller derby, in events such as the Roller Derby World Cup. Affectionately known as the "Green Machine", the team was first formed to compete at the 2011 Roller Derby Wor ...
training squad.
WFTDA rankings
*Please note that rankings were suspended in March 2020 in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
References
{{reflist, colwidth=30em
Roller derby in England
Sport in Nottingham
Roller derby leagues in the United Kingdom
Roller derby leagues established in 2010
Women's sports clubs and teams in England
2010 establishments in England