Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls

Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls is a women's flat track roller derby league, based in Lincoln, England.[1] Lincolnshire is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA)[2] and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA),[3] and follows the WFTDA ruleset.[4]

Lincolnshire Bombers
Metro areaLincoln, England
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded2008
TeamsBombshell Bruisers (A team)
The Damebusters (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueYarborough Leisure centre, Lincoln.
Grantham Meres leisure centre.
AffiliationsUKRDA, WFTDA
Org. typenot-for-profit
Websitehttp://lincolnshire-bombers.com/

History and organisation

Established in 2008, the league started out with five members, including long-term director and founder She'za Payne.[5] Named in homage to Lincolnshire's RAF history, the Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls (LBRG) were founded in 2008 by Emma Tremlett and four other members. By late 2008 the league had grown to 25 members, leading them to start their first roller derby season in 2009. At the time LBRG were founded, there were only a handful of leagues in the UK and none based in the East Midlands.

The Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls are an amateur, all female roller derby league skating in Lincolnshire. The sports team is run by their participants, also known as skaters, on a not-for-profit basis.

The Lincolnshire Bombers were one of the founding members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA).[6] The league is still a member of the UKRDA to date, but no longer serve on their director board.

As a league, the Lincolnshire Bombers travel Europe and the UK playing roller derby.[7]

They currently accept women 18+ with no skating ability into their recruitment and training programme, and also have a developing junior league that accepts girls from the age of 10.[8][9]

2009

In 2009, LBRG secured sponsorship from the band Motörhead.[10] The seal was a two-year sponsorship that saw the team move from their traditional RAF-inspired uniforms to printed T-shirts with the "Motörhead" logo on their backs. About the sponsorship, Motörhead said: "One look at these wild women is enough to make it clear that we're a match made in hell! These girls are so mean that if they moved next door, not only would your lawn die, but they'd kick yer ass too!" The sponsorship deal also resulted in some members of LBRG dancing on stage with Motörhead at a gig in Nottingham.[11]

2009 also saw the Lincolnshire Bombers take on Rainy City, from Manchester. The final score was 142-33 to Rainy City.[12]

The league also hosted their own home game for the first time, titled "The Carnival of the Strange".[13] The Carnival of the Strange saw two games, a mixed female game inviting skaters from across the UK, and the first ever open men's roller derby game in the UK.[14]

2010
Lincolnshire Bombers at a 2010 boot camp with Quadzilla

Off the back of the Whip It film release, the Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls launched a "Be Your Own Hero" recruitment campaign in 2010. The campaign was a success and saw one of LBRG's biggest recruitment sessions. The same year, LBRG experienced a league split, which saw the formation of the second female roller derby league in Lincoln, the Imposter Roller Girls (IRG).[15] Lincolnshire's 2010 season saw them play three non-tournament games, losing to Auld Reekie Roller Girls 147-20, Central City Rollergirls 130-79, and Royal Windsor Rollergirls 149-78.

Great Yorkshire Showdown 2010
Lincolnshire Bombers after the Great Yorkshire Showdown 2010

The Lincolnshire Bombers took part in the Great Yorkshire Showdown tournament in 2010, hosted by the Leeds Roller Dolls in October.[16] The event was a B-level tournament and saw the Lincolnshire Bombers play against seven other teams from across the north of England, including Manchester Roller Derby, Liverpool Roller Girls, Newcastle Roller Girls, Middlesbrough Milk Rollers, Sheffield Steel Rollergirls, Wakey Wheeled Cats and Leeds.[17] The tournament marked the first ever appearance of a non-A-team version of the Lincolnshire Bombers Rollergirls, as the team included skaters who had previously only played "rookie-level" challenge games. After three 30-minute games, LBRG took the top spot in the tournament, successfully claiming the first ever Great Yorkshire Showdown champion title.[18]

WFTDA

In September 2011 the Lincolnshire Bombers joined the WFTDA Apprentice Programme.[19] On 12 November 2011, the Lincolnshire Bomber Roller Girls played their first WFTDA qualifying game against visiting Sioux Falls Roller Dollz from South Dakota, USA. The game was a closed door bout, aimed at LBRG gaining valuable experience against a highly experienced American Team.

In June 2012, Lincolnshire were accepted as full members of the WFTDA.[20]

WFTDA rankings
Season Final ranking[21] Playoffs Championship
2013 162 WFTDA[22] DNQ DNQ
2018 325 WFTDA[23] DNQ DNQ

After being ranked in 2013, Lincolnshire did not receive end-of-year rankings from the WFTDA until 2018.[24][25][26]

References
  1. BBC. "Got issues? Try Roller Derby". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. "Member Leagues – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. UKRDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. "Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  4. "Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls – About Us". lincolnshire-bombers.com. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. "Bomber Girls prepare for final big match". The Lincolnite. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  6. "UK Roller Derby History – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  7. "County roller derby girls head to Germany for first-ever international bout". Lincolnshire Echo. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  8. "Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls – About Us". lincolnshire-bombers.com. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. "Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls – Junior League". lincolnshire-bombers.com. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  10. "Motorhead to sponsor roller derby girls". This Is Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire Echo. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  11. "♠ Motörheadster ♠: I Say Bomber, I Say Bomber Girls Ya, Ya!!". motorheadster.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. "9/5/09: Rainy City (142) @ Lincolnshire (33) | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  13. "The Round-Up Bout: Carnival of the Strange Reminder ..." roundupbout.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  14. "Queens show men what roller derby is about". Lincolnshire Echo. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  15. "The Imposter Roller Girls". The Imposter Roller Girls. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  16. "Live Roller Derby in Leeds: The Great Yorkshire Show Down - May 11th 2013". Leeds Forum. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  17. "The Great Yorkshire Showdown - Leeds Roller Dolls | Leeds Daily Photo - Leeds Photography in Yorkshire". www.yorkshiredailyphoto.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  18. "Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls successful in Great Northern Showdown". Lincolnshire Echo. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  19. "WFTDA Adds Crop of 15 Apprentice Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  20. "Nine Leagues Become Full WFTDA Members Archived 4 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 1 June 2012
  21. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  22. "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  23. "Rankings: December 31, 2018". WFTDA. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  24. "Rankings: December 31, 2014". WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  25. "Rankings: December 31, 2015". WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  26. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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