Roller Derby In The Czech Republic
Exactly in the middle of Europe lies a small country called The Czech Republic. This is the story of that country and all of its roller derby teams and history. I’m your guide, Lucille von Kill. Hi!
Roller derby has existed in the Czech Republic for about 6 years and there are 4 leagues. Two in Prague, one in Brno and one national team (based in Prague but only because it’s convenient).
Let’s start with the most important team, the national Czech Roller Derby Team. World Cup 2018 is only six months away and we’re in the midst of organizing everything. CRDT is a fairly new team, we’ve been founded only in 2016, but there’s been a talk of creating national team ever since I can remember. The team finally came to existence when people from both Prague leagues decided that: “Hey, let’s do something awesome and start the national team. It’ll be just in time for the next World Cup!”
And so it happened.
But now, let’s be serious for a bit. We want to make a good impression in Manchester. It’ll be the first time we’ll be representing our country on an international level and while we know we probably won’t make it to the top 3 (maybe in a couple of years! A girl can dream!), it’s important to give it all we can and to show the roller derby community that we are capable of playing sport as good as everybody else. We are, first and foremost, athletes and we live and breathe roller derby.
CRDT just ended their first fundraiser for the trip to Manchester to cover accommodations and our training venue costs. Getting to the World Cup, turns out, is not the cheapest thing but we’re determined to make it happen.
We practice every month, we are planning some bouts against other national teams in Europe and we are raising awareness about roller derby and the World Cup in any way we can. There will be promo videos, and then later in the year, a second wave of fundraising this time with miscellaneous perks included. Postcard from Manchester? Sure! Dinner with the team? Why not! All sorts of merch? You better believe it!
Anyway, let’s talk about the rest of the roller derby scene in Czech Republic. The first team created was Prague City Roller Derby. Founded in 2012 by five or six people (if I remember correctly) was where a lot of, what you would call now a veteran skaters, got their start. That’s including me! When it started nobody really knew how to skate, what equipment is good, how to run a practice or, you know, how to play roller derby. It took only a year but PCRD started bouting and it’s been more or less smooth ride ever since. Full WFTDA member since 2017.
Then we have Hard Breaking Dolls, the other Prague league. Founded in 2014 by, well, me and some other ex-PCRD members. We’re a slightly smaller league but equally dedicated to roller derby. We started bouting in 2015 and we have big plans for the future but currently hoping to be accepted to the WFTDA Apprentice Program by the end of the year.
And the last, but not least, is Freakshow: Roller Derby Brno. Originally founded in 2014 but finally taking off big time in 2016. They have played a few scrimmages, full of super excited skaters and are hoping to start bouting very soon!
And what about the fans, you ask? Well, it took some educating but we (and I mean we, as in all the teams together) have a decent sized fan base. A bout can sell out a venue. Some even understand the rules! Over the years, we’ve done plenty of TV appearances, many news and magazine articles have been written about every team and roller derby so I feel comfortable saying, roller derby is a sport on the rise in CZ.
And there you have it! Roller derby is alive and well in Czech Republic and I hope this article will bring more interest to all the Czech leagues. Every league has something to offer. But that is pretty much given for every roller derby league out there because we are all awesome and the sport would not be what it is today without us helping each other out.
Links:
Czech Roller Derby Team — https://www.facebook.com/czechrollerderby/
Prague City Roller Derby — https://www.facebook.com/PragueCityRD/
Hard Breaking Dolls — https://www.facebook.com/HardBreakingDolls/
Freakshow: Roller Derby Brno — https://www.facebook.com/RollerDerbyBrno/
