Game day report Oslo Roller Derby vs Norfolk Roller Derby
Score: Oslo 192 - 113 Brawds
We checked in with the Norfolk Brawds after their epic year to see what they thought about some of the matches they pwned in 2023.
After a mammoth winter break or two, returning back with a vengeance, the Brawds set out to get as many games as possible post-pandemic, to give the team a nice stretch around the track and feel the thrill of rubber on dusty wood (wheels and track, guys)..
One of the big highlights last year was getting invited to play a tournament in Oslo, Norway, where we played against the likes of Kahlio Rolling Rainbows, Zurich Roller Derby and Oslo Roller Derby.
We asked the Norfolk Brawds to dig through their diaries from last year to give us a taste as to what the experience was like skating against Oslo!
𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗞 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘!
Norfolk Brawds have had a jam-packed set of games over the last year which has been a fantastic experience for our skaters. We gave Applebite a cheeky page and fax, our A team coach and captain for 2024 to go through some of the highlights for her when our A team travelled to Oslo, Norway to battle with some titans of European WFTDA roller derby!
𝗤: Hi Apple! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆?
A: We had some early games for this tournament so the day started with a super early alarm. I like to have plenty of chilled prep time so I was awake first, quietly creeping around our accommodation to avoid waking anyone else up! We took a bus to the venue together as a team. I’m not sure the bus driver was quite ready for that many people boarding the bus before sunrise!
𝗤: 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰h?
A: Our game against Zurich was our second game of day 1. We came off track from our first game against Kallio and pretty much went straight into warm-up for game 2 so it was an extra challenge for us all to keep focus and energy levels up. Thankfully we had spent time preparing for this, including a fun Super Scrim Sunday where we ran back-to-back scrims!
𝗤: 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹/𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆?
A: It was such a privilege to skate on track with Kallio. I saw them play at the 2017 WFTDA D1 International Playoffs in Malmö, Sweden. I would never have guessed that one day I would be on track with some of those incredible skaters!
𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗨𝗠 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆 - 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁? A: Workshop! Throughout the tournament, we were constantly adapting and adjusting our strategy on track - coming together to workshop plans. It was smart derby at its finest!
I don’t have many photos from the tournament but I do have this cute screenshot from the livestream of our last game against Oslo.
I wasn’t able to skate due to injury but managed to send love home to our flipping incredible league who were watching and cheering us on. The support we had throughout that weekend has been one of the best moments in roller derby for me.
***
Thank you, Applebite for your account of the day. We love the play-by-play of our games in the league and many of us while the Brawds are playing abroad or nationally, we host viewing parties to cheer on our team and watch some seriously high-level derby. Watching our tournament in Oslo, we had an amazing 54 people watch this livestream from both Norfolk Roller Derby and derby fans across the world.
We’re not saying we're an amoeba-like ball of great vibes and support but hey we’re a roller derby league, and it do be like that sometimes.
Well done Brawds! ❤️
You can view the live stats on the WFTDA webpage or check out one of our previous game day reports.
Catch us again soon for another report on some of the games the Norfolk Brawds played in the past year!