Game day report Zurich Roller Derby vs Norfolk Roller Derby
Score: Zurich 191- 99 Brawds
We popped over for a chat with the Norfolk Brawds after their runaway rockstar train of a year to see what they thought about some of the matches they battled in 2023.
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.
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 what better than kicking off with match made of lightning!
Well done to both teams for a blinder, of a game with the final score of 191-99 to Zurich.
We asked the 2023’s co-captain of the Norfolk Brawds, Inky Minx, to dig through their diaries from last year to give us a taste as to what the experience was like skating against Zurich!
𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗞 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘!
Q: Hi Inky! How did you start the day?
A: Early! We were the 1st games on both days, so they involved super early get-ups and a bus journey. Once I got over the alarm (helped by coffee) it was then time to shower, eat breakfast, pack food and double check I hadn’t forgotten my mouthguard or any other useful item. Captains and bench crew used the 45-minute bus ride to the venue to go over plans for the day, skater rotations and other admin stuff, whilst the team went into pack chats. Once we arrived and walked up the steepest of hills to the venue, it was time to drop off our kit and start our off-skates warm-up."
Q: Toughest match?
A: They were all tough games to be fair, but the one that stands out the most was against Zurich; they were fast and had some super strong 2 walls. We also saw the return of the flat wall start! As a jammer, it felt like at times I was fighting a never-ending line of blockers.
Q: Did each team have a particular skill/anything of note you felt on the day?
A: Zurich had the flat wall, which makes it difficult to set up starts. The Brawds were great at adapting to the other teams' plays and making quick changes, adjusting jam by jam. Each of the teams said this was very difficult for them to predict what we were going to do next and made their planning a lot harder.
Q: What did the team, bench and LUM say about this day - was there something everyone agreed on or thought?
A: That we were AWESOME! But seriously we all agreed no matter the score we went out and played the best possible derby we could, there were no hotdogs left in the bucket.
Thank you, Inky Minx for your account of the day. We love hearing 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.
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 and congratulations to the winners, Zurich! ❤️
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!