Established in 2012, the National Museum of Roller Derby (NMRD) is the UK’s first permanent collection of ephemera and memorabilia relating to the sport of Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby. Our ‘Object of the Month’ celebrates objects from our ever expanding collections.
We want your old team shirts, flyers, zines and other paraphernalia to illustrate the remarkable development of the sport in the UK. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for future announcements on how to donate items to the Museum
*Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions access to the collection, and consequently digitisation of the collection, is limited. Therefore, Object of the Month will become Programme of the Month as these objects are already digitised online*
January 2021
Roller derby games are called bouts and last 60 minutes in two 30 minute halves. In the wonderful world of roller derby, puns and cultural references are used for team and individual player names. These names help to reflect the identity of the player whilst on the track, and team names can be given a culturally or geographically relevant name. However, this tradition does not end there as bouts often have fun and relevant names as well. As January sees Rabbie Burns day celebrated across Scotland, this programme seems a perfect fit for January’s object of the month.
This particular bout is named after the fishnet rash that players often get from the viciousness and friction in the game. In response to the increasing brutality of the sport, players wear helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards to help minimise injury. Players show off their track rash and bruises proudly as it has become a huge part of the sporting culture.
