Roller derby ‘isn’t a sport’
According to a recent article posted by The Morning Bulletin, roller derby is not a sport. Yes, you read that right. Despite the fact Team England have recently returned from achieving third place in what was the first ever Roller Derby World Cup, held in Toronto, Adrian Taylor has slammed roller derby saying “it looks like an excuse for violence and brutality with a dubious element of perversion thrown in for salacious pleasure.”
He identifies football, rugby, tennis and athletics as ‘sports’, adding that the need for “skills, finesse, strategy and a high degree of strength and fitness” in these activities characterises them as ‘sport’.
It is no secret that roller derby is an entertainment sport; both for players and spectators. But is this element of fun detracting from the seriousness of what is a brutal and challenging game, requiring strength, agility, speed, strategy and fitness?
There is growing debate as to whether names like Kamikaze Kitten and Vagablonde are holding the sport back. With its fast growing popularity, should roller derby consider a re-vamp? Or are whacky names and fishnets all part of the magic of this truly fascinating sport?
