As a community, Norwich School recognises the talent that is widespread throughout pupils and staff alike. To  celebrate this we have introduced a new blog segment, Who Knew, in which we find out about staff members hobbies, passions and talents.

Today we hear from Amber Scott, EDI Officer, where she talks about Roller Derby...

For those of us who don’t know, what is Roller Derby?

"Roller Derby is a full contact sport played on quad roller skates; if anyone has seen the film “Whip It”…it’s not quite as wild as that, we have a few more rules and regulations! The basic gameplay is that each team fields 5 players; one player from each team is the jammer, they wear a star on their helmet, and it is their job to try and get past all of the players on the opposite team to score points. The rest of the team are playing offence and defence at the same time trying to stop the other team’s jammer coming through whilst helping their own team jammer."

How long have you played Roller Derby?

"I have played Roller Derby for a little over 2 years. During lockdown, I took up roller skating because it was a great outdoor activity. During this time, I’d meet other skaters, some of whom played Roller Derby and I thought it would be fun to join! When the team did their first sign-ups post-lockdown I signed up and attended my first ‘Rookie’ session, ever since then I have loved it."

Who do you play with?

"The league that I play with is Norfolk Roller Derby and the team that I play for is the ‘Norfolk Brawds’ on both their A team and their B team."

How often do you play?

"So, we train twice a week, some people train 3 times a week and we play games throughout the year in a mixture of one-off games and tournaments."

Where do you play?

"We train in Norwich and some of the games that the A Team play have taken them across Europe. Last year I played games against Bristol, Brighton, London, Chelmsford and even Rotterdam."

What is your favourite part of the sport?

"My favourite part of the sport is the community and the inclusivity of the sport. The sport is one of the only sports where the women’s leagues are viewed as being the major leagues and the ones with perhaps the most public attention and funding. It’s an incredibly inclusive sport, being very LGBTQ+ friendly so it attracts a great community of people. I’ve met some great friends through playing the sports and a great Queer community within Norwich."

What would you say to anyone who is thinking of starting Roller Derby?

"I would say, go for it! You must be 18 to play the women’s leagues but there are junior leagues across the country but I’m not too sure where the closest one is. I think that it is just such a great community and even if you go and don’t particularly enjoy the sport, I think you’ll still meet some amazing people."

Do you have any future hopes/aspirations for your future in playing?

"Yeah absolutely, so we are currently climbing the ranking with Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, and I’d love to reach a higher ranking with the team and get to continue to play cool and challenging games. This year we have potential to play some more games across Europe, which is something I’d love to be involved with."