PLAYOFFS 2023

We have some exciting news to announce this bank holiday weekend!

Playoffs this year will be on 9th and 10th of September, Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield

Get the date in your diaries and keep an eye out for futher updates!

2022 Interest Survey

We are currently looking into running Five Nation Roller Derby events from approximately March/April 2022.

The format of these events are still in discussion, and will rely on the number and level of teams competing.

We have created a survey to help us get an understanding where teams are currently at in terms of training and numbers. This will help us see where we are as a whole and how we can help teams return to tournament play.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on hello@fivenationsrollerderby.com

To take part in the survey, please click the link below:

2021 Patch

It’s almost the season for buying gifts and treating the ones you love, but we here at 5NRD believe you should treat yourself too.

What better way to spend your pennies than getting a brand new 2021 patch! You can’t leave an awkward gap on your hoodie or kit bag, so get a patch for “The Season That Never Was”.

Pre-orders are now being taken for a shipping date in December. Perfect timing for Christmas!

And to top it off, profits from the patch sales will go towards a charity or good cause (details tbc, watch this space for info).

So get your order in now, forget you ordered it, and be delightfully surprised when it drops through your letterbox!

Five Nations Roller Derby

Five Nations Roller Derby

British Championships is rebranding! The competition is now known as the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships.

When the competition was established the Union Flag was used in the logo as what felt to be an obvious choice for the British Championships. However, we received feedback that the flag was undesirable as a colonial symbol. This, coupled with the use of the name British proved a barrier to entry for leagues from the island of Ireland, who have always been welcome in the tournament.

We conducted a survey which confirmed this assumption, and highlighted other issues with our Union Flag based logo. Five Nations was one of the shortlisted names, alongside a number of plays on “UK & Ireland Roller Derby Championships.” We then conducted focus groups among leagues from all nations, and there was consensus that Five Nations was the best option.

There were very strong feelings in the survey about removing all national symbols from the logo, as well as many positive comments about the strong brand our five pointed star shape had.  Following this we workshopped different star-based options with a final short list of concentric stars or each point featuring a different colour. Using national flags or even their colours are politically loaded, and also may change in the future. We settled on concentric stars as being an eye-catching and playful logo using the seven colour rainbow. We want the tournament to be for everyone and we hope this new logo reflects this. Special versions of the logo will be made for Pride, Trans Pride and other key dates over the year.

The logo update was devised by members of our 5NRD leadership committee with inspiration from artist Dan Eatock and layouts made by Shutter (Belfast Roller Derby) and Hurt Nouveau (Milton Keynes Roller Derby).

The logo has been designed to work in both full colour and black and white, which will support branding, merchandise, and ensure that it can easily be used alongside league communications. 

Watch this space for further updates from the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships as we make a slow, safe return to the sport we all love.

2021 And Beyond

After a lot of conversations with UKRDA and other interested parties, we’ve made the difficult decision to not host a 2021 season in the traditional format.

Under government guidelines, it will not be possible for teams to properly train until spring of next year, at the earliest. This won’t give teams enough time to be ready for competitive play.

Rather than try to rush a season that may not even happen, we believe it would be better to make use of the time and focus on helping leagues return to play in a sustainable way.

Return To Play

We will work with UKRDA, WFTDA, MRDA (Men’s Roller Derby Association), JRDA (Junior Roller Derby Association) and other National Governing Bodies to look at how we can integrate national championships into regional and global play so that derby can return stronger than ever.

We are also going to set up a Five Nations Return to Derby group. All leagues in the United Kingdom and Ireland, regardless of whether they participate in the tournament, will be welcome to join. This will be a space for arranging local games when teams are ready, and supporting teams to find new ways of working and coaching as we work through the returning to play.

We will also set up officiating communities for learning and networking, in particular to support officials that cannot return to training until scrimmage is happening. We will support affiliated and independent officials to find leagues so they can be part of a safe return to play.

2020 Season wrap-up

All teams who signed up for 2020 will be contacted via email in the coming weeks with details about a full refund.

And finally, for patch collectors, we will be selling a special edition 2020 patch. Profits will go to charities who are on the COVID-19 frontlines.

You can purchase the patch now through our online shop.

Rebranding

And that brings us to the good news! We’re rebranding! Thank you to everyone who got involved and shared your thoughts. 

From 2021, we will be known as the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships.

We believe this clarifies and makes explicit the nations able to participate in the championships – England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

We’re also removing language and imagery that could be seen as exclusionary or unclear across the brand.

We are in the process of rebranding now, and expect to have everything in place by 2021. If you have the skills and time to help us out, or have any feedback or thoughts, please get in touch with us.

2020 Season Announcement

2020 Season Announcement

We are all aware that the current situation is having a huge impact on all parts of our lives. Though we all hope to be back to the game we love very soon, we at British Champs have made the incredibly difficult decision to cancel the remaining events for this year’s competitive season. We believe that this is the most responsible thing we can do to support the next few months of social distancing, and to give leagues time to safely return to training and gameplay. 

As frustrating and disappointing as this is for us all, we can promise that we’re already busy behind the scenes preparing for British Championships 2021. We would like to thank our wonderful volunteers, supporters, teams, and officials for all their incredible work already this year. We can’t wait to see you all on & around the track again soon.

Stay Safe 

British Championships

Coronavirus Statement

Joint statement from UKRDA and British Championships

British Championships and the UKRDA have been working closely with WFTDA, MRDA and following advice from UK authorities to understand how we can best keep skaters, volunteers and spectators safe during this spread of Covid-19. We understand the UK Governments approach to delaying the spread and that social distancing is an important part of the strategy.

We are recommending that all leagues cancel or postpone all games planned from now until 3rd April. We understand this is a recommendation with financial impact and that leagues will need to contact their venue providers. We recommend that leagues cancel what they can, on timescales that work for your league.

British Championships will not issue a forfeit or any penalisation for cancelled games or events during this time. British Championships are actively working on contingency plans to minimise the disruption to the season. Assistance will be given to reschedule postponed games once the situation has improved.

Leagues should also review their training sessions and discuss with their skaters if training sessions should go ahead. All leagues should follow WFTDA advice on attendance requirements, hygiene policy and keep health and safety at the forefront at this time. Don’t come to training if you are ill but don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

We know how important the community aspect of roller derby is. Situations such as this make it more important we work together and at the same time make it harder for us to be together.

We are making these recommendations based on the best advice we have in a dynamic and changing situation. We will continue to monitor the situation, keep working with WFTDA, MRDA and other global and UK organisations to help keep UK Roller Derby safe.

Coronavirus Updates

We are following guidance from the government, which currently means it is business as usual. At this time, travel and events are not restricted. All British Champs games are going ahead as planned.

We encourage everyone to avoid post-game celebrations involving physical contact, such as high-fives, fist bumps, shaking hands, etc. Try to keep all physical contact outside of normal gameplay to a minimum where possible. Ensure you wash your hands before eating and drinking.

If you have a cold, flu symptoms, a new persistent cough, fever, or any of the symptoms of coronavirus, we advise you to follow the government’s advice – self-isolate and stay at home.

If you are unable or unwilling to attend an event that you are expected at, please contact the relevant people in as much time as possible. Let your team liaison, your head official, or British Champs know.

British Champs puts the health and safety of skaters, officials, volunteers, and fans above all else.

We will not penalise for any events that are cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus, and will assist with rescheduling.

Don’t forget to reach out to any members of the derby community that you know are self-isolating. Isolation can be a lonely and scary time, especially if they are feeling unwell.

We advise all leagues to read the WFTDA statement and advice regarding coronavirus, found here: https://resources.wftda.org/covid-19/

For more information and advice on dealing with the coronavirus, please visit the UK government resource: https://www.gov.uk/…/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-res…

The NHS website with information can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

As the situation develops further, we will be sure to update you.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch. You can message us via email to british.championships@gmail.com or use the contact form on the website.