New Intake Info March 2025
Fancy trying roller derby?
If you’ve ever heard of or seen roller derby and thought “that looks fun/bizarre/terrifying, and I’d like to give it a go,” your time is approaching!
Haunted City Roller Derby (HCRD) have our new skater intake sessions at the end of March 2025! This post is here to talk you through what to expect and how to sign up.
HCRD is a dynamic and inclusive roller derby league, and we welcome everyone regardless of skating experience, gender, or age. This intake is for 18+ skaters, but please contact our Haunted City Terrors junior team on Facebook for under 18s.
What to expect from a New Intake session
No skates? No problem!
We have kit hire available if you’d rather not invest in your own kit before you’re sure that roller derby is for you. Just let us know when you email to book your slot (see the end of this post), and we can get you sorted out. The kit hire includes skates, wrist, elbow and knee pads, and helmet.
If you do already own your own kit, you must come with skates, wrist, elbow and knee pads, and helmet to ensure we’re all skating safely. Let us know in your sign-up email what kind of skates you own, and we'll let you know if they're suitable. Quad skates are the roller derby skate, rollerblades are not allowed.
You should wear light, breathable and comfortable clothing, e.g. leggings/shorts and t-shirt/athletic wear.
No skating experience necessary!
If you’ve never skated before, or haven’t skated since you were a child, you definitely won’t be alone. The training team are friendly and supportive, and know everyone will be starting from different levels of experience. We’ve all been there!
What will we actually do?
In the taster sessions, we will start off in a smaller room where we will introduce ourselves and talk you through some basics, and let you try on kit if you are hiring some.
We will then move into the sports hall and, after an off-skates warm-up, teach you the skills from the very basics: how to stand up, how to skate forwards, how to stop, and how to fall safely. These first sessions are about you finding your wheels and getting you comfortable on skates. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the taster sessions and come back for more, where we will continue through the basics of skating and give you the skills you need to play the sport through our training programme.
The first skills we will work on with you are our Red and Orange skill levels: these are the skills you need to skate and play safely. As roller derby is a full contact sport, safety is paramount, and you won’t be expected or allowed to take part in full contact drills until you have been deemed safe to do so by the training team. So don’t worry about being thrown in the deep end!
About the league
HCRD is a fun, inclusive, and supportive league, with skaters at all levels. When you join HCRD, you’re joining a community. Roller derby is a grass-roots sport, and is run for the skaters by the skaters. This means that if you love the world of roller derby but ultimately think contact sport maybe isn’t for you, we welcome all individuals who want to be part of the team and offer Non Skating Official (NSO) and referee training sessions, alongside competitive and non-competitive skater training - so feel free to discuss these options with us during the new skater period.
We have three teams:
- Wraiths – our fully trans and non-binary inclusive WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) team
- Phantoms – our OTA (Open to All) team for skaters of all genders
- Terrors – our Junior team for skaters under the age of 18
Make sure to check out our social media pages for a glimpse into the league spirit!
You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
New skater testimonials
But don’t just take our word for it, here are some testimonials from skaters who have joined at new intake over the last few sessions:
Joining the league through the new intake has been wonderful!
The team are so supportive to people, especially people who've never skated before, supporting them throughout their entire journey to become part of the team!
I love it there, and everyone's so kind and supportive to me!
- Sonic the Ruleshog, June 2024 intake
I was very nervous the first time I went, but it was so much fun I kept coming back! I've learnt to be okay with messing up and falling over. You just get back up and try again!
Derby has been so fun, and learning the skills is really satisfying. I hope to keep learning more and more!
- Nikita, June 2024 intake
I haven't skated since I was a teen, and since I'm in my 40s I worried that derby was for the young and fit ones. I couldn't have been more wrong!
The group were incredibly inclusive and supportive and I'm getting fitter, faster and stronger each week. It's so fun!
- Rachel, June 2024 intake
Before the first session was very nerve-wracking, but seeing all the fancy leggings and shiny skating gear, I knew I was in the right place.
I had no skating experience, and with being neurodiverse this was a big deal for me to even enter the room. But it was clear very quickly that I wasn’t alone and that this was a safe space for all. Everyone was super supportive and had no expectations from anyone new.
We started at the very basics at our own pace and saw the skills some of the team had. Watching the example scrim, I knew I wanted to become that good in my own time. I left that session feeling very proud of myself and others that day.
It is very hard to find such a welcoming, safe group of people who dedicated their own selves to support us to become skaters. This was very apparent on my first day and I have never looked back!
- Syd, January 2024 intake
For me, the last time I had ever done team sports was probably secondary school rounders, so whilst I was definitely excited to start I was also mildly terrified at what I’d gotten myself into (and not just a team sport, a full contact one! I was strongly starting to consider which of my friends would get my Skylanders figures in my will). Still, not only did I survive the first session, but now I play a fantastic sport with a team of brilliant people. Would highly recommend!
- Oblivion, June 2023 intake
I was super nervous before my intake, because I hadn’t skated since I was about 8 and have never been a particularly sporty person, but felt like I needed to get involved in some kind of activity (that didn’t involve running) to help my mental health.
From the first session, it was clear how friendly and supportive the team is. The training started at absolute basics and built up in a steady way, with everyone supported to progress at their own rate. It’s been so good for my confidence, not just skating but generally. I’ve not just joined a sports team, I’ve made so many new friends!
- Isla, June 2023 intake
My sister in law spent 6 months persuading me that roller derby was the sport for me, she was not wrong!!
I'd never skated on quads before, and being a 34 year-old neurodivergent riddled with anxiety and imposter syndrome, I went into the 1st session with a lot of worries and feeling like I probably wouldn't last in the sport. 18 months later I'm skating as a jammer for the Phantoms in 5 Nations.
I firmly believe this is entirely down to how welcoming everyone was and how patient they were when I needed to ask loads of questions or have skills demonstrated multiple times. There is a lot to take in and learn with roller derby (I've still got tonnes to learn) and it can feel overwhelming at times, but the training team encourages you to go at your own pace, are so supportive and have a wealth of knowledge to impart.
By far the best thing for me about roller derby is the people. No matter what type of person you are you'll find multiple people who just 'get you'!! It really is the most inclusive sport out there, sign up now and you won't regret it.
- JimJamSlam, June 2023 intake
The nitty-gritty
The new intake sessions will take place on Sunday 23rd and Sunday 30th March 2025 from 12pm – 2.30pm, at Energise Leisure Centre, Acomb, YO24 3DX.
You are welcome to attend one or both of these sessions: the same skills will be taught at both.
These sessions are £7 per session, and if you decide you want to carry on with us it will be £20 per month, plus £10 if you’re hiring kit from us.
If you’re interested or have any further questions, contact us at hauntedcityrd.intake@gmail.com to book your slot!
