Team Netherlands vs. Team Italy

Last weekend, Hoofddorp played host to ‘Road to Barcelona’, a six-team men’s roller derby event leading up to the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup to be held in April 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. Road to Barcelona events are currently being held in Europe, with this one organised by Team Netherlands – Men’s Roller Derby, their first time hosting such an event – and it was a blast. These pictures were taken by my co-blogger Branko, and I was the Head Announcer for the tournament.

Although the first ever men’s roller derby event ‘Battle of the Beasts’ took place in the Netherlands for the first time in in Valkenswaard, Noord-Brabant in 2013, happened twice after that and is scheduled for a fourth edition in January 2018, Road to Barcelona was specifically set up in preparation for the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup and featured Team Spain, Team Italy, Team Ireland, Team Belgium, Team Scotland and Team Netherlands. As well, a women’s exhibition game between Team Netherlands and Team Universe (a mishmash of European players) took place, with the Dutch women’s team preparing for the Roller Derby World Cup in February in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Why do we add the word ‘Men’s’ to the Roller Derby World Cup? Why isn’t it a men’s event in the first place? Because roller derby is originally a women’s sport, so it’s the men that get the mention ‘Men’s’ in their title, not the women. Even though this was the fourth ever men’s event on Dutch soil, it was the first one held near Amsterdam and attracted not only players, but officials, volunteers and spectators from all over Europe. Many of the players were playing for the first time and many people came to the Netherlands for this first time just to be there.

Team Spain vs. Team Belgium

(Photos by Branko Collin)