A Zombie Bout: Gold Coast Roller Derby vs Tweed Valley Rollers

The restless undead will be shuffling into Carrara Indoor Stadium on Saturday the 21st of September for a very special themed Roller Derby game for charity.
 
Joining the Brisbane Zombie Walk to raise money for The Brain Foundation, Gold Coast Roller Derby will dress up to play against the Tweed Valley Rollers in an action packed night with live bands, market stalls, rambling zombies and armed zombie hunters!
 
Gold Coast Roller Derby President Kat 'The Brat" Queenan is excited about the event. 'Roller derby is such an exciting and fierce sport – it's not a scripted event like some people think, but we do embrace costumes and loud personalities so our fun and excitement carries through to the crowds."
 
 'We are also looking forward to seeing the volunteers from the Brisbane Zombie Walk who will have some amazing costumes – and can help the crowd with their makeup as well!  Keeping them in check will be special guests -The Umbrella Corporation' from Resident Evil who will be -armed' and making sure the zombies don't eat the spectators!"
 
Roller derby is played by women on roller skates and the rough and tumble nature of the game, coupled with bright outfits and loud personalities makes it a spectacular spectator sport.
 
Hosting a roller derby game is never an easy feat – to host a game (or -bout' as it's called) involves a minimum of 7 referees, 15 judging officials as well as a multitude of event volunteers who lay down the track, setup and run the venue.  'We are thankful for all our volunteers and officials who come on board to help us, and for charity," says Kat.
 
 One of the challenges facing local roller derby (and indeed worldwide) has been the proliferation of skaters and leagues, which now result in numerous games throughout the year. 'In the early days of the roller derby revival, you would be lucky to see a game once every three months and there would be a crowds from 300 to 2,000," says Nikki -Bravetart' Kay.  'With games now occurring most weekends in SE QLD it can be hard to capture the original crowd numbers and the fundraising dollars – the fans are still there but they are spoilt for choice."
 
With roller derby also evolving into a serious competitive sport, there are also fears that it is losing its independent, -grass roots' culture.  'Whilst the sport has evolved incredibly over the past few years in terms of gameplay and tactics, the crowd hasn't, so at Gold Coast we love to bring in all the spectacle and costumes of the -old school' bouts" enthuses Nikki.  And Gold Coast Roller Derby know what the crowd loves - with over 800 spectators attending their most recent game in July, which was a Star Wars themed event featuring special visits by the 501st legion.
 
'We love events like this, as derby is an important part of popular culture, and we love to team up with likeminded Star Wars geeks and zombies and all have a bit of fun together." says Nikki.