Happy International Women’s Day!

As we all know, roller derby is a predominantly female sport that is not only fun but also pretty empowering for a lot of people.

It’s a sport where many people who have never played team sports before feel inspired by the women they see on the track and end up thinking “I could do that!”.

It’s a sport where women of all shapes and sizes can find their strengths – strengths they never thought they had. And whether we like or not, some derby players can become role models to others!

So this got us thinking, which women do our skaters at Liverpool Roller Birds look up to? Here’s what some of them said:

Devil-Mae Clare

Courtney Love inspires me. She was the first woman I encountered as a teenager who (literally) didn’t care what anyone thought of her. She dressed how she wanted, she played guitar and wrote songs better than most of the boys, she was intelligent, articulate, and confident. I wanted to be her best friend. I still do.

Danger Scouse

Women who inspire me? My Mum. From childhood and to this day I have admired her strength and determination through times of hardship, bringing my brother and I up on her own and working full time throughout. She is a wonderful Irish mother who likes to feed you when you come to visit, is always willing to help others, loyal and supportive to her friends, even a pain in the arse at times! But I can’t deny she has been my rock through my darkest times. My Mum has given me the values, morals and qualities I possess today and assisted me in becoming the women I am. I love her whole heartedly.

Lula Bruise

Tracey Emin has inspired me because she has really strong vision of what she wants to do, isn’t afraid of dealing with difficult subjects in her art and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her. Her work can be witty, moving and can make you think about your own feelings and your own situation. I think she’s brave – it takes a lot of guts to put yourself ‘out there’ the way she does – and with such skill and beauty too.
(Oh and my Gran, who is 91 and still has Saturday nights out playing Bridge – my hero!)

Gnarly Davidson

My derby wife, Nauti-Kill, is someone I look up to. She’s the most thoughtful kind hearted bad-ass a girl could hope to skate with! Whether it’s on or off the track she is always 10 steps ahead of the pack ready to be there for me when I need her.

So who inspires you? Let us know!