Happy New Year!

You might already know that at the end of 2014 we announced our new team names.

While our league name will stay as Liverpool Roller Birds, we thought it was time to give our A and B teams their own identities.

So we’ll start our 2015 season skating out under our new teams names; Sisters of Mersey (A team) and Yellow Shovemarines (B team).

We also thought this would be a great opportunity to let the world (or those outside of the North West!) know a little more about the league name that is so close to our battered and bruised hearts.

So, Liverpool Roller Birds… where did it come from?

Clue: it didn’t originate from the out-dated slang word for women!

We are Liverpool Roller Birds because of the Liver Birds; possibly the oldest and most iconic symbols of the city of Liverpool.

There are two Liver Bird sculptures, which sit on top of the clock towers of the imposing Royal Liver Building, near the River Mersey.

According to popular legend, they are a male and female pair; the female looks out to sea, whilst the male looks towards the city.

These stalwarts of the Liverpool skyline were an obvious choice for the league when it was started in 2009.

One of our most experienced skaters – and proud scouser – Atomic Hittin’ told me:

“I love the Liver Birds. I see them from the end of my road and on my walk into work. They make me feel at home and they root the team in with the city’s most famous icon. You know the legend is: if they were ever to fly away the city would cease to exist. They are tough birds, they even survived the Blitz!”

So there you have it – we look forward to skating out under our new team names, while safe in the knowledge that we are Birds for life.

– Lula Bruise

Team photos by Joe Ehlen.