Four days of unadulterated roller derby action. Lots of muscles. Even more glitter. That’s right, we’re beside ourselves with excitement for the roller derby world cup in Manchester this week!
To help you get ready, we thought we’d be super helpful and put together our top tips, to guarantee you’ll have a good time and fit in beautifully with the locals…
1. Pack some essentials for day one
You’ll probably slide into a diet of hotdogs and Fanta eventually, with the note-taking giving way to frantic snapping of your fave players for Instagram – but at least try and keep it together for day one. Take some sensible snacks* and a notebook for diligent scribblings to take back to your league. Comfortable shoes are also a must, especially for queuing. (See our top tips on that, later on in this post.)
*Disclaimer: Only if the venue allows it. We don’t endorse illegal snack-smuggling of any kind. 🙂
2. Leave your league flag at home
You’re all excited because the BBC will be there. Getting your team to wear their league t-shirts doesn’t seem like enough of a PR opportunity. You want to do MORE! Draping yourselves in your team flag seems like a great idea for that little bit of extra exposure – right?! Wrong. While you are a full-on athlete (ahem) someone else is guaranteed to stumble into you with a frosty beer and we just know your flag will end up in a corner somewhere at the after-party, completely daubed in unicorn glitter. Leave your flag at home – it will be safe there.
3. Find out where to get the best coffee
For those early starts and long days of derby-watching, you’re going to need some top-notch caffeine. The word on the street (well – on the Roller Derby World Cup Facebook event anyway) is that some of the best coffee can be found in the Northern
Quarter (city centre) at Takk.**
**Other coffee places are available.
4. Practise getting changed in public
It’s likely you’re going to be thirsty for merch when you get to the roller derby world cup – and if you can’t get into the toilets (see queuing notes below) you’re going to have to try on those super-cool moisture-wicking compression shorts somehow. Why not make like a shy beach-goer and awkwardly wrap a towel around yourself, take cover next to a vending machine and manoeuvre your clothing on and off that way? It may not be pretty, but it will get the job done. Start practising at home NOW.
5. Brush up on your queuing etiquette
For our American friends who may not know – ‘standing in line’ is called ‘queuing’ over here. We’re not sure why…your version makes much more sense. There will be lots of queuing at the World Cup and we British love nothing better than a good queue – well except for (quietly) complaining about other people jumping the queue, of course. We recommend that everyone follows these three simple rules:
1. Don’t dawdle. Dawdling will not be well received. You must be bumper to bumper with the next person in line at all times.
2. If you must join your friend who’s already in the queue, say “Excuse me, terribly sorry”, look flustered and pull a pained expression for a least 23 seconds.
3. Tut inaudibly and shake your head if someone else cuts the queue, while retaining a veneer of politeness throughout.
6. Learn the lingo
“You’re twistin’ my melon man” = “You are being rather annoying” (Could possibly be used in a queuing situation, see above ^^)
“I can’t be mithered” = “I simply do not have the energy” (After a 12-hour day of derby)
“I’m mad fer it” = “I am extremely excited about that” (Before the after party)
A barm = A bread roll (For the morning after the after party, ideally filled with bacon.)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our top tips and that you have a fantastic time at the world cup – don’t forget to come and say hello if you see our Birds!