Newcastle Roller Girls set up derby debut for Tyneside

Sniper Viper of the NRG tussles with a NUTS opponent

Newcastle Roller Girls will stage the city's first public roller derby bout when they host Aberdeen-based Granite City on Saturday, 5 March.

The event which takes place at the Lightfoot Centre in Walker, pits the North East side Canny Belters against the Northern Fights.

"The team have been together for nearly two years," captain Claire Byrne said.

"Our first year was training, second year was playing as often as possible, this year we bring roller derby home."

Byrne, who competes under her skate name of Brie Larceny, has led her side to wins against the Northern United Team Skaters, which comprised members from the Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Manchester teams, as well as Leicester-based Dolly Rockit Rollers in their outings thus far.

"The Northern Fights girls are a good match for us," Byrne added.

Our team trains very hard and takes it very seriously, so our first bout on home turf will be one they'll be working extra hard for Fritha Haimes aka Sicily Suplex

"They're really good, which is why we're playing them.

"We don't believe in easy wins, we're competitive through and through and we'll fight to win."

The ladies train three times a week combining skating, tactics and techniques with cardiovascular fitness work in preparation for the bout which consists of two half-hour periods, separated by a 15 minute interval break.

"Our team trains very hard and takes it very seriously, so our first bout on home turf will be one they'll be working extra hard for," added vice-captain Fritha Haimes.

"It should be a good game to watch, we will run through the rules and what happens during a game and then just get straight into it."

Roller derby is a female-only sport which started out in 1930s America, and has grown into a world-wide movement fusing aggressive skating with punk-inspired fashions.