TWO Birmingham women will travel to Texas as part of the Irish national roller derby team, ahead of this week’s World Cup event.
Siobhán Murphy and Gemma Harvey, both second-generation Irishwomen, are delighted to have made the cut.
It has been a gruelling journey for the two women, who began their Irish national trials in February of this year, with the aim to get on that plane to Texas.
Roller derby is a notoriously tough sport, involving a lot of physical contact, all while on roller skates.
"It's going to be an exciting but challenging weekend for us. This event is the culmination of almost a year of hard work and preparation. As a team we've built up great relationships on track and hope to put on some great games,” said Siobhán of the World Cup.
The sport has only recently taken off in Ireland. The national team was first formed in 2010 and just 12 months later, the ladies managed to earn a place in the inaugural World Cup.
Roller derby is a female-dominated sport which involves skating around an oval track with “blockers” and “fielders”; aiming to score the highest number of points.
The team’s first game is against Spain on Thursday and the girls will have their work cut out as USA are the hotly contested favourites to take home the trophy.
The second Roller Derby World Cup is set to take place in Dallas, Texas, from December 5 to 8.
Ireland is one of 32 countries worldwide hitting the courses over the weekend.
