2016 Preview - The Year to Come
The Banditas are back from our Christmas break and are already hitting the track hard preparing for the new season. We've had plenty of time to reflect and take the lessons from 2015 and are ready to make 2016 our own.
This year we are once again competing in the British Championships. The Championships themselves have expanded to cover 5 Tiers over the whole of the UK; this year will see 84 women and men's teams take part. As a result of last year's performance we have been placed in Tier 4 North alongside four other teams; Blackpool Roller Derby, Durham Roller Derby, Spa Town Roller Girls and Granite City Roller Derby. We can't wait to get cracking and show this Tier who the Banditas are!
The season starts on the 20th February with our first Champs game against Blackpool Roller Derby. The Granite City Roller Derby are hosting the first double-header game of our Tier and after last year's unfortunate forfeit we are excited to be visiting Aberdeen. This will be the first time playing Blackpool so we're looking forward to meeting a new team and seeing what we can do against them.
Our second Champs game takes place in Durham on the 12th March. This time we are playing the hosts, Durham Roller Derby in another double-header game. With this game only being 3 weeks after our first bout we won't have much time to implement any lessons learnt from our Blackpool game but the Banditas aren't afraid of hard work! We'll be knuckling down and perfecting our game to take our best to Durham.
The next bout sees us host our first home game in over a year! We have the absolute pleasure to bring a Champs double-header to Halifax on the 8th May. Get it in your diaries now! We will be facing the Spa Town Roller Girls who we ended our season with last year. We are really looking forward to this one and hope we can come away with the same result as 2015.
The final game of the 2016 Champs Teir 4 North will see us play our old Tier 3 relegation buddies Granite City Roller Derby. These hard hitting ladies proved to be a tough test of our mettle last year and we're looking forward to ending our 2016 campaign against them, this time with a score in our favour! The date for this fixture has yet to be finalised but we do know it will take place in Harrogate over the weekend of 4th-5th June.
That isn't all for the Banditas this year however! We have a few friendly matches in the pipeline so be sure to check back over the next few months to keep up to date with what is going on in Camp Bandita. Or, better yet, sign up to our newsletter and be the first to find out the latest news!
The Banditas also have a lot of off-track action planned. We will be fund raising throughout the year, partly for to keep the team running but also for our two new charities; KRASACC and Bradford Neo-Natal at the Bradford Royal Infirmary. So far we are looking to work with Northbridge Leisure Centre for Sport Relief in March, skate in a sponsored marathon in May and make an appearance at Halifax Charity Gala in June. Keep an eye on our Events Page for details of these events, how to lend your support and for more events to be announced!
All in all 2016 looks to be an event-filled and exciting year for the team and we couldn't do it without the support of our volunteers, loved ones and fans. Thank you all for everything you do for us and we hope to see you out there!
Banditas….AVE IT!!
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