In
March 2014 the first Men’s Roller Derby World Cup took place in
Birmingham. It was an event packed with adrenaline and testosterone
where the bench coach always had
to stay within a smelling distance from the boys.
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| Photo: Zero G Photography |
It’s evening when I arrive at a hostel in Birmingham. The hallways are filled with enthusiastic young men: the very first Men’s Roller Derby World Cup is about to start the following day. My role at the tournament is to be the bench coach for Team Finland.
Our team heads for dinner together. The atmosphere at the restaurant is calm, relaxed and nervous at the same time. The team has now been officially signed up for the tournament and all the paperwork has been taken care of. The roster for the game next morning against Team USA is announced and met with a round of applause.
In the morning the entire team heads to venue to prepare for the game. The weather is sunny and everyone is in good spirits. At the venue, there are no actual locker rooms; instead, tape on the floor next to the warm-up track shows designated changing areas for the different teams. Team Finland’s spot is right next to Team USA’s. Other teams start arriving at the venue and everyone seems to have ants in their pants. The superstars of Team USA flock around us and you can smell the testosterone in the air.
We gather together in a circle and let out our team cheer: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-TEEMU! The cheer is a tribute to the hockey legend Teemu Selänne who has just ended his career in the Olympic Games. The cheer seems to match the situation perfectly.
