Severn Roller Torrent's Festive Bash has three roller derby games at Leisure at Cheltenham on 6 December, with tickets from £8. Updated November 2026.
Three roller derby games are on at Leisure at Cheltenham on Sunday 6 December, when Severn Roller Torrent stage their annual Festive Bash. Spectator tickets are £8 in advance or £10 on the door, and under-18s get in free.
The day comes two weeks after a national playoff. The Gloucestershire team go to Stoke-on-Trent, about 75 miles north, on 21 and 22 November to play for promotion to Tier 2 of the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships.
Some of the league’s members are also starting a new junior programme for 7 to 17-year-olds across the county, due to launch in 2027.
Third try at promotion
Severn Roller Torrent will face Edinburgh’s Auld Reekie Braw Stars in the national playoffs. The league has reached the playoffs in each of the past two years without winning promotion, and calls this one “a case of third time lucky”.
“After another year of hard work, training and competition, the team are determined to make this their year and take the next step in the sport,” the league said.
What roller derby is
The league describes it as “a fast-paced, full-contact team sport played on quad roller skates around an oval track”.
Two teams compete to score points. The scoring players are called jammers, and they try to get past the opposing players while their teammates help them and block the other side. “It combines speed, strategy, athleticism and teamwork,” the league said.
Its guide to the sport gives a few more basics:
- The jammer wears a star on the helmet and scores one point for each opposing blocker passed, so four points a lap.
- A game has two 30-minute periods, split into short jams of up to two minutes.
- The pivot, with a stripe on the helmet, is a blocker who can take over as jammer if the star is passed to them.
The Festive Bash times and prices
The event is at Leisure at Cheltenham on Tommy Taylors Lane, GL50 4RN. Spectators can arrive from 10am.
| Time | What is on |
|---|---|
| 10.15am | Rookie match: newer skaters showing their developing skills |
| 12.15pm | Juniors match: a mixed scrimmage with current Great Britain junior skaters alongside skaters from different teams |
| 1.55pm | First half of the intermediate and advanced match |
| 2.50pm | Second half |
| 3.45pm | Third half |
| 4.50pm | Awards |
The afternoon match is a best-of-three-halves contest between three teams. Each half pairs two of them, and every team skates twice.
Tickets are on the league’s Eventbrite page, linked from its events page. There will also be stalls and treats, and the organisers say to bring pocket money.
Under-18s get in free. The league has confirmed the age limit. Its address for questions is severnrollertorrent@gmail.com.
A new junior programme for ages 7 to 17
Gloucestershire Junior Roller Derby is being set up by some of the league’s members and developed in partnership with Active Gloucestershire. It is due to launch in 2027.
The aim, the organisers say, is “to introduce more young people to roller derby”, giving them the chance to “learn new skills, build confidence, make friends and become part of an inclusive sporting community”.
The idea came from demand. “After lots of enquiries from people asking about junior roller derby in Gloucestershire, four members of Severn Roller Torrent decided it was time to make it happen,” the programme’s first post says. Those four are Frog, Raine, Reaper and Red, who will all coach.
That post, from 1 October, says they are looking for a venue in Gloucester, about seven miles from Cheltenham. No venue or dates have been announced yet.
No experience is needed. The programme’s about page says: “You don’t need to be sporty, super-confident or an experienced skater. You don’t need to know the rules of roller derby. And you definitely don’t need to arrive knowing how to skate backwards!”
What it means for you
- To watch: book for 6 December, or pay £10 on the door; under-18s are free. The 12.15pm juniors match is the one the organisers suggest for young people thinking of joining.
- For a child aged 7 to 17: register interest through the programme’s website. Those who register will be among the first to hear about the launch.
- For adults: a Learn to Skate and Learn to Derby course for over-18s runs in early 2027. No dates are published yet. The league suggests coming to the Festive Bash and talking to the skaters first, and its get involved page has the other ways to join, including officiating and volunteering.
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