About Honey Island Rollers

The beginning of Roller Derby in Malta

Like a frenzied fever dream after eating one too many festa donuts, it all started one balmy summer night. It was July 2020 and veteran roller skater Ġiġġifogu thought it was about time that the Maltese Islands had their very own derby league. In a wonderful digital encounter on the Bookface social network, Ġiġi came across Mad Matz, who had previously played with Linkoping Sweden and brought her skates to Malta. 

A few dizzy weeks later, the team managed to scrounge up a few curious non-skaters based in Malta. Surprisingly to all involved, the first group were not scared off by Ġiġġifogu’s epic, extra-long introduction email. Quad skates, pads, and helmets were ordered and soon enough the founding members met for their first skate in Valletta. The veterans sped along in the shadow of the city’s iconic baroque bastions while the new recruits wobbled around on 8 wheels and succumbed to gravity’s cruel wiles. They got up, though, and they got better. (You will, too.)

After some serious training, the league was officially formed with a board and a statute. 

The Honey Island Rollers follow the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association rules, meaning we play on a flat (ie. not-banked) track.

Our values

An Inclusive Community

★ We are an inclusive community welcoming women and gender-expansive individuals.

★ We operate in a grass-roots style, owned and managed by the skaters, for the skaters.

★ We oppose the policing of gender within sport. Trans women are women. Intersex women are women.

★ As a women’s roller derby league, HIR also welcomes gender-expansive skaters, regardless of their pronouns, who feel most comfortable playing women’s roller derby.

★ No tolerance for sexism, racism, transphobia, and homophobia.

★ No discrimination, we work to combat discrimination.

★ Governance by democratic principles and practices.

★ Fair play and sportsmanship

Rookie Program

New recruits join the Rookie Program. They can join only during one of our recruitment drives, which are held at least once annually. 

The Rookie Program is a ten week compulsory introductory course where you learn a set of skills necessary to play derby with the main league. You will learn how to stop on skates, fall safely, turn, build up speed and a host of skills deemed an absolute minimum necessity to skate safely. You will also learn contact and the basics of strategy. At the end of the 10 weeks you will also have a written exam where you will test your knowledge of the game. 

If you are a man, whether a cis or trans man, or any gender and wish to become a referee, you will not participate in contact drills and instead work on building up reffing skills around week 5. Referee hopefuls may also be integrated earlier into the main league once their skating skills are up to par, as the contact portion of the fresh meat course is not required (and men are  not allowed to participate in this part).

Can’t wait to join? Get in touch with us for our gear recommendations so you’ll be ready for the next recruitment.

Player or referee?

You can join and choose whether to participate in bouts as a player or a referee. Skating referees are roller derby officials who make sure rules are adhered to and call penalties whilst also on skates. We all learn the same skills and all the rules. Referees on a roller derby league skate and train with the skating players, but don’t do contact drills. We welcome referees of any gender!

Roller derby is a full-contact sport played on quad roller skates. Players will be playing in a women’s league, and we also welcome gender-expansive skaters, regardless of their pronouns, who feel most comfortable playing women’s roller derby.

Recruitment & How to Join

Look out for our recruitment drive and sign yourself up. You will need a full roller derby skating kit in order to train – that includes roller derby quad skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, helmet, and mouthguard. For safety reasons we require all players to wear the full set of protective gear at every training session. It is in your best interests to keep yourself protected in order to avoid injuries. 

Not sure about all this? We organise open days where you can meet us and even try on our gear to see how it feels. We’re a very friendly bunch! Head over to our digital social club to find out more. 

League Membership

Members are skaters or skating referees, over 18 years old, who have paid their monthly dues, attend training regularly, and have passed the fresh meat program.

Honey Island Rollers – Who Are We?