The Honey Island Rollers, Malta’s roller derby team, made their mark at the highly anticipated Scrimmagic 2024 event in Palermo on September 28th and 29th, 2024. This adrenaline-fueled tournament, held at the Palaoreto, brought together teams from across Italy and beyond, showcasing the best of roller derby’s intensity and community spirit.
Roller Derby in Palermo
Malta’s derby warriors joined forces with players from Geneva Roller Derby to face off against Palermo’s Poison Kittens and other opponents. The annual event honours the memory of Poison Kittens’ late member Maria Rosa.
Saturday’s action kicked off with a mixed intermediate game, followed by a beginner game, and then a showdown where Honey Island and Geneva Roller Derby went head to head with the Poison Kittens. Despite a hard-fought battle, the home team claimed victory. Undeterred, Honey Island’s captain, Helen “Melon” Wallbank, praised the team’s performance: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our newer players to get their first taste of real derby action, while our veterans felt the adrenaline and showcased the true spirit of derby.”
Sunday ramped up the excitement with a nail-biting Survival game, pitting six teams of five players against each other in three heart-pumping rounds. The day concluded with a mixed scrimmage that came nail-bitingly close with a final score of 80 to 78, a win for the white team.
Derby Spirit
Fresh player Lourdes “Leeloo” Chiara made her derby debut at Palermo Scrimmagic, embodying the team’s fearless spirit: “Although the game is quite complicated, you can understand it more by playing. I tried different roles on the track and I took some hits, but I got back up every time!”
“This trip wasn’t just about the games,” added veteran player Camille “Morina” Felice. “It was about training consistently, supporting each other, and representing Malta internationally in a queer and inclusive sport.”
The Honey Island Rollers, founded in 2020, have become a force to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean derby scene. We are accepting new members including people of all genders with little or no skating skills. Get in touch with us if you have any questions!
Derby kisses
- Noe Mercy for organising transport and accommodation
- Calypso and Sakura and Melon and Smacks and Spyro and others for fundraising
- Swiffer for badass bench coaching & lineup tracking
- Calypso and Swiffer for lineup selections
- Mercury for logistics/admin support
- Jack for organisation/admin
- Shiny Popi, Seriblue, GI Jojo, Enorage from Genève Roller Derby for completing us 🧡
- Poison Kittens for inviting us and organising the event!
- Morina for packing the flag
- Kabocca and Unagi for fundraising support
- Leeloo, Axl Blitz, Mad Matz