Kent Roller Girls took on the Birmingham Blitz Dames in the first UK Roller Derby Tournament of the year held at the International Exhibition Centre in Telford.

The Dames are one of the most established teams in UK, ranked 31st in Europe, but underdogs Kent went into the bout riding high on a successful end to the 2013 season were ready to face the challenge.

There were some excellent performances from the teams point scorers known as Jammers – with notable performances from Amber, Mac and April (pictured) who jumped and juked past the opposition to keep Kent close in the game for the first period.

Unusually for Kent though, the team managed to incur a few penalties towards half time – at one point leaving team Captain Demi Lition as the solitary blocker against four of Dames.

Despite some solid defensive play from Kent, the second half was capitalised on by Birmingham who pushed forward and notched up the points to take the win.

The bout ended 175 -120, which will mean a drop of two places in the European rankings to leave the girls in gold at number 40.

Co-captain Rosa, who heads up the training committee said “It was an invaluable learning experience for us to play against so many well established players. As we continue to play against higher ranked teams we’re only going to grow in confidence and develop more strategies. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done so far can’t wait for the next challenge.”

And that challenge isn’t far off, Kent are looking to take on Essex’s Seaside Sirens in February and be back playing their first home game of 2014 at the Bay Arena in Herne Bay in April.

Follow them on Facebook, check out kentrollergirls.com and don’t forget you can always try the sport yourself as a player, referee or official by joining the Recreational League which starts on January 19th in Faversham.

Photos supplied by MDP Images and Phil Seymour.