 Hi friends and citizens Last weekend we organised the first ever Kalmar Union homegames, and what a success the tournament was! Lots of happy faces and the games were almost a bit too exciting. In this newsletter we bring you highlights from the Punch! Also in this newsletter:
The Punch: Who won, and other wins Bout make up on means ready to go. Photo: Dorie. Just around the time of our first tryout in October, we realised that our ambitious road map to World Cup was lacking one thing: A tournament with other national teams. And since nothing will come of nothing (ekkert kemur úr engu), we decided we might as well organise it ourselves. Come March, and we were ready with four teams (Wales, Scotland, Spain and Kalmar Union), merch hot off the press, lots of fika, two dozen officials from near and far and about as many volunteers in Angered Arena. We want to thank each and every one who played a part in what turned out as a very nice and smoothly running weekend in Gothenburg with interesting games and lots of happy faces!  Iceland meets Iceland: MissTík up against Darth Evader. Photo: Deedee. For some, this was the first tournament since prepandemic times, and the excitement was tangible. The games were streamed to Göteborg Roller Derby's YouTube channel (thank you!) and can be found here. We'll gather bout photos in this Facebook album, ask us for high-res versions.  1 down, 5 to go: Spain and Wales opened the ball at Punch. Photo: Eve. Who won in the end? Wales won two games and lost only to Kalmar Union (with 5 points). Spain also won two games and came in second. Scotland and Kalmar Union were so close the ranking depends on how we measure. Here are the final results for each game: Wales 199 - Spain 68 What about the Water Wars? A braw winner and a missnöjd Scot. Photo: Hans. Sparked by the Scots' immense pride in their tap water, the Punch became a two-in-one: Tap water from Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Wales and Scotland would compete, with an all-Spanish jury to settle the matter. Unfortunately for the Scots, Hazzard's checked-in luggage with precious cargo never reached Gothenburg (stolen by Brits?), leaving them out of the contest for now (but ready for a World Cup rematch). Who won? Sweden, represented by water from near Vänersborg, where photographer/food logistics boss/miracle worker Eve has her own well. Will Eve's water win against Hazzard's in Water Wars 2.0? Come to France to find out! A new collaboratorWe're happy to announce we're joining forces with Force, and we are sooo excited to show you the clothing we're collaborating on for our World Cup charter and management! If you're coming to cheer us on, you'll be happy to hear they'll be helping us out with some stuff that will help you show who you're cheering for. Stay tuned for more details. For now, check them out!  Merch newsWhat does Thingy do when it's not busy cheering for its team? Venture into space, of course, like a little rocket! We captured one of its journeys and put it on a black shirt, available in kid and adult sizes. We also printed our full logo on a blue shirt and a filled uncircled version on a red shirt. The adult space shirt is 30€, the kid size 30€, and the red and blue ones 270€.  If you were not at the Punch, you haven't had a chance to buy them. We can make derby express delivery happen:
Throw in 12€ and you'll get our full Nordic words of wisdom stickers colllection (6 pieces, examples here). Get in touch with us through email or DMs to organise – we'll be back later with a World Cup preorder opportunity. Pssst: Stickers will be available at Bergen Brawl this weekend! The sauna hat A final note on merch: Our Thingy sauna hat pattern is now available in Ravelry, and we have yarn in stock to produce hats in the colours of a variety of derby teams. Knit one for yourself or contact us to check if we have knitter capacity – we produce on demand!
 Kalmar Union is the Nordic open-gender roller derby national team. We're here to strengthen the sport across borders and inspire future generations of Nordic roller derby by competing under the same banner at the World Cup! You are receiving this email because subscribed to our newsletter. We value your privacy and will never share your contact info with with third parties without consent. You can update your profile or unsubscribe here. © Kalmar Union (kalmarunionrd@gmail.com) |
