Lockdown leads to a new hobby for one Teessider.

Members of Teesside Skate Invaders

One Middlesbrough man used the pandemic as a way of starting a very unique hobby and now you can too!

Many people around the world have started a wide variety of new hobbies since the epidemic began.

According to the Independent, a poll of 2,000 adults found more than one third of them had started a new activity since the start of the pandemic.

Gardening, reading and cooking were all popular choices for the public during lockdown, with majority of adults continuing with these pastimes following the lockdown period.

For one Middlesbrough man these common activities were not enough as he started an unorthodox hobby.

54- year -old, Bob Campbell, decided to take up the unusual hobby of roller derby during lockdown.

He said: “During lockdown I was doing no exercise at all, then the roller derby club started doing outdoor skating classes so I joined.”

“About eight weeks ago indoor training started and I have been training there since.”

To find out more about Bob’s new hobby watch the video below.

Roller derby is a worldwide sport which is most popular in the United States, however it is growing in popularity in the United Kingdom.

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams both made of fifteen members, with five members

from each team in play at one time.

Bob Campbell’s son, Jamie, playing roller derby for England

One member of each team is designated as the ‘jammer’ who has the job of scoring points for their team

by lapping members of the opposing team.

The other four members of the team are blockers. Their role is to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own.

Teesside Skate Invaders are a local roller derby that are based in Eston.

The team is accessible for everyone, including those who have no skating experience.

They currently train on a Sunday at Eston Leisure Centre between 10am-12pm.

Eston Leisure Centre address: Normanby Rd, South Bank, Middlesbrough TS6 9AE

You can contact Teesside Skate Invaders through their Facebook page with any further questions.

Alternatively, Middlesbrough Roller Derby team are available. However, they are a women’s only team.

Middlesbrough Roller Derby team can also be contacted via their Facebook page as well as their website.

Let us know what whacky and wonderful hobbies you have got up to since the start of the pandemic by emailing us at: A0289791@live.tees.ac.uk 

 

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