A CRACKING sports team is turning up the heat as it continues its quest to find a new home. 

The Furness Firecrackers roller derby outfit are on the search for a new venue to use for training and have enlisted the support of a major supporter.


Barrow and Furness MP, John Woodcock, skated off to join the Furness Firecrackers on Saturday morning to show his support to the team and even bagged himself a free t-shirt.

Describing the session as "great fun", Mr Woodcock said: "The Firecrackers have made a really good name for themselves.

"It's great for Barrow and it can help inspire future generations in getting active.

"We need to do what we can as a community to try and unblock the problems they have been facing and find them a new home."

Having established themselves in Barrow five years ago, the Furness Firecrackers have taken the sports world by storm, winning national and international titles and championships.

Sarah Duffin, chairwoman of the league, said: "We're quite a successful league in roller derby and we've got five skaters who represent their countries. We've got three who play for England, one for Scotland and one for South Africa. It's definitely something to be proud of."

At the moment the teams train in a room at the The Canteen Media and Arts Centre in Michaelson Road but are struggling to reach their full potential at the site.

Miss Duffin said: "It's about a quarter of the size we actually need so it's a real struggle to train. 

"It's a derelict building so it's not the greatest of environments."

The full-contact sport sees teams of 20 flying around the room at breakneck speed increasing the risk of injury to the players.

"It's very cold so we're more prone to injuries when we're trying to warm up. Also it's a full-contact sport so there's a lot of high-speed impact."

In addition to problems regarding training sessions, the Firecrackers also face problems when it
comes to hosting home games.

Miss Duffin explained: "We host our homes games in Oldham at the moment and we're travelling continuously.

"Our travel costs are really very high so we can't go and playing in international games. If we had a home track we would be able to go further afield."

With large numbers of people visiting towns and cities across the UK to follow the matches, Miss Duffin believes that investing in a new venue would help bring more investment intot he town.

She said: "All the money spent in hotels, pubs and restaurants could all be brought into the town.

"We've got a good reputation as hosts and people want to come but we have nowhere to put them."

Despite the challenges, the Firecrackers are at the top of their game but believe they can be even bigger and better with the right facilities.

Miss Duffin said: "We're very proud that we're the only small team playing at the level and we're all very proud to be Barrovian so it's important to us that we keep our roller derby local."