Demure by day, roller-derby demon by night!

Julie has a sweet smile off the roller track,

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MARTYN MEETS sportswoman extraordinarire Julie Cunningham
LUNCH with the president of the rumbustious, rollicking roller derby girls — Cleo Fracture, aka Julie Cunningham — was a delight.

Seated in the Cornerhouse restaurant overlooking Manchester’s busy Oxford Street, Julie was wonderful company.

Roller derby is one of the fastest-growing sports for women in the country and Oldham is rapidly becoming a hotbed for this combative, fast-paced collision of otherwise courteous women.

Oldham is home to The Thunderdome and the Rainy City Roller Girls.

The venue, at the junction of King Street and Union Street, has had various uses and names. Think Astoria, where the Beatles famously played in 1963; or Romeo and Juliet’s, or Butterfly’s, or Nix.

But now it’s the Thunderdome, the UK’s only permanent roller derby venue.

What’s more the ‘Dome has the only dedicated skate court surface in Europe - having been laid by the girls and their husbands, boyfriends and family members.

Julie, a slim 34 year old from Sale, is gentle and serene in conversation, but is transformed into a hell-raiser on court alongside nine other women, five of whom are usually intent on bashing her about.

“That’s all part of the fun,” she laughed as she tried to explain the rules (which I won’t go into here).

Illegal hits — as defined by one of the seven referees — result in time in the penalty box; seven fouls and you’re out for the night.

“Legal hits often result in skaters flying off the track and landing in the crowd,” laughs Julie between mouthfuls of lettuce and grated parmesan.

She can see me wincing: “Isn’t the front bit of a woman’s anatomy where all the, er, tender bits are located?” I ventured nervously.

“Yep,” agrees Julie.

At this point I began to look on my companion in a different light. Her daytime job is writing technical manuals for software. When she isn’t commuting to Oldham for training and the rest, she enjoys cycling, playing guitar and piano, reading, web design and being artistic and creative.

Born in Blackpool, Julie enjoyed roller skating along the resort’s promenade and once raised funds for the BBC’s Children in Need by doing a 26-mile marathon on her skates.

A roller derby film “Whip it!” starring Drew Barrymore stirred her interest and a quick internet search later she was hooking up with the Rainy City girls.

Julie joined in August 2010; by December Cleo was qualified to skate and in March 2011 started her first bout.

The club moved to Oldham that summer and the future president was one of the skaters who helped with the first round of renovations at the old Astoria building on King Street.

So why Oldham? “One of our members, Nikky Maddison from Hollinwood, found the premises and when the girls first saw the venue they were hooked,” Julie said.

Members — there are about 50 skaters (15 from Oldham), coaches and helpers now they have added a third team for beginners, the Bet Lynch Mob — stripped the floor to the original concrete and the skating began.

Many changes have been made, thanks to a £50,000 grant from Sport England, much of which has gone towards the new floor: “People from all over Europe will be coming to Oldham to take a look at the skate court.”

The Americans, who invented the sport, have chosen Oldham for a referees’ training course for the whole of Europe and the Thunderdome will host the workshop organised by the worldwide international governing body, which is based in the States.

In May the Rainy City girls will be in Ghent, Belgium, for a 10-team event sanctioned by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association: “We took part last year and did ok,” said Julie.

How okay? I inquired. “Well, we finished ninth out of 10 teams, but we were very unlucky. We had some really close bouts...”

Founded in 2008 by Carly and Andy Harper, a husband and wife team who built the club into the pre-eminent status it enjoys today, the club is extremely well organised. Andy is now one of the team coaches and Carly, who retired from skating this year, continues to volunteer as the WFTDA representative.

The Rainy City girls have achieved Community Amateur Sports Club status — “we had to jump through hoops, but we tick all the boxes and it was worth the effort” — which will have financial benefits for the Rainy City girls.

They are looking to attract new players and are planning an open day to showcase their venue as other sporting or community organisations in Oldham may wish to hire the space for their own events.

As we left the Cornerhouse I was made to solemnly promise to visit the new-look Thunderdome.

“Once you see it you’ll be hooked,” said Julie.

I’ll report back, er, soon