The Great British Hobby Hunt: “It’s like rugby on skates”

Shots! TV is National World’s special video website showcasing true crime, football, and quirky content. Our expert journalists work closely with local communities to share gripping stories from around the UK. Our quirky episodes explore all things weird and wonderful.

In this brand new Shots! TV series, we dive into the fascinating world of British hobbies. From ancient traditions to modern passions, get ready to explore what makes Britain’s hobbies truly unique. In the first episode, we travel to Lancashire to try our hand at curling and get rough and ready in roller derby. Watch The Great British Hobby Hunt: Episode 1 to learn more about the country's most unique pastimes.

Curling is a sport where players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area. Players can sweep the ice in front of the stone to help it move faster and reach its target. There are typically two teams of two or four in each game and the team who gets its stones closest to the centre of the target wins.

In the episode, we speak to experts and instructors to hear why they’re so passionate about the sport. Guy Topping, Managing Director at The Flower Bowl entertainment centre, said: “Sweeping is really good exercise (..)If you look at the top curlers in the world, they’re extremely fit athletes”.

Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport played on roller skates. They’re are two teams in a game and special roles are given to different players. Those given the role of the ‘jammers’ aim to dodge the ‘blockers’ and race around the track to score as many points as possible for their team. The team with the most points at the end wins.

In the episode, we speak to the Preston Roller Derby team to learn more about the sport. Julie Carson, President at Preston Roller Derby said: “It’s like rugby on skates, only we don’t lift people up and throw them.”

Watch the full episode to learn more about unusual British hobbies. You can also tune into Freeview channel 262 and Freely channel 565 for more true crime, football, and quirky UK content . Keep up with our latest videos by signing up to Shots TV! Newsletter here.