Roller Derby: Hell's Wives aim to quell Angst

Hell Razors' blockers Flamin' Ratbag (Lauren Bollu), Tahl-Gater (Tayla-Paris Taybrum), Bluebell the Rabbit (Brenna Forsythe) and Clothesline (Chloe Waugh) go in for the block on Gremlins' Little White Noises (Kendell Noyes-White). Photo / Fiona Bollu

Northland's junior roller derby team have just made history, winning the first ever national junior bout.

Hell Razors, which are in the Whangarei-based Northland Nightmares league, took a 325 to 214 lead against Hamilton Monster Squad's bouting team, the Gremlins, when they battled it out at Fraser High School in Hamilton on September 5.

Wendy Baird, chairperson of the Northland Nightmares league, said there were 11 skaters in the junior league, with a further three on their way up through the ranks.

The junior club kicked off in 2008 and was the first young club of its kind to start. According to Ms Baird, Hell Razors' biggest strength was their team work.

"They all worked together, recycling when playing defence and really strong offence play when helping the jammers. The jammers had amazing agility as they hopped and weaved through the packs ... there were also a few amazing apex jumps."

She said the biggest difference between the games seniors and juniors played was that the juniors did not accelerate into a hit.

"A junior game is played at three levels. Level one is positional blocking only, level 2 is contact but no acceleration into a hit, which is our level of play, and level 3 is full contact, so very much like an adults' game but a current WFTDA team skills test needs to be passed."

Hamilton's coach Adrea Noyes said the game was thrilling.

"It was really cool to get to play as our own team for the first ever New Zealand junior roller derby game."

She said junior derby was growing rapidly as a sport throughout the country.

"Roller derby is more than just a contact sport played for fun, competition and fitness. It gets children to learn to work as a team," she said.

"It doesn't matter what size they are - everyone has a place to fit into the team and it is incredibly empowering and a huge self-confidence booster."

She said even shy children thrive when they strap on skates and safety gear.

"I can't wait to see more leagues pop up around the country so the Gremlins and Hell Razors have other teams to play."

The senior team, Hell's Wives, will take on Hellmilton Roller Ghouls' travel team, Raggedy Angst, this weekend at ASB Stadium in Whangarei.

Northland Nightmares chairperson Wendy Baird and Hell's Wives coach said she was feeling confident with the team's new strategies and strong experienced players.

"They have some very skilled players in Hamilton so it will be a very tight game. We have not won against Hamilton yet so we are all training hard to get a win next weekend," she said.