Rotorua roller derby players to represent New Zealand on world stage

Rotorua roller derby players Layla Robinson (left) and Tayla Elliot will represent NZ this year.

Some of Rotorua’s roller derby players have been selected to represent New Zealand when the nation competes in international games later this year.

Tayla Elliott, 17, has been named on the Team New Zealand Junior Roller Derby roster after trialling last weekend in Wellington.

Elliott, known as ‘Siren’ on the track, has been playing roller derby with the Sulpher City Steam Rollers for a year and was praised by assessors for their maturity and control.

Elliot was also recognised for their awareness on the track and the support of their teammates.

Before Elliot learned to skate with the Steam Rollers, they competed in jiu-jitsu and represented Rotorua at a national level for five years in full-contact fighting centred around self-defence and grappling.

Now, Elliot’s focus is on skating as they prepare for the Junior Roller Derby World Cup, which will be held in France in July this year.

“Going into trials, I really wanted to push myself to represent Sulphur and my coaches as best as I could,” Elliott said.

“As one of the newest skaters to be trialling, I felt so grateful to have the opportunity to try out, and so to have also made the team is a massive privilege.”

Elliot will now focus on more endurance and strength training while getting to know their Team New Zealand Junior Roller Derby teammates and continuing to play for the Steam Rollers.

Last week, Steam Rollers co-founder Layla Robinson (Primevil) was named on the Team New Zealand Training Squad with other Bay of Plenty skaters Ivy Bates (Ivy K’nivey) and Veronica Diamond (Diamond).

Robinson, 44, has been playing roller derby for 10 years and is one of Rotorua’s coaches as well as the chairwoman of the league.

“I decided in 2022 I was going to push myself further than I have before in this sport,” Robinson said.

“I attended various boot camps held by Team New Zealand coaches, skating with high-level players with the intention to try out for the national team.

“My hope was that I would make the training squad so I could continue to train and learn at this high level, and bring the skills back home to further develop our players and support our coaches.”

The first game for Team New Zealand Roller Derby will be held in Australia in March, with the roster yet to be confirmed.

For now, it will be business as usual in Rotorua, with the Steam Rollers offering members of the public the opportunity to learn how to roller skate with their Learn to Skate and Roller Derby courses starting in March. Preceding the course are two open skate nights where people can go along, put on a pair of skates and see if it’s something they’d like to progress.

More information about Rotorua’s league and the two national teams can be found on Facebook.