Show winter who’s boss with Richter City Roller Derby
Show winter who’s boss with Wellington’s Richter City Roller Derby
Saturday 21 July
5pm
Kilbirnie Recreation Centre
Tickets from Eventfinda, or on the door
Adults $15, Students $12, Children $5, Kids under 5 are free
Palmerston North is just a couple of hours down
the road, but being in the same neighbourhood doesn’t
change the rolling rivalry between Wellington’s Richter
City All Stars and Swamp City Roller Derby. These two teams
will face off in an epic bout on Saturday 21st of July as
part of New Zealand’s Top Ten championship competition.
Recently returned from an impressive performance at
the Great Southern Slam, the world’s biggest roller derby
tournament, Wellington’s All Stars are ready for action.
And so are their loyal fans. Richter City Roller
Derby games are renowned for attracting big crowds. The
league is a finalist in the Wellington Airport Regional
Community Awards in recognition of the volunteers who work
tirelessly to organise food trucks, merch stalls, kids’
activities, commentators and more. The league is sponsored
by Garage Project, so spectators can enjoy a top quality
beer while watching a thrilling game often referred to as
‘rugby on wheels’.
Following the bout between the
shaky city and the swampy city, Wellington roller derby’s
home season continues as Brutal Pageant and Comic Slams
battle it out for the right to face Smash Malice in the
finals in August. Two games of roller derby in a warm indoor
venue, with thrills, spills, and snacks — this is how
Richter City does winter.
Not sure what roller derby
is? Don’t worry, you’re not alone (although New Zealand
does have more roller derby players per capita than any
other country!)
Roller derby is a full contact sport
played on roller skates around an oval track. It’s a
battle of strength and agility on wheels. Characterised by
impressive athleticism, deft skill and strategic teamwork,
derby is a frenetic joy to behold.
Each team has
players dedicated to offence and defence, working to help
their point-scoring player get around the track faster and
with less effort than the opposition in a time period of two
minutes, maximum. Each team has four blockers and one jammer
on the track at a time.
Jammers are the only players
on the track who can score points. They score one point for
each member of the opposition team they lap on the track,
but only after they’ve made it through their first lap —
no easy feat with the other team’s Blockers in their
way.
Blockers work to make life difficult for the opposition Jammer, while creating an easy path to point-scoring for their own Jammer.
Confused? Come
and watch — it makes sense when you see
it!
ends