Dead End Derby Christchurch win New Zealand Top 10 Champs

Dead End Derby fought all the way in a keenly contested final against 2016 title holders, Pirate City Roller Derby to retain their place as New Zealand Roller Derby Top 10 Champions. They are number one in New Zealand roller derby.

Both teams are at the top of their game and the close results - 133 to DED and 131 to PCR meant that this was no foregone conclusion. This was an exciting game for spectators as every jam counted with both teams working hard on their defensive strategy. Both DED and PCR demonstrated impenetrably strong walls, making all of the jammers work incredibly hard to break through, let alone score any points. This was a long, hard, tense, slog.

The half-time score gave the Pirates a 15 point lead over Dead End and PCR gradually started to pull away to a 30 point advantage in the second half. However, Dead End were in no mood to roll over and admit defeat. Thanks to a power jam by Serious Crash Unit (Nicky Reynolds) the fight back began. The Pirates lost their jammer Veloskitty (Zoe Kristensen) to injury after an on-track collision.

These two experienced teams used all of their strength, endurance, agility and finesse to contest each jam. Magnificent apex jumps by Evil (Kay Newton) and Razzmataz (Laurie Brunot) drove the crowd wild. Ultimately it went down to the last jam with a home crowd cheering Dead End Derby on to claim their position as the number one roller derby team in New Zealand.

According to Captain, Evil K.Neevil (Kay Newton); “ Dead End Derby have trained hard on and off the track to bring this Trophy home. The team really banded together in the second half to claw back lost points and regain the lead. It was an incredibly hard fought game on both sides, the Pirates are a slick and organised team, but DED managed to hold on for the win! Amazing support from a vocal home crowd and loyal fans really helped our game.”

The cup final clearly showed that top level roller derby requires athletic and tactical skills as well as physical and mental toughness to power through. Dead End Derby presented the Most Valued Player - Jammer to Kareena Conn and Most Valued Player- Blocker to Pigeon Defective (Emma Beeby). Pirate City presented their awards for Most Valued Player - Jammer to Iona Shotgun (Sarah Gingrich) and Most Valued Player - Blocker to Evil K.Neevil (Kay Newton).

Immediately before the final, the second division game to find the winners of the Shield was a similarly hard fought game between Bay City Roller's Iron Maidens from and Whakatane Roller Derby. Whakatane took the win 182 to 158.

The exciting final concluded two full days of roller derby action that brought together the top 10 teams from across New Zealand in this much anticipated family-friendly tournament. The tournament concludes the roller derby season. As well as winning the title, Christchurch paid host to the tournament following months of planning.

Saturday results:
Game 1: DD - Dunedin Derby 169, Moana Roller Derby 163
Game 2: Swamp City Roller Derby 218, Sulphur City Steam Rollers 124
Game 3: Dead End Derby 288, Auckland Roller Derby League (ARDL) 99
Game 4: Bay City Rollers 286, Dunedin Derby 96
Game 5: Pirate City Rollers 260, Richter City Roller Derby 88
Game 6: Whakatāne Roller Derby League 196, Swamp City 153

Sunday results:
Game 1: Moana 227, Sulphur 175
Game 2: Swampies 303, Dunedin 102
Game 3: Richter 197, Auckland Roller Derby 177
Game 4: Whakatane 182, Bay City 158 (Shield Final)
Game 5: Dead End: 133, Pirates 131 (Cup Final)

New Zealand Top 10 Championships Results:
1: Dead End Derby Christchurch Rollergirls
2: Pirate City Roller Derby
3: Richter City Roller Derby

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