Roller Derby Hits the Capital

On Saturday 23 March, Wellington’s own Richter City Roller Derby league is set to take on the Pirate City Rollers of Auckland. With the Pirates currently undefeated in New Zealand, Richter City has been training hard to turn the tables.

Richter City’s All Stars squad last met the Pirate City All Scars in Auckland in August 2011. The All Scars had a strong game on their home turf, but the two teams haven’t met on the track in over a year. Richter City had a strong travel season in 2012, defeating Palmerston North’s Swamp City after they took second place at the national tournament; and a narrow loss to tournament winners, Auckland Roller Derby League.

“We’re confident that our experience and skill sets have grown a lot since we last played against PCR,” said Richter City All Stars Captain, Lindsay Huthnance. “As a league, we have focussed on developing our strengths; showing that we can master strategy and team work to play a calm and confident game.”

The bout on 23 March is an exciting new step for Richter City Roller Derby. Named as an apprenticeship league for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in 2012, the league must play two other apprentice leagues to become internationally recognised by the Association. The game will be the first WFTDA sanctioned bout in New Zealand.

“Being an apprentice league of WFTDA is a great step for us, as we can look to take part in international roller derby tournaments,” Huthnance explained. “Roller derby is the fastest growing women’s sport in the world, and we are proud to be at the forefront of roller derby in New Zealand.”

With recent changes to the sport’s rules, watching roller derby is now easier to understand – with the abolition of minor penalties.

“The rule changes mean a faster pace of game play, and it’s much easier to understand the penalties awarded to players,” said Huthnance. “For avid sports fans, they will be able to pick up on the strategies and game play quickly.”

Richter City Roller Derby and Pirate City Rollers will be playing at the TSB Arena from 7pm on Saturday 23 March – with tickets on sale now through www.ticketek.co.nz

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