How would you explain Roller Derby?

Pirate CITY ROLLERS - Stacey Roper.. How would you explain Roller Derby? Chicks in
mini skirts on roller skates beating each other up. Sort of like bull rush.

What are the requirements to take part? A reasonable ability to skate, cross-overs, stopping,
jumping, hip checks, shoulder barges. Not for the faint hearted. Can get rough and intense. We can teach most of the techniques but it helps if you come with a basic ability to skate.

Do you think Roller Derby as a sport will take off in NZ? I think there are a lot of women who would rather not go to a gym and instead do something gnarly and fun. I’ve played a lot of team sports and this has been the most social and extreme fun. It's an indoor sport at this stage and can be played outside in car-parks, but the indoor aspect makes it more inviting when it rains all winter.

How did Pirate City Rollers come about? Dale Rio came to New Zealand from the USA
and was a member of the LA Derby Dolls league. She couldn’t bear not to skate while
being away from home so long. She asked a few friends if they’d be interested in starting
a league here. Those friends asked their friends and soon about 16 of us got together for
the first practice. The more women that hear about it the more join. The name was voted
on and given an alternative to the City Of Sails theme.

How many members do you have? We have grown to about 40 girls, some are stayers
and some are just feeling it out. We are still growing every month.

How do you recruit new members? We drop flyers at gigs and everywhere we can
think of. We make posters and plaster them around town and every month we have a
recruitment night at a pub on K-Rd. This is to meet and explain what Roller Derby is and
convince who ever shows up to come to training on the following Monday and we pester
our friends to join.

Are you looking for sponsors? We need sponsors for sure. One day we hope to skate
on a banked track like most of the leagues in the States. We need money for uniforms,
skates, protective gear, medical equipment, rink hire and travel to the US in 2007 to skate
against the best.