The Outgames sports programme finished mid-week with world records broken and many a medal given out, but the Capital wasn’t finished showing the world what it has to offer. Just after the Outgames closing ceremony, Wellington’s women’s roller derby league – Richter City Roller Derby – took on Sydney Roller Derby in New Zealand’s first-ever international derby bout at TSB Arena. 
Hannah JV spoke to three women who have taken up this fast-paced, full contact sport to find out why women of all shapes, sizes and sexualities are strapping on their skates, choosing a new name and playing this dynamic sport. 


Richter City’s Ruby Deathskates says she became hooked on the idea of playing roller derby after seeing a basic animation of roller derby rules online. “I was overcome with a wave of ‘I HAVE TO DO THIS’,” she laughs. “I hadn’t seen a live game, I just knew it was something I had to do.” 


Richter City’s Ms Savage was a little more relaxed, starting derby on a whim when she had a free afternoon, but stuck with it after blocking – controlled body-to-body contact using the hips and shoulders – was introduced at training. “I was naturally good at it and I loved the adrenaline rush,” she says.


Richter City Roller Derby has been going since late 2007, around the same time that Sydney’s roller derby league was starting up. Sydney player Torture has been playing for two years and has worked her way up to the A Team – the Sydney Assassins. “It is a privilege to play for the Assassins – it’s a testament to Sydney Roller Derby League’s coaches.”


Making it onto the Wellington A team – the Richter City All Stars – was an amazing feeling for Ruby Deathskates, but she says, “There are always skaters who work and work to get better, so that keeps me on my toes. As a league we’ve still got heaps of room to get better – skills and strategy-wise – so things will certainly change with the All Stars from year to year.”


The Richter vs Sydney bout was the first international roller derby game played in New Zealand and the nervous excitement was building in the lead-up to the game. Ms Savage says, “It’s a little scary because of the pressure from myself to perform.” 


On coming up against Sydney, Ruby says, “A few of us skated against them in Adelaide last year, and from what I saw of them then, I think we’re pretty well matched. We’ve watched videos of them play and have trained hard so I think it’s going to be hard fought.”


Across the ditch the feeling is matched. On playing against Richter, Torture says, “I’ve heard some things around the place, but we won’t know until the actual bout. It will be a great challenge and I look forward to competing against another league’s rep team!”


Now it will come as no surprise to express readers that the women we spoke to about derby are also out and proud. Derby has become a popular sport for many lesbians – so much so there is now an organisation of lesbian, bi and queer-identifying skaters who skate in exhibition (play-for-fun) bouts under the name “The Vagine Regime”. 


Ruby says derby attracts many same-sex attracted women – she sees the sport itself as queer. “It’s so taboo for a woman to show aggression – to embrace it by playing a full contact sport seems to be difficult for (some) people to get their heads around. The ‘outsider’ status the sport has seems to appeal to women of all sexualities, but it probably does resonate with queer women most strongly.”

Ms Savage says, “[Derby] has quite a unique culture that attracts alternative people and – going on a stereotype – lesbians often enjoy sports. I hope that derby will always be a safe and supportive place for queer skaters.”


But it’s not all fun, games, colourful uniforms and even more colourful names. Over the years since the roller derby revival of the early 2000s, members of the public often question skaters about their motivation for wearing make up and tight clothing. These questions can sometimes come from members of the queer community or feminist circles, who think the roller derby aesthetic is designed for the male gaze. Ms Savage disagrees.
“I’m a lesbian and a feminist and I love wearing short skirts and eyeliner. Other skaters aren’t comfortable dressing that way and that’s their choice. In terms of being practical, however, we need to wear tight-fitting clothing.”


Ruby Deathskates says, “I would say that all sport relies on a certain amount of crowd appreciation of the players. That’s not just the male gaze either – think about how sexualised rugby players are; fit, strong, active bodies are sexy! The difference with roller derby is that we’re aware people are watching and the game itself has been designed with the spectator in mind.”


Ruby also dispelled the misconception that roller derby is a “violent” sport. 
“When it comes to derby, I strongly reject the ‘violence’ label. Derby is a highly regulated contact sport, with the emphasis on sport. The aim of the game is to score points for your team, not to hurt anyone.


“People are so quick to call roller derby violence or sex and I think this has to do directly with the fact that it’s a women’s sport. The taboo around women’s aggression seems to make it difficult for some people to even conceptualise or talk about derby as anything other than violence or sex. The truth is that, like all sports, it sits somewhere in between.”


In the end, Sydney took out Wellington 164-128, but from the hugs and smiles shared at the after party, it’s not too cheesy to suggest that derby was the winner on the day. 
For more information on roller derby in Wellington, visit www.richtercity.co.nz.