A small but dedicated crowd gathered at the Edgar Centre on Saturday to cheer on local Dunedin Derby teams playing against Wellington’s Richter City Roller Derby.
Roller derby fans enjoyed two full-on games as A and B teams from Richter City Roller Derby and Dunedin Derby took it to the track.
Roller Derby player Caitlin Lester, known by her derby name Rita Anguish when playing, said the hour-long game was separated into two-minute "jams".
"During the jam, each team has a jammer who is trying to get around the track as many times as they can," she said.
The opposing team tried to prevent the jammer from skating by stopping them with their backsides or blocking them by linking arms in a tripod formation.
"Things end up pretty tight, kind of like a scrum in rugby."
The jammer would try to find an opening somewhere on the track without being forced off the track.
"We have to make sure we hold the line so they can’t get around."
Training for the game included squats and lunges to build up strength, Ms Lester said.
"You need to get low ... and you need to be fast."
The A-teams were first to compete, with Richter City A Team locking limbs against Dunedin Derby A team Gallow Lasses.
Despite a strong performance from the hometown team, Richter City took the lead.
The final score was Richter City 197, Gallow Lasses 106.
A halftime performance by local talent from Rasa School of Dance energised the crowed before it was time for the B teams to play.
Richter City B team took on Dunedin Derby’s B team, the Bonnie Brawlers.
At halftime scores were Richter 157, Brawlers 24.
While the Bonnie Brawlers made a valiant comeback in the second half it was not quite enough to blow away the competition, with the final score Richter City 286, Bonnie Brawlers 116.
