‘Nothing stopping me’: mum-to-be off to cup

When Ellie "Body Snatcher" Stevens travels to Austria for the Roller Derby World Cup, she will have a baby in tow.

Dunedin skaters Zoe Hobson, Marijn Kouwenhoven, Charmaine Reveley and Stevens — known by their derby names as Fox-Z, Mars, Little Yellow Jacket and Body Snatcher — have been selected in the New Zealand team to compete at the world cup in July.

Often described as "rugby on skates", roller derby is a contact sport played between two teams.

Stevens, who was selected as a reserve alongside Reveley, was adamant a March due date would not hamper her training plans.

While contact sport was off the table for the moment, she continued with CrossFit training and hitting the gym.

"There’s nothing stopping me being an athlete and pregnant," she said.

"I’m going to give birth and then we’re going over.

"If I’m skating, I’m skating and there’ll be a baby on the sidelines."

New Zealand roller derby team members (from left) Zoe Hobson, Ellie Stevens and Charmaine Reveley...
New Zealand roller derby team members (from left) Zoe Hobson, Ellie Stevens and Charmaine Reveley train on John Wilson Ocean Dr yesterday. Stevens will keep training and have her baby before the Roller Derby World Cup in Austria in July. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery
In Austria, the New Zealand team will compete against 48 others.

Hobson said roller derby fostered a strong sense of community and identity.

"The strongest teams are the ones where they do really trust each other and you ... know what everyone’s going to do.

"Roller derby feels best ... when everyone just goes to where you know that they need to be for the next step without anyone having to say anything."

During gameplay, a roller derby team can have up to five players on the track.

A jammer scores points by lapping the opposing team while four blockers play offence and defence simultaneously — protecting their jammer and trying to prevent the other team from scoring.

Hobson said strategy was key — players had to pass a written test as well as a physical.

"The only resistance I have to calling roller derby like rugby on skates is that I think it kind of can make people think it’s just argy-bargy — it really isn’t."

The sport was largely self-funded — the skaters would be fundraising before the world cup and welcomed any donations or sponsorships, she said.

 

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