A thrilled Nicola ''Nicki Noxious'' Hedley is heading to Dallas on Monday as part of the New Zealand team in the Blood and Thunder Roller Derby World Cup.
''I'm ecstatic. I'm just so excited about the whole thing,'' she said.
Three Dunedin women were selected in the wider New Zealand training squad after a trial last December but Miss Hedley (34) was the only one to make the cut to travel.
Although the popular image of the growing sport is dominated by the players' eye-catching costumes and colourful alter-egos, at the international level it is a serious business.
Being a squad member has meant a gruelling year of training camps and regular fitness testing for the Portobello mother of three.
The New Zealand team has a set-up similar to top sports teams, with fitness instructors and physiotherapists.
In competition the hour-long bouts are broken into two-minute races round a circuit where each team's designated ''jammer'' tries to break through the pack and score points by lapping the pack of skaters.
Miss Hedley's job is to help her jammer and do whatever it takes to stop the opposition scoring points.
''I have to go to all sorts of lengths to be able to stop her and it can get pretty physical. I prefer more the strategy side of it - setting up plays - but I'm not afraid to put my body on the line.''
The Dallas tournament runs from December 4 to 7 and involves 30 teams from around the world.
