RISING TO THE TOP: The Northland Nightmares, seen here battling Auckland's Broadside Brawlers at Whangarei's ASB Stadium, have made it into the 2017 NZ Top 10 Roller Derby Championships.
RISING TO THE TOP: The Northland Nightmares, seen here battling Auckland's Broadside Brawlers at Whangarei's ASB Stadium, have made it into the 2017 NZ Top 10 Roller Derby Championships.
The Northland underdogs of NZ roller derby will gather a few more bruises and clock up extra miles on their skates this year as the team has made it through to the 2017 NZ Top 10 Roller Derby Championships.
If that wasn't enough cause for celebration, news that the NorthlandNightmares' youngest senior player has made it to the first 50 of Team NZ has certainly stirred up smiles.
Tikipunga's Tyana Hansen (19) has been named jammer - point scorer - in the first 50 for the NZ Roller Derby Team, after gruelling December tryouts in Auckland.
The 50 players will become 32 in February and the finalised team will be announced in June, playing in the 2018 World Cup in Manchester, England.
If she makes the final cut, she will become the third Northlander to represent the country, following in the footsteps - or wheel marks - of Joanne Cheeseman and Caralei Hoani, who played in Toronto in 2011.
"Derby is a fast paced sport which is as exciting to play as it is to watch. You have to train hard and your team becomes like your family," said Hansen.
A member of the Nightmares since she was eight, she started training with the senior team Hell's Wives at just 14.
She said one of the biggest challenge facing the sport was public opinion.
"I think being taken seriously as a sport and as athletes ... players train long hours to play this game.
"I think New Zealand is slowly starting to see this is a fast-paced, action-packed, contact sport and hopefully, the support from the public will grow and more people will want to become part of the sport."
"We have worked hard, slowly climbing the league table, and for a small town, it's hard to get teams to come up and play us, due to our location, so we have to do some serious travelling."
WORLD CUP HOPES: Tyana Hansen has made it into the first 50 for the roller derby Team NZ.
Head coach, and founder and chairperson of the Nightmares, Wendy Baird, said 2017 was going to be a great year and the team was behind the young skater.
"Tyana's skating and derby skills are amazing. She is a jammer but also an extremely powerful blocker," said Baird.
The roller derby season kicks off in March with the first game against Hamilton in May.
Northland and the NZ Top 10 Roller Derby Championship teams will be split into two pools, yet to be announced, battling throughout the season ahead of a November final.
The league has shortened its season and added a fitness trainer to the mix, as well as a coaching committee.
"Firstly we will hit the season with two overseas coaches coming to Whangarei for extra skill and strategy training," Baird said.
The new coaching team includes Baird with Whangarei referee Bradley West, and players Tyana Hansen and Renee Hatchard, a former Pirate City Rollers and London Roller Girls player.
"Not only do we have a full season of derby this year but this year is also extremely special to us all as the Northland Nightmares were founded by Angela Hansen and I in 2007 - this is our 10 year anniversary.
"Back in 2007 roller derby was new to New Zealand ... we spent a lot of our time training in Auckland. Once we had enough skilled girls for a team we formed Hell's Wives in 2010," she said.
"Roller derby is a challenging sport, there is a lot involved. You need to be able to skate and you need to be mentally tough.
"Then you have a rule book which is more than 62 pages long."
The club is always looking for new members, including juniors and non-skating volunteers, as well as referees and also those who might be interested in forming a men's team.
