Nelson’s Sirens on hunt for ‘fresh meat’
Women ‘‘with a bit of aggression’’ who are looking for a fun new sport are being invited to try roller derby.
Nelson Bays Sirens of Smash Roller Derby league is looking for new players and referees to join its ‘‘Fresh Meat’’ training programme beginning March 19.
Roller derby is a full-contact non-mainstream sport that has been growing in popularity since the early 2000s. New Zealand has the most players per capita of any country in the world.
In the game, players from both teams skate in a pack, with a jammer from each team aiming to fight her way through the pack and score points as she passes players from the opposing team.
Coach Shanann Carr (known as Venom) said women with all body types could do well at derby.
‘‘As long as the women want to get fit we want them,’’ she said. ‘‘Being able to channel a bit of aggression helps too, but the main thing is having fun on skates.’’
Carr said prior skating experience was not essential.
‘‘Some of our players hadn’t put on quad skates since primary school. We can teach them.’’
Aquaculture student Shenae Muirhead (TinkerBrawl) took the Fresh Meat course last year.
She said it was a fun way to get fit and meet people from all different walks of life.
Muirhead said the new skaters supported each other.
‘‘If you’re struggling to learn a skill, there’s a whole team of people willing to help.’’
The 2017 course runs for four months and is held on Sunday nights at the Nelson Skate Rink in Tahunanui.
Those interested can contact the Sirens of Smash via their Facebook page or sirens.of.smash@gmail.com.
The Sirens season opener this year is a South Island new graduate match-up. Ten players who graduated from Nelson’s 2016 training programme will face off against Fresh Meat players from three other South Island leagues (two from Christchurch and one from Timaru) on Saturday March 25 at the Tahunanui rink. Doors open 6pm, Tickets $5 adult, $2 child.