Roller Derby Team New Zealand

2011 World Cup Campaign

Roller Derby Team New Zealand competed in the inaugural Roller Derby World Cup, held 1–4 December 2011 in Toronto, Canada.

Selection and Build-up

Roller derby skaters throughout New Zealand were invited to try out for places in the training squad.

The squad met monthly to train in Hamilton. Final selections for the team to travel to Toronto for the Roller Derby World Cup were released after a final training and selection bout between the "Probables" and the "Possibles" in New Plymouth in conjunction with the AoteaRUMBLE roller derby training retreat.

Competition

Team New Zealand was drawn in Group C, with Team USA and Team Scotland.

Team New Zealand was ranked 9th after the group stage.

Team New Zealand entered the Consolation Stage at Round 2.

Team New Zealand finished the World Cup in 8th place.

Skate the Muss was awarded the title of MVP for the team.

2011 Team Roster

The travel team for the 2011 World Cup was announced on Tuesday 25 October 2011. (Skaters' league affiliations as of the time of the announcement)

2014 World Cup Campaign

Roller Derby Team New Zealand competed in the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup, held in Dallas, Texas on December 4–6, 2014.

Selection and Build-up

The selection process for the 2014 team was fraught with controversy. The first issue was the decision by the New Zealand Roller Derby Association (NZRDA) to require that the coach of the team not be a skating member of the team. As roller derby is a young and rapidly evolving sport, this considerably restricted the pool of candidates for the position as most of the people with the best understanding of the rules, tactics and other requirements of the current state of the game were active skaters with a reasonable expectation of being selected to play. Stacey "Pieces of Hate" Roper was appointed to coach the team. Zephyr and Fia Fase Oi? were appointed selectors alongside the coach and Danger Spouse was appointed Team Manager. Zephyr was also appointed assistant coach.

Try-outs to select a 30-player development squad were held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in December 2013. The squad was announced on 23 January 2013 and trained in various locations throughout the country. The final squad of 20 were announced on 9 October 2014.

Bullying & Discrimination Controversy

In early October the team manager was removed from her role by the NZRDA board. In a statement to the New Zealand roller derby community she cited "abuse and defamation" from the head coach as contributing to her failure in the role, saying "The entire situation was very unhealthy for me and after a complete failure to effect real improvement I went into emotional hiding".

On 24 October 2014, New Zealand's television 3 News published an interview with Marcia "Meat Train" Taylor about a discrimination complaint she had filed with the Human Rights Commission directed toward the team's head coach. The complaint alleged that Roper had published comments about Taylor on her Pieces of Hate Facebook fan page which showed that Taylor had been unlawfully discriminated against in the selection process because she was hard of hearing. The comment was subsequently removed.

An official statement released on October 25, 2014, by the New Zealand Roller Derby Association (NZRDA)'s Facebook page drew substantial criticism and condemnation from the New Zealand roller derby community. When the situation received attention from international blogs, the NZRDA removed their statements and associated comments from all social media channels; a move that many felt made matters worse. The statement then was displayed on the NZRDA's website, where visitors were unable to leave any public comments or feedback, leading to accusations of censorship.

On October 27, a Change.org petition was started that called for the immediate dismissal of Stacey Roper as the Head Coach of Team NZ Roller Derby. The petition was not effective. Roper remained coach and accompanied the team to the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup.

Taylor was invited to join one of two International Vagine Regime (LGBT) teams playing an exhibition game at the World Cup. Taylor's Pangina team won the clash, beating Queerope 260:182.

A feedback survey was circulated within the New Zealand roller derby community in December 2014, but while respondents were thanked for their feedback, no further public statements were made. Several leagues resigned from the NZRDA in the wake of the affair, leaving the association effectively defunct. The NZRDA website registration lapsed in July 2015.

Competition

Team New Zealand was drawn in Group A, with Team Wales, Team Norway and Team South Africa.

Team New Zealand won all three of their games to emerge top of their group.

In the Round of 16 the team faced the Netherlands, winning 356:91 and advancing to the quarter finals in fifth position.

In the quarter finals they lost 284:56 to Australia, who ultimately placed third, finishing the tournament in fifth place.

2014 Team Roster

The travel team for the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup was announced on 9 October 2014. (Skaters' league affiliations as of the time of the announcement)