The victorious Steel City Derby Dolls team … standing, left to right: Ditzy Chook (Brooke Lowe), Kat o9 Tails (Katrina Henderson), Ziggy Starbuster (Carlie Boyton), RainBoom (Kalarni Duvall), Kitty Killher (Annette Taylor), ViciousNess (Vanessa Gill), Dubious (Shannon Dube). Kneeling: Kranky Crumpet (Amy Joyce), T-Swizzle (Grace Stimpson), Themme Brutale (Axe Blackwood). Photo: Mark Zouroudis.
The Illawarra has a new state champion sporting team after the Steel City Derby Dolls won a nail-biting title decider.
The grand final of the NSW 5×5 Roller Derby Championship was held in Gosford on Saturday (12 October) when the Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby (WIRD) team took on Inner West Roller Derby League and claimed the win by only four points in the last 30 seconds.
The championship comprised two divisions, Fire and Water, with WIRD getting through the Fire division undefeated.
A WIRD spokesperson said the team was missing a few skaters due to injury and wasn’t overly confident going into the grand final.
“This meant we had skaters doing multiple back-to-back jams, leaving little time for our team to rest,” the spokesperson said.
“The match stayed close throughout, but as skaters lined up for the last jam, WIRD was only ahead by one point.
“We knew in the last jam if we didn’t get lead and get those points, we would have lost.
“Fortunately for us, we got lead and were able to finish four points ahead and bring the trophy back home to Wollongong, where it will live for the next year.”
The win comes only weeks after WIRD skater Ben Hall brought home silver from the World Skate Championships in Italy.
Ben started roller derby after his wife Alice joined WIRD, although he initially planned to referee, rather than play.
WIRD was established in the Illawarra in 2009 and caters for skaters aged from seven. It has three roller derby teams: the Steel City Derby Dolls (woman-identifying and non-binary team), Steel City Rollers (mixed team), and Nuts and Bolts (Junior League).
The teams train at the University of Wollongong sport hub.
WIRD is welcoming new skaters and is holding a learn-to-skate and learn-to-derby program throughout October. For more information or to join, click here.
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