Nail-Biting night at Battle of the Bogans

It was an enthralling night of action as the Battle of the Bogans served up some roller derby rough and tumble.

A double-header of nail-biting action saw all the thrills and spills against teams from Hamilton and Christchurch, with both games going down to the wire.

Despite the fatigue of Hellminton’s team playing a double-header, with an entree against Dead End Derby before the headline act against Nelson Bays Roller Derby, they managed to bounce back after an initial loss.

The first up game saw both teams deadlocked after regulation, requiring an extra jam to decide the winner as Dead End Derby came away with a narrow 183-179 win.

With Nelson in the wings, they were unable to send the visitors packing as they narrowly went down 183-179 after 60 minutes of action.

Roller derby sees teams of up to 15 players take on each other across two 30 minute halves.

Games are played five aside, with one jammer in action for each team who are their strongest skaters and wear a star on their helmet.

The game is split into ‘jams’, which last a maximum of two minutes unless the jammer stops play to collect their points.

Points are awarded at the end of each jam and are earned for every blocker from the other team that the jammer passes.

Each team has four blockers, whose role is to either inhibit the opposing team’s jammer or propel their own one forward.

The first jammer to make it through the other team and into the clear at the start of a jam is classified as the ‘lead jammer’, which allows them to stop play at any time and collect points, creating strategic opportunities to grow a lead or minimise the damage.