Multi-million dollar tasks by day, roller derby by night
Multi-million dollar tasks by day, roller derby by night
“It’s kind of like my alter-ego. People ask what I'm doing tonight and I say I’m going to roller derby and they say, ‘that’s so cool’.”
Helen Robinson has one of the more important roles in Invercargill at the moment.
It’s a role that involves millions of dollars and a key piece of the future of the region’s age care.
Robinson is the project manager for the Hawthorndale Care Village, an audacious development that could redefine how we care for the elderly in New Zealand.
It’s a new model of community-based not-for-profit aged and dementia care based on the model of Dutch care village, De Hogeweyk.
This concept replicates everyday life in a suburban neighbourhood within a safe, secure setting.
It’s a $35 million project, with equity and debt confirmed. The initial $6.5m fundraising target has been met and work has started on the old Hawthorndale School site.
Robinson concedes it’s a job that has her head spinning a little at times.
But just on a year ago, she found her unique release.
That release is roller derby - a surprise to some.
We’ll swing back to what roller derby is in a bit more detail later, but the general gist is it’s a contact sport on roller skates.
Robinson says she skated a lot as a kid, but it had lapsed for many years. That was until she was tagged by someone in a Facebook post which was a calling for more roller derby players in Invercargill.
“I didn’t really know what it was. I went on Youtube and looked it up and thought, it looks kind of fun but a bit scary.
“I thought I’ll just do the learn to skate bit and then I’ll stop. But of course, you don’t stop, you get really into it.”
Robinson says she hasn’t just stumbled on a new sport she loves but also an activity where she gets to forget the pressures of her job for a bit.
“It’s kind of like my alter-ego,” Robinson jokes.
“People ask what I'm doing tonight and I say I’m going to roller derby and they say, ‘that’s so cool’.”
“In my day job, I’m obviously professional and it’s a big job. But this is different, a very different sport to get involved in.
“It’s also nice going somewhere where you’re not the leader if you like. You’re not the person making the calls or making the decisions, it’s somebody else teaching you and you’ve really got to listen.
“It’s a really nice different activity, I could have gone and played badminton but this seemed like fun.”
Robinson now trains twice a week, Monday and Thursday nights, as part of the Southern Most Skaters. It’s all in preparation to take part in her first-ever derby game to be held at ILT Stadium Southland on March 11.
Some of the best skaters from Dunedin and elsewhere will travel south to take part.
So, how is Robinson feeling about the prospect of her derby debut?
“I’m actually really nervous. Yesterday I kind of went, ‘oh my gosh, I’ve got three weeks to get my head around that’. It’s scary but it should be really good as well.”
“If anyone has watched roller derby it’s hard enough even staying up, but to actually play a game it’s phenomenal. People don’t realise the talent involved, particularly if they become good at it. It’s a real skill.”
So back to just what roller derby is. Below is a YouTube link that may be more helpful than this attempt to explain it in a few paragraphs.
Roller derby is a roller-skating contact sport played by two teams. Gameplay consists of a series of short scrimmages (jams) in which both teams designate a jammer (who uniquely wears a star on the helmet) and four blockers to skate counter-clockwise around a track. The jammer scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own jammer—in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously.
Did I lose you there? Try the video.
Roller derby had become almost non-existent in Southland before Ashdee Wilson moved to Invercargill to study nursing in 2019.
Wilson had a love of roller derby, previously playing for the Nelson Bays Roller Derby team.
When she arrived in Invercargill to find no roller derby she admitted life without the sport didn’t seem all that fun. So, Wilson went about getting some numbers together to revive the sport in the south.
Close to four years on she is a qualified nurse still living in Invercargill and delighted Southern Most Skaters has gained some traction.
Wilson is pregnant so has stepped into a coaching role for the moment. She admits the March 11 derby game will be tough for her watching on.
She has played in over 50 roller derby games in total and says the buzz hasn’t been lost.
Wilson hopes some public will come along and watch at ILT Stadium Southland on March 11 and from there some might decide to link up with the sport.