A group of 19 Kiwi skaters are set to make history in France as part of the first ever team to represent New Zealand at the Junior Roller Derby World Championships.
They've had little time to prepare with the official invite only coming mid-way through last year.
"It's a big deal," coach Nicole "Tu Meke Booty" Schimmin said.
"Half these people haven't left the country and we're chucking them on a plane and putting them in a country where they won't be able to speak the language and throwing them straight on the track."
But the skaters, who have come together from all over the country, are up for the challenge — which includes taking on the powerhouses of the United States and Canada.
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"I think we'll be resilient towards the other teams and give them a lot of fear in their hearts — fingers crossed," Grace "Glitterbomb 2007" Haimes joked.
Roller derby isn't a sport for the faint-hearted. It's fast paced, and since it's a full-contact sport, it's highly physical.
The aim of the game is to get the "jammer" through the "blockers" — and despite it being a junior event, the skaters are recognised as being at Level 3, meaning the jammer doesn't need to slow down before reaching the blockers.
"You'll hear me say, 'annihilate them'," Schimmin said.
"Because ultimately that's what they need to get used to. There is no holds barred in this."
Like any global sporting event, it doesn't come cheap. Each skater was told from the outset, they'd need to come up with $8000 dollars.
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There's been fundraising efforts set up already as well as a Givealittle page but Schimmin said families are going above and beyond for their children.
"A lot of families are travelling with [their child] simply because of their age so that's a huge cost," Schimmin added.
"We've got parents mortgaging their homes, we've got parents selling chocolates, picking apples — whatever we need to do to get these guys over there.
"We're doing our darndest."
And it's not lost on the skaters who play roller derby for the love of the game and the community that comes with it.
It's a community that's so tight knit, they are often known by their skater names instead of the real names, "Tu Meke Booty" said.
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"That's the great thing about the sport.
"No matter what size, shape, gender, anything — you can be amazing in your own right."
The team has wrapped up its first camp in Christchurch and will have two more in Wellington and Hawke's Bay, before flying to Europe in July.
