Rotorua set for biggest roller derby night at Slam Rock 2026

Rotorua’s biggest roller derby night will roll into the Southern Trust Sportsdrome on Saturday, July 4, with Slam Rock 2026 set down as the Sulphur City Steam Rollers’ largest annual fundraiser. Tickets are listed to start at 6:00 pm, with entry priced at $20 for adults, $10 for children 13 and under, and $50 for a family pass for two adults and two children. The event is being positioned as part of 15 years of derby action in Rotorua, a marker that underlines how long the league has kept the night on the local calendar.

The headline bout pairs Rotorua’s Motley Crew against Auckland’s Volcanic City Rollers, and both sides bring World Cup pedigree. Players from each team represented Team New Zealand Roller Derby at the 2025 Roller Derby World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, where New Zealand finished 12th out of 48 nations and won two of its three games. Volcanic City Rollers arrived in 2025 through the merger of Pirate City Rollers, New Zealand’s first roller derby league, and Auckland Roller Derby League, giving the Auckland side a concentration of some of the country’s most experienced skaters.

That matchup lands in a venue where the sport has already built roots. The Rotorua Trust says Slam Rock has been held at the Southern Trust Sportsdrome since 2014, with about 70% of attendees coming from Rotorua. The trust also says the event’s reach has stretched into Australia, the United States and Canada, and that it has become a safe space for the LGBTQAI+ community. For Rotorua, that mix of local turnout and outside attention has helped turn one night of derby into a fixture with staying power.

The night is built to work as a family outing as much as a sporting showcase. Spectators will get free face painting, a lolly scramble, food, drink and merchandise sales, plus an air guitar competition and prizes for the best rock-star-inspired costumes. Coach Layla Robinson, known as Primevil, called Slam Rock a chance for the community to come together and support local athletes, saying, “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.” The league’s next Learn to Skate course begins on July 22 and is open to adults of all fitness levels, giving new arrivals a direct path into the sport after the main event ends.