Ivy rolls into World Cup
THIRD TIME: Ivy Bates has been selected to represent the country in roller derby for the third time. Photo Sven Carlsson E5196-01
Sven Carlsson
WHAKATĀNE roller-skating ace Ivy Bates – competing as Ivyk’nivey – has been selected for the New Zealand Roller Derby 2025 World Cup Team.
The world cup will be held in Innsbruck, Austria during July.
It is the third time she has been selected to skate for New Zealand and is happy to be included in the team.
“For the past three years, I have been on the training squad, working hard to improve my skills in roller derby,” she said “I’m the only person from Whakatāne to be selected.”
Bates started her skating with roller blades when she was 11 years old then transferred to roller skates as a 23-year-old university student, taking up roller derby in Dunedin in 2010.
She lived in Melbourne from 2011 to 2017 and during this time travelled back to New Zealand briefly to take part in the New Zealand team in 2014.
She travelled to the USA three times while living in Australia and the team were the first non-Americans to be in the world championship.
In 2018, Bates came back to New Zealand and was selected for the World Team Aotearoa.
“Now in 2025, the world cup competitions are resuming after a Covid hiatus,” she said.
“There are 49 teams competing and I’m hopeful we will have a strong advantage since we will have been training with this squad for three-to-four years by the time the world cup happens. I’m hoping we place.”
The team has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the travel costs and will be holding a trivia night at The Comm as well as a movie night to raise money.
“I’ve had support from the Ōhope-Whakatāne community board as well as Seaside Skates NZ and I’m really grateful for this.
“I’m, also super-grateful to all my teammates, family, friends and supporters who have helped me so far on this journey.”
Bates said she was “semi-pro”, meaning her gear was provided.
She teaches roller skating and does workshops on the topic.
“I also have sewing skills, making cushions, upholstery and covers for machines,” she said.
When she’s not roller skating, she also trains at the Whakatāne MMA Centre as a way of cross training.