Rolling on to Thailand

The NZ Roller Blacks are en route to Thailand for the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Asia Oceania Championships. 

The national team will compete in Bangkok from November 3-16.

Ahead of jetting off, The D*List caught up with some of the players at the National League tournament held in Auckland, with team members describing it as a “ruthless sport”.

Roller Blacks captain Luke McDowall compared the sport to an art form.

“It's about being in that creative flow state where you get to hit each other in the way…. Have a ball and have a bit of fun, a bit of trash talk here and there. It's all part of it.

Vice captain Kauri Murray says he enjoys the banter of going up against his teammates.

“Every time I play against them, I just want to trash talk with them, flip them out of their chairs.”

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Murray says the sport is “a never-ending cycle of learning and development, not only for yourself physically, but also mentally as well. It can teach you so many great things about the sport. It's definitely changed a lot of our lives.”

McDowell hopes to see more people in our community joining a local club and giving it a go.

“I don't think I've met anyone who's come to a game and not enjoyed how it looked, the speed, physicality and that. We're still quite grassroots here, and so we're trying to build the sport ourselves. So the more eyes we get the easier it is to build.”

To follow the team’s progress overseas over the next few weeks, check out their website for the schedule and follow their social media here.

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