WFTDA Championships
Encyclopedia
The WFTDA Championships are the leading competition for roller derby
leagues.
The Championships are organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
(WFTDA). They originated in 2006 as the National WFTDA Championship. The "Dust Devil" tournament was contested in front of several thousand fans in Tucson, Arizona
.
In 2007, Western and Eastern Region Tournaments were held in order to determine qualifiers for the "Texas Shootout" National Championship, held in Austin, Texas
. By 2010, with leagues in Canada
and the United Kingdom
also enjoying membership of the WFTDA, "National" was dropped from the title of the contest.
Full WFTDA members are eligible for ranking in one of the association's four regions. Each region holds a tournament contested by its top ten leagues: the Eastern, North Central, South Central and Western Regional Tournaments. The top three leagues from each of these four tournaments qualify for the Championships. Together, the qualifying tournaments and Championships are termed the "Big 5".
Since 2008, the winner of the Championships has been awarded the Hydra Trophy
.
In Tucson, Arizona, over the weekend of February 24–26, 2006, Tucson Roller Derby hosted 20 WFTDA leagues from around the United States in a tournament to determine the nation's first-ever WFTDA national champion team.
Round-robin
bouts were instituted to determine seeding for a single-elimination tournament. Four pools were created (Scorpion, Tarantula, Black Widow and Rattlesnake), with each pool consisting of 5 teams. On Friday, February 24, 2006, each team played four ten-minute bouts in each pool. Point differential was used to determine the ranking and placement of each team within its pool. With this information in hand, tournament officials selected the top three teams of each pool and seeded them according to the point differential of each team for the single-elimination tournament.
The single-elimination tournament started on Saturday, February 25, 2006 with 12 of the previous day's 20 teams. Scheduling of the bouts allowed for the top four seeded teams to receive a bye in the first round of play. Teams seeded 5 through 12 played in the first round. The winners of the first round of the single elimination tournament played the top four seeds in the second round. Bout winners advanced to the semi-finals and bout losers were eliminated.
On Sunday February 26, 2006, four teams (TXRG Texecutioners, Tucson Saddletramps, Minnesota Rollergirls and AZRD Tent City Terrors) played in the semi-final bouts. In the first bout, the Texecutioners defeated the Tent City Terrors in a full three-period bout, 114 to 81, sending the TXRG to the championship bout and AZRD to the 3rd-place bout. A second full three-period semi-final bout was played between the Tucson Saddletramps and the Minnesota Rollergirls. Tucson defeated Minnesota 136–75. This pitted the Tent City Terrors against the Minnesota Rollergirls for the 3rd-place bout, and set the WFTDA National Championship Bout to be between Texas and Tucson. The 3rd-place bout was played out with the Tent City Terrors upsetting 3rd-seeded Minnesota 115–88. The Championship bout was finalized later in the evening, with the Texecutioners defeating the Saddletramps 129–96.
beat the Rat City Rollergirls
89–85 in the final match of the Texas Shootout to become the 2007 national champion. The Texas Rollergirls placed third. Eight teams competed in the tournament, four from the eastern regional division and four from the western regional division. These teams included the Carolina Rollergirls (fourth place), the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, the Tucson Roller Derby, the Detroit Derby Girls, and the Windy City Rollers.
(GGRD All-Stars) beat the Windy City Rollers
134-66 in the championship bout. The Philly Rollergirls (Liberty Belles) beat the Texas Rollergirls
(Texecutioners) 114-95 in the consolation bout to take third place.
Denver defeated Rocky 151-103 in the third place bout, greatly aided by forty-four points to nil scored in the later section of the first half. Oly dominated Texas in the championship bout, taking the title 178-100.
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
leagues.
The Championships are organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...
(WFTDA). They originated in 2006 as the National WFTDA Championship. The "Dust Devil" tournament was contested in front of several thousand fans in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
In 2007, Western and Eastern Region Tournaments were held in order to determine qualifiers for the "Texas Shootout" National Championship, held in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. By 2010, with leagues in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
also enjoying membership of the WFTDA, "National" was dropped from the title of the contest.
Full WFTDA members are eligible for ranking in one of the association's four regions. Each region holds a tournament contested by its top ten leagues: the Eastern, North Central, South Central and Western Regional Tournaments. The top three leagues from each of these four tournaments qualify for the Championships. Together, the qualifying tournaments and Championships are termed the "Big 5".
Since 2008, the winner of the Championships has been awarded the Hydra Trophy
Hydra Trophy
The Hydra Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Women's Flat Track Derby Association team that wins the WFTDA Championship Tournament at the conclusion of every WFTDA season....
.
Championships
| Year | Date | Name | Venue | Champion | Second | Third | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 24-26 February | Dust Devil | Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200... |
Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby... |
Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby is a women's roller derby league located in Tucson, Arizona. TRD is a 501 nonprofit public charity organization. A member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association , Tucson Roller Derby is a skater-run non-profit organization formed in late 2003... |
Arizona Roller Derby Arizona Roller Derby Arizona Roller Derby is Arizona's first all female roller derby league. It was founded in 2003 making it one of the oldest resurgence roller derby leagues in America... |
|
| 2007 | 28-30 September | Texas Shootout | Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in... |
Kansas City Roller Warriors Kansas City Roller Warriors The Kansas City Roller Warriors are a roller derby league in Kansas City, Missouri. The league, founded in 2004, is composed of four member teams for play within the league and two travel teams that represent the league in competition with other leagues... |
Rat City Rollergirls Rat City Rollergirls The Rat City Rollergirls are a flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. The league is composed of four member teams for intra-league play, an all-star travel team that competes with other leagues, and another travel team that plays in exhibition games with other leagues... |
Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby... |
Xcelerator (Kansas) Miss Fortune (Rat City) |
| 2008 | 14-16 November | Northwest Knockdown | Portland, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... |
Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area... |
Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1937... |
Philly Rollergirls Philly Rollergirls The Philly Rollergirls, or PRG, are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2005, the league played their fourth season in 2009... |
Bonnie Thunders Bonnie Thunders Nicole Williams , known as Bonnie Thunders, is a roller derby skater.Williams grew up in Rome, New York, where she attended the Rome Free Academy, before studying conservation biology with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, linked to Syracuse University... (Gotham) |
| 2009 | 13-15 November | Declaration of Derby | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,... |
Oly Rollers Oly Rollers The Oly Rollers are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Olympia, Washington. The league was founded in February of 2006. The Oly Rollers are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby... |
Denver Roller Dolls Denver Roller Dolls The Denver Roller Dolls is a flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. The league was founded in December 2005. The DRD is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .... |
Heffer (Oly) Rice Rocket (Texas) Fonda Payne (Denver) Whipity Pow (Rocky Mountain) |
| 2010 | 5-7 November | Uproar on the Lakeshore | Chicago, Illinois | Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Rocky Mountain Rollergirls The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, or RMRG, are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. The league was founded in 2004. The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
Oly Rollers Oly Rollers The Oly Rollers are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Olympia, Washington. The league was founded in February of 2006. The Oly Rollers are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area... |
Sassy (Oly) |
| 2011 | 11-13 November | Continental Divide and Conquer | Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield, Colorado The City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The... |
Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area... |
Oly Rollers Oly Rollers The Oly Rollers are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Olympia, Washington. The league was founded in February of 2006. The Oly Rollers are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby... |
Kelley Young (Kansas) |
| 1 | Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area... |
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Oly Rollers Oly Rollers The Oly Rollers are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Olympia, Washington. The league was founded in February of 2006. The Oly Rollers are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby... |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Kansas City Roller Warriors Kansas City Roller Warriors The Kansas City Roller Warriors are a roller derby league in Kansas City, Missouri. The league, founded in 2004, is composed of four member teams for play within the league and two travel teams that represent the league in competition with other leagues... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Rocky Mountain Rollergirls The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, or RMRG, are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. The league was founded in 2004. The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .-Teams:... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby is a women's roller derby league located in Tucson, Arizona. TRD is a 501 nonprofit public charity organization. A member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association , Tucson Roller Derby is a skater-run non-profit organization formed in late 2003... |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rat City Rollergirls Rat City Rollergirls The Rat City Rollergirls are a flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. The league is composed of four member teams for intra-league play, an all-star travel team that competes with other leagues, and another travel team that plays in exhibition games with other leagues... |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1937... |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Arizona Roller Derby Arizona Roller Derby Arizona Roller Derby is Arizona's first all female roller derby league. It was founded in 2003 making it one of the oldest resurgence roller derby leagues in America... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Philly Rollergirls Philly Rollergirls The Philly Rollergirls, or PRG, are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2005, the league played their fourth season in 2009... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Denver Roller Dolls Denver Roller Dolls The Denver Roller Dolls is a flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. The league was founded in December 2005. The DRD is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association .... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
2006 Dust Devil
Round-robin
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
bouts were instituted to determine seeding for a single-elimination tournament. Four pools were created (Scorpion, Tarantula, Black Widow and Rattlesnake), with each pool consisting of 5 teams. On Friday, February 24, 2006, each team played four ten-minute bouts in each pool. Point differential was used to determine the ranking and placement of each team within its pool. With this information in hand, tournament officials selected the top three teams of each pool and seeded them according to the point differential of each team for the single-elimination tournament.
The single-elimination tournament started on Saturday, February 25, 2006 with 12 of the previous day's 20 teams. Scheduling of the bouts allowed for the top four seeded teams to receive a bye in the first round of play. Teams seeded 5 through 12 played in the first round. The winners of the first round of the single elimination tournament played the top four seeds in the second round. Bout winners advanced to the semi-finals and bout losers were eliminated.
On Sunday February 26, 2006, four teams (TXRG Texecutioners, Tucson Saddletramps, Minnesota Rollergirls and AZRD Tent City Terrors) played in the semi-final bouts. In the first bout, the Texecutioners defeated the Tent City Terrors in a full three-period bout, 114 to 81, sending the TXRG to the championship bout and AZRD to the 3rd-place bout. A second full three-period semi-final bout was played between the Tucson Saddletramps and the Minnesota Rollergirls. Tucson defeated Minnesota 136–75. This pitted the Tent City Terrors against the Minnesota Rollergirls for the 3rd-place bout, and set the WFTDA National Championship Bout to be between Texas and Tucson. The 3rd-place bout was played out with the Tent City Terrors upsetting 3rd-seeded Minnesota 115–88. The Championship bout was finalized later in the evening, with the Texecutioners defeating the Saddletramps 129–96.
2007 Texas Shootout
On September 30, 2007, the Kansas City Roller WarriorsKansas City Roller Warriors
The Kansas City Roller Warriors are a roller derby league in Kansas City, Missouri. The league, founded in 2004, is composed of four member teams for play within the league and two travel teams that represent the league in competition with other leagues...
beat the Rat City Rollergirls
Rat City Rollergirls
The Rat City Rollergirls are a flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. The league is composed of four member teams for intra-league play, an all-star travel team that competes with other leagues, and another travel team that plays in exhibition games with other leagues...
89–85 in the final match of the Texas Shootout to become the 2007 national champion. The Texas Rollergirls placed third. Eight teams competed in the tournament, four from the eastern regional division and four from the western regional division. These teams included the Carolina Rollergirls (fourth place), the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, the Tucson Roller Derby, the Detroit Derby Girls, and the Windy City Rollers.
2008 Northwest Knockdown
On November 16, 2008, the Gotham Girls Roller DerbyGotham Girls Roller Derby
Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area...
(GGRD All-Stars) beat the Windy City Rollers
Windy City Rollers
The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1937...
134-66 in the championship bout. The Philly Rollergirls (Liberty Belles) beat the Texas Rollergirls
Texas Rollergirls
The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, . The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby...
(Texecutioners) 114-95 in the consolation bout to take third place.
2009 Declaration of Derby
The Denver Roller Dolls pioneered the "slow derby" style of play, utilizing slow and stopped packs and backwards skating, which proved effective against most opposition, but unpopular with crowds. They were finally defeated 178-91 in the semi-finals by the Oly Rollers were regarded as a largely unknown force, although they had gone undefeated through the whole season. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls had unexpectedly sailed through their qualifying tournament, and beat Philly Rollergirls in an overtime jam in their quarter final, but they lost to defending champions Texas Rollergirls 139-82 in the semi-final, in a bout which saw Rocky skater DeRanged ejected from the tournament after apparently punching Angie-Christ from Texas.Denver defeated Rocky 151-103 in the third place bout, greatly aided by forty-four points to nil scored in the later section of the first half. Oly dominated Texas in the championship bout, taking the title 178-100.