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WFTDA Championships
Roller derby competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
 | This article needs to be updated. (October 2023) |
The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). They originated in 2007 as the Inaugural National WFTDA Championship "Texas Shootout" held in Austin, Texas. Previously the "Dust Devil" tournament in 2006 featured teams from across the US, was held in front of several thousand fans in Tucson, Arizona.[1] This was the first multi-league flat track roller derby tournament.[2]
In 2019, the Championships were hosted outside the United States for the first time, in Montreal, Canada. 2026 will mark the first Championships held outside of North America, taking place in Europe.
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Format
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In 2007, Western and Eastern Region Tournaments were held in order to determine qualifiers for the "Texas Shootout" National Championship, held in Austin, Texas.[3][4] 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.
Through the 2012 WFTDA season, the WFTDA was divided into regions based on geography. Each region held a tournament contested by its top ten leagues: the Eastern (2007–2012), North Central (2009–2012), South Central (2009–2012) and Western (2007–2012) Regional Tournaments. The top three leagues from each of these four tournaments qualified for the Championships. Together, the qualifying tournaments and Championships were termed the "Big 5".[5]
From 2013 through 2016, full WFTDA members were eligible for ranking in one of the association's three divisions. Division 1 comprised the top 40-ranked teams in the WFTDA, and the top 40 teams that met eligibility requirements based on the June 30 rankings of that year were invited to Division 1 Playoffs, and were divided into four playoff tournaments (10 per tournament) using an S-curve for seeding. Participants in Division 1 Playoffs were not required to be current members of Division 1, as long as they meet ranking and other requirements. The teams that finished first through third at each Division 1 Tournament then moved on to the WFTDA Championship tournament. Division 2 comprised the teams ranked 41 through 100, and the next 20 teams overall that meet requirements after the 40 confirmed Division 1 playoff participants were then invited to Division 2 Playoffs, divided into two playoff tournaments. The top 2 teams of each Division 2 Tournament then played each other at the WFTDA Championship Tournament, with the winner crowned the Division 2 champion. Through 2014, Division 3 comprised all ranked teams from 101 on, and there are no Division 3 Playoffs.
Starting with the 2017 season, the top 36 teams compete in three Division 1 Playoff Tournaments, and the top four finishers from each tournament go on to the WFTDA Championship Tournament.[6] The next 16 eligible teams compete in a single Division 2 Playoff Tournament, with the winner crowned the Division 2 champion.[6]
Since 2008, the winner of the Championships has been awarded the Hydra Trophy.[7]
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Broadcast
The tournament is broadcast on the WFTDA online service WFTDA.tv on a pay-per-view basis; starting in 2015 the WFTDA entered into a partnership with ESPN whereby the Sunday games of the tournament – the Division 1 and Division 2 championship and 3rd place games – are carried on ESPN3.[8][9] For 2017 the format was changed, with the Division 2 Championship occurring earlier in the year, and the Division 1 championship game scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2, marking the first time contemporary women's flat track roller derby will be aired live on American network television.[10]
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Championships
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2006 Dust Devil
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.[30]
Round-robin bouts were instituted to determine seeding for a single-elimination tournament. Four pools were created, titled 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 (Texas Rollergirls Texecutioners, Tucson Roller Derby Saddle Tramps, Minnesota Rollergirls All-Stars and Arizona Roller Derby 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 Texas to the championship bout and Arizona to the 3rd-place bout. A second full three-period semi-final bout was played between Tucson and the Minnesota Rollergirls. Tucson defeated Minnesota 136–75. This pitted the Tent City Terrors against Minnesota 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 Saddle Tramps 129–96.
The tournament also saw the first collaboration between roller derby announcers. Following the event, announcer Bob Noxious founded "Voices of Reason", an announcers' association.[2]
2007 Texas Shootout
On September 30, 2007, the Kansas City Roller Warriors beat[31] the Rat City Rollergirls[32] 89–85 in the final match of the Texas Shootout to become the first WFTDA National Champions.[33] The Texas Rollergirls placed third.[34] Eight teams competed in the tournament, four from the eastern regional division and four from the western regional division. These teams included Carolina Rollergirls (fourth place), Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Tucson Roller Derby, Detroit Derby Girls, and Windy City Rollers.[35]
Several marketing materials as well as a statement from WFTDA President "Crackerjack" on page 5 of the program[36] for this event confirms that at the time it was considered the "first WFTDA Championship Tournament."
2008 Northwest Knockdown
On November 16, 2008, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby (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.[37]
2009 Declaration of Derby
Declaration of Derby, the 2009 WFTDA Championship tournament took place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA from November 13th through the 15th.[38] 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 was unpopular with crowds. They were finally defeated 178–91 in the semi-finals by the Oly Rollers who were regarded as a largely unknown force, though they had gone undefeated through the whole season.
Rocky Mountain Rollergirls had unexpectedly sailed through their qualifying tournament, and beat Philly Roller Girls in an overtime jam in their quarter final, later losing to defending champions Texas Rollergirls 139–82 in the semi-final. The semi-final saw Rocky Mountain skater DeRanged ejected from the tournament after apparently punching Angie-Christ from Texas. [39]
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 and being named the 2009 WFTDA Champions. [39]
2010 Uproar on the Lakeshore
Uproar on the Lakeshore took place in Chicago, IL at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion from November 5th through the 7th of 2010. The final was particularly hard-fought. The Oly Rollers built up a half-time lead, 84 points to the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls' 49, principally due to Atomatrix's power jams. Although she ultimately scored 101 points for Oly, Rocky Mountain were able to fight back in the second half. With one jam remaining, Oly retained an eight-point lead, but, jamming for the third time in a row, Rocky Mountain's Frida Beater scored nine unopposed points before calling off the jam, to secure a win by a single point.[40]
2011 Continental Divide and Conquer
The 2011 WFTDA championship tournament, Continental Divide and Conquer, was held at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, CO hosted by the Denver Derby Dolls. This year marked the first time a team had taken the two-time championship title, with Gotham Girls Roller Derby taking the 2011 championship title alongside their 2008 title win.[44]
2012 Grits and Glory
The 2012 Grits and Glory WFTDA Championships were held from November 2nd-4th in Atlanta, GA hosted by the Atlanta Rollergirls. Gotham Girls Roller Derby dominated the title again this year, taking the championship for the third time overall and for the second year in a row. [45]
2013 WFTDA Championships
The 2013 championship tournament was held from November 8-10 in Milwaukee, WI at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (At the time known as the U.S. Cellular Arena) hosted by the Brewcity Bruisers. Gotham Girls Roller Derby brought home the title for the third consecutive year. [47] In the Gotham Girls vs. Ohio Roller Girls bout, Gotham walked away with over 500 points scored in a single bout.
This was also the first Champs to declare different divisions' champions, with Jet City Rollergirls walking away with the D2 title.
2014 WFTDA Championships
Nashville Rollergirls hosted the 2014 WFTDA Championships in their home city, Nashville, TN at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. [48] The tournament was held from October 31st to November 2nd.
Gotham Girls Roller Derby defended their title, claiming their fourth consecutive win. Their season record of 6-0,[49] 2008 win, and holding the title since 2011 preluded their 2014 win making it their fifth championship title.
For the Division 2 championships, Detroit Derby Girls came out on top with the D2 title.
2015 WFTDA Championships
The 2015 WFTDA Championships were held in Saint Paul, MN from November 6-8 hosted by the Minnesota Rollergirls at The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
Upsetting Gotham Girls Roller Derby from their spot at number one, Rose City Rollers took home the WFTDA championship title for their first time ever. [50]
The Division 2 championship title was taken by Sacred City Derby Girls from Sacramento, CA in a hard-fought bout versus the Nashville Rollergirls who were no stranger to the championship tournaments.
2016 WFTDA Championships
The championship tournament was held at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR from November 4-6, with defending champions Rose City Rollers hosting the event. [51] Rose City successfully defended their title and took home the championship for the second year in a row, with Blue Ridge Rollergirls taking the Division 2 title.
2017 WFTDA Championships
The 2017 WFTDA Championships were held November 3-5 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA with Philly Roller Derby hosting. [52]
Victorian Roller Derby League took home their first championship title, having upset Rose City Rollers from their two-time domination.
2018 WFTDA Championships
2018's WFTDA championships were held at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA from November 9-11 hosted by Big Easy Rollergirls.
With Victorian Roller Derby League holding the 2017 title and two-time winners Rose City Rollers having been bumped down to the second seed, the tournament was an intense one. In the end, Rose City took home a third championship title and upset Victorian to second place.
2019 WFTDA Championships
2019 marked the first WFTDA championships to be held outside of the United States with the tournament taking place at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and hosted by Montreal Roller Derby. The tournament took place from November 15-17. [53]
Rose City Rollers takes first place, once again taking home the Hydra trophy for their fourth time.
This tournament featured a groundbreaking expo game with two borderless teams, at the time a new concept for the roller derby community. Team Indigenous Roller Derby and Jewish Roller Derby took the track Saturday morning in a bout titled "WE ARE NATION: A GAME WITHOUT BORDERS."
2020
The 2020 International WFTDA Championships were canceled in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[28] joining the previously-announced cancellation of the season's Playoffs and Continental Cups.[54]
2024 WFTDA Championships
The 2024 WFTDA Championships took place from November 1-3 2024 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. Rose City took the championship title in their home city. [55]
2026 WFTDA Championships
The 2026 WFTDA Championships will take place from October 15-18 in Malmö, Sweden hosted by Crime City Rollers. [56] This will be the first WFTDA championship to take place in Europe and the first four-day WFTDA championship tournament.
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References
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