WFTDA Championships
 | This article needs to be updated. (October 2023) |
| 2006–present | |
 The Hydra Trophy. | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Various |
| Month played | November |
| Established | 2006 |
| Format | Knockout |
| Current champion | |
| Rose City Rollers | |
The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
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.
Format
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]
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]
Championships
| Team | Champ | 2nd Place | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gotham Roller Derby | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Rose City Rollers | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Oly Rollers | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Texas Rollergirls | 1* | 2 | 2 |
| Victorian Roller Derby League | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Kansas City Roller Warriors | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rocky Mountain Rollergirls | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tucson Roller Derby | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rat City Roller Derby | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Windy City Rollers | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Denver Roller Derby | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bay Area Derby | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Philly Roller Derby | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Arizona Roller Derby | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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.[29]
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 Saddletramps, 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 Saddletramps 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[30] the Rat City Rollergirls[31] 89–85 in the final match of the Texas Shootout to become the first WFTDA National Champions.[32] The Texas Rollergirls placed third.[33] 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.[34]
Several marketing materials as well as a statement from WFTDA President "Crackerjack" on page 5 of the program[35] 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.[36]
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.[37]
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.[37]
2010 Uproar on the Lakeshore
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.[38]
Quarter-finals:
| 6 November 2010 | Charm City | 103–165 | Rocky Mountain | |
| (52–67) | ||||
| Report |
| 6 November 2010 | Kansas City | 126–147 | Philly | |
| (55–78) | ||||
| Report |
| 6 November 2010 | Oly | 178–76 | Windy City | |
| (74–31) | ||||
| Report |
| 7 November 2010 | Gotham | 151–52 | Texas | |
| (65–39) | ||||
| Report |
Semi-finals:
| 7 November 2010 | Gotham | 79–113 | Rocky Mountain | |
| (31–75) | ||||
| Report |
| 7 November 2010 | Oly | 106–81 | Philly | |
| (52–34) | ||||
| Report |
Third place play-off:
| 7 November 2010 | Gotham | 162–51 | Philly | |
| (74–26) | ||||
| Report |
Final:
| 7 November 2010 | Oly | 146–147 | Rocky Mountain | |
| (84–49) | ||||
| Report |
2011 Continental Divide and Conquer
First round:
| 11 November 2011 14:00 |
Charm City | 121–160 | Minnesota | |
| (42–94) | ||||
| Report |
| 11 November 2011 15:45 |
Nashville | 58–198 | Rocky Mountain | |
| (41–101) | ||||
| Report |
| 11 November 2011 17:30 |
Kansas City | 143–135 | Rose City | |
| (42–29) | ||||
| Report |
| 11 November 2011 19:15 |
Naptown | 68–225 | Philly | |
| (20–104) | ||||
| Report |
Quarter finals:
| 12 November 2011 09:30 |
Minnesota | 108–141 | Texas | |
| (67–56) | ||||
| Report |
| 12 November 2011 11:15 |
Gotham | 187–134 | Rocky Mountain | |
| (75–53) | ||||
| Report |
| 12 November 2011 13:00 |
Kansas City | 112–95 | Windy City | |
| (42–29) | ||||
| Report |
| 12 November 2011 14:45 |
Oly | 181–95 | Philly | |
| (89–36) | ||||
| Report |
Semi finals:
| 12 November 2011 17:30 |
Gotham | 195–113 | Texas | |
| (75–48) | ||||
| Report |
| 12 November 2011 19:15 |
Kansas City | 104–124 | Oly | |
| (36–60) | ||||
| Report |
Third place play-off:
| 13 November 2011 14:00 |
Kansas City | 112–136 | Texas | |
| (62–50) | ||||
| Report |
Final:
| 13 November 2011 16:00 |
Gotham | 197–140 | Oly | |
| (59–38) | ||||
| Report |
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.[39]
References
- ^ "Hot on the Track", Buffalo News, 5 August 2006
- ^ a b Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee, Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby
- ^ "Steel City Derby Demons put their bodies on the line for the thrill of the game", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 18 January 2007
- ^ Molly Yanity, "Roller derby enjoys rollicking resurgence", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 16 August 2007
- ^ "WFTDA 2011 Big 5 Tournament Schedule Announced Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 9 November 2010
- ^ a b "WFTDA Releases Tournament Locations and New Playoffs and Championships Structure – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ "The Hydra Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA
- ^ Swiatecki, Chad (11 August 2015). "ESPN hooks up with Austinites to bring roller derby back". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "WFTDA Signs Deal to Stream 2015 Championships with ESPN3". WFTDA. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "WFTDA Brings Roller Derby Back to Network Television, Signs Deal with ESPN2 to Televise 2017 WFTDA Championship Game – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ "2007 WFTDA Championship Official Event Program", pp.29–30
- ^ Gnosis, "Live from the 2007 WFTDA National Championships", Derby News Network, 8 October 2007
- ^ "August 2010 Featured Skater: Bonnie Thunders", WFTDA, 1 August 2010
- ^ "WFTDA Announces 2009 Championship MVPs", WFTDA, 19 December 2009
- ^ "December 2010 Featured Skater: Sassy", WFTDA, 2 December 2010
- ^ Shelly Shankya, "Gotham Wins 2011 Championships!", WFTDA, 13 November 2011
- ^ "2012 Championships MVPs", WFTDA
- ^ "http://wftda.com/tournaments/2013/championships", WFTDA, 1 October 2013
- ^ "[1]", Derby News Network 10 November 2013
- ^ "http://wftda.com/news/wftda-announces-2014-tournament-dates-and-locations", WFTDA, 1 December 2013
- ^ Frye, Andy (8 November 2015). "Holy Upset: Rose City Stuns Gotham Girls Roller Derby For Championship". ESPN. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "D1 Champs 1st Place: Rose City takes down Gotham, 206–195". Derby Central. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "Rollers repeat as roller derby champions". Portland Tribune. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Brown, Simon Leo (6 November 2017). "Victorian Roller Derby League All Stars win WFTDA world championships". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "Rose City Rollers Defeat Victoria, Win 2018 International WFTDA Championships – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ "2019 Championships Game 13: Gotham v Rose City". WFTDA. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ "2019 Tournament MVPs". WFTDA. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ a b "5/18/20 - COVID-19 Update » WFTDA Roller Derby Resources". WFTDA Roller Derby Resources. WFTDA. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Catherine Mabe, Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels, p.80
- ^ Kansas City Star [dead link]
- ^ "Rat City Rollergirls lose championship bout". Seattle's Big Blog. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ Whittaker, Richard (1 October 2007). "Kansas, the Wheeled Giant Killers and More on the Texas Shootout". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "LeadJammer.com". Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "Texas Shootout – 2007 Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament". Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ Phil Davis (15 January 2009). "WFTDA National Roller Derby Program". Issuu. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "2008 WFTDA Nationals: Complete Recaps – Derby News Network". derbynews.net. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ a b Matt Costa, "Declaration of Derby: The 2009 WFTDA National Tournament", Blood and Thunder #15, pp.40–47
- ^ Justice Feelgood Marshall, "Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Take It All", Derby News Network, 27 May 2011
- ^ "3/30/20 - COVID-19 Statement and Update » WFTDA Roller Derby Resources". WFTDA Roller Derby Resources. WFTDA. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.