ToRD Travel Teams Kick off 2014 Season with High Expectations

2014 CN Power

This weekend, CN Power will kick off its 2014 season with an intriguing exhibition game against the non-ToRD members of Team Ontario (the provincial team will actually be calling up some of its “second team” members to fill out the roster). All in all, 21 members of Team Ontario will take part in the bout at the Bunker on Saturday.

The Set-up

2013 was a banner year for Toronto Roller Derby’s CN Power. It was a slow-build sort of season, beginning with some big wins over the likes of Killamazoo and Fort Wayne but some setbacks as well, such as a stunning loss to Rideau Valley Vixens at QCC. In the end, it all seemed for the best as the team slowly rounded into form, culminating in a playoff-clinching two-point victory on the road in Bleeding Heartland (which was followed by a stunning 301-98 deconstruction of a former D1 team in Milwaukee). And then, of course, the run in Salem.

Click on photo to read Beck Wise’s Boston vs. Toronto playoff recap on Derby News Network (featuring photos by Donalee Eiri)

Having just watched Terminal City go on a surprising run in their own Divisional tournament, Toronto, ranked last in their 10-team playoff field, continued where Vancouver left off and pulled off playoff upsets of their own: a 215-90 take down over Sacred City (Sacramento), and eventually an even bigger upset over the historic Boston Derby Dames 204-198. Even their quarterfinal loss to Atlanta was a stunner; their hard fought 219-171 loss surpassing even the wildest of expectations.

CN Power finished 2013 9-8 in sanctioned play (counting playoffs) and 10-8 overall. They are currently ranked 29^th in the WFTDA and 2^nd in Canada.

But CN Power’s (and ToRD’s) success also spilled out into other venues as well. Joining Bay Street Bruiser Bench Coach Flyin’ Bryan Killman on Team Canada are five members of CN Power. ToRD’s top travel team also dominates the Team Ontario roster with eight members (one, Bambi, has since retired).

The Roster

Given the incredible success and growth of the team in 2013, arguably the most important aspect of the 2014 roster is the lack of change. 17 of the 20 skaters from the 2013 roster return. In addition, the replacements—all graduates of ToRD’s B-team program—don’t represent a drop off in talent. Ames to Kill (who was a call-up for the playoffs last season), Scarcasm, and national team member Rainbow Fight are all game ready and were essential parts of the on-track leadership core of the Bay Street Bruisers last season. Ames and Scar provide strong pack depth for a team loaded with some of the best blockers in the country (including Team Canada’s Nasher the Smasher and Dyna Hurtcha), while Rainbow Fight is an incredibly talented triple-threat who should be able to fit in wherever she is needed.

CN Power will have to contend with the loss of leading scorer Bambi (seen here jamming against Ohio at QCC 2014). (Photo by Neil Gunner)

Rainbow will undoubtedly spend some time with the star, helping to fill out an impressive offensive roster that will need to make up for the retirement of ToRD’s all-time leading scorer Bambi, who retired in the off season. In the playoffs last year Bambi finished with a 50% lead percentage while scoring 258 points on 5.5 points per jam. While Rainbow will be looked upon to pick up some of this slack, the rest of the jammer core remains in place. Fellow Team Canada members Bala Reina (202, 5.3, 45% in the playoffs) and Dusty (126, 3.8, 33%) remain, while the rest of the rotation will be filled out by Motorhead Molly (59, 1.7, 37%), Kookie Doe (who missed the end of the season due to injury) and Candy Crossbones and Dyna Hurtcha (both of whom will probably spend the majority of their time in the pack).

CN Power’s new captains are long-time ToRD vets and former Chicks Ahoy! teammates Nasher the Smasher and Tara Part. Rounding out the pack are playoff standouts BruiseBerry Pie, Renny Rumble and Jubilee, but there is astonishing depth as well as Mega Mouth, Betty Bomber, Panty Hoser, Lady Gagya, Santa Muerte, and Mia Culprit all return for the 2014 season.

After the retirement of long-time Bench Coach His Unholiness the Reverend Ramirez in the off season, former 709 Derby Girls Coach (and currently with the Smoke City Betties) Wade Wheelson joins veteran Bench Manager Sonic Doom on the bench in 2014.

***Catch CN Power in preseason action this Saturday at The Bunker against Team Ontario, in the provincial team’s first ever game. Doors open at 5:00 PM, opening whistle at 6:00 PM. Tickets available online or at various downtown outlets.

2014 Bay Street Bruisers

This weekend, while their big sisters are hosting Team Ontario, ToRD’s B-travel team, the Bay Street Bruisers, will be hitting the road and heading to Bloomington, Indiana, to take part in the 4^th annual B-Cup tournament featuring eight B-teams, seven representing D1 teams and the 8^th from Tri-City (ranked 4^th in D2 and on the verge of making the leap into the top division).

The Set-up

Toronto Roller Derby has one of the deepest programs in Canadian roller derby, and a key to that depth is the Bay Street Bruisers. Since taking shape as ToRD’s B-travel team for the 2012 season, the Bruisers have compiled a remarkable 14-3 record. In 2013, the Bruisers continued their success in Canada and began travelling with CN Power south of the border as well. Last year they  notched wins over B-teams from Ohio, Bleeding Heartland, Killamazoo, Brew City and Montreal among others.

The Bruisers defeated the Montreal Sexpos in August. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

Their losses last season came against Rideau Valley’s Slaughter Daughters (who were the top ranked house league team in Canada) and the A-level Misfit Militia, both incredibly talented teams. Arguably, the most important win of the season came against Montreal’s Sexpos (162-101) in a showdown between the nation’s top two B-teams. It was a game loaded with pressure as the Bruisers faced the B-team from Canada’s top league: a B-team that only two years before had nearly beaten CN Power.

The Bruisers finished 2013 with an 8-2 record and are currently the 9^th ranked team (and top B-team) in Canada.

The Roster

The Bruisers went through a major off-season transition as a group of new skaters took over the reigns from the first generation. Captained by veteran jammer (and third-year Bruiser) Bellefast and Just Jes (the returning skater formerly known as Aston Martini), the Bruisers do have a returning core of skaters to build around. In the pack, veterans like Robber Blind, Junkie Jenny, Kandy Barr, Biggley Smallz and Misery Mae remain with the team, while Tushy Galore and former captain Chronic return to the fold after single-season hiatuses (they were a dominant duo on the track together in their first stints with the team).

Chronic (left) and Tushy Galore will be reunited on the Bruisers after helping the team win the 2012 RDAC Easterns. (Photo by Neil Gunner).

As for the offense, jammer titmouse returns for a third season with the Bruisers, while Lexi Con returns after a breakout 2013 run, and Chevy Chase-Her will finally get to see some track time after injuries sidelined her last year. Finally, triple threat Getcha Kicks rounds out the returning skaters.

While there are a handful of new faces to the team, they bring with them a lot of experience. SewWhat? is in her second season with ToRD after stints with various leagues in Australia and the Rollergettes. Joss Wheelin, Android W.K. and LowBlow Palooza are all also second year skaters with ToRD; all three developed through he D-VAS system. ToRD rookies Honey Boom Boom and Sneaky Dee may be in their first year in the league but had successful seasons with the D-VAS in 2013 and had both played with the Rollergettes before that, so bring a lot of track experience with them. And finally, Matchu Beatchu transferred from Halifax in the off season and already has one ToRD houseleague game under her belt.

Flyin’ Bryan Killman, part of Team Canada’s management team, returns for his second year on the Bruisers’ bench.

***The B-Cup tournament will be boutcast on DNN. The Bruisers kick things off against Nashville at 11:30 AM on Saturday. You can view the boutcast schedule here.

Bigger Still: North Centrals Kicks off Most Anticipated WFTDA Playoffs Ever

Minnesota and Windy City met in the final of the North Central Regional Championship for the third year in a row. (Photography by Neil Gunner)

It seemed like for the first time in the whole tournament everyone who was in Niagara Falls, New York, for the Thrill of the Spill, the 2012 WFTDA North Central Regionals, was in the venue. Every bleacher seat and suicide seat was finally full; the crowd was loud from the first welcome that blared out over speakers. More than any other year even, this showdown seemed inevitable. Minnesota. Windy City. The North Central Regional Championship game.

Every year in the organized history of flat track roller derby, the WFTDA playoffs and championship has represented the best of this sport: the best the game has ever been played, the best sporting event that the game has seen, the most memorable performances, the greatest celebrations; it’s been the grandest stage. Regardless of in-fighting, dramatics, disagreements about the game, the culture, or the identity, the one constant has remained that this tournament is the tournament to win. Like or not, the WFTDA Championships is the biggest thing, athletically, that the sport has ever known. It hasn’t stopped out-doing itself every year. And this year, it is getting bigger still.

Minnesota (teal) and Naptown (white) met in the semifinals with Minnesota winning with surprising ease 283-86.

While like the sport itself, the buzz around it has continued. There’s a certain buzz around this year’s WFTDA playoffs that is new and unique to this year. Since the first ever WFTDA championship in 2006, every year has seen the sport advance considerably. From 2006 to 2009 the game on a national and increasingly international stage had to “find itself” on the flat track. By the 2009 championship tournament (aptly titled “Declaration of Derby”), the game seemed to have settled. The parameters had been set.  A team culled from national level USARS inline skating sports based out of Olympia, Washington, was bringing a level of athleticism and professionalism to the game that the sport—in any of its previous incarnations—had never seen. But it would be another western team, the Denver Roller Dolls, who, despite losing to those aforementioned Oly Rollers in the semi-finals, would be the team that would lead the forefront of the flat track game’s greatest evolution, and would lead the sport in its Great Leap Forward.

Arch Rival (in black) entered the tournament 4th, but exited in 8th spot.

2009 was so essential for so many reasons, not all to do with what was happening on the track. While the Derby News Network was already taking its spot in the derby world and had dabbled with boutcasting in 2008, it would be the 2009 championships that would truly see DNN and roller derby boutcasting reach the larger audience. Perhaps for the first time, there truly was a larger audience to reach. But as it were, the greater derby community tuned in to that tournament because they could, and what they witnessed there was the flat track game finally throwing off the shackles of the past and truly finding itself. For the first time it seemed like strategies and game-play philosophies were emerging organically from the fact that the game was being played on a flat track. And although they may not have invented it, it was Denver who introduced the derby world to flat track’s greatest (and admittedly most controversial) evolution: the slow game.  Perhaps just as importantly—as confused boos rained down on the track from the baffled fans—it gave the sport one of its first major on-track controversies.

Despite being overwhelmed in the 3rd place game against Naptwon, Ohio won big in the hearts of the fans.

Controversy surrounds the 2012 playoffs as well, and Oly is once again at the centre of it. Transfergate may be the overarching narrative of this Big 5 cycle, but in Niagara Falls at the North Centrals it isn’t quite the news that it most certainly will be when Westerns kick off less than a week after this opening tournament. Perhaps more than any other region (from top down), the teams in the North Central Region still adhere to a fast-pack game (though the once controversial aspects of the game that Denver ushered in in 2009, like isolating blockers to control pack definition and trapping on power jams, have become such a ubiquitous part of the sport that it’s funny to think they churned up such vitriol only three short years ago). There isn’t much passive offense in the North Central game, and when teams do employ it, for the most part, it’s being used as a set-up to other plays. The game is fast and it’s hard hitting.

Naptown (in red) will return to the WFTDA Championships for the second year in a row.

If they weren’t already the darlings of the region, the Ohio Roller Girls won legions of fans this weekend with their spirited play. Small in stature by the standards of the North Central (they looked like a junior league next to teams like Brew City and Windy City), they are big in spirit. After completing the busiest schedule in the WFTDA this past year (21 games), they still came into the tournament underdogs in their opener against Arch Rival. In the most thrilling game of the opening day, Ohio would show the resilience that has made them so successful and would constantly fight back; showing endurance gained from those countless games on the road, they roared back late in the bout as Arch waned. They won by 10 points to set up a showdown against Windy City.

In the semi-final against Windy City, they would leave it all on the track. Windy City was riding a 26-game regional unbeaten streak heading into this one, and they would be pushed all game by the upstarts from Columbus.  Battered, bruised, injured, Ohio would limp away from that 50-point loss to the defending champs knowing they’d done all they could. Unfortunately, they had little left for the third place showdown with Naptown who dominated the game from start to finish to ease their way into a second straight WFTDA Championship Tournament. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see Ohio’s Phoenix Bunz take Tournament Blocker MVP, but it was a surprising sweep when her teammate the Smacktivist was named top jammer. Small consolation for the hardest working team in the game.

It so rarely happens in sports, but the Minnesota Windy City showdown lived up to its high expectations.

The final delivered. Easily the best game of the tournament, it was wide-open, fast, full of hard hitting blockers and jukey jammers. A stunning display of the game by two of the sport’s most venerable leagues. Having played to a controversial tie earlier this summer, this one seemed capable of going the same route as neither team could gain an advantage in the first half. In the second, Windy seemed to pull away early only to have Minnesota climb all the way back. But as champions do, Windy City brought its best game of the tournament—and perhaps even the season—when it mattered most. The 165-153 win meant that the same three teams (in the same ranking order) will be returning to the championship this year.

The Thrill of the Spill couldn’t have provided a better start to this year’s WFTDA playoffs.

****For complete-game recaps head over to the Derby News Network where Justice Feelgood Marshall captured the blow-by-blow action.

2012 WFTDA Championship Participants

North Central Region

1. Windy City Rollers All Stars

2. Minnesota RollerGirls All Stars

3. Naptown Roller Girls Tornado Sirens

WFTDA Wrap: CN Power Rocks Roc City; Skids, Terminal City split

CN Power hosted its first ever WFTDA sanctioned homegame against the Roc City Roc Stars. (Photos by Kevin Konnyu)

Roc Stars 108 vs. CN Power 171

CN Power continues its slow climb up the competitive ladder of the WFTDA after putting together a near perfect performance against a tough and wily Roc City team on Saturday in the first ever sanctioned WFTDA home bout hosted by ToRD.  For about 50 minutes CN Power (ranked 17th in the North Central) was in control, dominating portions of the game, before focus was lost in the final 10 minutes and Roc City (17th in the East) was able to mount a comeback and erase what had been a 100-point deficit for much of the second half, but it would prove too little too late as CN Power held on for the 63-point victory.

An early 25-point CN Power power jam blew the game wide open early in the first half.

Coming off of a wild, penalty filled victory against the overly physical Fort Wayne Bomb Squad only two weeks ago, CN Power put together a much more controlled performance against the Roc Stars from Rochester. Things were quite tense from the beginning, with both teams performing well from the opening whistle. Each team seemed cautious at first, and as the points slowly accumulated on each side (5-4 for the visitors five minutes in), it looked as though each team was waiting for the other to make a mistake.  Short, well-defended jams typified the action in the early going of the bout, and there wasn’t a mistake made until a very well-timed last-line hit by Jubilee forced a momentum cut from the Roc City jammer and gave CN Power the power jam with Bambi wearing the star. The host team executed perfectly locking in a tight trap and allowing Bambi to quickly ring up 25 points to blow the game wide open: 29-5.

Aston Martini spent some time with the star for the fourth game in a row.

The Roc Stars seemed a little stunned at this point and the ToRD skaters took over the next few jams to pad their lead, and very slowly the hosts built that lead to 70 points. CN Power went with a slightly different offensive look in this one, slotting Aston Martini and Rebel Rock-It into a more regular spot in the jammer rotation (along with DefeCaitlin, Bambi and Dyna Hurtcha–who, quite effectively, was able to spend more time in the pack) and the broader rotation gave their offense a more varied look. The Roc Stars though, were not about to go down without a fight, and pushed back at the end of the first half, with physical jammer Shockin’ Audrey putting points up on the board to cut into the Toronto lead, 81-24 at the half.

Panty Hoser (99) delivered some big hits for CN Power (in the penalty box with Tara Part, who had another strong game as well).

Seeing that an undisciplined CN Power at full strength may have been hard to beat, Roc City (who mounted a major second-half comeback against Tri-City Thunder only a few weeks before) began to mix things up. The jam starts shifted in the second half to the jammer line where they stayed for almost every jam in the half. Roc city tracked a deep jammer rotation in Kell’d on Impact and Shockin’ Audrey, along with the the very physical Natasha Musquashya (who loved to mix it up off the jammer line) and the triple threat Asa Clubs (who seemed to get stronger as the bout went on). In the pack, JoJo Thrasher and Roxy D. Sniper kept Toronto honest. But CN Power had some stand outs of their own including a monster bout from Panty Hoser, who played the most physical game of her CN Power career. The hosts kept things simple and took advantage of every pack advantage and power jam to build a 144-45 point lead midway through the half.

With the game seemingly getting out of control, animated Roc City bench manager Grid Iron called for an Official Review of a Bambi 9-point jam; it proved to be a timely request as the points were stricken and Bambi was thrown in the box. Roc City fought back hard here as the discipline seen in the Toronto skaters evaporated. Roc City ended the game coming on strong, holding CN Power to about 15 points over the final ten minutes, but it was too little too late as CN Power scored the big victory.

Read Justice Feelgood Marshall's full recap of the bout on the Derby News Network (and see photos by Fotodog).

SKIDS SPLIT NORTH CENTRAL ROAD TRIP

Montreal’s New Skids on the Block kicked off their competitive WFTDA season this weekend, going  1-1 on a road trip through Minnesota.  In Saturday’s marquee matchup, the 6^th ranked Skids took on the North Central’s 2^nd ranked Minnesota All Stars (fresh off a 2012 that saw them make the quarterfinals at the WFTDA championship) in St. Paul. With Georgia W. Tush still recovering from a major collarbone break and Iron Wench off of the continent, they tracked a comparatively inexperienced jammer rotation, and while defensively they were able to stay in the game, four jammer penalties were the difference in this one as Minnesota dominated early and then held on as the Montreal skaters made their (now expected) late-game push. Final score 136-95 for Minnesota.

Montreal managed some level of revenge, heading to the second of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, to take on North Star Roller Girls, who are ten spots lower than Minnesota, ranked 12^th in the North Central. The Skids evened up their 2012 WFTDA record with a convincing  261-51 victory.

Next up for Montreal is an intriguing April 7^th matchup against No Coast Derby Girls, who are ranked 6^th in the South Central (No Coast plays out of Lincoln, Nebraska).

Terminal City All Stars played in their first Wild West Showdown.

TERMINAL CITY GOES 1-2 AT WILD WEST SHOWDOWN

Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars have been the talk of the West in early 2012, debuting with an impressive 3-0 record at the Big O tournament, which included a big victory over Pikes Peak and (in this Nerd’s unofficial estimation) climbing up to about 17^th in the rankings. They continued their hot streak at the team’s first ever appearance at the Wild West Showdown. In their opening bout of the tournament on Saturday, the All Stars upset 12^th ranked Emerald City 129-109, but fell twice on Sunday to 8^th ranked Jet City (141-74) and 15^th ranked Santa Cruz (97-84).

Despite the (respectable) losses, Terminal City continues to look very comfortable in the West and although still early in the season, are playing within striking distance of the WFTDA playoffs.

CANADA’S WFTDA TEAMS (Ranking, Region, 2012 Record)

New Skids on the Block, Montreal Roller Derby (6^th East): 1-1

Tri-City Thunder, Tri-City Rollergirls (16^th North Central): 1-0

CN Power, Toronto Roller Derby (17^th North Central): 2-0

Terminal City All Stars, Terminal City Roller Girls (23^rd West): 5-2

WFTDA Weekend Preview: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all in action

CN Power (17 NC)         vs.         Roc Stars (17 E)

 Coming off a big 151-138 season opening win over Fort Wayne (14 NC), Toronto Roller Derby’s CN Power makes its home debut, hosting Roc City’s Roc Stars (Rochester, New York) on Saturday.  It’s an intriguing cross-region WFTDA matchup featuring the 17^th ranked team in each region.

While both teams are playing in their first full seasons in the WFTDA and have already made big impressions, they’ve each gotten off to very different starts to 2012. CN Power scored a hard-fought upset over Fort Wayne to build some confidence moving forward, while Roc City has already faced struggles against Canadian opposition. In a non-sanctioned bout against WFTDA Apprentice Rideau Valley Vixens in January, they fell 128-99. Then just two weeks ago, they kicked off their 2012 WFTDA season by hosting Kitchener’s Tri-City Thunder in a back-and-forth game that was not decided until the final 10 minutes, when Thunder rode a few power jams to a 124-92 victory.

** The CN Power vs. Roc City  bout will kick off a double header at the Bunker in Downsview Park (also featuring the Death Track Dolls vs. the Smoke City Betties in ToRD regular season play). Doors open a 5:00PM. Tickets available online and at select locations.

**Check ToRD TV and Canuck Derby TV for boutcast updates.

New Skids on the Block (6E, 18 DNN)     vs.     Minnesota  All Stars (2NC, 12 DNN)

In the marquee WFTDA matchup  of the weekend, Montreal’s New Skids on the Block (ranked 6^th in the East) head to Minnesota to take on the Minnesota RollerGirls All Stars (2^nd in the North Central) in what promises to be a phenomenal bout.

While Montreal certainly aren’t new enough to catch anyone off guard anymore, in Minnesota they will face one of the original WFTDA leagues with a history as long as any in this sport.  Both teams are coming off of banner competitive years, and busy ones at that. Montreal played a remarkable 22 bouts in 2011 scoring big wins over Rat City, Boston, Texas and Huston to name a few. Unfortunately they ran out of steam at the Eastern Regionals, losing in a thrilling fifth place bout against London that was voted the Bout of the Year by DNN fans. Minnesota peaked at the right time and made it all the way to the WFTDA Championships where they knocked off Charm City in the first round before falling to Texas in the quarterfinals

Catch the game live on the Derby News Network (7:30 PM CST; 8:30 PM EST)

TERMINAL CITY READY FOR A WILD WEST SHOWDOWN

Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars have exploded out of the gates in 2012, their first complete season in the WFTDA. Ranked 23^rd in the highly competitive Western Region, the All Stars have already gained some valuable tournament experience this season, turning some heads with an impressive 3-0 showing at The Big O in Eugene, Oregon that included a definitive victory over 18^th ranked Pikes Peak 194-94. They’ll be returning to tournament play already at this weekend’s Wild West Showdown.

The Slaughter County (Kitsap County, Washington) hosted tournament is a slight step up in the  competitive pecking order over The Big O, so Vancouver will face much stiffer competition. But after such a dominant performance over the lower ranked teams in the Region, it is a much deserved challenge: a similar showing at this tournament could go a long way in raising their WFTDA ranking.

On Saturday night, Terminal City will face off against 12^th ranked Emerald City (Eugene); on Sunday, they’ll meet 8^th ranked Jet City (who stumbled at The Big O being upset by Silicon Valley before scraping by 17^th ranked Wasatch by 5 points), and 15^th ranked Santa Cruz. All the teams should provide a stiff challenge to Vancouver who will gain a lot from the experience, win or lose.

The other WFTDA teams taking part (rankings in parentheses): Slaughter County Roller Vixens (11^th), Bellingham Roller Betties (16^th), Sin City Rollergirls (19^th), Dockyard Derby Dames (21^st), FoCo Girls Gone Derby (26^th), and Humboldt  Roller Derby(-). (WFTDA Apprentice league Paradise Roller Girls from Hawaii will also take part.)

OTHER ACTION

The North Central Region is a busy weekend this weekend with three other bouts, all with potential impact on the rankings.

Mad Rollin’ Dolls (10^th) vs. Arch Rival (6^th, 23 DNN)

Ohio Roller Girls (9^th) vs. Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls (13^th)

NEO Roller Derby (23^rd) vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins (20^th)

Conquered but not Divided: Gotham Becomes First Two-time WFTDA Champ

You’ve just walked into the 1^st Bank Center on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. It’s the third game of the 2011 WFTDA Championship and the first thing you hear is the roar of a crowd; then the already ragged voice of an over-excited track-side announcer calling a “grand slam.” You rush along the crowded concourse passing derby vendors and over-priced beer hawkers until finally finding an opening. You rush up a set of stairs and for a brief moment, as you gaze out over the thousands for that first glimpse of big-stadium derby, the track looking impossibly larger and smaller than anything you’ve seen before because of the scope of the game and the grandness of the stage, your breath is taken away. So taken by the sight are you that it takes a moment to gather yourself, to look about for a place to sit. You feel like you’ve somehow stumbled onto an oracle summoning the future of flat track roller derby; until, of course, you manage to sit and gather yourself, take a deep breath and realise: the future is now.

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For the second year in a row the extraordinarily talented Oly Rollers lost in the WFTDA Championship bout to a team that played a more sophisticated game; a grittier, slower, more nuanced version of the sport, one that has evolved on the flat track and that each year looks a little more different from the banked track game that preceded it. And that could be at the heart of Oly’s inability to hold their position at the top of the heap: in many ways they still play a banked track version of the sport on a flat surface, what has on the digital pages of this site been referred to as “hit and run” roller derby.

Oly and Gotham in the 2011 final.

Oly is, without a doubt, a team of immensely proficient skaters, and one-on-one, a player such as the magnificent Sassy is still able to mesmerize with her timing and instinct, and so good are they—so mind-bogglingly talented are they—that they are still able to dominate pretty much any team on the planet that is playing the game. While last year, it took late-game heroics for Rocky Mountain to foil Oly’s attempt to defend the title, this year in the final they often looked perplexed against Gotham. Stunned at times in the second half of their surprisingly undisciplined 140-97 loss, for here was a team that embraced the tactics emerging organically from playing the game on a flat surface, but here also was a team that could skate. They could hit, they had the footwork, the endurance and raw skill. In the final of the 2011 WFTDA Championship Gotham Girls Roller Derby may have emerged as the first perfect flat track team. Not just a perfect roller derby team, but a perfect flat track one. In a sport as young and as “unfinished” as this one is, we may finally have ourselves a model off which to base the future.

While there was still some resistance to change at this year’s championship, there wasn’t as much of the cynicism that sometimes marred the experience of last year’s tournament (the insulting and narrow-minded “Slow Derby Sucks” movement, for example, that among other things, called for boycotts of particular teams in propaganda-ish flyers). And while boos did reign down when things didn’t get moving at the start line (hopefully for the teams that allowed it to happen and not those who were taking advantage of the teams who didn’t know what to do, or didn’t realize it was to their detriment), there was less meanness behind it, and the signs in the crowd that insulted teams last year were replaced in 2011 by more good-natured, even playful ones like “Occupy The Pivot Line,” or “The Pivot Line Needs Love Too.”

Minnesota All Stars were a much different team from the one that lost in the first round in 2010.

While a lot of the fans have certainly embraced the multi-speed nature of the flat track game (remember, as recently as 2009 fans were still booing trapping tactics on power jams), it seems that all of the top teams have come around as well. The Minnesota Girls All Stars are probably the best example of a league and a team that has finally come to embrace the flat track game. Although one of the oldest leagues in flat track history, only one year ago, at last year’s championship, it looked as though the sport had passed them by. They seemed reluctant to play the slow-game tactics that had come to define flat track, and relied on traditional hit and run strategies. They were destroyed in the opening round by the multi-speed, multi-strategy Charm City Roller Girls 249-118.

What a difference a year makes.

After a thrilling run at the North Central Regionals that came up just short, Minnesota was drawn in the first round against Charm City once again. While it was a similar Charm team to last year’s, Minnesota could not have been more different, or more prepared. They played a slower, more patient game, and the bout was full of nerdy derby as nearly every jam began with what is coming to be called a “rugby” or “scrum” start. Minnesota, looking like a revitalized team, got their revenge, 160-121.

Kansas City, champions in 2007, was the breakout team of the 2011 tournament.

As exciting as it was to see an original WFTDA team buy into the more contemporary version of the sport, as fitting as it seemed that Texas returned (after only one year’s absence) to the final four, and as thrilling as it was to see WFTDA crown its first two-time champion, this was a tournament of breakouts. While Sassy may still be the smartest and best one-on-one blocker in the game, her teammate, Hockey Honey (a Jet City transfer), looks to be a super-blocker in training and needs to add just a bit of control to her game to become considered one of the best there is. And finally, surprising tournament MVP and super-breakout player Kelly Young (along with her big-time blocker teammate Eclipse) led the breakout team of the tournament, Kansas City Roller Warriors, all the way to a surprising birth in the final four (they seemed to run out of steam against Texas in the third place bout leading early on before fading in the end and falling 136-112). Though it should be noted that Kelley Young has had a storied career in the sport, this was the year her name finally lit up the marquee and the larger flat track community took notice. Finally, Gotham, who seemed a top player or two on the depth chart away from competing last year, was pushed over the edge by transfer skaters Sexy Slaydie (a monster in the pack from Nashville) and Wild Cherri (Tampa Bay) who finally gave the team a consistent and formidable three-jammer rotation that was untouchable in the tournament and was a huge factor in their championship victory.

*

As you follow the stream of spent fans exiting 1st Bank Centre, your head humming, the roar of the crowd still echoing, you come to the realization that with each passing WFTDA Championship, that with each passing season, the game continues to find itself; this year it seemed more stable in its identity, more confident in what it has become. Born from a game of speed and agility on a banked surface, it has evolved into its own species: a game of pace and stability on a flat track that looks less and less like the sport that parented it less than a decade ago. And as you pull out of Denver, the sounds of the games still ringing in your ears, the city rising up among the mountains that fall away as your plane ascends, you think to yourself, contentedly, that the sport of flat track roller derby has finally become what it will be.

**For complete game-by-game recaps, visit DNN

Divide and Conquer: A Preview of the 2011 WFTDA Championships

Continental Divide and Conquer: The 2011 WFTDA Championships (Denver, Colorado; November 11-13)

For fans of flat track roller derby there is no more exciting weekend than the annual WFTDA Championships. It represents the pinnacle of the young sport, and each year provides a canvas upon which the newest strategies, the latest skill developments, and the increased athleticism that the sport requires are painted. Due to the young age of the sport and the accelerated pace at which it is growing, it is possible to say that each year, the WFTDA Championships has provided the best flat track roller derby ever played. And this year will undoubtedly prove to be the best yet.

The first WFTDA champs, the Texas Rollergirls, join every other previous champ at this year's tournament.

Since the Texas Rollergirls Texecutioners won the inaugural championship in 2006 and catapulted the young sport into the North American sports and pop culture consciousness, there have been four other champions crowned: Kansas City Roller Warriors (2007), Gotham Girls Roller Derby (2008), Oly Rollers (2009), and Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (2010). They will all be present at the 2011 WFTDA championships. While WFTDA has never crowned a two-time champion, this seems like the best chance for that to happen.

But considering the young age of the sport, this tournament has been more about developing the game than anything. In 2006 when virtually every flat track league on the planet (there were only 20 leagues in 2005, the year that the United Leagues Coalition—soon to be the WFDTA—was formed) converged on Tucson, it was an opportunity for all the leagues from the disparate corners of the United States to get together and share in the development and help nudge along the evolution of the sport.  From those early rules-refining days in 2006/2007 to Duke City and eventually Denver’s isolation and trapping revolution in 2008/2009, every major change and growth in the sport has been disseminated through the championship tournament.

2009 champs Oly Rollers were the first team to appear in back-to-back championship games.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP CURSE??

While the Texacutioners became the first team to make two championship finals (2006 and 2009), last year the Oly Rollers became the first team to qualify for two consecutive finals. Despite the fact that the Oly juggernaut could very easily make it a third straight trip to the final in 2011, traditionally defending champs have not fared well in this tournament. After Texas dominated in 2006 and defeated Tucson 129-96 in the final, it seemed as if the god mothers of the sport would never be beaten, but they did finally lose the following year and ended up getting knocked out in the 2007 semifinals to Rat City. Rat couldn’t parlay that historic victory into a championship though and fell in the first WFTDA champs classic 89-85 to Kansas City. Although Kansas would win their first three in a row in 2008, their streak would come to an emphatic end when Windy City rolled over them 155-39 on the eve of the 2008 championship (where Kansas City would stumble further, finishing out of the top four).

By that 2008 tournament, Gotham had replaced Texas as the dominant force in the sport and after crushing Duke City and Philly in the early rounds would put an end to Windy City’s amazing season with a 134-66 trouncing in the final. Gotham would then cruise through the 2009 season undefeated only to be upset by Philly in the Eastern final by 1 point (ending a remarkable 18 game winning streak). Continuing the trend of defending champs falling hard, they would be eliminated by Oly in the 2009 quarterfinals to finish out of the top four.

By the end of the 2009 tournament, where Oly defeated the historic Texacutioners 178-100, it was clear that the Oly Rollers Cosa Nostra Donnas were the new leaders in flat track. From their entry into the WFTDA in January 2009 to their eventual loss to Rocky Mountain in the western final in October 2010, they put together the greatest run in the sport’s early history, winning 22 straight bouts. But even the mighty Oly suffered the curse of the championship and although they became the first team to return to defend their title, they fell in a one-point heartbreaker (147-146) to Rocky Mountain in last year’s championship.

The defending champion Rocky Mountain Rollergirls have not been as dominant in 2011.

The defending champion Rocky Mountain Rollergirls have continued the dubious trend. Despite starting 2011 strong with big wins over Philly and Rose City, they have faded this season. A tight win against Bay Area in May was followed by the team’s first back-to-back losses since 2009 (to Charm and Oly). In this year’s Western Regionals they were only able to scrape by Rat City in the semis (117-107) before losing to Oly in the West final (143-106). While they remain favourites heading into the tournament, they do not look like the terrifying machine that rolled into the Championships in Chicago last year.

THE PARTICIPANTS

Only two of the teams enter this tournament with undefeated records in 2011 WFTDA play: Gotham (10-0) and Oly (12-0).  At the other end of the spectrum, a number of teams enter the tournament with just over a .500 record: Philly Roller Girls Liberty Belles (11-8), Charm City All Stars (9-7), and Nashville‘s Music City All Stars (7-5). The rest of the teams settle somewhere in the middle. The opening round features the “bottom eight” teams vying for a spot in the quarterfinals with the four regional winners. While Rocky Mountain (2^nd West) should roll over Nashville (3^rd South Central) and Philly (2^nd East) should ring Naptown’s (3^rd North Central) bell, look for a Charm City (3^rd E) minor upset over Minnesota (2^nd NC) and a similar Rose City (3^rd W) upset over Kansas City (2^nd SC). (It should be noted that Rose City and Naptown are the only two teams making their Championships debut). This chain of events would set up for some intriguing quarterfinal matchups, none more so than the potential Gotham vs. Rocky Mountain showdown that could occur Saturday morning.

Gotham Girls Roller Derby looks poised to win their second WFTDA championship.

Gotham has been absolutely dominant this season winning their bouts with an average margin of victory of 185 points (Rose City and Denver were the only teams to give them “trouble”: holding them to 68 and 71 point victories respectively). On top of that, Gotham seemed to improve as the season went on: they beat Steel City in April by 244 points; by the time of the Eastern Regionals (when both teams were peaking) they managed to increase that margin to an astonishing 374 points (the 404-30 semifinal victory was one of, if not the, most dominant performance in tournament history). As good as Rocky Mountain was, their performances this year (particularly that stunning July loss to Charm) has not been as confidence inducing. Call it the championship hangover, but it is highly conceivable that once again, the defending champs will make an early exit and finish out of the top four.

Naptown joins Rose City as they only first timers in the 2011 WFTDA Championship.

If any team can compete with Gotham this season, it is the Oly Rollers. While the two teams do have common opponents this year (Montreal, Denver and Rose City) it is difficult to compare the two records because of the markedly different styles they play. Gotham has seemingly mastered “bispeedual” derby: IE: they can skate with the best of them, but certainly don’t mind mucking it up in a slow, gritty game as well (they’ve embraced all isolation strategies and other evolutions of the sport including the walled and/or slow starts that are the latest trend). All along Oly has maintained their very simple game and are the masters of traditional “hit and run” derby. They are phenomenal skaters with otherworldly endurance and have shown that they can run opposition ragged. So while it is easy to see Oly advancing to their third straight final, it is much more difficult to see them defeating Gotham’s complete-game roller derby. Gotham, who has moved to the top of DNN’s Power Rankings and also the top of flattrackstats.com’s stats-based rankings, seems to be on the verge of reclaiming the Hydra Trophy that they last held in 2008.

As with last year, it could very well be an all East-West final four (Gotham, Oly, Rose and Charm), although Texas (who made up for a mediocre season with an amazing run at the South Central Regionals) seems in the best position to spoil the party given their potential quarterfinal showdown with Charm City (they met in May with Texas squeaking by in a 6 point victory).

So, is this the year that a two-time WFTDA champion is finally crowned? Will the coasts continue their derby dominance? Will the progenitors of flat track, the Texacutioners, return  to their final-four form? Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer for the answers.

2011 WFTDA Champs Participants (2011 Records / DNN Power Ranking)

East:

1. Gotham Girls Roller Derby All Stars (10-0 / #1)

2. Philly Roller Girls Liberty Belles (11-8 / #11)

3. Charm City Roller Girls All Stars (9-7 / # 12)

West:

1. Oly Rollers Cosa Nostra Donnas (12-0 / #2)

2. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 5280 Fight Club (7-2 / #3)

3. Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice (9-5 / #4)

South Central:

1. Texas Rollergirls Texacutioners (12-8 / #8)

2. Kansas City Roller Warriors All Stars (10-2 / #9)

3. Nashville Rollergirls Music City All Stars (7-5 / #19)

North Central

1. Windy City Rollers All-Stars (13-2 / #10)

2. Minnesota Roller Girls All Stars (9-3 / #13)

3. Naptown Roller Girls Tornado Sirens (12-3 / #14)

The bracket for the 2011 WFTDA Championships in Denver, Colorado (November 11-13). (Click to enlarge)

**** Read DNN’s team-by-team preview here. Tune in to all the action live on WFTDA.com.****

The Nerd’s thoughts on the playoffs so far:

Pondering the Playoffs 1: Eastern Regionals

Pondering the Playoffs 2: Western Regionals

Pondering the Playoffs 3: South Central Regionals

Pondering the Playoffs 4: North Central Regionals

Pondering the Playoffs 4: WFDTA’s North Central Region

Naptown (Indianapolis) hosted this year's North Central Region Championship.

A few months ago, had you told me that the best regional tournament of the 2011 WFTDA playoffs would be the North Central, I would not have believed you; but in terms of parity and the close-bout excitement that comes with that, it was clear that the North Central provided the most entertaining region, top to the bottom, of the playoffs. On top of that, the derby itself had everything you could ask for: hard hitting, smart, grindingly slow, breathtakingly fast; there was lots of slow derby, but no “stop” derby.

All regions had at least a few exciting bouts, usually in the earlier rounds, but in the North Central, bouts were close across the board. The average margin of victory in the tournament was 51 points (far and away lower than the other tournaments: South Central 88 points, East 95, West 102), but more excitingly, the average margin of victory in the matchups featuring the final four (the semifinals, finals and third place bout) was an amazing 16 points! Except in the West, where the final four had an average margin of victory of 33, this was usually the point when the best pulled ahead and lapped the field (it was 121 in the South Central and a whopping 162 in the East when Gotham completely ran away with it).

What this meant for the other regions is that there was usually a pretty clear line drawn between “talent groupings” (pockets of competitive teams), and this was lacking in the North Central. Only three bouts in the whole tournament had a margin of victory of over 100 points (there were 6 in the West, 7 in the East and 8 in the South Central). More telling though, were the amount of games that could have gone either way. 7 games finished with less than a 30 point differential (to compare, there were only 3 in the East, two of those involving Montreal.).  There was really only one major blowout, Minnesota’s  137 point victory over Mad Rollin, which could also be considered somewhat of a shocker since both of these teams qualified for the Championship last year (though the Dairyland Dolls have been in a fairly steady decline since; they ended up finishing 10^th).

The host Naptown Roller Girls were the surprise of the tournament, qualifying for the team`s first WFTDA CHampionship.

As surprising as Mad Rollin’s fall was (they also qualified in 2009), the story of the tournament was the rise of the Naptown Roller Girls Tornado Sirens. Although they were on an impressive 10-2 streak heading into the playoffs, their biggest victories had been over relative unknowns Demolition City, Sioux Falls and Omaha, while their losses had come to regional rivals Minnesota and Detroit (a somewhat one-sided 72 point loss in May). While they had solidified their 4^th place ranking in the region, there was nothing to indicate that they would be able to crack the top three.  Led by some all-star jamming from Amooze Booche and Maiden America, and a tight-recycling pack defence, they announced their intentions with a thrilling 11 point semifinal loss to the top seed Windy City Rollers. Their ability to contain Racer McChaser and the Detroit Derby Girls under the pressure of a third place bout (on a few occasions they seemed out of it, only to crawl their way back) shows that they have the constitution to survive the big-game pressure.

Naptown joins Rose City as the only two newcomers to the WFTDA Championship tournament.

Naptown joins Rose City from the Western Region as the only two first-time competitors for the WFTDA championship. But unfortunately for the teams of the North Central, they will be in tough to compete with the rest of the qualifiers. All three North Central representatives have performed poorly outside of their region, with even Windy City (who has still never lost an inner-region bout) struggling against the likes of Bay Area (who failed to qualify in the West) and Kansas City (second in the South Central). Though they were able to beat Championship-bound Charm City early on in 2011, they later struggled against Eastern non-qualifiers Montreal and Steel City.

Although they may not be competitive at the top level yet, the parity in the region actually bodes well for the future, and in the long term, the North Central may be better off than the other regions in that a more competitive foundation is being laid. Windy City may have kept their unbeaten streak alive for now, but after being taken to the limit by Naptown and Minnesota, it is clear that things in the North Central are about to be shaken up.

WFTDA CHAMPS PARTICIPANTS (2011 records/DNN ranking in parentheses):

East:

1. Gotham Girls Roller Derby All Stars (10-0 / #2)

2. Philly Roller Girls Liberty Belles (11-8 / #11)

3. Charm City Roller Girls All Stars (9-7 / # 12)

West:

1. Oly Rollers Cosa Nostra Donnas (12-0 / #1)

2. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 5280 Fight Club (7-2 / #3)

3. Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice (9-5 / #5)

South Central:

1. Texas Rollergirls Texacutioners (12-8 / #10)

2. Kansas City Roller Warriors All Stars (10-2 / #7)

3. Nashville Rollergirls Music City All Stars (7-5 / #19)

North Central

1. Windy City Rollers All-Stars (13-2 / #9)

2. Minnesota Roller Girls All Stars (9-3 / #16)

3. Naptown Roller Girls Tornado Sirens (12-3 / #17)

The bracket for the 2011 WFTDA Championships in Denver, Colorado (November 11-13). Click to enlarge.