Quad City Chaos 2015 Preview

This marks the sixth edition of the two-day round robin tournament featuring four WFTDA Division 1 teams and three B-team games.

Since 2010, Toronto Roller Derby’s Quad City Chaos has been a launching point for the Canadian travel-team season, and while last year’s technically featured four WFTDA D1 teams for the first time (Bleeding Heartland had slipped out of the Top 40 just weeks before the tournament began), this year it is official: this will be a complete WFTDA D1 tournament. And it features four teams with a lot to prove.

Hosts Toronto, looking to get off the plateau they’ve found themselves on for the past year, welcome Rideau Valley back to the QCC for the fourth time and first since 2013, while the historic Boston Derby Dames and Pittsburgh’s Steel City Roller Derby make their QCC debuts, both having begun to develop histories with the tournament’s host. The 2014 QCC was arguably the most thrilling on record, but given the quality and the relatively close rankings of the combatants, this year’s could top even that.

Toronto Roller Derby: CN Power (28^th)

The hosts have not always fared well at QCC, and after going 3-0 in 2012, have managed only a 2-4 record at the event since then. Last year, they played in two of the most thrilling games in the tournament’s history, a 17-point loss to Montreal (which remains the closest a Canadian team has come to defeating the Skids in regulation/sanctioned play), followed by a 14-point defeat at the hands of Ohio. Overall, Toronto has a QCC record of 9-6.

Toronto also has some form of a relationship with all three combatants. Although they sport a 4-1 record against the Rideau Valley Vixens, their last meeting at QCC 2013 (and the only sanctioned bout between the two) ended with a 13-point Vixens’ upset. Last year, they squared off against Steel City twice, both outstanding games, with Steel Hurtin’ taking the regular season showdown by 20 before falling in the consolation round of the playoffs to Toronto by 14. Boston and Toronto have only faced each other once, in the 2013 playoffs, with Toronto scoring a miniscule 6-point win.

Toronto has had little action so far this season, with only a closed, unsanctioned win over Queen City under its belt. And it is a slightly rebuilt roster from the one that went 8-12 last season, most notably in the jammer rotation (and of the four QCC teams, it is certainly the roster with the most changes). Last year’s core playoff rotation will not be on the bench at QCC, whether due to unavailability (Kookie Doe) or retirement (Dusty, Motorhead Molly). But bolstered by some very experienced transfers and a returning blocking core, Toronto may be able to weather this rebuild.

Boston Derby Dames: Boston Massacre (25^th)

One of flat track’s most venerable teams, Boston returns this season with its 2014 playoff lineup virtually in tact (one noticeable absence is playoff track-time leader Vixen Ta Hitcha). Although first time QCCers, Boston has a long history in Canada, largely as long-time frenemies of Montreal, but they do potentially enter the tournament with revenge on their minds, having last met Toronto in the 2013 playoffs, losing a heartbreaker by only 6 points.

Boston had a tough 2014, going 2-7 in sanctioned play (4-7 overall), and a 2-2 playoff record saw them finish 7^th in their Division. They have never faced off against Rideau Valley and haven’t seen Steel City on the track since 2011, but with a roster full of holdovers led by veterans Maya Mangleyou (no stranger to Canadian fans as a key piece of Team Canada 2014), Shark Week, Ginger Kid and Lil’ Pain, Boston may be the team to watch at this year’s Quad City Chaos.

This weekend will mark the first action of the year for Boston.

Steel City Roller Derby: Steel Hurtin’ (29^th)

As with Boston, Steel City makes its Quad City Chaos debut with its 2014 roster largely unchanged (also like Boston, there is one noticeable absence, with playoff track-time leader Athena gone from Steel Hurtin’s lineup). Pittsburgh managed a decent 2014 going 7-7 on the season, which forced it into a tough Division Play-in game against Arizona that it lost narrowly. Its tight games against Toronto last season make that match-up intriguing, and with a consistent roster, they could have an edge.

Steel City kicked off its 2015 season with a 215-154 victory over 73^rd ranked Charlottesville Derby Dames, and as with Boston is led into battle by a very experienced core led by Team USA skater Snot Rocket Science, but also long-time double threat Hurricane Heather, jammer Leannibal Lector, and blockers Stark Raven and Ally McKill.

 

Rideau Valley Roller Girls: Vixens (39^th)

Last year’s darlings of Division 2, RVRG’s 2014 success means the road will be that much more challenging in 2015, but also has the potential to be considerably more rewarding. The Vixens tore up their Division 2 playoff tournament last season, crushing the competition in the early rounds before holding off Bear City in the final, in one of the more thrilling games of the season. They fell to Detroit in the D2 final, but the appearance at Champs was enough to vault them into Division 1 for the first time.

In 2015, the Vixens are looking to build off of their most successful season to date, one in which they compiled a 9-2 sanctioned record (10-2 overall) with losses only to Calgary (by 28 points) and Detroit in the D2 final. Similar to Steel City and Boston, The Vixens return with virtually the same lineup this season. And the question remains not how good the likes of Soul Rekker, Shania Pain (jammers), Murphy, Reyes, Brennan, Bottema, Sister Disaster and Rudolph will be, but how much the supporting cast rises up around them. This team’s been riding a short bench for a few years now, and will need to start building depth looking forward, so against the level of competition at QCC, the key could be in skaters like Melanie Austin, Lackey and Restless Rose.

This is the fourth QCC for the Vixens, and the first since 2013. They’ve compiled a career record of 3-6 at the tournament

B-Team Showdown

Since 2013, the Bay Street Bruisers have hosted B-team games along side their big sisters, and this season, that portion of the tournament has expanded to three games, showcasing the B-squads of each A-team participant. The Bruisers have yet to be defeated at the QCC, compiling a 4-0 record. However, this year’s competition could be the fiercest yet. While they have never faced Rideau Valley’s Sirens or the Boston B Party, they did managed a one-sided 288-97 victory over the Steel Beamers in Pittsburgh last season. But in B-team age, a year can be an eternity.

Neither the Beamers nor the B Party have seen competition yet this season, while the Bruisers are coming off of a tough 170-155 win over Royal City (Guelph’s WFTDA team), and the Sirens tasted defeat against Montreal’s Sexpos. While that initial track time may give the Canadian teams a slight edge, it probably won’t be enough to intimidate their American opponents.

**Action begins at 10:00 AM sharp on Saturday, March 21. Day and weekend passes are available; separate tickets for Saturday night’s double header are also available.

**Every moment of QCC 2015 will be boutcast live by layer9.ca, with Saturday night’s double header and Sunday’s final game simulcast on WFTDA.TV. Full viewing schedule is available here.

**Check out this QCC 2015 trailer (produced by Tiffany Beaudin):

 

Catch Up on the Past QCCs!

 

2011 Quad City Chaos Poster.

Quad City Chaos 2014

Quad City Chaos 2013

Quad City Chaos 2012

Quad City Chaos 2011

Quad City Chaos 2010

Weekend Results: Canada’s WFTDA Teams Have Up-and-Down Weekend

It was a busy weekend for Canada’s WFTDA teams, with most of Canada’s top teams spread out across the continent for important regular season matchups.

Both Toronto and Tri-City had busy weekends at Fort Wayne’s Spring Roll

Montreal Roller Derby: New Skids on the Block

Montreal had to have hit the West Coast with high expectations, especially after Vancouver’s Terminal City was able to knock off one of their opponents, the Oly Rollers, last weekend. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Canada’s top team went 0-3 against incredibly tough competition in Rat, Rose and Oly. The losses will affect their WFTDA rankings (although they lost only 3.6 points on Flattrackstats on the weekend), but the loss to lesser ranked Rat and Oly, especially, shows that they still have a lot of work to do before season’s end to finally attain that goal of making Champs.

Montreal (12^th) 124 vs. Rat City (18^th) 202

Montreal 109 vs. Rose City (5^th) 306

Montreal 174 vs. Oly (14^th) 230

Toronto Roller Derby: CN Power

Toronto entered the weekend on a massive 8-game slide, and were looking for some positives heading into a busy summer. Things started off rough on Saturday against a tough Jacksonville team whose incredibly fast and agile jammers ran roughshod over the team. However, Toronto found their form against lesser opponents as the weekend went on, handling a strong Jet City with ease before crushing Cincinnati to close out Spring Roll (it’s hard to believe this Cinci. team beat Toronto a year ago). They were confidence-boosting wins that the team needed as it looks to shore up a favourable playoff spot.

Toronto (23^rd) 116 vs. Jacksonville (16^th) 243

Toronto 235 vs. Jet City (36^th) 86

Toronto 370 vs. Cincinnati (56^th) 83

Tri-City Roller Derby: Tri-City Thunder

The Thunder headed to Spring Roll hoping to improve their tenuous hold on a Division 1 playoff spot; unfortunately, things didn’t necessarily go as planned. Given a favourable draw for the weekend, Tri-City did go 2-2 for the tournament, but the results were not quite as expected. The wins came against a D-2 non-playoff team (Big Easy) and a D-3 team (Glasgow, though due to lack of high-level competition, Glasgow’s ranking is probably far too low), but both wins were within 40 points. The loss to Jet City, despite being ranked below the Everett-based team, was a missed opportunity to knock of a low-ranked D-1 team, and the upset loss to a determined Chicago Outfit team just trying to qualify for the D-2 playoffs had to have hurt.

Tri-City (40^th) 148 vs. Jet City (36^th) 178

Tri-City 190 vs. Glasgow (104^th) 175

Tri-City 176 vs. Big Easy (82^nd) 137

Tri-City 124 vs. Chicago Outfit (65^th) 161

Division 2 and Division 3 Action

The Rideau Valley Vixens headed to the East Coast to take on Maine’s Port Authorities in a very important D-2 showdown between two teams who have made significant jumps early in 2014, and the Vixens came away with the win: another step in securing a D-2 playoff spot.

Rideau Valley (64^th) 192 vs. Maine (72^nd) 160

Closer to home, the GTA Rollergirls G-sTARs hosted Alliston’s Renegade Derby Dames Striking Vikings in WFTDA action. This was the second sanctioned bout for the G-sTARs after a loss to London’s Timber Rollers to kick off the season. It was the first ever sanctioned game for the Striking Vikings. It was an incredibly tight game, especially in the first half (the Vikings had a 12-point lead at the break). Some excellent half-time adjustments for the G-sTARs saw the hosts take a lead early in the second that they were able to hold onto for the remainder of the game. Neither team has yet to be ranked (they must play three sanctioned games for an initial ranking), but both will be looking to make inroads into D-3 before the season is over.

GTA (-) 144 vs. Renegade Derby Dames (-) 112

2012 Quad City Chaos Preview: Part One (The Tournament)

The third annual QCC will be held on March 31st and April 1st, 2012, at ToRD's Bunker.

THE HISTORY

In 2010, the first Quad City Chaos featured the top four teams in Canada at the time (Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver), and, therefore, came to be seen as somewhat of an unofficial Canadian Championship. In a major coming-out party, Montreal dominated the round-robin tournament, exhibiting the knowledge gained on their long WFTDA road trips earlier that year. While the New Skids on the Block showed Canada what the competitive level of flat track roller derby was quickly rising too (the sport was only months removed from “The Great Leap Forward”), the three other combatants were very evenly matched and provided some thrilling roller derby (including Toronto’s first ever win over Hamilton, an 89-87 heart stopper). This year, Toronto Roller Derby’s CN Power will host the third Quad City Chaos in their Bunker in Downsview Park.

Montreal and Toronto play in the 2010 QCC. (photo by Derek Lang)

In the two years since the inaugural version of this four-team invitational, so much has changed. Flat track roller derby has evolved far beyond the simplicity of the earlier incarnations of the sport and although Montreal still continues to pace the pack in Canadian roller derby, they are at the very least, no longer playing a different game from their nearest competitors; Montreal may have dominated the tournament again last year, but it was a far different kind of dominance. After a disappointing 2010, CN Power grew in leaps and bounds in 2011, the first year that ToRD’s top travel team played with a set roster. Finishing second in the tournament for the second year in a row (including a thrilling 14-point victory over rivals Thunder from Tri-City), they used the success of the Quad City Chaos as a springboard for their first season playing in the WFTDA’s North Central Region (they’d close out the year ranked a more-than-respectable 17^th in the Region). The Thunder themselves made an impressive Quad City Chaos debut, defeating other first timers the Rideau Valley Vixens to ensure a third-place finish (they would go on to complete 2011 ranked 16th in the North Central). The Quad City Chaos has become an important early season tournament for Canada’s top travel teams, and in 2012, this is no different.

Full 2010 QCC results.

2011 QCC recap: Part 1 (Games); Part 2 (Commentary)

Hammer City's Eh! Team (seen here in the 2010 QCC) return to the tournament in 2012. (Photo by Derek Lang)

THE TOURNAMENT

While the inaugural QCC was an unofficial Canadian Championship, the 2012 version may well be looked at as an unofficial Ontario championship. Two-time defending QCC champions Montreal’s New Skids on the Block are out this year meaning that there will be a new QCC champ crowned. Along with host team CN Power, the Tri-City Thunder and Rideau Valley Vixens will be returning to the tournament, while 2010 participants Hammer City’s Eh Team! returns after a one-year hiatus. These four teams represent Ontario’s (and right now four out of five of Eastern Canada’s) full contingent of WFTDA participants. The WFTDA has changed the face of competitive roller derby in North America (and increasingly the world), and Canadian teams are currently making a charge up the rankings. With Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars turning heads out west and Montreal remaining one of the top teams in the east, Ontario’s four-team WFTDA cohort is set to enter the picture in a big way in 2012.

The Thunder vs. CN Power game at QCC '11 was the hilight of the tournament. They face off on Saturday night. (Photo by Kevin Konnyu)

The 2012 QCC will feature sanctioned bouts between all three full WFTDA members, and each team will play a bout against the Rideau Valley Vixens who (like CN Power at last year’s tournament) are on the verge of completing their WFTDA Apprenticeship and will once again be the biggest beneficiaries of this experience. With Hammer City being a year into a major rebuild and Rideau Valley dealing with a significant roster shakeup of their own, the tournament looks like CN Power’s or the Thunder’s to win. With CN Power ranked 17^th in the WFTDA’s North Central Region and the Thunder ranked 16^th (not to mention that the two teams have split their previous two meetings), their Saturday night prime-time matchup (7:00 PM) has all the makings of a phenomenal showdown and could be the bout of the weekend (and with rankings on the line, has ramifications outside of this tournament).

SCHEDULE

DAY ONE: SATURDAY MARCH 31st:

12:00 PM: CN Power (ToRD) vs. Vixens (RVRG)

2:00 PM:  Eh Team! (HCRG, 25^th in North Central) vs. Thunder (TCRG, 16^th NC) (WFTDA Sanctioned: tune in to Canuck Derby TV for live streaming)

5:00 PM: Vixens vs. Eh Team!

7:00 PM:  CN Power (17^th) vs. Thunder (16^th) (WFTDA Sanctioned: tune in to Canuck Derby TV for live streaming)

DAY TWO: SUNDAY APRIL 1st:

2:00 PM: Vixens vs.  Thunder

4:00 PM: CN Power vs. Eh! Team (WFTDA Sanctioned: tune in to Canuck Derby TV for live streaming)

**Tickets for the 2012 QCC are now available.
**Tune in to Canuck Derby TV for live streaming of all the WFTDA sanctioned action.

**Thursday: 2012 Quad City Chaos Preview: Part Two (The Teams).

Quad City Chaos Recap (Part 1): The Bouts

Rideau Valley Vixens and CN Power kicked off QCC 2011. (photo by Sean Murphy)

DAY ONE

CN Power (ToRD) 156 vs. Vixens (RVRG)  40

It had been a year since these two teams last faced off and while this one was closer than 2010’s 150 point Toronto victory, CN Power still looked a step ahead of their cross-province rivals. Defecaitlin, Candy Crossbones and Land Shark tore up the track, and despite taking some bruises from Semi-Precious and Surgical Strike in the pack, dominated offensively for the hosts. It was only after a well-taken timeout about 12 minutes in that the Vixens were able to pick up lead jammer and put up a few points, down 37-2.

But the real difference in the bout was in the pack, and CN Power looked strong there as well. The familiarity of a set roster seems obvious early in 2011 with a taughtness on the lines that has been lacking in the past. While the pack looked strong as a unit from pivot down to the last blocker on the bench (with Mega Mouth and Scorcher forming a nice complement), Jubilee stood out physically and positionally, including a few jams where she single-handedly took Vixens’ star jammer Soul Rekker out of the play and dominated one on one. With Rideau Valley getting consistently better as the bout went on, and Ripper A. Part emerging as a legitimate offensive threat, a late surge could only take a chip out of CN Power’s 116 point victory.

Thunder's Gunmoll Mindy fights to hold the front against the Vixens' Assassinista. (photo by Todd Burgess)

Thunder (TCRG) 109 vs. Rideau Valley Vixens (RVRG) 84

Coming off of a tough, WFTDA sanctioned closed bout against Montreal, Thunder dressed a travel-team-rookie heavy roster that also featured new Hammer City transfer Perky Set. It didn’t seem to affect the team’s play though as they stormed off to a quick lead early on, against a Rideau Valley squad playing back-to-back games. Freudian Whip took on the star in this bout, adding to a strong jammer contingent featuring Lippy Wrongstockings, Kitty Krasher, Skate Pastor and Motorhead Molly. Pack control was the difference early, with Leigh-zzie Borden setting the tone with some physical play and Skate Pastor picking up 15 points on a well-executed power jam mid-way through the half leading to a 64-29 halftime lead.

After a physical bout against ToRD to kick things off, Rideau Valley showed a lot of fight in against the Thunder, and an adaptability that bodes well for the future of the Vixens (they recycled strategies used against them quickly). A strong start to the second half led by some scrappy jamming by Dee Dee Tee, and increasingly capable pack work kept the Vixens in it. Individually, Ripper A. Part came alive in the second half Semi-Precious continued to be a menace in the pack, and Soul Rekker dominated two major-point power jams to top off a solid push back that made things close at the end; but it was too little too late, and the experienced, confident Thunder capitalized on mistakes and a few strategic miscues from the Vixens to hold on for a 25 point victory.

CN Power's Defecaitlin had the most success against the Skids' Iron Wench this weekend. (photo by Todd Burgess)

New Skids on the Block (MTLRD) 284 vs. CN Power (ToRD) 21

CN Power entered Saturday’s prime-time bout with the confidence built from a very big victory. A year ago, these two teams were at very different stages in their development. And in that final bout of the Quad City Chaos 2010, the hosts looked overwhelmed and were outplayed handily, to the point where it didn’t look like the two teams were even playing the same sport. Although the final outcome was similar in 2011, this was a CN Power team that had learned a lot from its previous loss and a revamped, refocused lineup might have still looked a step or two behind the Skids, but they are now employing the same strategies and playing a similar style of derby. Defecaitlin proved to be the best matchup for Iron Wench all weekend, managing to have the best lead % against the Montreal superstar in the tourney. Her strong play (aided by great positional work from Nasher the Smasher) helped CN Power get off to a very good start, keeping it close early on before a devastating jammer take out by Trash N Smash on Land Shark knocked Toronto’s jammer out of the bout and allowed Georgia W. Tush to pick up 15 and open up a 25-5 lead.

Georgia W. Tush and Smack Daddy adjust their skates on the Skids bench. (photo by Joe Mac)

A few rookies were making their debuts this weekend, Aston Martini and titmouse (who didn’t look intimidated at all when lined up against Iron Wench) for CN Power, while Hustle Rose and Hymen Danger made their debuts for Montreal on Saturday (both graduates of the hometeam-B Team system in place in Montreal). The Toronto rookies (including Hurlin’ Wall) looked very good on the night, showing no fear playing against one of the top teams in the sport. The Skids seemed to settle in during this bout, as great teams usually do, and played flawless, mistake-free derby. At even strength CN Power was able to hold their own against the Skids, but with Montreal being so strong at the fundamentals, they took advantage of every mistake ToRD made and punished them on pack advantages and power jams helping to run up the score late in the second half to secure their big victory.

Montreal and Rideau Valley kicked off day two of QCC 2011. (photo by Sean Murphy)

DAY TWO

New Skids on the Block (MTLRD) 320 vs. Rideau Valley Vixens 23

Not surprisingly, given the expanse in experience levels between these two teams, this was the most one-sided bout of the tournament. At the same time, the Vixens didn’t look intimidated and took their game to the Skids. DDT continued her scrappy jamming for the Vixens and once again Assassinista emerged as a fearless blocker and capable pivot on the track. But there was only so much they could do against a team as unified and together as Montreal. It was 162-10 at half.

One interesting thing to note for the Skids was that they were debuting a rookie who had yet to play a bout in Montreal (or anywhere for that matter). Dame of Doom, a speed skater, is making the transition to roller derby this year and will play her first season in the Montreal Roller Derby League in 2011 (she’ll suit up for last year’s regular season runners-up Les Contrabanditas). This weekend, as an alternate, she looked steady in the pack and strong on her skates, but it will take some time for her to catch on to the nuances of the sport (something that was not a problem for the other Skids rookies this weekend). Montreal topped 300 points for the third time in their past five games to secure top spot in the tournament standings once again.

Motorhead Molly and Candy Crossbones lineup in the closing bout of QCC 2011. (photo by Joe Mac)

CN Power (ToRD) 112 vs. Thunder (TCRG) 98

The most anticipated bout of the weekend did not disappoint as southern Ontario rivals Thunder and CN Power met in a rematch of a 2010 bout in Tri-City won by the Thunder 122-50. In that one, Thunder looked much more composed and together than the Power and were able to impose their style of play on the bout and dominated in the end. Toronto looked focused and determined out of the blocks and caught Thunder off guard with some strong jamming from Defecaitlin, Candy Crossbones and Betty Bomber that had ToRD’s all stars out to a 15-0 lead five in. But in a bout that would be characterized by wide swings in momentum (and no shortage of lead changes), a well played power jam by Skate Pastor (aided by some great traps by the veteran Thunder blockers) saw Thunder take their first lead of the bout 21-17 ten minutes in. The usual crew of Jill Standing, Anita Martini, sin-e-star, and Bareleigh Legal were aided once again by strong play from Leigh-zzie Borden, Gunmoll Mindy and Freudian Whip who is emerging as a triple threat for Tri-City. CN Power took advantage of their own power jams to hold on to a 56-43 lead at the half.

As expected, Thunder and CN Power played the tightest bout of QCC 2011. (photo by Sean Murphy)

At even strength these two teams were going hit for hit and momentum was shifting jam by jam. Great walls, fast-pack defense and slow traps made this one an exciting bout to watch. Tara Part, Mega Mouth and Jubilee were giving Thunder a hard time in the pack all bout, with Dyna Hurtcha racking up assists for her jammers (and pulled in a lot of points on a very physical power jam). Thunder switched things up early in the second with Leigh-zzie Borden taking a jam with the star and Tri-City pulled close again 65-56 five minutes in. Both teams, fatigued after a long weekend of competitive derby, began to run into some penalty trouble in the middle of the half, but it seemed to affect Thunder more, briefly taking them out of the bout for a period. The major difference could have been ToRD’s willingness and ability to play the kind of slow-pack, gritty, defensive bout that Thunder excels at. Signs of obvious frustration were evident from Tri-City as ToRD built up a forty point lead midway through the second half. But the sign of a good team is the ability to regroup in the midst of adversity, and Thunder adjusted. Some great team play (and a great whip from Gunmoll Mindy aiding Kitty Krasher to score 4 and get things rolling), saw Thunder pull close. CN Power managed to ride out the push back with some solid pack work and wall building, and more big hits from Hurlin’ Wall who is becoming a big part of this Toronto team, and held on for a 112-98 victory and second spot in QCC 2011.

** Thursday, the Commentary.

** Canuck Derby TV came to town to boutcast the QCC in its entirety. You can watch the archived bouts here.  Stay tuned to ToRD.TV for interviews and layer9’s trackside boutcast.

Quad City Chaos Preview (Part 2)

Tri-City defeated CN Power 122-50 in the team's final bout of 2010. (photo by Joe Mac)

THE UPSTARTS

In 2010, the focus of Canadian roller derby was clearly on Montreal’s New Skids on the Block, which allowed for another amazing roller derby story to go unnoticed by many outside of the Ontario derby community: the rise of Tri-City. Playing in the shadows of Hammer City, ToRD and even Forest City for years, the skaters of the Tri-City triangle have slowly been creating a juggernaut, and 2010 was a coming out party of sorts. In terms of hometeams, the Venus Fly Tramps continued to grow more competitive, and the league added a third team, the Total Knock-Outs to the mix. The league’s top team, the Vicious Dishes, was emerging as one of the top hometeams, not only in Ontario, but in the country. Vctories over ToRD’s Chicks Ahoy! and both Hammer City hometeams exposed the Dishes as a team to watch.

These solid foundations led to the dramatic rise of the Thunder. With their only losses coming against the top tier of Canadian competition (Montreal hometeam Les Contrabanditas and B-Team Sexpos), their strong victories over a string of American travel teams (Roc City, The Lake Effect Furies, Assault City, and Detroit’s Motor City Disassembly Line) turned some heads. But it wasn’t until their final bout of the season that they truly showed how far they’d come: a 122-50 victory over CN Power gave the team a solid 5-2 record on the season and managed to shake up the power politics of Canadian derby. It was arguably a crowning achievement on a fantastic year that saw them graduate into full WFTDA status.

Motorhead Molly leads a breakout jammer contingent for the Thunder. (photo by Joe Mac)

Tri-City’s strength is in its pack. Led by the pivot Jill Standing and the untiring blocking trio of Anita Martini, Bareleigh Legal and sin-e-star, Thunder is capable of playing a stifling pack defense that led them to victories over Roc City Roc Stars and Lake Effect Furies early in the season. While defense is a traditional Tri-City strength, the biggest development over 2010 was the improvement of their offense: Skate Pastor, Motorhead Molly and Lippy Wrongstockings proved to be a more than capable trio for the Thunder in 2010, playing smart, strategic derby even in low scoring, grinders. But they also helped show that Thunder is capable of switching gears and winning a shoot out, as they did in a 134-126 victory over Detroit’s Disassembly Line. The depth of the roster has only increased as all the Tri-City teams become more competitive. Greta Garbage and Gunmoll Mindy provide a lot of depth in the pack, with Garbage capable of laying down some hits or joining front walls, Mindy holding that inside line, and Lilith No Fair joining the pivot corps. Kitty Krasher, Cell Block Bettie and Freudian Whip are all capable of donning the star to jam as well, which provides this team with fantastic depth at offense.

The Thunder should have a slight depth advantage over Rideau Valley, and in terms of pack control and defense, may be the best match-up for Montreal, but I think it’s safe to say that all eyes are on Thunder’s rematch with CN Power to close out the tournament on Sunday (at 4:20 p.m.). Thunder could go a long way in solidifying their position as the team to watch in 2011 with a second consecutive victory over ToRD’s all stars.

The Vixens played their first ever bout at the Hangar, falling to CN Power 199-49. (photo by Derek Lang)

THE DARKHORSE

In 2009, Rideau Valley Roller Girls added a second team, the Riot Squad, to help develop the league and build on the success of the Slaughter Daughters. By 2010, they’d expanded yet again, this time adding the Vixens, a travel team. Due to the quick expansion, there were some growing pains in the early going, with some big losses to tough competition in Toronto (CN Power),  Steel City (B-Unit) and Montreal (Sexpos). But the growth in those months from the one-sided defeat in Toronto to the solid showing in Montreal was undeniable. It only took about six months for the Vixens to gel. By the end of the next six months, they’d evened up their 2010 record with three-straight victories beginning with a confidence boosting blow out (210-54) over the Jerzey Derby Brigade’s Corporal Punishers. They followed that up with two more explosive, one-sided wins against Utica, and Maine’s Calamity Janes.

Soul Rekker (jamming here against CN Power's Land Shark) is the Vixens' biggest offensive threat. (photo by Derek Lang)

Nonetheless, with their last three bouts coming south of the border against unknown competition (in that they don’t have any cross-over opponents with any of the other teams at the QCC), this considerably more experienced Vixens squad is somewhat of an unknown, which is why they are a darkhorse in this tournament. The only clue we have as to how good this team could be is in the performances of their hometeams, and the Slaughter Daughters are quietly becoming one of the top hometeams in eastern Canada, while their other team, the Riot Squad is certainly up and coming, recently taking ToRD’s Smoke City Betties to the limit in a bout. Even when they were losing early in 2010, the talent on the team was obvious. The two captains are the undeniable leaders on the track: Semi-Precious dominates at both leading her pack and delivering devastating take outs; Soul Rekker is an explosive jammer, and will lead the Vixens’ offense, proving equal to the top jammers in the tournament. And while this team is comparatively inexperienced in travel-team play, there is a surprising depth to the lineup, especially in the pack.

The Vixens' pack is led by Semi Precious and a core of Slaughter Daughters. (photo by Derek Lang)

Dee Dee Tee, Sister Disaster and Ripper A. Part round out a veteran jammer lineup, while the pack is loaded full of solid positional and striking blockers. ASSASSINista, Big Block, Blackout Susan, Drunky Brewster, and Surgical Strike form the core of the Slaughter Daughters roster, and that familiarity has bled over to the Vixens. Riot Squad’s Slavic Slayer, Margaret Chock, and N. Toxicate round out a sold pack that could pose problems for the other teams.

Rideau Valley will be aiming to knock off either CN Power or Thunder (and ideally both), and either is conceivable. They’ve been playing a similar amount of games as both teams and are undoubtedly a far different team than the one that last visited the Hangar. The fact that as the Vixens, they are relatively unknown to either team also makes them dangerous. CN Power and Tri-City can make necessary adjustments to face each other based on familiarity; the Vixens will, at the very least, have them guessing, and if they can catch either team off guard, they’ve proven capable of putting up big numbers.

THE RAMIFICATIONS

With all four teams competing at some level within WFTDA, this tournament is important to establish where, exactly, the teams stand in relation to one another. Montreal is currently creeping up to the top 4 in the Eastern Region and playing them will give the Vixens an idea of how competitive the top level of their Region really is. ToRD’s CN Power and the Tri-City Thunder will be chasing each other (and Hammer City) up the rankings in the North Central, making this just the second of what will certainly be many meetings between these teams.

For the New Skids on the Block, they’ll get a chance to pad their stats in the Canadian Roller Derby Rankings and have a competitive warm up for a potentially season-changing Eastern Region tournament in England against London, Steel City (Pittsburgh), and the 3^rd ranked Charm City (Baltimore).

On a larger scale, the Quad City Chaos offers a glimpse of the potential beginnings of WFTDA’s Canadian Region.

**Tickets are available online or at various ticket outlets in Toronto. Doors on Saturday open at 1:00pm. For a full schedule, check here.

**Read Part One (focusing on CN Power and The New Skids on the Block) .

Watch ToRD.TV’s video preview of QCC, featuring interviews with CN Power co-captain Lady Scorcher and bench manager Sonic Doom:

Quad City Chaos Preview (Part 1)

Montreal and Toronto finished 1-2 at last year's QCC. (photo by Derek Lang)

THE TOURNAMENT

This year’s Quad City Chaos will have ramifications beyond just the excitement of the weekend’s events. With defending champion Montreal playing themselves into the discussion of the best teams in flat track roller derby, they represent the peak of a wave of Canadian teams on the verge of competing at WFTDA’s highest level: Three of those other teams will be in Toronto this weekend.

This is the second year that ToRD’s CN Power has hosted the Quad City Chaos, a four-team invitational tournament that will be played over two day’s at The Hangar, and while CN Power would like to improve on last year’s 2-1 performance, it’ll be considered a considerable victory if they manage to secure the same record. With last year’s participants Hammer City undergoing a reorganization and preparing for WFTDA play this spring, this year’s tournament will feature Eastern Canada’s other top four teams. Joining CN Power and Montreal’s New Skids on the Block will be Tri-City Thunder (who compete this season in WFTDA’s North Central Region), and the Rideau Valley Vixens who, like ToRD, are completing their apprenticeship in 2011.

Montreal was the talk of the sport entering last year’s QCC, riding a 4 bout WFTDA winning streak (their record had been 1-8 before that), including a nearly 200 point victory over their only Canadian WFTDA competition, the Hammer City Eh! Team. Predictably, they dominated the tournament with only Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars managing to keep them under 200 points. The tournament was an eye-opener for Canada’a top teams as to what it was going to take to compete at the highest levels. Terminal City has since attained full status and will compete in WFTDA’s Western Region. While Tri-City is a member in the Eastern Region, apprentices ToRD and Rideau Valley are well on their way.

THE HOSTS

CN Power recorded its first victory over the Hammer City Eh! Team at QCC 2010 (89-87). (photo by Joe Mac)

CN Power had a rough 2010. Last year’s early season successes (here at the QCC and in a rout of the newly formed Vixens) did not hold up over the course of the year, culminating in a surprisingly one-sided loss to cross-province rivals the Tri-City Thunder. Toronto Roller Derby, once a menacing force in eastern roller derby, looked disorganized and vulnerable. It was their third straight loss to teams that once would have been beatable. That loss dropped their record to 3-4 on the season.

Perhaps riding on the laurels of a popular and thriving home league, by the end of 2010, the travel team had become neglected. With an ever-changing roster that failed to gel as a singular entity, it was losing ground on the quickly evolving leagues around it. The loss in New Hamburg seemed to galvanize ToRD, and what resulted was a much more organized and considered approach to the formation and training of CN Power. With the first set roster in its history and a much more regimented and disciplined training schedule, the hopes were high to kick off 2011. Facing an unknown entity in their season debut—North Central Region’s Killamazoo Derby Darlins—CN Power came out calm, prepared and focused and played one of the best bouts of the team’s young history on their way to a 197-35 victory.

Cn Power kicked off 2011 with a 197-35 victory over the Killamazoo Derby Darlins. (photo by Kevin Konnyu)

More important even than the victory, was the way the team played. It was a nearly textbook bout; CN Power was simple and straightforward in its strategic play, and its best players played like its best players. All three of the lead jammers, Land Shark, Candy Crossbones and Dust Bunny look to be in mid-season form already and have played extremely well for their respective hometeams as well. The pack is  led by Brim Stone, Mega Bouche, Rebel Rock-It and Tara  Part, while Nasher the Smasher, Lady Gagya and Jubilee put up big numbers in the pack in CN Power’s season opener.

As it was last year, outside of the bouts involving Montreal, expect all of the matchups to result in hard-fought bouts that could go either way. That being said, Toronto is hoping for a victory against Rideau Valley to kick things off in preparation for the tough bout later in the day against Montreal (that will be Saturday night’s prime time bout, opening whistle at 7:00 p.m.). But the real focus will be on Sunday’s rematch with the Tri-City Thunder. With both teams entering WFTDA’s North Central, these teams are going to be rivals for a long time to come. CN Power is hoping to show that it can keep up with the hard-working all stars from Tri-City, and a victory here would go a long way in erasing the heart-breaking memories of last year’s late-season loss.

THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

New Skids bench at QCC 2010, where they had an average margin of victory of 157 points over the three bouts. (photo by Derek Lang)

Seemingly, not much has changed from a year ago. Montreal is still the team everyone is talking about, and they are once again on an amazing 5-1 run  to start 2011 with the only loss coming in the third bout in three days on a west coast road trip with a less than full roster against the 2^nd ranked team in the world. But as much as everything seems the same, a lot has actually changed. Last year Montreal was making waves at the back of the pack, eventually going on a seven bout winning streak to climb all the way to 6^th in WFTDA’s Eastern Region (they would defeat their opponents by an average of just under 100 points each during the run). That run up the rankings would come to an end at the hands of arch rival Boston Derby Dames. Boston would also knock the Skids out of WFTDA’s Eastern Regionals in the quarterfinals (they were the first non-American team to qualify for the playoffs), putting an end to an amazing 2010 that saw the Skids compile an 11-5 record in WFTDA sanctioned bouts (13-5 overall).

Montreal's Jess Bandit (blocking Land Shark at QCC 2010) is one of Canada's top pivots. (photo by Joe Mac)

Less than a year later and Boston is just one of the teams that has been upset by the New Skids on the Block in 2011 as they reach for even higher levels. If wins over Rat City, Boston and Jet City weren’t enough to convince any remaining skeptics of Montreal’s potential to compete this season, their recent smackdown of New Hampshire (a game that saw Montreal become just the fourth team to lay down 400+ points in a sanctioned bout) should put to rest any questions of what, at its best, this team is capable of. With a relentless offense anchored by the seemingly inexhaustible Iron Wench (and complemented by Georgia W. Tush and Ewan Wotarmy), and a smothering defense led by pivot Jess Bandit, the Skids are realistically unbeatable by any team in Canada right now. This is an extremely deep squad, with triple threats (Cheese Grater and Smack Daddy), fantastic back-up jammers (Lil Mama, Lyn-Dah Kicks and Mange Moi El-cul), positional mavens (Lady J, No Holds Bard, Rae Volver), and big hitters (Nameless Whorror, Trash N Smash and Bone Machine), but the true strength of this team is the depth of its talent, and the unity of its pack work.

Quad City Chaos will be held on March 26th and 27th at ToRD's Hangar in Downsview Park.

Not only is Montreal extraordinarily talented, they have the most track time clocked in 2011 as well, and are riding a wave of momentum built on a series of tough victories against some of the best competition flat track roller derby has to offer (and they’ve scored a staggering 710 points in their last two games). Expect them to roll right through the QCC, as they did last year, on their way to the “Anarchy in the UK” tournament in London, England in April. The Skids have never faced either the Thunder or the Vixens, but Montreal’s B-team, the Sexpos, recorded victories over each in 2010. The last time the Skids faced CN Power was at QCC 2010, a one-sided victory to close out the tourney.

**Tickets are available online or at various ticket outlets in Toronto. Doors on both days open at 1:00pm. For a full schedule, check here.

**Tomorrow, the preview continues with Tri-City and Rideau Valley.