Texas Rollergirls
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The Texas Rollergirls are a flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas, (USA). The full trademarked name of the league is Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby. Founded in early 2003, the Texas Rollergirls were the first flat track league in the nation to play a version of roller derby using new standardized rules and a track design that was based on the dimensions of the old banked tracks[1]. As flat track derby caught on in other U.S. cities, the Texas Rollergirls rulebook and track design eventually evolved into the specifications that were adopted and ratified upon formation of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association in 2005[2].
The league consists of four home teams that play within the league and sometimes compete with member teams from other WFTDA leagues. The Texas Rollergirls also have an all-star travel team called the Texecutioners, who represent the league in WFTDA competitions and tournaments with other leagues. The Texas Rollergirls were the 2006 National Champions[3] of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, and took third place at WFTDA Nationals in 2007[4], a tournament in Austin, Texas that was known as the Texas Shootout.
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[edit] Early History
The founding skaters of the Texas Rollergirls were originally affiliated with an Austin, Texas roller derby organization known as Bad Girl Good Woman Productions. In 2003, approximately 80% of the skaters left that organization to form Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby, while the remaining skaters recruited new members to found the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls[5]. The Texas Rollergirls continued to develop and play a flat track game that spread to other cities and became the basis of the game now fostered by WFTDA, while the Lonestar Rollergirls chose to develop their own version of a roller derby game played on a banked track. The reasons and events leading up to the departure of the founding members of Texas Rollergirls are documented in the 2007 film Hell on Wheels (2007 film)[6].
[edit] Texas Rollergirls Home Teams
The home teams of the Texas Rollergirls are the Hell Marys, the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, the Hotrod Honeys, and the Hustlers.
[edit] Rec 'n' Rollerderby
In 2007, Texas Rollergirls began supporting and training additional skaters who were interested in playing flat track derby more informally and recreationally[7]. Now, in addition to the main WFTDA league, the Texas Rollergirls Rec 'n' Rollerderby league consists of over 50 recreational skaters who compete with one another in informal flat track games in Austin, TX.
[edit] References
- ^ Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, by Melissa Joulwan[1]
- ^ Flat Track Derby rules from the WFTDA official website[2]
- ^ Dust Devil 2006 Official Results[3]
- ^ 2007 WFTDA Nationals Official Results[4]
- ^ (Same as (1) above)[5]
- ^ Website for Hell on Wheels (2007 film)[6]
- ^ Texas Rollergirls Press Release announcing Rec-n-Rollerderby[7]