WFTDA logo |
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| Sport | Roller Derby |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Country(ies) | United States Canada United Kingdom Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Gotham Girls Roller Derby (New York City) |
| Most titles | Gotham with two |
| Official website | WFTDA.com |
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition (ULC)[1] but was renamed in November 2005.[1][2] It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina [3] as a 501(c)(6) business league organization, which is a type of non-profit organization. According to its mission statement, the organization "promotes and fosters the sport of women's flat track roller derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportsmanship, and goodwill among member leagues" and its governing philosophy is "by the skaters, for the skaters" — the primary owners, managers, and operators of each member league and of the association are women skaters, although this does not preclude any particular business structure (leagues don't have to be legally incorporated or internally egalitarian). The mission statement also says WFTDA sets "standards for rules, seasons, and safety, and determining guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues" and says "all member leagues have a voice in the decision-making process, and agree to comply with WFTDA policies."[4]
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In its first year, the ULC was an informal electronic message board through which established leagues compared notes in order to prepare for interleague play, and it was also used to exchange information to help new leagues that were just getting started.
The ULC evolved into a more formal organization in July 2005, when representatives of 20 leagues met in Chicago to discuss establishing a governing body for women's flat-track roller derby. At the meeting, a voting system was established, as was a set of goals and a timeline was established for facilitating interleague play. Among these goals was the production of a standard track design and standard game rules. The design and rules which were settled upon and distributed later that year.
In November 2005, the ULC voted to change its name to the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.[4]
In early 2006, a track design and rules were published on the organization's fledgling web site. By that time, the organization had grown to 30 leagues, a cap decided upon at the July 2005 meeting.[1][5]
Induction of new member leagues was postponed until revised membership requirements could be discussed at the next face-to-face meeting, scheduled for the end of May. However, in February 2006, soon after the initial requirements were published and following the fragmentation of several leagues, a "multi-league per city" clause was added to the membership requirements. Although throughout early and mid-2006 the clause was listed as a requirement for membership, WFTDA's web site was later updated to state that the policy is "unofficial". WFTDA also claims the policy is intended to uphold goodwill between members — by excluding leagues not likely to find favor with established members — as well as to prevent rival leagues in the same city from being privy to each other's "proprietary information."[6]
Following the May 2006 meeting, a press release was issued to promote the organization and publicize the meeting.[5] The June statement covered the following points:
In addition, Eastern and Western divisions, delineated by the Mississippi River, were announced. Thus, each member league is either Eastern or Western, and Division 1, 2 or 3.
In September 2006, new membership was reopened.[4]
By late August 2007, WFTDA membership was up to forty-three leagues.[8][9] On August 15, 2007, WFTDA announced it had struck a deal with the MavTV network to record, edit and broadcast the 2007 Eastern Regional Tournament as a weekly series of 12 one-hour episodes (one episode per bout).[10]
In mid-2007, WFTDA's Web site was updated to reflect changes in the requirements for placement in the three divisions: it is now based on seniority, as measured by readiness for inter-league play and the number of seasons completed while a WFTDA member (see table below).[11]
In September 2007, WFTDA was admitted to USA Roller Sports (USARS) as a Class V member — a national amateur roller skating organization — and a WFTDA delegate joined the USARS Board of Directors.[12]
In February 2008, WFTDA announced that leagues from Canada would be eligible for membership.[13]
In June 2008, the WFTDA Rules Committee created a Question and Answer forum to "provide definitive and final answers about the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Standard Rules.
In July 2008, WFTDA began a referee certification program.[14]
In September 2008, WFTDA had grown to 60 leagues, and the official WFTDA magazine fiveonfive began publication.
In November 2008, a flyer was published announcing that for 2009, WFTDA member leagues would be divided into four regions, rather than two: West, South Central, North Central, and East.[15] Each region has a tournament scheduled, followed by a national championship:
In January 2009, Montreal Roller Derby became the first Canadian league admitted as a member. The league was WFTDA's 66th member, and was placed in the East region.[16][17]
Also in January, the WFTDA announced it would stop accepting applications for new membership from February until July, so that it could concentrate on internal restructuring in order to, among other things, "grow the scope" of the organization.[18]
In April 2009 the WFTDA published revised rules, WFTDA Rules 4.0. The revised rule-set became effective for all WFTDA sanctioned bouts on June 1, 2009.[19]
In May 2009, the first officially sanctioned international WFTDA bout was played between Montreal Roller Derby and Harrisburg Area Roller Derby at the Olympic Skating Center in Enola, PA.
In July 2009, the WFTDA announced its new apprentice program for aspiring member leagues that replaced its traditional membership application process. The program is designed to act as a "WFTDA 101" tutorial, and will match new leagues with an established WFTDA mentor, who will guide the apprentice through the processes and requirements necessary to becoming a full member. Upon completion of the program, apprentice leagues will have the knowledge (and the recommendations) needed to apply for full WFTDA membership.
In November 2009 the WFTDA opened for worldwide membership and the London Rollergirls became the first league outside North America to join as apprentice members.[20]
In June 2010, the WFTDA announced the first round of Apprentice league graduates, and formed two new regions outside of the United States. (Leagues in those regions will compete in the closest US region until they develop more fully.)[21]
Each WFTDA region holds a tournament in September or October: the Eastern, North Central, South Central and Western Regional Tournaments. The top three leagues in each tournament qualify for the WFTDA Championships, held in November. The winner of the Championships is awarded the Hydra Trophy. Together, the four qualifying tournaments and Championships are termed the "Big 5".[22]
| Division | Definition to mid-2006 | Definition to mid-2007 | Current definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finished one season (season minimum: five games, including exhibition games), and "is ready to travel by being in compliance with interleague standards of play". | Finished three seasons including inter-league play. | Finished two seasons as a WFTDA member and is engaged in inter-league play. |
| 2 | Actively bouting and has completed at least one public game, including one or more exhibition games. | Finished at least one season "including inter-league play" | Finished one season as a WFTDA member and is engaged in or ready for inter-league play. |
| 3 | Still forming / has not completed any public games (including exhibition games), but is in compliance with WFTDA membership standards. | In training / has not completed one season. | Has not yet completed one season as a WFTDA member. |
As of December 1, 2011, 130 leagues are WFTDA members:[16]
As of December 2011, 71 leagues are enrolled in WFTDA's Apprentice Program[24] :
Many roller derby leagues that are not WFTDA members use the WFTDA rules.
| Rank | Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | North Central | South Central | West | |
| 1 | Gotham Girls Roller Derby | Windy City Rollers | Texas Rollergirls | Oly Rollers |
| 2 | Philly Rollergirls | Minnesota RollerGirls | Kansas City Roller Warriors | Rocky Mountain Rollergirls |
| 3 | Charm City Roller Girls | Naptown Roller Girls | Nashville Rollergirls | Rose City Rollers |
| 4 | Steel City Derby Demons | Detroit Derby Girls | Atlanta Rollergirls | Rat City Rollergirls |
| 5 | London Rollergirls | The Chicago Outfit | Houston Rollergirls | Denver Roller Dolls |
| 6 | Montreal Roller Derby | Arch Rival Rollergirls | No Coast Derby Girls | B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls |
| 7 | Boston Derby Dames | Brewcity Bruisers | Green Country Roller Girls | Sacred City Derby Girls |
| 8 | Carolina Rollergirls | Cincinnati Roller Girls | Tampa Bay Derby Darlins | Jet City Rollergirls |
| 9 | Dutchland Derby Rollers | Ohio Roller Girls | Gold Coast Derby Grrls | Angel City Derby Girls |
| 10 | Maine Roller Derby | Mad Rollin' Dolls | Omaha Rollergirls | Tucson Roller Derby |
| 11 | DC Rollergirls | Grand Raggidy Roller Girls | Hard Knox Rollergirls | Slaughter County Roller Vixens |
| 12 | Suburbia Roller Derby | North Star Roller Girls | Jacksonville Rollergirls | Emerald City Roller Girls |
| 13 | Providence Roller Derby | Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls | Duke City Derby | Silicon Valley Roller Girls |
| 14 | Queen City Roller Girls | Fort Wayne Derby Girls | Dallas Derby Devils | Arizona Roller Derby |
| 15 | Dominion Derby Girls | Burning River Roller Girls | Tallahassee Rollergirls | Santa Cruz Derby Girls |
| 16 | CT RollerGirls | Tri-City Roller Girls | Memphis Roller Derby | Bellingham Roller Betties |
| 17 | Harrisburg Area Roller Derby | Sioux Falls Roller Dollz | Oklahoma Victory Dolls | Wasatch Roller Derby |
| 18 | River City Rollergirls | Paper Valley Roller Girls | Big Easy Rollergirls | Pikes Peak Derby Dames |
| 19 | Central NY Roller Derby | Killamazoo Derby Darlins | Assassination City Roller Derby | Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls |
| 20 | Long Island Roller Rebels | Derby City Rollergirls | Northwest Arkansas Roller Derby | Central Coast Roller Derby |
| 21 | Green Mountain Derby Dames | Demolition City Roller Derby | Dixie Derby Girls | Dockyard Derby Dames |
| 22 | Lehigh Valley Rollergirls | NEO Roller Derby | Alamo City Rollergirls | Lava City Roller Dolls |
| 23 | New Hampshire Roller Derby | Fox Cityz Foxz | ICT Roller Girls | Pacific Roller Derby |
| 24 | Hudson Valley Horrors Roller Derby | Hammer City Roller Girls | West Texas Roller Dollz | Choice City Rebels |
| 25 | Garden State Rollergirls | Rollergirls of Southern Indiana | Springfield RollerGirls | Pueblo Derby Devil Dollz |
| 26 | Rockford Rage Women's Roller Derby | Spindletop Roller Girls | FoCo Girls Gone Derby | |
| 27 | Oklahoma City Roller Derby | Slaughterhouse Derby Girls | ||
| 28 | Junction City Roller Dolls | |||
Member teams unranked at this time:
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