Keep On Rolling

Roller derby is a sport that has been around longer than most people realize. What initially started as a six-day endurance race in Madison Square Garden transformed into “walkathons.” Then, it shifted into exaggerated theatrics on wheels and finally into the legitimate sport that it is today. With a structured ruleset, the WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) was formed and renewed the interest in roller derby as well as brought in new fans. 

Most teams are placed in regions based on their location, and each region has their own ranks. These regions are Europe, Latin America, North America Northeast, North America South, North America West, and Oceania. Each region holds their own regional playoffs, which determine who gets to be in WFTDA’s International Championships, and the winning team receives the coveted Hydra trophy. Locally, there are plenty of teams that partake in ranked matches or sanctioned games as described by WFTDA, but none of the local teams are ranked high enough to be considered for the North America Northeast playoffs. This doesn’t make the games any less interesting. One such game was the recent 301 Derby Dames vs Wilkes-Barre Scranton Roller Radicals game that happened on April 20th at the Charles County Fairgrounds. This game was a constant back-and-forth battle for points and even came down to the last jam, with the Roller Radicals taking the win by 6 points. Since most games usually have a larger point spread (typically ranging from a difference of 25 points to 40 points), a ranked game being this close in score was a sight to behold.