The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). They originated in 2007 as the Inaugural National WFTDA Championship "Texas Shootout" held in Austin, Texas. Previously the "Dust Devil" tournament in 2006 featured teams from across the US, was held in front of several thousand fans in Tucson, Arizona."Hot on the Track", Buffalo News, 5 August 2006 This was the first multi-league flat track roller derby tournament.Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee, Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby
In 2019, the Championships were hosted outside the United States for the first time, in Montreal, Canada. 2026 will mark the first Championships held outside of North America, taking place in Europe.
Format
In 2007, Western and Eastern Region Tournaments were held in order to determine qualifiers for the "Texas Shootout" National Championship, held in Austin, Texas."Steel City Derby Demons put their bodies on the line for the thrill of the game", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 18 January 2007Molly Yanity, "Roller derby enjoys rollicking resurgence", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 16 August 2007 By 2010, with leagues in Canada and the United Kingdom also enjoying membership of the WFTDA, "National" was dropped from the title of the contest.
Through the 2012 WFTDA season, the WFTDA was divided into regions based on geography. Each region held a tournament contested by its top ten leagues: the Eastern (2007–2012), North Central (2009–2012), South Central (2009–2012) and Western (2007–2012) Regional Tournaments. The top three leagues from each of these four tournaments qualified for the Championships. Together, the qualifying tournaments and Championships were termed the "Big 5"."WFTDA 2011 Big 5 Tournament Schedule Announced ", WFTDA, 9 November 2010
From 2013 through 2016, full WFTDA members were eligible for ranking in one of the association's three divisions. Division 1 comprised the top 40-ranked teams in the WFTDA, and the top 40 teams that met eligibility requirements based on the June 30 rankings of that year were invited to Division 1 Playoffs, and were divided into four playoff tournaments (10 per tournament) using an S-curve for seeding. Participants in Division 1 Playoffs were not required to be current members of Division 1, as long as they meet ranking and other requirements. The teams that finished first through third at each Division 1 Tournament then moved on to the WFTDA Championship tournament. Division 2 comprised the teams ranked 41 through 100, and the next 20 teams overall that meet requirements after the 40 confirmed Division 1 playoff participants were then invited to Division 2 Playoffs, divided into two playoff tournaments. The top 2 teams of each Division 2 Tournament then played each other at the WFTDA Championship Tournament, with the winner crowned the Division 2 champion. Through 2014, Division 3 comprised all ranked teams from 101 on, and there are no Division 3 Playoffs.
Starting with the 2017 season, the top 36 teams compete in three Division 1 Playoff Tournaments, and the top four finishers from each tournament go on to the WFTDA Championship Tournament. The next 16 eligible teams compete in a single Division 2 Playoff Tournament, with the winner crowned the Division 2 champion.
Since 2008, the winner of the Championships has been awarded the Hydra Trophy."The Hydra ", WFTDA
Broadcast The tournament is broadcast on the WFTDA online service WFTDA.tv on a pay-per-view basis. In 2015 the WFTDA entered into a partnership with ESPN whereby the Sunday games of the tournament – the Division 1 and Division 2 championship and 3rd place games – were carried on ESPN3. For 2017 the format was changed, with the Division 2 Championship occurring earlier in the year, and the Division 1 championship game scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2, marking the first time contemporary women's flat track roller derby was aired live on American network television.
Championships YearDateNameLocationChampionSecondThirdMVP200624–26 FebruaryDust Devil*Tucson, ArizonaTexas RollergirlsTucson Roller DerbyArizona Roller DerbyEight Track (Texas)"2007 WFTDA Championship Official Event Program", pp.29–30200728–30 SeptemberTexas ShootoutAustin, TexasKansas City Roller WarriorsRat City RollergirlsTexas RollergirlsXcelerator (Kansas City)Miss Fortune (Rat City)Gnosis, "Live from the 2007 WFTDA National Championships", Derby News Network, 8 October 2007200814–16 NovemberNorthwest KnockdownPortland, OregonGotham Girls Roller DerbyWindy City RollersPhilly RollergirlsBonnie Thunders (Gotham)"August 2010 Featured Skater: Bonnie Thunders", WFTDA, 1 August 2010200913–15 NovemberDeclaration of DerbyPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaOly RollersTexas RollergirlsDenver Roller DollsHeffer (Oly)Rice Rocket (Texas)Fonda Payne (Denver)Whipity Pow (Rocky Mountain)"WFTDA Announces 2009 Championship MVPs", WFTDA, 19 December 200920105–7 NovemberUproar on the LakeshoreChicago, IllinoisRocky Mountain RollergirlsOly RollersGotham Girls Roller DerbySassy (Oly)"December 2010 Featured Skater: Sassy", WFTDA, 2 December 2010201111–13 NovemberContinental Divide and ConquerBroomfield, ColoradoGotham Girls Roller DerbyOly Rollers Texas RollergirlsKelley Young (Kansas City)Shelly Shankya, "Gotham Wins 2011 Championships!", WFTDA, 13 November 201120122–4 NovemberGrits and GloryAtlanta, GeorgiaGotham Girls Roller DerbyOly RollersDenver Roller DollsSandrine Rangeon (Denver)Shaina Serelson (Denver)"2012 Championships MVPs", WFTDA20138–10 NovemberWFTDA Championships"http://wftda.com/tournaments/2013/championships ", WFTDA, 1 October 2013Milwaukee, WisconsinGotham Girls Roller DerbyTexas RollergirlsB.ay A.rea D.erby GirlsBloody Mary (Texas)"", Derby News Network 10 November 2013201431 October – 2 NovemberWFTDA Championships"http://wftda.com/news/wftda-announces-2014-tournament-dates-and-locations", WFTDA, 1 December 2013Nashville, TennesseeGotham Girls Roller DerbyRose City RollersB.ay A.rea D.erby GirlsLoren Mutch (Rose)20156–8 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsSt Paul, MinnesotaRose City RollersGotham Girls Roller DerbyVictorian Roller Derby LeagueScald Eagle (Rose)20164–6 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsPortland, OregonRose City RollersGotham Girls Roller DerbyVictorian Roller Derby LeagueBrawn Swanson (Rose)20173–5 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaVictorian Roller Derby LeagueRose City RollersGotham Girls Roller DerbyLady Trample (Victoria)20189–11 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsNew Orleans, LouisianaRose City RollersVictorian Roller Derby LeagueGotham Girls Roller DerbyGal of Fray (Rose)201915–17 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsMontreal, QuébecRose City RollersGotham Girls Roller DerbyVictorian Roller Derby LeagueBonita Apple Bomb (Gotham)2020 2020 postseason canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic20241–3 NovemberWFTDA ChampionshipsPortland, OregonRose City RollersArch Rival Roller DerbyDenver Roller DerbyPavey Wavey (Victoria)202615-18 OctoberWFTDA ChampionshipsMalmö, SwedenTBDTDBTBDTBD
TeamChamp2nd Place3rd placeGotham Roller Derby 5 3 3Rose City Rollers 5 2 0Oly Rollers 1 3 0Texas Rollergirls 1* 2 2Victorian Roller Derby League 1 1 3Kansas City Roller Warriors 1 0 0Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 1 0 0Arch Rival Roller Derby010Tucson Roller Derby 0 1 0Rat City Roller Derby 0 1 0Windy City Rollers 0 1 0Denver Roller Derby 0 0 3Bay Area Derby 0 0 2Philly Roller Derby 0 0 1Arizona Roller Derby 0 0 1
2006 Dust Devil
In Tucson, Arizona, over the weekend of February 24–26, 2006, Tucson Roller Derby hosted 20 WFTDA leagues from around the United States in a tournament.Catherine Mabe, Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels, p.80
Round-robin bouts were instituted to determine seeding for a single-elimination tournament. Four pools were created, titled Scorpion, Tarantula, Black Widow and Rattlesnake, with each pool consisting of 5 teams. On Friday, February 24, 2006, each team played four ten-minute bouts in each pool. Point differential was used to determine the ranking and placement of each team within its pool. With this information in hand, tournament officials selected the top three teams of each pool and seeded them according to the point differential of each team for the single-elimination tournament.
The single-elimination tournament started on Saturday, February 25, 2006 with 12 of the previous day's 20 teams. Scheduling of the bouts allowed for the top four seeded teams to receive a bye in the first round of play. Teams seeded 5 through 12 played in the first round. The winners of the first round of the single elimination tournament played the top four seeds in the second round. Bout winners advanced to the semi-finals and bout losers were eliminated.
On Sunday February 26, 2006, four teams (Texas Rollergirls Texecutioners, Tucson Roller Derby Saddle Tramps, Minnesota Rollergirls All-Stars and Arizona Roller Derby Tent City Terrors) played in the semi-final bouts. In the first bout, the Texecutioners defeated the Tent City Terrors in a full three-period bout, 114 to 81, sending the Texas to the championship bout and Arizona to the 3rd-place bout. A second full three-period semi-final bout was played between Tucson and the Minnesota Rollergirls. Tucson defeated Minnesota 136–75. This pitted the Tent City Terrors against Minnesota for the 3rd-place bout, and set the WFTDA National Championship Bout to be between Texas and Tucson. The 3rd-place bout was played out with the Tent City Terrors upsetting 3rd-seeded Minnesota 115–88. The Championship bout was finalized later in the evening, with the Texecutioners defeating the Saddle Tramps 129–96.
The tournament also saw the first collaboration between roller derby announcers. Following the event, announcer Bob Noxious founded "Voices of Reason", an announcers' association.
2007 Texas Shootout On September 30, 2007, the Kansas City Roller Warriors beat the Rat City Rollergirls 89–85 in the final match of the Texas Shootout to become the first WFTDA National Champions. The Texas Rollergirls placed third. Eight teams competed in the tournament, four from the eastern regional division and four from the western regional division. These teams included Carolina Rollergirls (fourth place), Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Tucson Roller Derby, Detroit Derby Girls, and Windy City Rollers.
Several marketing materials as well as a statement from WFTDA President "Crackerjack" on page 5 of the program for this event confirms that at the time it was considered the "first WFTDA Championship Tournament."
2008 Northwest Knockdown On November 16, 2008, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby (GGRD All-Stars) beat the Windy City Rollers 134–66 in the championship bout. The Philly Rollergirls (Liberty Belles) beat the Texas Rollergirls (Texecutioners) 114–95 in the consolation bout to take third place.
2009 Declaration of Derby Declaration of Derby, the 2009 WFTDA Championship tournament took place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA from November 13th through the 15th. The Denver Roller Dolls pioneered the "slow derby" style of play, utilizing slow and stopped packs and backwards skating, which proved effective against most opposition but was unpopular with crowds. They were finally defeated 178–91 in the semi-finals by the Oly Rollers who were regarded as a largely unknown force, though they had gone undefeated through the whole season.