The Great Southern Slam (TGSS) is the largest competitive roller derby event in the world, contested by teams from New Zealand and Australia. It is held biennially in Adelaide in South Australia. TGSS was created and continues to be both hosted and run by volunteers from Adelaide Roller Derby. Initially held in 2010, it was the first flat track roller derby tournament to be held in the southern hemisphere.Beck Wise, "Feature Preview: The Great Southern Slam ", Derby News Network, 8 June 2012
Format The first round of the tournament sees teams divided into groups, which play on a round robin basis. Each group includes one of the most experienced teams from Australia or New Zealand, a middle-ranking team, and one less experienced team. The group winners and other teams with the highest point difference qualify for the quarter-finals, and the tournament then continues on a knockout basis.Beck Wise, "Tournament Recap: The Great Southern Slam ", Derby News Network, 23 June 2010 The 2012 tournament introduced additional bouts between twelve other teams, and some themed bouts with mixed teams, but these were separate from the main competition.
2010 tournament The 2010 tournament included fifteen teams. Geelong and Ballarat formed a joint team, while Team Pot Luck included skaters from a number of otherwise unrepresented leagues. More than five hundred skaters were involved in the event.Kirsty Bennett, "Behind the news", ABC News, 22 June 2010
Round one Pool Result A Adelaide 165 42 Canberra A Canberra 137 63 Van Diemen A Adelaide 147 35 Van Diemen B Northern Brisbane 22 134 Victorian B Newcastle 45 155 Northern Brisbane B Newcastle 18 185 Victorian C Sun State 178 16 Wollongong C Townsville 91 81 Wollongong C Sun State 168 7 Townsville D Pirate City 145 30 Sydney D Sydney 166 31 Western Australia D Pirate City 197 25 Western Australia E Geelong-Ballarat 148 80 Perth E Perth 136 85 Pot Luck E Geelong-Ballarat 94 60 Pot Luck
Quarter finals Adelaide 152 102 Geelong-Ballarat Northern Brisbane 28 184 Sun State Sydney 19 234 Victorian Perth 51 207 Pirate CitySemi finals Adelaide 60 124 Sun State Pirate City 69 94 Victorian Third place play-off Adelaide 93 89 Pirate City Final Sun State 99 117 Victorian
2012 tournament The 2012 tournament was held from 9–11 June.Emily Altschwager, "Gloss put on a real sport", Eastern Courier, 8 April 2012 It expanded to eighteen teams, divided into six groups for the first round.
Round one Group Result A Auckland 66 202 Victorian A Auckland 107 89 Newcastle A Newcastle 51 233 Victorian B Geelong 62 131 Sun State B Geelong 96 110 South Sea B South Sea 13 193 Sun State C Adelaide 125 72 Brisbane City C Brisbane City 180 78 Western Australia C Adelaide 118 78 Western Australia D Northern Brisbane 126 42 Pirate City D Northern Brisbane 229 35 Wollongong D Pirate City 168 103 Wollongong E Canberra 124 98 Perth E Gold Coast 130 125 Perth E Canberra 199 75 Gold Coast F Ballarat 79 155 Sydney F Ballarat 84 98 Convict City F Convict City 31 177 Sydney
Quarter finals Canberra 53 310 Victorian Adelaide 173 139 Brisbane City Northern Brisbane 180 103 Pirate City Sydney 54 195 Sun State Semi finals Adelaide 75 361 Victorian Northern Brisbane 110 159 Sun State Third place play-off Adelaide 119 217 Northern Brisbane Final Sun State 115 198 Victorian 2014 Tournament The 2014 TGSS was held at the Adelaide Showgrounds on 7-9 June 2014. The tournament was expanded again to 45 teams from Australia and New Zealand, playing in two divisions. Division 1 Finals Bout Result Semi-final 1 Victorian 352 71 Sydney Semi-final 2 Sun State 176 100 Vice City 3rd place play-off Sydney 137 175 Vice City Grand Final Victorian 197 168 Sun State Division 2 Finals Bout Result Semi-final 1 Western Sydney 192 240 South Side Semi-final 2 Wollongong Illawarra 106 301 Reef City 3rd place play-off Western Sydney 185 162 Wollongong Illawarra Grand Final South Side 140 225 Reef City
2016 Tournament The 2016 TGSS was held from 11-13 June, with 45 teams again playing in two divisions.
Division 1PoolResult1Reef City 12 764 Victorian1Reef City204125Dragon City1 Victorian9212Dragon City2 Sun State40969 South Sea2 Sun State42259Coastal Assassins2 South Sea 286152Coastal Assassins3 Sydney267106 Geelong3 Geelong 151153Northside3 Sydney39140Northside4 Perth37841Varsity4Varsity187160 Northern Brisbane4 Perth35266 Northern Brisbane5 Canberra 45929 Ballarat5 Ballarat 90239 Convict City5 Canberra 52761 Convict City6 Adelaide 227127 Western Australia6 Western Australia334121Whakatane6 Adelaide 38280Whakatane7Brisbane City36767The Bay Rollers7The Bay Rollers159213Newcastle7Brisbane City26094Newcastle
Division 1 Finals Bout ResultQuarter-final 1Sun State36687Brisbane CityQuarter-final 2Perth84204CanberraQuarter-final 3Victorian70816Western AustraliaQuarter-final 4Sydney205103Adelaide Semi-final 1 Sun State 128 146 Sydney Semi-final 2 Victorian 471 18 Canberra 3rd place play-off Canberra 103 217 Sun State Grand Final Victorian 561 15 Sydney
Division 2 Finals Bout Result Semi-final 1 West Side 134 146 Devil State Semi-final 2 Diamond Valley 160 140 Inner West 3rd place play-off West Side 142 105 Inner West Grand Final Devil State 66 234 Diamond Valley
2018 Tournament The 2018 TGSS was held from 9-11 June, with 48 teams competing over three divisions. 2018 was the first year that a third division was added. +Finals ResultsDivisionTeamScoreTeamScore1Canberra Roller Derby185Victorian Roller Derby (B)1382Victoria Roller Derby League (C)205Brisbane City Rollers1383Westside Derby Dolls137South Sea Roller Derby113
2020 Tournament TGSS was planned to be held in 2020 from 6-8 June at the Adelaide Showgrounds but was cancelled due to COVID-19. 2022 Tournament In 2022 TGSS was held from 11-13 June at the Adelaide Showgrounds. 30 teams competed across three divisions. It was the first roller derby tournament to be held globally since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. +DivisionTeamScoreTeamScore1Victoria Roller Derby League (A)248Adelaide Roller Derby (A)662Convict City Rollers196WestSide Roller Derby1013Light City Derby251Nerdy Dragons50
2024 Tournament 2024's TGSS was held at the Adelaide Showground and included 45 teams from Australia and New Zealand playing across 65 games over three divisions. Three additional challenge bouts were also played.
For the first time ever TGSS doubled as the WFTDA Oceania Regional Championships, which meant that the first and second place winners of Division 1 will earned a place in the 2024 WFTDA World Championships to be held in Portland, Oregon. Victorian Roller Derby and Adelaide Roller Derby were the first and second placed teams for the WFTDA Oceania Regional Championships. DivisionTeamScoreTeamScore1Victoria Roller Derby League (A)302Adelaide Roller Derby (A)792Brisbane City Rollers166WestSide Roller Derby1423Kingston City Rollers171Dragon City Roller Derby100
References
External links Official website