Wisconsin United Roller Derby (WURD) is an all-gender flat-track roller derby league based in Madison, Wisconsin. The league was originally formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2009 as the first all-men's league in Wisconsin and previously used the names Milwaukee Schlitzkrieg, Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg, and Wisconsin Men's Roller Derby before rebranding as Wisconsin United Roller Derby in August 2019.
History In May 2009, a few Milwaukee skaters, the core of what would become the Milwaukee Schlitzkrieg, the first men's roller derby team in Wisconsin, traveled to Duluth, near the Minnesota border, for a mixer event with the Twin Cities Terrors.
Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg
In June 2010, copyright issues necessitated a name change, and the Blitzdkrieg was born. Thanks to the Paper Valley Roller Girls hosting a double-header event, the team was able to play its first full game, having performed only in expo games until that point. The Terrors once again travelled to play, taking another victory over the Blitzdkrieg in Appleton, Wisconsin.
The next two years were a long, slow, uphill battle. The team faced challenges in finding practice space, recruiting new members, training, and gaining exposure. But hard work and perseverance began to pay off, as new members came through the door and the city started to take notice. New strategies were tested, modified, and sometimes discarded, training plans developed, and the team traveled extensively throughout the Midwest, learning from mistakes and continually growing stronger.
December 2012 was a turning point, as the team’s application to the Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) was unanimously approved by the member leagues, officially making the Blitzdkrieg a nationally ranked team. By the end of 2013 they were ranked 29 in the MRDA 2013 End of Season Rankings.
In January 2014, for the first time, the Blitzdkrieg had built up the numbers to form two home teams, Half Barrel Heroes and Great Lakes Pirates. This gave the team the ability to more easily produce events, and allows more skating time for all players, furthering their development.
Wisconsin Men's Roller Derby
In 2016, the Blitzdkrieg were joined by a new group of skaters in Madison, WI known locally as Mad Men Roller Derby and decided to rebrand as Wisconsin Men's Roller Derby (WMRD). The league played as Wisconsin Men's Roller Derby for the 2017 and 2018 MRDA seasons. At the conclusion of the 2018 season, several key players decided to retire from roller derby and the league chose to go on hiatus from MRDA. The league remained active and played a series of non-sanctioned bouts in 2019 to focus on rebuilding and gaining experience.
Wisconsin United Roller Derby In the summer of 2019, the league decided to change its name to better recognize the contributions of women and non-binary members.
Media 2018 March 11, 2018: Mad Men were featured in an article in the Wisconsin State Journal. 2014 March 7, 2014: Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg were interviewed live by Chip Brewster of the Fox 6 morning show, Real Milwaukee.
March 18, 2014: Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg were featured in an article on OnMilwaukee.com
April 25, 2014: A bit of a history on the Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg in Express Milwaukee.com.
2011 January 4, 2011: Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg members were interviewed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Home teams
In 2014, for the first time, home teams were established - the Great Lakes Pirates and the Half Barrel Heroes. On March 29, 2014 the Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg held their first ever home team bout. The Great Lakes Pirates took the first win, with a score of 338-101 over the Half Barrel Heroes.
Date Great Lakes Pirates Half Barrel Heroes 2015 Feb 28 110 202 Apr 11 161 163 May 09 321 66 2014 Mar 29 338 101 Apr 27 258 202 May 17 288 157
Charter team +2016 Roster (as of Feb 17, 2016)Alter-Nate 8 Bombsquad 0x0 Brad the Impaler 100K D-Rek 50 Father Trucker 00 Havok 82 Hijack 82 Kingpin 65 Lemme Adam 6 Montezuma 4K Mr. Burns 235 Mr. Mojo 911 Nik Shenanigans 556 Rufhouse Wainwright 12 Shock N Austin 1101 Sir Racha 110F The Bloody Bearon B33R Vegabond 94
Interleague seasons
Date Opponent Tournament Sanction Blitzdkrieg/WMRD/WURD Opposing Team 2026 Jun 6 Quad City Rollers (B-team) n/a 150 147 2025 Sep 13 Midwest Maidens Roller Derby n/a 65 338 Aug 2 Barbed Wire Roller Derby n/a 213 134 Jul 20 Terminus Roller Derby Roller Derby Tournament n/a 193 307 Jul 20 Terminus Roller Derby Roller Derby Tournament MRDA 0 (forfeit) 100 Jul 19 Cleveland Guardians Roller Derby Tournament MRDA 29 345 Jul 19 Detroit Riot Roller Derby Tournament MRDA 55 311 Apr 19 Peoria Prowlers n/a 145 115 Mar 1 Brewcity Bruisers Battlestars n/a 108 233 2024 Nov 23 MRD Team Unicorn n/a 212 218 Aug 24 Midwest Magic n/a 264 108 Jun 29 Cedar Rapids RollerGirls n/a 216 130 May 18 Skunk River Riot (ARDA) n/a 114 187 Mar 16 MRD Team Unicorn n/a 228 325 2020 Feb 8 CFDD Muncie Missfits n/a 331 97 2019 Nov 9 Skunk River Riot (ARDA) n/a 189 164 Oct 12 Barbed Wire Betties n/a 136 193 Sep 28 Omaha Roller Derby n/a 148 205 Jun 22 Cedar Rapids RollerGirls n/a 265 92 Apr 7 Chicago Bruise Brothers B-Team Udder Chaos 2019 n/a 87 357 Mar 16 St. Louis B-Keepers n/a 13 358 Mar 16 Twin Cities Terrors n/a 19 483 2018 Jul 21 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 81 246 Jun 3 Lane County Concussion 2018 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 120 208 Jun 2 Chicago Bruise Brothers 2018 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 222 228 Jun 1 Houston Men's Roller Derby 2018 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 246 171 May 19 Twin City Terrors Udder Chaos 2018 MRDA 120 220 Feb 10 Brewcity Bruisers Battlestars n/a 311 149 2017 Jul 23 Dakota Men's Roller Derby Rolling Along The River MRDA 222 137 Jul 22 Chicago Bruise Brothers Rolling Along The River MRDA 226 113 May 20 Race City Rebels MRDA 39 350 May 20 Twin City Terrors MRDA 97 337 Apr 15 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 166 153 2016 Jun 25 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 125 192 Jun 5 Golden State Heat 2016 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 155 216 Jun 4 Twin City Terrors 2016 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 119 215 Jun 3 Dakota Men's Roller Derby 2016 Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 121 270 Mar 19 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 247 142 Jan 9 FCRD: Valley Vixens n/a 257 121 2015 Jun 28 Tulsa Derby Militia Midwest DerbyFest MRDA 128 262 Jun 28 Tampa Bay Men's Roller Derby Midwest DerbyFest MRDA 113 239 Jun 27 Harm City Roller Derby Midwest DerbyFest MRDA 292 92 Jun 26 St. Louis B-Keepers Midwest DerbyFest 129 262 Jun 20 Mad Rollin' Dolls 160 279 Jun 7 BisMan Bomberz Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 186 318 Jun 6 Cleveland Guardians Midwest BrewHaHa 393 94 Jun 5 Capital City Hooligans Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 136 244 May 23 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 141 243 Apr 28 Quad Squad 178 235 2014 Aug 30 Rock City Riot MRDA 85 270 Aug 30 BisMan Bomberz MRDA 88 178 Jul 19 Chicago Bruise Brothers MRDA 279 77 Jun 29 OCK Wolf Pack Midwest DerbyFest 137 163 Jun 29 Cowtown Butchers Midwest DerbyFest 110 68 Jun 29 Capital City Hooligans Midwest DerbyFest 103 45 Jun 27 Tulsa Derby Militia Midwest DerbyFest MRDA 188 214 Jun 01 Twin Cities Terrors Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 113 318 May 31 Dallas Deception Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 125 429 May 30 Chicago Bruise Brothers Midwest BrewHaHa MRDA 259 127 2013 Aug 24 Big O Roller Bros 88 253 Aug 24 Cincinnati Battering Rams 166 180 Jul 20 Green Bay Smackers Border Battle MRDA 170 117 Jul 20 Twin Cities Terror Border Battle MRDA 116 235 Jun 22 Green Bay Smackers MRDA 246 99 May 19 Carolina Wreckingballs 2013 Spring Roll MRDA 93 218 May 19 Your Mom Men's Derby 2013 Spring Roll MRDA 23 447 May 17 Harm City Roller Derby 2013 Spring Roll MRDA 67 327 Apr 14 Sioux City Korn Stalkers MRDA 229 242 Mar 23 Chicago Bruise Brothers 325 180 Feb 23 Cincinnati Battering Rams 255 310 2012 Sep 1 Sioux City Korn Stalkers Rolling Along the River 164 182 Sep 1 St Louis GateKeepers B-Keepers Rolling Along the River 61 284 Aug 11 Green Bay Smackers 92 174 Jun 23 Rock City Riot 60 222 Jun 16 Race City Rebels 29 311 2011 Dec 3 Twin City Terrors 164 138 Mar 20 Twin City Terrors 65 198 2010 Oct 23 Race City Rebels Rolling Along the River 23 155 Oct 23 Rock City Riot Rolling Along the River 21 125 Oct 23 Twin City Terrors Rolling Along the River 29 117 Jun 26 Twin City Terrors 22 127 Stats provided by Flat Track Stats
MRDA rankings Season Ranking Championship 2013 29 DNQ 2014 24 DNQ 2015 27 DNQ 2016 2017 35 DNQ2018 31 DNQ 2019 hiatus DNQ 2023 unranked N/A 2024 unranked DNQ
Notes
External links Wisconsin United Roller Derby Official Website Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg Official Website MRDA Website Flat Track Stats - Wisconsin United Roller Derby