WFTDA

The latest team rankings from the WFTDA Rankings Calculator were released today. This release incorporates the results of WFTDA-sanctioned games played through April 30, 2013, and reflects some shifts in team as the women's flat track roller derby season heats up.

The Rankings Calculator uses an algorithm to rank teams based on game scores. The rankings are confirmed by WFTDA Member League vote prior to public release.

The next rankings release will occur in mid-July and will include games played through June 30. Those rankings will be used to determine seeding for the Division I and II Playoffs. Learn more about WFTDA Divisions.

See: Current Rankings

WFTDA has begun accepting applications from skating and non-skating officials wishing to work this year's Playoff and Championship tournaments.

Application Timeline

THR and THNSO: Opens 5/7/13 - Closes 5/22/13

All Other Officials: Opens 5/10/13 - Closes 5/28/13

Applications

• Tournament Head Ref

• Tournament Head NSO

• Skating Official

• Non-Skating Official

See: Tournament Official Eligibility Guidelines

WFTDA.tv is excited to announce its 2013 season broadcasts, as well as the formal launch of its Livestream.com-based initiative, “WFTDA.tv Presents.”

WFTDA.tv Presents allows member leagues to produce and distribute their own content under the WFTDA banner, and receive promotional and technical support from the organization. These events are produced by WFTDA leagues, and distributed and promoted via WFTDA.tv’s Livestream platform free of charge (visit the WFTDA’s Livestream channel).

WFTDA.tv Presents Broadcasts (via Livestream.com):

• May 11 – Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners (Austin, TX) vs. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls’ 5280 Fight Club (Denver, CO)
• June 5 – Rose City Rollers' Wheels of Justice (Portland, OR) vs. London Rollergirls' London Brawling (London, UK)

WFTDA.tv 2013 Season Broadcasts:

• June 28-30: East Coast Derby Extravaganza, hosted by Philly Roller Girls, Feasterville, Pennsylvania.
• Aug. 16-18: Division 2 Playoffs, hosted by the Des Moines Derby Dames, Des Moines, Iowa.
• Aug. 23-25: Division 2 Playoffs, hosted by the Killamazoo Derby Darlins, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• Sept. 6-8: Division 1 Playoffs, hosted by the Fort Wayne Derby Girls, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• Sept. 13-15: Division 1 Playoffs, hosted by the River City Rollergirls, Richmond, Virginia.
• Sept. 20-22: Division 1 Playoffs, hosted by the Blue Ridge Roller Girls, Asheville, North Carolina.
• Sept. 27-29: Division 1 Playoffs, hosted by the Cherry City Derby Girls, Salem, Oregon.
• Nov. 8-10: 2013 WFTDA Championships, hosted by the Brewcity Bruisers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Live viewing of the 2013 East Coast Derby Extravaganza will feature more than 23 Division 1 and Division 2 sanctioned bouts for viewing, free of charge to viewers.

Also new this year, WFTDA.tv will be there to cover all the action of the first ever Division 2 Playoffs. With the exciting addition of these tournaments, the WFTDA is looking to expand its season of coverage to help present more thrilling, competitive events via broadcast. WFTDA.tv will offer D2 viewers the option to help financially support these broadcasts through member-supported donations of any level, with coupons and discount codes to thank generous supporters.

Live coverage of the 2013 Division 1 Playoffs and Championships will again be available via pay-per-view. The pay-per-view costs will remain $12 per tournament weekend. WFTDA.tv will again offer a free audio boutcast for all pay-per-view bouts and free on-demand archives following the events. All-inclusive 2013 Playoffs viewing packages will be available for $50, and Championships will be $20 for the weekend.

Proceeds from WFTDA.tv will continue to be reinvested into the organization's programming and will help support initiatives that strengthen the WFTDA’s common goals, always with the promotion and development of the sport in mind.

Read Full Press Release

The WFTDA has extended Apprentice membership to 16 additional leagues worldwide.

The WFTDA Apprentice Program is designed to serve as a steppingstone to full WFTDA membership, to ensure that leagues are well prepared for the transition to a WFTDA Member League. This group of leagues continues the association's international growth, with new Apprentice members hailing from South America, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada.

Congratulations to all of the new Apprentice leagues!

• 2x4 Roller Derby of Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Acadiana Rollergirls of Lafayette, Louisiana
• Canberra Roller Derby League of Dickson, ACT, Australia
• Chemical Valley Rollergirls of Charleston, West Virginia
• Enchanted Island Roller Derby of San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Fog City Rollers of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
• Gothenburg Roller Derby of Gothenburg, Sweden
• Juneau Rollergirls of Juneau, Alaska
• Middlesbrough Milk Rollers of Middlesbrough, UK
• Muddy River Rollers of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
• New Jersey Roller Derby of Morristown, New Jersey
• Ruhrpott Roller Girls of Essen, Germany
• Shasta Roller Derby of Redding, California
• Snake Pit Derby Dames of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
• Sydney Roller Derby League of Sydney, Australia
• Worcester Roller Derby of Worcester, Massachusetts

The WFTDA Training Committee has developed a new set of Minimum Skills Requirements in tandem with WFTDA member leagues and WFTDA Risk Management. This new set of standards was beta tested and voted in by WFTDA membership.

WFTDA member leagues are required to assess all charter team skaters, who must pass both this set of skills as well as the WFTDA Skater Rules Test in order to compete in WFTDA-sanctioned games. Team captains will certify that all testing was complete when submitting team charters and game sanctioning applications.

These minimum skills are:

• Required for charter team skaters playing WFTDA sanctioned games.
• Strongly recommended for skaters playing in interleague scrimmage or games.
• Strongly recommended for skaters playing in intraleague (home) scrimmages or games.
• Recommended for new skaters to graduate to contact drills and intraleague (home league) scrimmages.

All currently passed skaters should be re-tested and skaters will be expected to meet the new skills requirements, including the rules test, for any sanctioned WFTDA game played after June 15, 2013.

Download

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The first set of rankings from the WFTDA Rankings Calculator were released today, marking a major shift in the rankings process. This is the first time since the early days of the WFTDA, before the four geographic game play regions were created, that member leagues have been ranked on an organization-wide basis.

The Rankings Calculator uses an algorithm to rank teams based on game scores. The rankings, including sanctioned games played through Feb. 28, were confirmed by WFTDA member league vote.

The new WFTDA-wide rankings process supports the Divisions system that also went into effect this year.

View Current Rankings

In addition to the Division 1 Playoffs for teams ranked 1-40, 2013 will see the first ever WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs for teams that are ranked 41-60 at the June 30 rankings release.

As in years past, each Division 1 Playoff will supply three teams to compete for the coveted Hydra trophy in a 12-team Championship bracket.

The 20 teams, ranked 41-60, will be seeded into two Division 2 Playoffs. The Division 2 Playoff brackets will be the same as the Division 1 playoff brackets with seedings based solely on ranking. Division 2 winners will have a special opportunity to compete at Championships weekend with the addition of two Division 2 games. The top finisher from each Division 2 Playoff will meet head-to-head in a Final to determine a Division 2 Champion while the second place teams will meet in a Third Place game.

The Division 2 Playoff locations are:

• Aug. 16-18, 2013 - Des Moines, Iowa. Hosted by the Des Moines Derby Dames.

• Aug. 23-25, 2013 - Kalamazoo, Michigan. Hosted by the Killamazoo Derby Darlins.

The 2013 WFTDA Championships will be Nov. 8-10, 2013 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hosted by the Brewcity Bruisers.

WFTDA Games Committee will send out invitations to both Division 1 and Division 2 tournaments following the June 30 rankings release.

For more information on the Division 1 and Division 2 tournament structure, check out the Competitive Divisions System.

For more information on the new rankings system, check out the Rankings Calculator.

Five additional leagues have now achieved the status of full WFTDA membership. The leagues graduating today are the latest to complete the WFTDA Apprentice Program and can now enjoy the benefits of full WFTDA membership, including the ability to compete in sanctioned games and eligibility for rankings.

Congratulations to:

• Cajun Rollergirls of Houma, Louisiana
• Hub City Derby Dames of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Leeds Roller Dolls of Leeds, United Kingdom
• Soul City Sirens of Augusta, Georgia
• Stuttgart Valley Roller Girlz of Stuttgart, Germany

The WFTDA now has 177 full member leagues and 88 Apprentice affiliates.

The WFTDA is pleased to inform the roller derby community that the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is conducting an injury study focused on the sport of roller derby.

The primary objective of the study is to identify and characterize injuries sustained by roller derby athletes, and identify the anatomic sites at most risk. The objective also includes assessment of derby athletes’ access to orthopedic and sports medicine physicians, as well as athletic trainers and emergency medical personnel. The results of this survey will help increase awareness of roller derby related injuries in the medical community and guide further investigation of training, injury prevention/rehabilitation, safety gear, and return-to-play in this subset of competitive female athletes.

The WFTDA Risk Management Committee is supportive of this initiative and would like to encourage skaters to participate in the survey and assist with this effort to develop a better understanding of the unique injuries encountered in our sport. Please remember that your information, if you participate, will remain confidential. Information about the study and instructions on how to participate can be found at the following link:

• Roller Derby Injury Survey

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is seeking proposals from qualified firms or individuals to assist with the creation and development of an interactive bracket game for WFTDA's 2013 Playoff and Championship tournaments.

WFTDA is requesting proposals to build the 2013 Bracket Bonanza, a bracket “pick ‘em” game similar in content and playability to the bracket games used during the NCAA March Madness. After having successfully run the Bracket Bonanza in 2011 and 2012 through a third party site, WFTDA is looking to expand upon this foundation, and develop the overall audience participation and fan experience.

The organization’s interest in this project centers on ensuring a quality, fun gaming experience for fans, which contributes to a long-term, sustainable promotional exposure for the WFTDA, its teams, and its skaters. Proposals will be collected through March 7, 2013, and follow-up interviews will be conducted through March 15. The selected vendor will be notified by March 22. The desired project completion date is June 1, but the final schedule and milestones will be determined in collaboration with the selected vendor.

Download the RFP

[cms:file-download url:"/rfp/wftda-bracket-bonanza-rfp.pdf"]

In 2011, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association released a rules app for iPhone and iPad that contains the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby, the Officiating Manual, and other related content.

Building on the positive response to that release, and in order to expand access to updates related to the 2013 rules changes, the WFTDA seeks a development partner to build an Android version of our rules app. To that end, the WFTDA announces a Request for Proposals, and encourages all qualified developers to respond to the attached RFP no later than March 1, 2013.

Download the RFP

[cms:file-download url:"/rfp/wftda-rules-android-app-rfp.pdf"]