So, after a long wait, the venue for the 2018 Roller Derby World Cup has been announced, as well as the host league: and it's Trafford in Greater Manchester, and Rainy City Roller Derby!

The World Cup will be held in the first week of February, 2018, with precise days to come very soon.

We're pretty sure this is a shock to a lot of people - we know most of the rumours that were flying around, of various degrees of actual truth, and we don't think the Manchester area figured in most of them.

At this point, we should also write a disclaimer: the author has been a member of the Roller Derby World Cup Committee, the group of 10 derby people from all areas of the sport who are responsible for organising the World Cup, for a few weeks at the time of writing. So, I do write here with a certain declared bias.

The decision for this Roller Derby World Cup location was perhaps a more complicated one than in previous years - this is the first World Cup where decisions of the RDWC are performed in collaboration with, and with the advice of, the Roller Derby Nations Committee. The RDNC didn't exist until after the 2014 World Cup in Dallas, and its role in representing the collective will of the Nations involved in international events is one which has really grown rapidly over 2016, as the Committee has developed and organised itself.

Balancing the advice of the RDNC with the needs of a tournament which might need to host even more Nations than in 2014, the best choice was the EventCity hosting location in Trafford. Quite apart from the obvious experience of Rainy City themselves in venue management, from their many years of running The Thunderdome, their own leased bouting and training venue, the sheer size of the place will allow us to hopefully run 4 simultaneous tracks, making scheduling and accommodating such a large event feasible.

We are also hopeful that the location, not far from Manchester International Airport, and near to the City of Manchester, one of the most international cities in the UK, will make it easier for newer National Teams to participate in the event.

We'll have more from you on the World Cup as things develop.