Weekend Highlights: 01 June 2019
There are far too many valuable fixtures to cover all of them (especially in France and the UK, which tend to have multiple tournaments, bootcamps etc all on one weekend), but we also don't want to be so strict as to have just 1 per country. So, we'll be doing the following:
Two highlights a weekend - Sat + (All Weekend); and then a smaller one for Sunday.
Both highlights limited to 1 event per country, with an "extra" event allowed for a different kind of fixture (so, 1 tournament and 1 bootcamp), or if they involve Scottish leagues (since we are the Scottish Roller Derby Blog). Other notability might also allow the extra event - great posters, notable teams, etc. (League birthdays may count as "special" enough, at our discretion ;) )
This weekend is particularly rich in short-format events, with Sur5al, Roller Derby Sevens, and Short Track Roller Derby all happening around the world! There's also a world premiere of the new Street Roller Derby ruleset (in Germany), which is another attempt at producing a simpler, easier-to-officiate version of the game.
In the UK, the Scottish Clause means we're covering 3 different events, as our leagues are all off down south to play derby this weekend!
In a bid to make this list as useful as possible, we've avoided links to Facebook except where noted. (Links to Teams are to non-Facebook resources - Instagram, or actual team pages - we'd strongly recommend that Teams get themselves an actual webpage [we can help host one if you need help]).
Locations are roughly organised East-West (with things before the weekend out sequence at the start).
Sat: Levin, New Zealand
Whenua Fatales Roller Derby League host their annual (Open To All genders) Sur5al tournament, allowing them to run a full 16 team round-robin tournament in 1 day.
Flat Track Stats does not record Sur5al results (and the teams are all mashup) so this is not in FTS
Event starts: 1100 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Horowhenua Events Centre, 31 Victoria Street, Levin, New Zealand
Sat: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Maitland Roller Derby celebrate their 5th Birthday with a bout against The Northern Beaches, entertainment from Irrawang High School Drum Corp, birthday cake and a licensed bar!
- Maitland Roller Derby versus The Northern Beaches (Curl Curl + environs, NSW)
Event starts: 1800 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Maitland Federation Basketball Stadium, Maitland, NSW, Australia
Sat-Sun: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Sydney City SMASH host another semi-secret MRDA tournament, Velodrama II, a closed event which they once again can't advertise much due to venue restrictions. (Which is also why we don't have a Facebook event to link to.) This will be a three-team round robin, with MRDA-Sanctioned bouts.
- Teams:
- Sydney City SMASH
- Capital Carnage (Canberra M)
- Brisbane Men's Roller Derby
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (first bout)
Venue: Secret!
Fri-Sun: Helsinki, Finland
Kallio Rolling Rainbow host the 2019 edition of Finland's big WFTDA-sanctioned invitational, the portmanteau Finvitational 2019! With 5 teams, including one from outside Europe, in an almost-round robin (only Middlesbrough versus Calgary is missing from the schedule), this is a packed two-day schedule on the weekend, with two games spilling forward into the Friday in a closed session. As is usual for Finnish events, there will be a livestream.
- Teams:
- Tiger Bay Brawlers (Cardiff)
- Calgary Roller Derby
- Dock City Rollers (Gothenburg)
- Middlesbrough Roller Derby
- Kallio Rolling Rainbow (Helsinki)
Sat-Sun: Prague, Czech Republic
Hard Breaking Dolls continue the trend in Poland for hosting short-format tournaments with an 8 team Roller Derby Sevens tournament. 10 games are packed into one day (meaning that this is probably an elimination tournament, with some consolation bouts), with competitors from across Poland and Central and Eastern Europe!
- Teams:
- Hard Breaking Dolls (Prague)
- Magma Monsters (Erfurt)
- Trash Bunnies (Rollergirls of the Apocalypse | Kaiserslautern)
- Team Apokaliptyczna Trzcina Szczebrzeszyna (Wors Warsaw + Warsaw Hellcats)
- Fearless Bruisers (Innsbruck)
- F.A.R.T. (Augsburg)
- Riga Roller Derby
- Prague City Roller Derby
Flat Track Stats does not track Roller Derby Sevens bouts, so this is not in FTS
Event starts: 1000 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Sportovní Hala Jižní Město, Květnového vítězství 1554/54, Prague, Czech Republic
Sat: Berlin, Germany
H.O.S.S.A. (Link to Facebook, sadly), the Northern Germany and Netherlands Men's derby collective, host the world's first demonstration of the Street Roller Derby ruleset. Street Roller Derby is yet another ruleset designed to make Roller Derby easier and more convenient to play, with less officiating load, and a simplified ruleset. (In the case of Street Roller Derby: officiating is managed by skaters not currently playing; there's no "Lead Jammer" powers; scoring, like in Short Track is 1 point per pass, not per skater passed; there's also no set duration; a reduced penalty list; and harsher penalty rules (a penalty has you sit out the rest of the jam!) ).
Unfortunately, this ruleset is currently only really being promoted on Facebook. We hope that it will become more accessible to non-Facebook users in future.
- "Teams":
- H.O.S.S.A. (North Germany / Netherlands )
- Team Madstop Roller Derby (Potsdam)
Event starts: 1500 Saturday
Venue: Tempelhofer Feld, Berlin, Germany
Sat: Leipzig, Germany
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK D 2] [FTS LINK D 1]
The Riot Rocketz of Leipzig host a double header for this season of the Bundesliga: one fixture for Division 2 (which Leipzig promoted into at the start of this season), and one for Division 1.
- Riot Rocketz (Leipzig) versus Bembeltown Rollergirls (Frankfurt/Main) [Bundesliga D 2]
- Dresden Pioneers versus Ruhrpott Rollergirls (Essen) [Bundesliga D 1]
Event starts: 1200 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Konradstraße 30, Leipzig, Germany
Sat: Gent, Belgium
GO-GO Gent Roller Derby host Star Track, a mini-bootcamp on Rolla Skate Club's Short Track Roller Derby, followed by a mini-tournament using the rules. Coached by UAE Roller Derby All-Stars` Inga Knee'her!
- 1000 Saturday - Short Track Bootcamp
- 1215 Saturday - closed door Short track mini-tournament
Event starts: 1000 Saturday
Venue: Sporthal Driebeek Gentbrugge, Driebeekstraat 22, Gent, Belgium
Sat: Paris, France
Paris Rollergirls host a 1 day bootcamp for beginner/intermediate level, run by Paris Rollergirls All-stars. This event raises funds to support Paris Rollergirls' attendance at ECDX in the USA.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Gymnase la Plaine, 13 Rue du Général Guillaumat, Paris, France
Sat-Sun: Calais, France
The Black Tagada, Zombeers and Dead Dragibus, the three aspects of Roller Derby Calais, collectively host a day of short-format roller derby, with the return (for the 5th time) of their Hit My Valentine Sur5al tournament. We say "Sur5al tournament", but really this is a whole weekend of Roller Derby surrounding the tournament: both days open with Open Scrimmage with special rules ("reverse derby direction" on Saturday, ), and the Saturday ends with a Junior Derby scrimmage as well.
Flat Track Stats does not list Sur5al tournaments (and in any case, these will be teams created just for this event)
Event starts: 0930 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Forum Gambetta, 23 Boulevard Gambetta, Calais, France
Sat: Brighton, UK
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 1]
Brighton Rockers Roller Derby are hosting Glasgow's finest for an A/B double header as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival.
- Brighton Rockers (Brighton A) versus Irn Bruisers (Glasgow A)
- Brighton Rockerbillies (Brighton B) versus Maiden Grrders (Glasgow B)
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: The Dolphin Leisure Centre, Pasture Hill Road, Haywards Heath, UK
Sat: Salford, UK
Arcadia Roller Derby host the fourth of the British Champs Tier 2 North (WFTDA-side) fixtures this year. The hosts, currently second-from-bottom on the leaderboard, face Hallam Hellcats, just one space above them, in a battle for safety from the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Aberdeen's Granite City, currently in that relegation zone, face the imposing Hulls Angels, currently in 2nd place!
- Granite City Roller Derby (Aberdeen) versus Hulls Angels Roller Derby
- Arcadia Roller Derby (Manchester) versus Hallam Hellcats Roller Derby (Sheffield/Hallam)
Event starts: 1015 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: University of Salford Sports Centre, University Road, Salford, Greater Manchester, UK
Sat: Liverpool, UK
Liverpool Roller Birds host the 4th fixture of the British Championships Tier 1 North (WFTDA-side) this season. The hosts currently top the leaderboard for this tier, with an unbroken win record, and it seems likely that this will continue, as they face relegation-zone placed Sheffield Steel. We expect a much closer game between Manchester B and Auld Reekie B; currently near-tied (even with score difference) for 2nd and 3rd place in the board!
- Checkerbroads (Manchester Roller Derby B) versus Auld Reekie Roller Derby Reserves (Edinburgh B)
- Liverpool Roller Birds versus Sheffield Steel Roller Derby
Event starts: 1400 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Greenbank Sports Academy, Greenbank Lane, Liverpool, UK
Sat-Sun: San Javier, Murcia, Spain
Roller Derby Murcia host an international bout as the Molly Hatchets come over from France.
- Roller Derby Murcia versus Molly Hatchets (Pontarlier)
Event starts: 1700 Saturday
Venue: Avenida Gran Vía de la Manga, Km 12, San Javier, Murcia, Spain
Sat/Sun: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Wonderclan Roller Derby host the first edition of their "Magenta Party", all-night dance and music events. This one has a "bizarre" theme, which we're not quite sure we're translating correctly, but...
Event starts: midnight, Saturday
Venue: Centro Cultural Otra Historia, Estomba 851, Villa Orturzar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sat: Osorno, Chile
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Deskarriadas host a 5th birthday celebration, in the form of a triple-header round robin tournament! (The Sunday also has an event, which we'll mention in the Sunday appendix to this update.)
- Teams:
- Deskarriadas (Osorno)
- Diosas Volcánicas (Puerto Montt)
- Indomitas (Valdivia)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Club Deportivo Osorno, Calle Caupolicân 8, Osorno, Chile
Sat: Quito, Ecuador
Forajidas Roller Derby host the first of three open-recruitment and try-derby sessions to help build roller derby in Quito, Ecuador.
Event starts: 0900 Saturday
Venue: Cumandá Parque Urbano, Avenue 24 de Mayo, Quito, Ecuador
Sat-Sun: Querétaro, Mexico
[FACEBOOK LINK] [FTS LINK 1] [FTS LINK 2] [FTS LINK 3]
Querétaro Roller Derby host a triple header of Roller Derby, as a round robin between the hosts' Rock City and teams from neighboring regions!
- Teams:
- Rock City (Querétaro)
- División del Norte (Chihuahua)
- Ovejas Negras (Morelia)
Event starts: 1130 Saturday
Venue: Aud. Ciencias Naturales UAQ, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
Additionally, these events in North America are of interest due to the attendance of other teams:
Fri-Sun: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Brewcity Bruisers host the 10th edition of their annual invitational, the Midwest BrewHaHa! This is a multi-tier tournament with both MRDA-Sanctioned and WFTDA-Sanctioned bouts, as well as an unsanctioned B-tier for WFTDA leagues. With a huge number of participants, this is simply a tournament for WFTDA ranking, without a structure in itself.
This invitational is of interest to us due to European participation in both the WFTDA-Sanctioned and MRDA-Sanctioned tiers, with France's Lomme Roller Girls, and Belgium's Manneken Beasts playing.
- WFTDA-tier Teams:
- Madison Roller Derby (Madison, WI)
- Team United Roller Derby (Des Moines, IA)
- North Star Roller Derby (Minneapolis, MN) [Tier A and B]
- Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, ON, Canada)
- Ohio Roller Derby (Colombus, OH) [Tier A and B]
- Winnipeg Roller Derby League (Winnepeg, MB, Canada)
- Tri-City Roller Derby (Waterloo, ON, Canada)
- Gem City Roller Derby (Dayton, OH) [Tier A and B]
- Brewcity Bruisers (Milwaukee, WI) [Tier A and Tier B]
- DC Rollergirls (Washington, D.C.)
- Rage City Rollergirls (Anchorage, AK)
- Lomme Roller Girls (Lomme, France)
- MRDA-tier Teams:
- St. Louis GateKeepers Roller Derby (St Louis, MO)
- Bridgetown Roller Derby (Portland, OR)
- Texas Men’s Roller Derby (Mesquite area, TX)
- Manneken Beasts (Brussels, Belgium)
- YOUR MOM Men’s Roller Derby (Des Moines, IA)
- Chicago Bruise Brothers Roller Derby (Chicago, IL)
Event starts: 0900 Friday (first game)
Venue: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, 400 W Klbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Sat-Sun: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Arizona Roller Derby hosts the return of their Monsoon Madness invitiational, with two simultaneous tournaments - one A team, and one B team. The A team tier is, of course, WFTDA Sanctioned. This is of interest to us due to the attendence of Buenos Aires' `2x4 Roller Derby`_ in both tiers - Team OSOM in A, and Lxs Pibxs in B. As with Finvitational, this is almost a round-robin for both tiers!
- Leagues:
- 2x4 Roller Derby (Buenos Aires, Argentina) [Tier A and B]
- Arizona Roller Derby (Phoenix, AZ) [Tier A and B]
- Dallas Derby Devils (Dallas, TX) [Tier A and B]
- Tampa Roller Derby (Tampa, FL) [Tier A and B]
- Rat City Roller Derby (Shorelina, WA) [Tier A]
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: Ability 360 Sports & Fitness Center, 5031 E Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Sat-Sun: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Angel City Derby host a Mayday Brawl-B-Q, a two-day tournament with a little less scale than the other USA invitationals above. What makes this one special is the inclusion of a Juniors bout, and the attendance of Baja Roller Derby from Mexico. (Once again, the WFTDA part of the tournament is almost a round-robin, missing just Misery Loves Company versus SoCal).
- Teams:
- Angel City Shore Shots (Los Angeles, CA)
- Baja Roller Derby (Baja California, Mexico)
- Misery Loves Company (Morgan Hill, CA)
- SoCal Derby (San Diego, CA)
- Junior bout:
- Angel City Junior Derby versus Foothill Junior Foxtails (Fontana, CA)
Event starts: 0900 Saturday (doors open)
Venue: 1519 W 139th St, Los Angeles, CA, USA
