Milwaukee, WI

By Shelly Shankya

It was the moment everyone had waited for: the Championship game of the 2013 WFTDA race for the Hydra between the reigning Champions, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby All Stars and the godmothers of modern roller derby, the Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners. It was standing room only along the straightaways at the US Cellular Center in Milwaukee, and each jam had the urgency, the zeal of a revival like only the Midwest can deliver. To win the Hydra, the Texecutioners would have to overcome a 74-game winning streak held by Gotham.

By Shelly Shankya

The hotly contested, fast-paced match-up for third and fourth places at the 2013 WFTDA Championships started with the favor in B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls’ corner, as they scored 39 points off of two power jams from the Denver Roller Dolls’ Mile High Club, one from Julie Adams’ back block, the other from Amanda Sharpless’ forearm. After each team lost heartbreakers in the semifinal games, the two came out thirsty for a win and a third place medal.

By Shelly Shankya

The Jet City Rollergirls came on the track and put a heat-seeking hurting on the Santa Cruz Derby Girls during the Championship game for Division 2; with three power jams for the Bombers during the first five jams, Jet City started with a comfortable lead, 53-15. Santa Cruz repeatedly clawed their way back, however, and the game would ultimately come down to a single point.

By Whacks Poetic

In an exciting addition to this year’s WFTDA Championships, four Division 2 teams made the trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to vie for the top three places of D2. In the first bout of Sunday morning, the Blue Ridge Rollergirls from Asheville, North Carolina, played the Sac City Rollers from Sacramento, California, for third place in D2. Blue Ridge finished second at the D2 Playoffs in Des Moines in August and Sac City finished the same in D2 Playoffs Kalamazoo. These two teams, coming from opposite sides of the country, faced off for the first time today in an intense battle on the track.

By Whacks Poetic

The final bout of the day and second semifinal of Saturday night saw Gotham Girls Roller Derby from New York take on Bay Area Derby Girls from San Francisco to determine who would be advancing to the 1st place game on Sunday at the 2013 WFTDA Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Gotham advanced to the semi-final by defeating the Ohio Roller Girls of Columbus, Ohio, 509-64 and Bay Area beat the Windy City Rollers of Chicago, 230-135.