Tucson, AZ

By Shelly Shankya

Slow packs. Long jams. Grinding wheels. The much-anticipated championship game between Victorian Roller Derby League of Melbourne, Australia (#1) and B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls of San Francisco, California, (#2) did not disappoint. As the packs rolled slowly along the straightaways, the intensity and tenacity of the teams continued to mount. However, the momentum of Victorian’s undefeated 2015 season helped push their jammers through, tighten the notorious Victoria box defense, and secure their #1 seed and first-round bye at the 2015 International WFTDA Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nov. 6-8.

By Lexistential Crisis

Today’s 3rd Place game determined the third team to earn a spot at the 2015 International WFTDA Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. Arch Rival Roller Girls (Seed #3) of St. Louis, Missouri have never placed higher than 6th in a Regional or Playoff tournament. Their huge win over Team United on Friday sent them into the semifinals and guaranteed that they would finish at least 4th. Comparatively, Denver, Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (Seed #4) have appeared at Championships four times, including the past two years. Rocky controlled the first half of the game, but Arch Rival dominated the second half to take 3rd Place and a trip to Championships.

by Shelly Shankya

An unfortunate bout of jammer penalties kept Mad Rollin’ Dolls (#9) from gaining a foothold against Terminal City Rollergirls (#7) in Game 15 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Tucson, Arizona. As a result, Terminal City jumped two seeding spots to secure #5 at the Playoffs, while Mad Rollin’ Dolls also improved their seeding to #7.

By Lexistential Crisis

Baltimore, Maryland’s Charm City Roller Girls (Seed #5) and Des Moines, Iowa’s Team United Roller Derby (Seed #6) met for the first time in Game 14 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Tucson. After two losses and one win, both teams found themselves in the 7th Place game. Following many lead changes and jammer penalties, Team United finished the game strong to end the tournament in 7th Place.

By PyRo Blaze & Rizzo ReKENbhal

Day two of the D1 playoffs in Tucson, AZ closed with a high-action, expertly played bout between Victorian Roller Derby League (VRDL) the tournament’s #1 seed from Melbourne, Australia, and Seed 4, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls from Denver, Colorado.