2016 International Tournaments

via Derby Central

The 2016 International WFTDA Playoffs are upon us and for the third season in a row we are beginning with the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 brackets, this time in Wichita, Kansas, hosted by the ICT Rollergirls. This weekend holds many experienced D2 bracket teams, including four teams who have gone to D2 Championships before. Seven of the teams were part of a D2 tournament last year, and three are returning after some time off. Here's a quick rundown of the first round match ups.

Game 1 - 10 a.m. CDT: #7 Blue Ridge Rollergirls vs. #10 Carolina Rollergirls

First thing Friday we will see a battle between two North Carolina teams who are coming off a break in tournament play. Blue Ridge has had a roller coaster ride through the rankings, first taking third place overall in 2013, getting placed into Division 1 the following year, and then falling out of Playoff contention altogether last year. Blue Ridge attended K-Town Shakedown, Beach Brawl, and ECDX this season and finished with a 7-3 sanctioned record. At ECDX they had an exciting game against the Naptown Roller Girls that came down to the last jam, which included a power jam, a jammer's skate falling off, and a star pass. Naptown ended up with the win, but Blue Ridge kept up with the D1 team the whole game, including holding the lead at halftime.

Carolina, on the other hand, is a league that has been around for years, but over time has had their share of turnover. The last time they went to a Playoff tournament was the 2014 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Kalamazoo where they took seventh place. With Carolina only maintaining four skaters from their 2014 tournament roster, there will be many skaters making their WFTDA tournament debut this weekend. One of their main jammers is out with a bad leg break, so this tournament is likely to be a trying experience for the #10 seed. Carolina concluded their regular season with a 4-5 record and played games at March Badness, K-Town Shakedown, and ECDX.

The winner will face #2 seed Houston Roller Derby later on Friday at 4 p.m. CDT, and the other team enters the consolation bracket for a noon game on Saturday.

Game 2 – 12 p.m. CDT: #8 Boulder County Bombers vs. #9 Chicago Outfit

Both the Boulder County Bombers and the Chicago Outfit went to the 2015 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Detroit last year and finished ninth and fourth, respectively. They also just recently faced off at The Great Salt Skate, where Boulder County picked up one of their two wins this season, 230-181. With six losses they also took part in Besterns, where they got to take on D1 teams Denver Roller Derby, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, and Arizona Roller Derby. Between the two invitationals, the Bombers went from losing to Wasatch Roller Derby by 26 points to beating them by 26 points, showing some growth over a few months’ time.

Despite losing all three games at The Great Salt Skate, Chicago Outfit's Lola Blow took MVP Jammer. Earlier in the year the Outfit also went to Skate to Thrill and head into this weekend with a 4-7 sanctioned record. They lost a few of their main blockers from last year due to transfers, but maintain a core of experienced jammers. They tend to take on the feisty underdog role and know how to work the clock as the time ticks down.

The winner of this game will advance to a match-up with the the #1 seed Jet City Rollergirls on Friday evening at 6 p.m. CDT, and the loser will play at 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

Game 3: #3 Nashville Rollergirls vs. #6 Tucson Roller Derby

Nashville and Tucson have never played and have spent the past year a bit differently. The Nashville Music All-Stars had an exciting time at D2 Playoffs in Detroit last year, where they beat their Midwest rival Naptown by 24 points before they came from behind to beat the Sacred City Derby Girls by five points. At the 2015 International WFTDA Division 2 Championships they placed third by beating Demolition City Roller Derby and then losing in a rematch against Sacred. After a bunch of home and away games plus a trip to Midwest BrewHaHa, Nashville has a losing season record of 2-6, but all of their games were within an average of 50 points. After this season, Nashville's roster will have some upheaval with skaters either retiring or moving away, including Lady Fury and Tear O'Bite.

On the other side, the Tucson Saddletramps missed out on Playoffs last year when they were ranked #68, and before that they took 10th place at the 2014 International Division 2 Playoffs Duluth. This season they went to Clover Cup and Dust Devil, concluding their sanctioned season in mid-April with three wins and two losses. With such a short season and missing tournament play last year, the Saddletramps come in as a bit of a wildcard and could take advantage of Nashville's tendency to pick up penalties.

The winner will move onto the semifinal round Saturday at 8 p.m. CDT against the winner of Game 4, which will be Houston Roller Derby versus the winner of Game 1. The other team will head to the consolation bracket at 10 a.m. CDT on Saturday to take on the loser of Game 2.

Game 4: #2 Houston Roller Derby vs. Winner of Game 1

At the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Cleveland, Houston went in as the #6 seed and narrowly missed third place when they lost to the Santa Cruz Derby Girls by 13 points. After tournaments, they played a close game against the Sun State Roller Girls, who were in town for the 2015 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Dallas at the time as a #7 seed, and Houston lost by just 26 points, 172-146. They also kept it close this season with Ohio Roller Derby, the No Coast Derby Girls, and the Mad Rollin’ Dolls, who are playing in D1 tournaments this year, so although Houston finished their 2016 sanctioned season with a 2-4 record, they earned a #2 seed this weekend in Wichita.

Houston's first game is on Friday at 4 p.m. CDT against the winner of Game 1 between #7 seed Blue Ridge and #10 seed Carolina. They have never played Blue Ridge and haven't played Carolina since the first ever WFTDA Championship tournament in 2006, so this will be a new match-up either way. Winning means Houston will move on to a semi-final game against either Nashville or Tucson, and losing means a spot in the consolation bracket, where the best they can do is fifth place.

Game 5: #1 Jet City Rollergirls vs. Winner of Game 2

Jet City's tournament experience has been and up and down adventure, much like Blue Ridge’s. They took first place at the 2014 International WFTDA Division 2 Championships. The following season they got a spot in at D1 Playoffs in Cleveland, where they took ninth place, but last year they moved back down to D2, where they entered eighth and finished in seventh place. This season they kept it brief and only played sanctioned games at invitational tournaments. Playing three games apiece at March Badness in Columbia and Spudtown Knockdown in Idaho, they finished in April with a 5-1 record playing mostly teams ranked below them.

Jet City will play Friday at 6 p.m. CDT against the winner of Game 2 between Boulder County and the Chicago Outfit, neither of which has played Jet City before. If they move on in the bracket, we will get to see if their season has prepared them for playing closer-ranked opponents and more competitive games. Winning their first game would pit them against either the #4 seed Brandywine Roller Girls or the #5 seed Kansas City Roller Warriors.

Game 6: #4 Brandywine Roller girls vs. #5 Kansas City Roller Warriors

The Brandywine Roller Girls Belligerents and Kansas City Roller Warriors All Stars have never played each other, and came from different ends of last season's rankings to meet in the middle this time around. Brandywine started at the #10 seed in D1 Playoffs Cleveland last year and finished sixth, although they were just points away from fifth when they played the St. Chux Derby Chix for the second time that weekend. In 2016 they went 3-5 in sanctioned games and came within two points of the Charm City Roller Girls, who are topping the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing tournament this year. The only weekend event the Belligerents attended this year was the Clover Cup, where they were eliminated after two losses.

Kansas City took first place at D1 Playoffs Cleveland last year, which qualified them for the 2015 D2 Championships in St. Paul, where they lost both games and finished in fourth place overall. This year they went to the Clover Cup and Boardwalk Empire, and then at the beginning of August hosted 2x4 Roller Derby from Argentina. Kansas City also got knocked out of the Clover Cup after two losses, but only lost to Division 1 team No Coast by 23 points in June, possibly showing some improvement as the year went on. In sanctioned games this year they won just one game and lost six.

After playing the last game Friday at 8 p.m. CDT, one of these teams will advance to the semi-finals against the winner of Game 5 at 2 p.m. CDT on Saturday. The loser will head to the consolation bracket and face the loser of Game 1 at noon on Saturday.

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