Lansing, MI

By Ms. Judgment

The 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing continued on Saturday with a tightly contested matchup between the sixth-seeded Nidaros Roller Derby Allstars (Trondheim, Norway) and the ninth-seeded Tri-City Roller Derby Thunder (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada). Nidaros entered the consolation bracket following a 248-143 loss to Wasatch Roller Derby (Salt Lake City, Utah). Tri-City reached the consolation bracket after a hard-fought battle with fellow international qualifier Bear City Roller Derby (Berlin, Germany) that ended 235-140. These teams had never played each other before, so the first few jams were spent measuring each other’s strengths and strategies before putting on a thrilling display of derby for those lucky enough to watch the first game of the day.

By Whacks Poetic

The final game of Friday at 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing was the first WFTDA playoff game ever for the Calgary Roller Derby Association All Stars from Calgary, AB, CAN and the first WFTDA playoff game in three years for the Cincinnati Roller Girls Black Sheep from Cincinnati, OH, USA. In what should have been the closest game—with the 4th seed Americans matching up against the 5th seed Canadians—Calgary performed masterfully and showed no first-time jitters as they took the win, 232-97.

By NoMad

Game 5 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing pitted the Charlottesville Derby Dames All Stars of Charlottesville, VA USA (seed #7, WFTDA #53) against the Sac City Rollers Capitol Punishers from Sacramento, CA USA (seed #2, WFTDA #44). Despite their lower seeding, Charlottesville took the lead in the first jam and never let up.

By Whacks Poetic

Friday’s 4 p.m. game gave us our first glimpse at the #1 seed for the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing: the Charm City Roller Girls from Baltimore, MD, USA. Charm City is no stranger to Division 1 Playoffs—and they’ve even taken a couple trips to Championships in the past—but with over half the charter comprised of new skaters, Charm City needed to prove that they still have the institutional knowledge and experience to succeed on the WFTDA stage. Their opponents, the 8th seed Bear City Berlin Bombshells from Berlin, Germany, had already shown their strength with a solid 235-140 win over Tri City Roller Derby just a couple hours earlier in the day. Ultimately, Charm City would show why they came into Lansing as number 1 by dismantling Bear City’s defense and recovering from their own hiccups to take the game, 260-148.

By NoMad

Game 3 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Lansing brought together the Wasatch Roller Derby Midnight Terror (seed #3, WFTDA #45) of Salt Lake City, UT USA and the Nidaros Roller Derby Allstars (seed #6, WFTDA #52) of Trondheim, Norway. While both teams had similar trap-and-control styles of play, the faster switches from defense to offense and back gave Wasatch the edge to take away a 238 to 143 victory over Nidaros.