Oct 31, 2015 | Bout News

A Minnesota RollerGirls Fan’s Guide to the 2015 WFTDA Championships

This year the Minnesota RollerGirls are proud to host the 2015 WFTDA Championships at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium on November 6th, 7th, and 8th. The three top teams from each of the Division 1 Qualifying tournaments, 12 teams in all, will compete for women’s flat-track roller derby’s highest honor – the Hydra Trophy.

What does this mean for you if you’re a Minnesota RollerGirls fan? It means you have the opportunity to see the best roller derby teams in the world fight it out in your home town. Of course you’ll also have the chance to cheer on your Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars as they chase the title! If you’ve never been to a WFTDA tournament before, here’s what you can expect and how to get the most out of a jam-packed derby weekend.

How We Got Here

The top 40 teams in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association comprise Division 1 – all the teams that are eligible to compete for the annual WFTDA championship. During the Summer, those teams were split into four qualifying tournaments and placed in brackets via s-curve seeding. The winners of each of those qualifying tournaments – Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Rose City Rollers, London RollerGirls, and Victorian Roller Derby League – earned the #1 spots in the championship bracket, and with them a first-round bye. The second- and third-place team from each of the qualifying tournaments fill in the rest of the bracket; each #2 team will play a #3 team that qualified through a different tournament in the first round.

What about the home team? The Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars qualified third in the Omaha qualifying tournament, winning them a spot in the championship tournament for the second year in a row. They’ll face off first against the Texas RollerGirls, who took second place in the Dallas qualifying tournament.

The top teams from Division 2 (ranks 41-60) will also be represented at WFTDA Champs, where the champions and runners-up from the two D2 qualifying tournaments will skate for the WFTDA Division 2 Championship in-between D1 games. The Nashville Rollergirls, Demolition City Roller Derby, Kansas City Roller Warriors, and Sacred City Derby Girls will play the early games on Friday and Sunday in what should be a set of exciting, closely-matched contests.

Victory Is In The Air

Modern roller derby has become a worldwide phenomenon by combining elements of showmanship and athleticism, and this year’s WFTDA Championships will provide plenty of both. If you’re used to the bout production that MNRG puts on for its home games, you should be ready for a little bit of a different, more competitive vibe come tournament time. These 12 teams have worked all year for this chance at glory, and have traveled from as far as London, UK and Melbourne, Australia to get here, so during each bout you’re going to see focused athletes at the height of their game. The lights in the Roy might be a little different and you’re unlikely to see any bagpipe bands – at least not until the after party.

One thing you will see, if you watch for it, is teams sizing up their competition when they’re not playing. Watch for the derby skaters in the audience (usually pretty easy to spot in their league apparel) and see them strategize for their next bout or join them in cheering on their favorite teams. Big tournaments like this blur the lines between participant and fan and are a great way to see the sport at it’s best – with a room full of excited athletes cheering each other on to be their best.

Have A Plan

No matter how you look at it, 16 games over three days is a *lot* of roller derby – you won’t lose any fan points if you don’t catch every last game. Most of the seating at champs will be general admission in the Roy Wilkins balcony, so everyone will be guaranteed good sight lines, but you’ll want to plan ahead if you want the best seats for any particular bout. The last two games on Sunday (3rd Place at 4:00 and 1st Place at 6:00) and any game with the Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars (Friday 8:00PM, plus more if they keep winning) will be the most in-demand.

Parking in downtown St. Paul is readily available, but can be a little unpredictable. Metered spots will be free through most of the champs weekend (after 5:00PM on Friday), but are likely to fill up quickly. Ramps will be more expensive the closer they are to the RiverCenter complex (which includes the Roy), so you might save a couple bucks by driving further into the central business district. The Minnesota Wild game on Saturday night is the other big event happening in St. Paul over the weekend, so be advised of that additional demand on parking. Of course, the RiverCenter is also served by the Metro Transit Green Line as well as bus routes 21, 53, 54, 61, 63, 64, 70, 74, 94 and others if you want to avoid the parking hassle.

So if you’re going to be in town for the 2015 WFTDA Championships, get your Three-Day Pass now! And if you’re going to be out of town, make your plans to watch the tournament on WFTDA.TV and ESPN 3! It’s shaping up to be an incredible derby weekend, whether you experience it in the comfort of your living room or in the Roy surrounded by thousands of screaming fans.