The Cincinnati Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[1]

History and structure

The league was founded by Paula Estes and Christa Zielke in April 2005, wanting a new way to exercise.[2] By the following year, they had enough skaters to form four teams: the Bloody Sundaes, Cincinnati Riots, Dames of Destruction and Full Metal Corsets.[3] They played their first public bout in September 2006, selling out the 700-seat venue.[4] By the following year, the league rationalized to two teams,[5] and from 2008 it focused entirely on bouts against teams from other leagues.[6]

The league affiliated with the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in 2007,[7][8] and reached fourth place in its North Central Region by 2009.[9]

After playing its home games at the Cincinnati Gardens since 2006, where a 2011 high-water mark for attendance was 4100 fans,[10] the league was forced to look for a new home when the Gardens was announced in 2016 to be slated for demolition.[11] In February 2017 it was announced that the league was moving to the Schmidt Memorial Field House at Xavier University in time for its 2017 season.[12]

Cincinnati Rollergirls is a limited liability corporation with two teams; the Black Sheep is the league's A team, and its B team is the Violent Lambs.[13]

WFTDA competition

For their first season as a WFTDA member in 2008, Cincinnati was placed in the East Region, and competed at that year's Eastern Regional Tournament as the 11th seed, and went 2-2 with victories against Grand Raggidy Roller Girls and Minnesota Rollergirls and losses against Boston and Charm City Roller Girls to finish in ninth place.[14] In 2009, now part of the North Central Region, Cincinnati was the fourth seed at the North Central Regional Tournament, and finished in fourth place with a 126-62 loss to Detroit.[15]

The league started 2010 strongly, winning their first seven bouts against WFTDA opposition, leading to them being seeded fourth for the 2010 North Central Region Playoff,[16] where they again finished in fourth place, losing 164-143 to Mad Rollin' Dolls.[17] In the 2011 Playoffs, Cincinnati were seeded fifth, but ultimately took eighth place, after a 157-99 loss to Brewcity Bruisers.[18] As the seventh seed at the 2012 North Centrals, Cincinnati lost their first two games but recovered to defeat Chicago Outfit 180-166 to claim ninth place.[19]

In 2013, the WFTDA changed their playoff structure, and Cincinnati qualified for the WFTDA Division 1 International Playoff tournament in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the eighth seed, finishing in eighth with a 275-95 loss to Wasatch Roller Derby.[20] After missing Playoffs in 2014 and 2015, Cincinnati returned to Playoffs at the WFTDA Division 2 level in 2016 as the fourth seed in Lansing, Michigan, where they went 1-3 and ultimately finished in eighth place after a 220-174 loss to the Sac City Rollers.[21]

Rankings

pre-2016 league logo
Season Final ranking[22] Playoffs Championship
2007 NR[23] N/A N/A
2008 3 NC[24] 9 E[14] DNQ
2009 4 NC[25] 4 NC[15] DNQ
2010 5 NC[26] 4 NC[17] DNQ
2011 8 NC[27] 8 NC[18] DNQ
2012 9 NC[28] 9 NC[19] DNQ
2013 38 WFTDA[29] 8 D1[20] DNQ
2014 98 WFTDA[30] DNQ DNQ
2015 70 WFTDA[31] DNQ DNQ
2016 61 WFTDA[32] 7 D2[21] DNQ
2017 NR WFTDA[33] DNQ DNQ
  • NR = no end-of-year ranking supplied

References

  1. ^ "Cincinnati Rollergirls - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  2. ^ "101 Of Our Favorite Things". Cincinnati Magazine. 40 (3). Emmis Communications: 144. December 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  3. ^ Bergantino, Matt (June 2007). "Girls On Skates". Cincinnati Magazine. 40 (9). Emmis Communications: 76. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  4. ^ Zummo, Maija (6 September 2006). "Events: Hugs & Bruises Cincinnati Rollergirls offer camaraderie and competition". Citybeat Cincinnati. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  5. ^ Andrea Hopkins, "Rollergirls hold back no punches in derby revival[dead link]", Reuters, 29 June 2007
  6. ^ "About The Cincinnati Rollergirls", Cincinnati Rollergirls
  7. ^ Stevens, Sarah (22 June 2009). "Cincinnati Rollergirls: Punk Rockin' and Rollin' to Success". soapbox cincinnati. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  8. ^ "The WFTDA Newsletter December 2007". WFTDA. December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  9. ^ Kristy Conlin, "Roller girls beat stuffing out of Grand Raggidy", The News Record, 31 May 2009 [dead link]
  10. ^ Steigerwald, Shauna (8 March 2016). "Cincinnati Rollergirls team turns 10". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  11. ^ Thompson, Ann (25 July 2016). "Teams Scrambling To Find New Practice Sites". wvxu.org. WVXU. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  12. ^ Mains, Brian (18 February 2017). "Cincinnati Rollergirls reveal new home, share 2017 schedule". WCPO. WCPO-TV. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  13. ^ Watkins, Steve (11 February 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Cincinnati Rollergirls rebrand after a decade of derbies (Video)". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  14. ^ a b Marshall, Justice Feelgood (10 October 2008). "Eastern Regionals: Complete Capsule Recaps | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  15. ^ a b Marshall, Justice Feelgood (18 September 2009). "North Central Regionals Capsule Recaps | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 18 March 2017.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Justice Feelgood Marshall, "2010 North Central Regional Preview", Derby News Network, 10 September 2010
  17. ^ a b "2010 North Central Region Playoffs Recaps", Derby News Network, 24 September 2010
  18. ^ a b Geoffrey Saucer, "North Central 7th Place: 7NC Brewcity Takes Down 5NC Cincinnati, 157-99", Derby News Network, 9 October 2011
  19. ^ a b Talionis, Lex (16 September 2012). "NC 9th Place: 7NC Cincinnati Comes Back on 8NC Chicago Outfit, 180-166 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 18 March 2017.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ a b Marshall, Justice Feelgood (8 September 2013). "D1FW 7th: (7) Wasatch Shuts Down (8) Cincinnati, 275-95 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  21. ^ a b Deadwards, Lisa (28 August 2016). "D2L 7th Place: #2 Sac City Punishes #4 Cincinnati, 220-174". Derby Central. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  22. ^ "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  23. ^ "Current WFTDA Rankings", Derby News Network, October 2007
  24. ^ "Rankings – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. January 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. January 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  31. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. January 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  32. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  33. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.