Jacksonville Roller Derby

Jacksonville Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaJacksonville, Florida
CountryUnited States
Founded2006
TeamsNew Jax City Rollers (A team)
River City Rat Pack (B team)
J-Villains (C team)
Bold City Bombshells
Duval Derby Dames
First Coast Fatales
Track type(s)Flat
VenueSkate Station Funworks
AffiliationsWFTDA
Websitewww.jacksonvillerollerderby.com

Jacksonville Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Jacksonville, Florida, (USA). Originally formed as the First Coast Fatales,[1] the league became Jacksonville RollerGirls in 2007, and changed to its current name in 2018. The league has been a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) since December 2010.[2]

Jacksonville hosted a WFTDA Division 1 Playoff tournament in 2015,[3] at which they finished in 2nd place.[4]

League structure[edit]

First organized in 2006,[5] Jacksonville Roller Derby consists of six teams, 3 travel teams and 3 home teams.[6] The teams play one another at home, and the teams travel to compete against other teams. All travel team skaters also compete on a home team while some skaters choose to play only on a home team. In 2014, the league began a structured training program designed to maximize each beginning skaters’ abilities toward passing the WFTDA minimum skills test as a requirement towards play in roller derby. New skaters are recruited three times per year and taken through a curriculum from basic skills to game play. A skater is allowed to repeat the program until they pass, if required.

The league welcomes referees, non-skating officials, and other volunteer staff to join the league at any time.

Travel teams[edit]

The league's top travel team, the all-star New Jax City Rollers, represents Jacksonville internationally as the WFTDA charter team.[6] The team includes among its members Erin Jackson, a competitive inline speed skater, who won a silver medal for the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games.[7] Jackson was tournament MVP at the 2014 WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Evansville, Indiana.[8]

River City Rat Pack is the league's B-Team. They play other WFTDA league B-Teams as well as lower-ranked WFTDA charter teams and travel throughout the southeast. Many Rat Pack skaters are working their way up toward a position on New Jax and are invited to their practices to acclimate them to the higher level of play.

J-Villains are a C-Level Team and play primarily in Florida against local non-WFTDA teams. The J-Villains are usually a skater's first travel team after completing their training and, sometimes, are the first team to receive incoming transferring skaters until the next round of tryouts.

Home teams[edit]

The league's home teams are the Bold City Bombshells, Duval Derby Dames, and the First Coast Fatales. They play each other at home with their season culminating in a championship finale. In 2014, the inaugural championship title went to the Bold City Bombshells. Skaters are drafted to a home team as part of their graduation from Fresh Meat and stay with that team until their retirement.

Community involvement[edit]

Jacksonville Roller Derby supports local charities and community organizations by making public appearances at local events, volunteering time, and donating money. During each home game, a local organization is invited to host a table to raise both money and awareness and a portion of the game's proceeds are donated on behalf of the league. In recent years, the league has partnered with The Arc Jacksonville[9] for an annual Running of the Bulls 5k where the skaters serve as the bulls, chasing down and marking the runners.[10]

WFTDA competition[edit]

The all-star team, New Jax City Rollers, plays at the highest level of competition. Their rank has steadily climbed from 24th in 2013,[11] 15th in 2014,[12] to 8th in 2015.[13]

For the first time in league history, the team ended their 2015 season at the WFTDA Championships tournament, earning their place with a 2nd-place finish at WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs at home in Jacksonville.[4] In 2016, Jacksonville returned to WFTDA Championships after finishing 3rd at the 2016 Division 1 Playoff in Columbia, South Carolina.[6] After winning their first game against Minnesota Rollergirls,[14] Jacksonville lost to the eventual 3rd-place team, Victorian Roller Derby League, 231–98.[15] As the third seed at the 2017 Seattle Division 1 Playoff, Jacksonville suffered a rankings upset in the quarterfinals to Rat City Rollergirls, 186–170,[16] and finished their weekend with a consolation bracket victory over Charlottesville Derby Dames, 318–161.[17]

As the third seed at the 2018 Playoff in Atlanta, Jacksonville finished in second place, losing the gold medal game 172–155 to Texas Rollergirls.[18] At Championships in New Orleans, Jacksonville lost their opening round game to Angel City Derby 248–85,[19] and then lost their consolation round game to Crime City Rollers, 173–160.[20]

Rankings[edit]

Season Final ranking[21] Playoffs Championship
2010 NR[22] N/A N/A
2011 11 SC[23] DNQ DNQ
2012 9 SC[24] 10 SC[25] DNQ
2013 24 WFTDA[11] 6 D1[26] DNQ
2014 15 WFTDA[12] 4 D1[27] DNQ
2015 8 WFTDA[13] 2 D1[3] QF D1[28]
2016 9 WFTDA[29] 3 D1[30] QF D1[15]
2017 12 WFTDA[31] CR D1[17] DNQ
2018 9 WFTDA[32] 2[18] CR[20]
  • CR = consolation round

Local television[edit]

Jacksonville Roller Derby previously had a television program which began airing weekly on CW17 September 25, 2010, with some games being available for viewing in their entirety online.[33] The league is included in the station's promotional appearances as local celebrities.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Newman, Jordan (15 November 2006). "Roller derby rolls in Jax". Spinnaker - The Official Newspaper of University of Northwest Florida. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ^ "WFTDA Welcomes SevenNew Full Member Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "London Rollergirls win D1 Playoffs in Jacksonville - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b Deadwards, Lisa (20 September 2015). "D1J 1st Place: #1 London controls #3 Jacksonville, 272-126". Derby Central. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. ^ Strickland, Sandy (20 May 2010). "Roller derby teams play rough while on the track". jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Friedman, Ann (19 October 2016). "Tough and tenacious, Jacksonville RollerGirls skate toward championship". jacksonville.com. The Florida Time-Union. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  7. ^ Frye, Andy (4 November 2015). "How A World-Class Inline Skater Is Shaking Up The Roller Derby Scene". espnW. ESPN. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  8. ^ "May 2016 Featured Skater:Erin Jackson - Featured Skaterof the Month - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". www.wftda.org. WFTDA. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Intuition Ale Works presents Running of the Bulls 5K 2016". www.arcjacksonville.org. The ARC Jacksonville. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  10. ^ "3rd Annual Running of the Bulls - Jacksonville Magazine". www.jacksonvillemag.com. Jacksonville Magazine. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  14. ^ Gardiner, Kelley (5 November 2016). "WFTDA Champs: Day One Roller Derby Recap". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  15. ^ a b Deadwards, Lisa (5 November 2016). "WFTDA D1 Champs: Victoria takes down Jacksonville, 231-98". Derby Central. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  16. ^ "D1S: #6 Rat City squeaks past #3 Jacksonville, 186-170". Derby Central. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  17. ^ a b "D1S: #3 Jacksonville avalanches #12 Charlottesville, 318-161". Derby Central. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  18. ^ a b "2018 Playoffs Atlanta Game 16: Texas vs. Jacksonville – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  19. ^ "2018 Championships New Orleans Game 2: Angel City vs. Jacksonville – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  20. ^ a b "2018 Championships New Orleans Game 7: Crime City v. Jacksonville – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  22. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  23. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  24. ^ "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  25. ^ "2012 WFTDA South Central Region Playoffs - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  26. ^ "September 13-15, 2013: Richmond, Virginia - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  27. ^ "Sept. 19-21 – Evansville, Indiana, USA - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  28. ^ "WFTDA Championships Saint Paul, MN Nov 6-8". WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  29. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  30. ^ "Columbia – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  31. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  32. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2018 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  33. ^ "RollerGirls | YourJax | WCWJ and BCWJ". www.yourjax.com. WCWJ. Retrieved 6 December 2016.

External links[edit]

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