The third Women's Flat Track Derby Association's 2010 regional tournament gets under way this weekend, October 1-3, in Sacremento, California. The Western Regional Tournament, dubbed Rollin' on the River 2010, begins Friday and features the top 10 teams in the western region.
The defending WFTDA champions, Oly Rollers, stand at the top of the Western rankings, and hope to repeat their bid to be the best in the U.S.
The top three finishers earn an automatic bid into the WFTDA Championship tournament, dubbed Uproar on the Lakeshore, and to play for the coveted Hydra Trophy in Chicago on Nov. 5-7.
Oly Rollers, ranked first in the WFTDA Western Region and No. 2 nationally in Derby News Network's September 2010 power rankings, and Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, WFTDA W2 and DNN3, get byes in the regional tournament. Oly will face the winner of Duke City (W8) versus Tucson (W9), and Rocky Mountain will face the winner of Jet City (W7) versus Sacred City (W10).
Other participating leagues include: Denver Roller Dolls (W3), Rose City Rollers (W4), Rat City (W5) and Bay Area Derby Dolls (W6).
Oly, Rocky Mountain and Denver all played for in the final two games of the 2009 national tournament, Declaration of Derby 2009. Denver placed third in nationals last year, while Oly took home the championships, beating Texas (No. 1, currently, in the South Central regional currently, and 10th in DNN's power rankings) 179-100 in the 2009 championship game.
Teams from the Western Regionals occupy seven of the top 25 teams nationally ranked teams according to Derby News Network's power rankings as of September 2010. Besides Oly's DNN2 ranking and Rocky Mountain No. 3 ranking, Denver (DNN5), Rat City (DNN6), Rose City (DNN7), Bay Area (DNN8) and Jet City (DNN23) are all looking at an opportunity to represent the west region in Chicago. That's more representation on DNN's list from any other region.
In comparison, the Eastern region has six DNN top 25 teams, and South Central and North Central regions each have five.
Windy City, Minnesota and Madison's Dairyland Dolls all advanced from the 2010 North Central Regional Tournament to the championship tournament hosted in Chicago, Illinoin. Gotham (NYC), Philly and Charm City (Baltimore) advanced from the Eastern Regional Tournament to the championships.
So far both regional number one seeds, Gotham and Windy City, have advanced to the championship tournament with decisive 3-0 records.
Gotham won The Hydra Trophy as national champions in 2008. Kansas City and Texas won WFTDA national championships in 2007 and 2006, respectively, before the introduction of the trophy which was first awarded to Gotham in the Northwest Knockdown in Portland, Oregon, in 2008.
One week after Western Regionals, the South Central Regionals, Amber Waves of Pain, will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska, on October 8-10.
Schedule
Friday
10 a.m. - Game 1 Duke City Derby vs. Tucson Roller Derby
noon - Game 2 Jet City Rollergirls vs. Sacred City Derby Girls
2 p.m. - Game 3 Rose City Rollers vs. Rat City Rollergirls
4 p.m. - Game 4 Denver Roller Dolls vs. B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls
6 p.m. - Game 5 Oly Rollers vs. Winner Duke City Derby vs. Tucson Roller Derby
8 p.m. - Game 6 Rocky Mountain Rollergirls vs. Winner Jet City Rollergirls vs. Sacred City Derby Girls
Saturday10 a.m. - Game 7 Loser (Jet City Rollergirls vs. Sacred City Derby Girls) vs. Loser (Rose City Rollers vs. Rat City Rollergirls)
noon - Game 8 Loser (Duke City Derby vs. Tucson Roller Derby) vs. Loser (Denver Roller Dolls vs. B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls)
2 p.m. - Game 9 Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 3
4 p.m. - Game 10 Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6
6 p.m. - Game 11 Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 5
8 p.m. - Game 12 Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8
Sunday
10 a.m. - Game 13 Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
noon - Game 14 Loser Game 11 vs. Loser Game 12
2 p.m. - Game 15 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12
4 p.m. - Game 16 Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10
6 p.m. - Game 17 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
