Ohio Roller Derby

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

Ohio Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaColumbus, Ohio
CountryUnited States
FoundedMarch 2005
TeamsOhio Roller Derby All-Stars
Gang Green
Track type(s)Flat
VenueThe Ohio State Fairgrounds
AffiliationsWFTDA
Org. typeLLC
Websiteohiorollerderby.com

League history
Former Ohio league logo

Ohio Roller Derby was founded as the Ohio Roller Girls (OHRG) in April 2005 by Melissa "Scarlette Fury" Wallace,[2][3] with the first bout held in Battelle Hall at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on April 23, 2006.[4][5] In 2007, the league began holding bouts at the Lausche Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds, by which point they were drawing roughly 1,000 fans to events.[2]

In 2007, the league hosted the first WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament, Heartland Havoc.[6] Twelve teams from the East Region of the WFTDA competed, with Gotham Girls Roller Derby (New York City) winning the tournament.[7]

In 2008, the league debuted an all-Ohio roller derby expo at the Ohio State Fair.[8] The event returned in 2009 and 2011.

In May 2010, the league hosted the WFTDA Annual Meeting, known as Oh!con.

In 2016, the league announced a name change to "Ohio Roller Derby", to better reflect its community and its members.[9][10]

Ohio Roller Derby is a skater-owned and operated organization, overseen by a board of directors that is elected by its members.[11]

Teams

For its first three seasons, OHRG had a four-team home league comprising the Band of Brawlers, the Blackeye Bullies, the Sprockettes, and the Take-Outs, which competed for a league championship called the Envy Cup,[12] held at times at the Lausche Building at the Ohio Expo Center.[13] Each team had a unique theme. The Brawlers were the WWII-inspired military team, the Bullies were schoolyard bullies, the Sprockettes were from space, and the Take-Outs were ninja-esque.

Beginning with the 2009 season, the league switched to an A & B team, interleague only format,[11] consisting of the WFTDA Chartered Team (formerly All-Stars) that competes against other WFTDA leagues from around the country for rankings, and a B-team, Gang Green, that plays against other WFTDA B teams and non-WFTDA teams.

WFTDA competition

Ohio's first appearance at WFTDA Playoffs was the 2007 OHRG-hosted WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament "Heartland Havoc", at which Ohio Roller Girls were defeated in the first round by Providence Roller Derby.[14]

Ohio Roller Girls did not qualify for WFTDA Playoffs again until 2011, when they made the WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament "Monumental Mayhem" as the tenth seed, and finished in ninth place with a victory over the Mad Rollin' Dolls of Madison, Wisconsin.[15]

In 2012, the Ohio Roller Girls set a WFTDA record for most sanctioned victories in a season, going 20-1 in regular season play, which put them into the North Central tournament as the fifth seed.[16] After winning their quarterfinal game against Arch Rival of St. Louis,[17] Ohio lost to Windy City Rollers (Chicago)[18] in their semifinal, and then to Naptown Roller Girls (Indianapolis) in the third-place game to finish the tournament in fourth.[19] OHRG skaters Phoenix Bunz and The Smacktivist won the tournament's MVP awards for blocking and jamming, respectively.[20]

In 2013, Ohio qualified for Division 1 Playoffs, competing at the Fort Wayne tournament in early September as the sixth seed; seeding upsets over third seed Arch Rival[21] and second seed Montreal Roller Derby[22] earned Ohio a spot in the tournament final, as well as their first trip to WFTDA Championships. Ohio lost the Fort Wayne final 304-134 to top-seeded Denver to finish the weekend in second place.[23] At the Championships in Milwaukee in November, Ohio won their opening round game against Rat City Rollergirls (Seattle) 230-212,[24] but then were eliminated by defending (and eventual repeating) champion Gotham 509-64 in the quarterfinals.[25] Of note, even though both Ohio and Gotham are founding members of the WFTDA, this game marked the first time they had ever played each other.[25]

At the 2014 Evansville Division 1 tournament, Ohio entered as the fifth seed, but lost to lower seeded Jacksonville Rollergirls and Steel City Roller Derby (Pittsburgh) to drop them into the ninth-place game, which they won against Houston Roller Derby 209-129.[26] Ohio again finished in ninth place at the 2015 Dallas Division 1 tournament, this time by winning their final game against Rideau Valley of Ottawa, Ontario.[27] For the second straight year, Ohio was a ninth-seeded team at Division 1 Playoffs in 2016, and for the third straight year finished in ninth place, in Madison, beating No Coast Derby Girls (Lincoln, Nebraska) on the third day 227-188.[28] Ohio qualified for the WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs and Championship in 2017 as the eighth seed in Pittsburgh, and finished in tenth place.[29]

Rankings
Season Final ranking[30] Playoffs Championship
2006 23 WFTDA[31] — DNQ
2007 25 WFTDA[32] R1 E[14] DNQ
2008 7 NC[33] DNQ DNQ
2009 12 NC[34] DNQ DNQ
2010 13 NC[35] DNQ DNQ
2011 9 NC[36] 9 NC[15] DNQ
2012 5 NC[37] 4 NC[19] DNQ
2013 22 WFTDA[38] 2 D1[23] QF D1[25]
2014 22 WFTDA[39] 9 D1[26] DNQ
2015 31 WFTDA[40] 9 D1[27] DNQ
2016 36 WFTDA[41] 9 D1[28] DNQ
2017 46 WFTDA[42] N/A 10 D2[29]

Community involvement

From 2008 through 2014, OHRG was an official partner with the City of Columbus Neighborhood Pride Program, designed to improve neighborhoods through increased activism and inter-community involvement.[43] As part of celebrations of the Columbus city bicentennial in 2012, Columbus Alive named the first public games of the league as the 2006 entry in its "200 Arts and Cultural Moments that Shaped the City’s History".[4] Mayor Michael B. Coleman blew the opening whistle at an OHRG event in March 2012, in recognition of it being an official 200 Columbus Event.[11]

References
  1. "Member Leagues". WFTDA. April 2006. Archived from the original on 9 April 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  2. Reed, Tom (16 August 2007). "Girls just want to have fun -- and crush opponents". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  3. Minnear, Travis (11 January 2006). "Rolling Rebels This is not your mother's roller disco". The Lantern - Ohio State's Student Newspaper. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  4. Ross, John (2 February 2012). "Creating Columbus: 2002-2011". Columbus Alive. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. Ellis, Mark (2006-04-23). "Rockin' rollers: Revived derby pits feisty women on skates". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  6. "2007 Heartland Havoc". Ohiorollergirls.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  7. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (21 August 2007). "Heartland Havoc: Day Three | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  8. "Fireworks out at Ohio State Fair this year to save money". 28 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. "Ohio Roller Derby Announces 11th Season". ColumbusUnderground.com. Columbus Underground. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  10. "Official Name Change to Ohio Roller Derby!". Ohio Roller Derby. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  11. Stewart, Jeremy (2 July 2008). "Skaters finding outlet, unity on flat track". ThisWeek Community News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  12. Laster, Jill (3 July 2008). "Skating championship promises rock-and-roll showdown". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  13. Marshall, Justice Feelgood. "Heartland Havoc: Day One | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  14. "North Central 9th Place: 10NC Ohio Closes Out 6NC Madison, 138-118 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  15. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (13 September 2012). "Preview: 2012 WFTDA North Central Region Playoffs | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  16. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (14 September 2012). "NC Playoffs: 5NC Ohio Ejects 4NC Arch Rival, 142-132 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  17. Talionis, Lex (15 September 2012). "NC Semifinal: 1NC Windy City Bests 5NC Ohio, 187-135 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  18. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (16 September 2012). "NC 3rd Place: 3NC Naptown Slams 5NC Ohio, 222-86 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  19. "2012 Tournament MVPs - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  20. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (7 September 2013). "D1FW: (6) Ohio Upsets (3) Arch Rival, 218-166 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  21. Marshall, Justice Feelgood (7 September 2013). "D1FW Semi: (6) Ohio Boxes (2) Montreal, 212-149 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  22. Talionis, Lex (8 September 2013). "D1FW Championship: (1) Denver Squishes (6) Ohio, 304-134 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  23. Deadwards, Lisa (9 November 2013). "D1C: Ohio Traps Rat City, 230-212 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  24. Deadwards, Lisa (9 November 2013). "D1C Quarterfinal: Gotham Flattens Ohio, 509-64 | Derby News Network". Derby News Network. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  25. "D1 Playoffs Evansville, IN Schedule and Scores - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  26. Defiance, Brooklyn (13 September 2015). "D1D 9th Place: #9 Ohio Holds Off #10 Rideau Valley, 251-208". Derby Central. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  27. "D1M: #9 Ohio ousts #7 No Coast, 227-188 | Derby Central". Derby Central. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  28. "2017 WFTDA D2 Tournaments: Pittsburgh Central". Derby Central. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  29. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  30. "12/8/2006 WFTDA National Rankings", WFTDA [version of 23 February 2007]
  31. "Current WFTDA Rankings", Derby News Network, October 2007
  32. "Rankings – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  33. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  34. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  35. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  36. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  37. "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  38. "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  39. "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  40. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  41. "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  42. "Neighborhood Pride Partners". www.columbus.gov. City of Columbus. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
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