Charm City Roller Derby (CCRD), is a flat track

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

league in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Founded in 2005, Charm City is a member of the

Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...

(WFTDA).

History and league structure

The league was established in 2005 as Charm City Roller Girls, when Caroline Donaghy returned to Baltimore from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where she had skated with the Space City Roller Girls, and began promoting the intention to start a league in Baltimore. The first public Charm City game was held in 2006 at Skateland in Putty Hill. Upon the league's formation, it comprised four teams: the Junkyard Dolls, the Mobtown Mods, the Night Terrors and the Speed Regime. As early as 2008, games were being held at the

Fifth Regiment Armory The Fifth Regiment Armory is a historic National Guard armory located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is an imposing, fortress-type structure situated in midtown Baltimore. It consists of a full basement, a first floor containing a 200 fo ...

in Baltimore, and by 2009, the league was holding games at Du Burns Arena in Canton before sellout crowds of 2,000 fans. As of 2017, Charm City has three travel teams: the All-Stars represent the league in WFTDA competition, and Female Trouble and the Trouble Makers are B and C teams, respectively. A three-team home league features the Dundalk Deviants, Hampden Hons and Pigtown Butchers. The All-Stars are known for wearing helmets that feature elements of the state flag of Maryland, which they first donned in 2008. Charm City Roller Derby operates as a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

. League member Joy Collision was a member of

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

, representing the United States at the

2011 Roller Derby World Cup The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup was an international women's roller derby tournament organized by ''Blood & Thunder'' magazine. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world were fielded to compete for their respective nations. The inaugural 20 ...

WFTDA competition

Charm City was announced as a new member of the WFTDA in May 2007. The Charm City All-Stars first competed at WFTDA Playoffs in 2008 as the sixth seed at the Eastern Regional, where they won their opening game against Cincinnati Rollergirls, lost their quarterfinal to the

Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers is a women's flat-track roller derby league located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Juanna Rumbel (Elizabeth Gomez) and Sister Sledgehammer (Kelly Simmons) in 2004, Windy City is the first flat-track roller derby league establ ...

but recovered to defeat

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

to finish in fifth place. In 2009 at the Eastern Regional, Charm City won their opener against

DC Rollergirls DC Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league in Washington, D.C. DC Rollergirls is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History DC Rollergirls was founded in early 2006 by Ginger Park, Shannon Flowers and ...

but then lost their semifinal to

Philly Roller Girls Philly Roller Derby (PRD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2005, Philly Roller Derby is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). League history First organ ...

to put them in the third-place game, which they lost 156-143 to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to finish in fourth place. In 2010, an opening round win over

Steel City The Steel City is a common nickname for many cities that were once known for their production of large amounts of steel. With industrial production also in developing countries, like those in Eastern Europe and Asia, most of these cities do n ...

was followed by a loss to

Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York (state), New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham is the first flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area and a founding member league of ...

to put them in the third-place game again, this time beating Boston 162-128 to finish third and qualify for

WFTDA Championships The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues. The Championships are organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association ( ...

for the first time. At Championships, Charm City won their opening game against

Minnesota Rollergirls Minnesota Roller Derby (MNRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. Founded in August 2004 as Minnesota RollerGirls by the Donnelly sisters, MNRD was one of the first 30 members of the Women's Fl ...

249-118, but then lost their quarterfinal to

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Rocky Mountain Roller Derby (RMRD) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2004, Rocky Mountain is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and has qualified for WFTDA Playoffs every ...

165-103 to end their weekend. At the 2011 East Regional (co-hosted by Charm City and DC Rollergirls at Du Burns Arena), the All-Stars defeated Steel City 189-94 to again finish in third place and advance to Championships. At Championships, Charm City lost 160-121 to Minnesota in the opening round. At the 2012 East Regional, Charm City finished in third place for the third straight year, via a 183-159 victory over

London Rollergirls London Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league and a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league were founding members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA). The league has four travel teams ...

, and again qualified for Championships. At Championships, a 268-141 loss to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in the opening round eliminated the All-Stars. In 2013, the WFTDA restructured the Playoff system, and Charm City qualified as the ninth seed for Division 1 Playoffs in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, where upset losses to Detroit and

Sacred City Derby Girls Sacramento Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Sacramento, California. Originally two separate leagues founded in 2006, Sac City Rollers and Sacred City Derby Girls, who mutually announced a pending merger in late 20 ...

put the All-Stars in the ninth-place game against the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

, which they won, 189-177. At the 2014 Division 1 Playoff in Salt Lake City, fourth-seeded Charm City finished in fourth place with a 183-156 loss to Rocky Mountain. In 2015 at Tucson, Charm City was the fifth seed but dropped down to an eighth-place finish with a 191-165 loss to Team United Roller Derby. In 2016, Charm City dropped into Division 2 for the first time, albeit as the top seed at the Playoff in Lansing, but were eliminated from Division 2 Championships contention with an upset loss to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, 216-191. Charm City earned third place with a narrow 197-194 win over

Wasatch Roller Derby Wasatch Roller Derby (WRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 2008, Wasatch is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History and organization Originally emerging from the ...

. Charm City returned to Division 1 Playoffs in 2017 at

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

as the twelfth seed, but lost both their games to

Helsinki Roller Derby Helsinki Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Helsinki in Finland. Founded in 2009, the league currently consists of three travel teams who compete against teams from other leagues. Helsinki Roller Derby is a member ...

(308-144) and

Rainy City Roller Derby Rainy City Roller Derby (RCRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Oldham, England. Founded as Rainy City Roller Girls in 2008, the league consists of four adult teams, which compete against teams from other leagues, and a junior rolle ...

(258-78) to finish outside of the medals. In 2018, Charm qualified for the WFTDA North American East Continental Cup held in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

as the eighth seed, but after losing their opening game to

North Star Roller Derby North Star Roller Derby (NSRD) is a non-profit women's flat track roller derby league based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. North Star plays its home games at the Warner Coliseum, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). I ...

259-176 finished out of the medals.

Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round''

References

External links

Official website
{{WFTDA Division 1 Roller derby leagues in Maryland Roller derby leagues established in 2005 Sports competitions in Baltimore Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 Women's sports in Maryland 2005 establishments in Maryland