Columbia Roller Derby is a

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 based in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Founded in 2007, the league has two travel teams: Columbia Quad Squad (A) and Soda City Jerks (B) as well as a

junior roller derby Junior roller derby is the sport of roller derby, modified for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. The sport is played in both modified-contact, known as "positional blocking," and full-contact approaches, to facilitate safety across ...

team, Columbia Junior Roller Derby. Columbia 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).

League history

Founded in March 2007 by eight local women, Columbia played its first bout in August 2007. The league consisted of the Allstars, who represented the league in WFTDA interleague competitions around the country, and the Miss B-havers, the B team. There were also three home teams: Belles on Wheels, Capitol City Vixens and Spawn of Skatin'. The travel teams have since been renamed Columbia QuadSquad (A) and Soda City Jerks (B). In April 2009, it hosted and won the first South Carolina state championships, defeating the Lowcountry Highrollers and the Richland County Regulators. It has attracted attention for the diverse jobs held by its members, including a figure skater and an aquatic biologist, while its coach is a law professor at the University of South Carolina. The QuadSquad was accepted into the

Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice is the program affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). In operation from 2009 until early 2019, the Apprentice Program served to onboard new member leagues into the WFTDA. ...

Program in April 2011,12 Leagues Accepted into Apprentice Program
, WFTDA, 13 April 2011 and became a full member of the WFTDA in March 2012. The league was described in the local ''Free Times'' as having "regional dominance". Columbia defeated Carolina Roller Derby in February 2012, following which, it was ranked at number 25 in the ''

Derby News Network Derby News Network (DNN), based in Baltimore, was an internet broadcast network, founded in 2007, which featured the women's skating sport of roller derby. DNN used the internet to collect remote streaming video Video on demand (VOD) is a med ...

'' Power Rankings. Announced a few hours before becoming a full WFTDA member, Columbia Roller Derby was the second apprentice league ever to enter the Power Rankings, after the

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 ...

. In 2016, Columbia hosted a WFTDA Division 1 Playoff tournament at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, which was forecasted to create over $300,000 in economic impact.

WFTDA competition

Columbia QuadSquad, ranked at the time 41st in the WFTDA, was selected to play in the 2013 WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs. They competed in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

September 20–22, 2013. Columbia entered the weekend as the tenth seed, and ultimately finished in tenth place. In 2014, Columbia again qualified for Division 1 Playoffs, entering the Charleston tournament as the ninth seed, and finished in eighth place. In 2015, Columbia dropped into Division 2 Playoffs as the third seed in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and ended the weekend in ninth place. In 2016, Columbia returned to Division 1 Playoffs and competed at the tournament they themselves hosted, finishing the weekend with their opening seeding, in eighth place. Columbia qualified for the Division 2 Playoffs and Championship in 2017 as the eleventh seed in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and finished in eleventh place with a 167-156 victory over

No Coast Derby Girls The No Coast Roller Derby is a co-ed flat track roller derby league based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two mixed teams which compete against teams from other leagues. No Coast is a member of the Women's ...

. In 2018, Columbia 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 sixth seed, but after losing their quarter final to

Charlottesville Derby Dames Charlottesville Derby Dames (CDD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 2007, CDD is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History and organization Following a social ...

203-107 finished out of the medals.

Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round''

Southern Discomfort tournament

In late April 2014 the league hosted its first annual Southern Discomfort Tournament. This invitational tournament hosted 10 teams featuring Killamazoo Derby Darlins,

Charlotte Roller Girls Charlotte Roller Derby (CLTRD), formerly Charlotte Roller Girls, is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Founded in 2006, Charlotte Roller Derby is a member of ...

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 ...

Nashville Roller Girls Nashville Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded as Nashville Rollergirls, the league is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History and structure The league was f ...

Cape Fear Roller Girls Cape Fear Roller Girls (CFRG) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 2005, the league consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues, and is a member of the Women's Flat T ...

, Garden State Roller Girls, Brandywine Roller Girls,

Roc City Roller Derby Roc City Roller Derby (RCRD) is a roller derby league based in Rochester, New York. Founded in 2008, it has three league or home teams, and two travel teams which compete against teams from other leagues. The league primarily plays at The Dome ...

, and the Columbia Roller Derby themselves.Southern Discomfort

References

{{South Carolina Sports Sports in Columbia, South Carolina Roller derby leagues established in 2007 Roller derby leagues in South Carolina Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 2 2007 establishments in South Carolina