Detroit Roller Derby (DRD) is a women's 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 based in

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 ...

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 ...

. The league was formed as Detroit Derby Girls in January 2005 and held their first bouts in February 2006. In November 2016, the league announced it had officially changed its name to Detroit Roller Derby. Detroit Roller Derby is a founding 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).

Teams

The Detroit Roller Derby league comprises four home teams: the D-Funk Allstars, the Devil's Night Dames, the Detroit Pistoffs, and the Grand Prix Madonnas. In 2010 the league added the Grand Prix Madonnas and moved venues from the

Detroit Masonic Temple The Detroit Masonic Temple is the world's largest Masonic Temple. Located in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various masonic organizations including the York Rite Sovereign College ...

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

. Due to renovations at Cobo, the league has returned to the Detroit Masonic Temple, and occasionally hosts games at the Taylor Sportsplex. The league also has three inter-league travel teams; "A" and "B" all-star teams: The Detroit Roller Derby Allstars, a "C" team: Motor City Disassembly Line (MCDL), and a pick-up style team containing various skill levels: Motown Wreckers.

WFTDA competition

The Detroit Derby Girls finished third in the 2009

WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament The WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament or WFTDA North Central Region Playoffs was one of four annual roller derby regional qualifying tournaments for the WFTDA Championships. The Tournament was organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Assoc ...

, qualifying them to compete in the 2009 National Tournament. At the 2009 WFTDA National Championships, the DDG faced defending WFTDA champions

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 ...

in the first round. Gotham won by a score of 187-38, eliminating Detroit from the tournament. In 2014, Detroit was the first champion of the newly created

WFTDA Division 2 The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 2 (WFTDA Division 2) was the second-highest level of play in women's flat track roller derby from 2013 through 2017. Comprising different structures over that time, in early 2018 the Women's Flat Tr ...

, defeating Rideau Valley Roller Girls of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada in the final. In 2015, Detroit hosted a Division 2 playoff tournament, while returning themselves to Division 1 play at Jacksonville, where they placed sixth. In 2016, Detroit finished eighth at the Division 1 tournament hosted in Montreal. At the 2017 Division 1 Playoff in

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 ...

, Detroit finished outside of the medals after losing their quarterfinal to

. In 2018, Detroit was the twelfth seed at the WFTDA Playoff in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, Spain, and ended their weekend with a narrow 224-223 consolation round victory against Sailor City Rollers.

Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round''

Film appearance

A number of skaters of the Detroit Derby Girls appeared in

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

's directorial debut film, ''

Whip It! ''Whip It'' is a 2009 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Drew Barrymore in her directorial debut and written by Shauna Cross, based on her 2007 novel '' Derby Girl''. The film is co-produced by Barrymore and Barry Mendel. It stars Ellio ...

''.PrideSource - Detroit Derby Girls discuss part in Drew Barrymore film, 'Whip It!'
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References

External links

Detroit Roller Derby official website
{{Michigan sports Roller derby leagues established in 2005 Roller derby leagues in Michigan Women's sports in the United States Sports clubs and teams in Detroit Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 2005 establishments in Michigan