Queen City Roller Derby or QCRD, is the 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 Buffalo,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Founded as Queen City Roller Derby in 2006, the league is scheduled to play its fourteenth season in 2020. QCRD 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). Since 2016, Queen City plays home games at

Buffalo RiverWorks Buffalo RiverWorks is a multipurpose indoor venue and restaurant located on the shore of the Buffalo River in Buffalo, New York. History The property incorporates the original Wheeler grain elevator that was built in 1909. Notable events ...

on the city's waterfront, drawing upwards of 1,000 fans to events, with the home-team season typically running from January through June. The facility at RiverWorks is a private development that includes a purpose-built flat track for roller derby, and is credited for helping the league sell over 10,000 tickets in the 2016 season. During the 2019 season, Queen City changed its name to Queen City Roller Derby to represent the league's inclusiveness of all people.

Teams

Queen City is currently composed of three home teams: the Alley Kats, the Devil Dollies and the Saucies. The Nickel City Knockouts, who won four consecutive home team championships starting in 2012, were retired after the 2015 season. The training team is the Queen's Court. The league also brought back a B-level travel development team in 2016, named the Subzero Sirens. QCRD has an affiliated

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 m ...

league, The Queen City Junior Roller Derby which comprises two teams, The Cereal Killers and The Atomic Bettys. The juniors also have an All-Star travel team.

WFTDA competition

The All-Star travel team is the Lake Effect Furies. The Furies first qualified for WFTDA Playoffs in 2013, as the sixth seed at the Division 2 Playoffs in

Kalamazoo, Michigan 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 ...

, where they placed 9th. In 2014, the Furies returned to Division 2 Playoffs, this time in

Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...

, entering as the second seed and ultimately coming in 5th place. In 2015, Queen City made their first trip to Division 1 Playoffs at

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, which included a last-jam upset victory over

Toronto Roller Derby Toronto Roller Derby (ToRD), is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 2006, the league started play in 2007, and held its tenth season in 2016. Operated and managed by its skaters and members, ToRD has f ...

, 232-229. The Furies entered the weekend as the ninth seed and improved to eighth by Sunday. In 2016, Queen City returned for their second consecutive Division 1 Playoff, as the ninth seed in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and finished the weekend in sixth. At the 2017 Division 1 Playoff in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Queen City won their opening game against

Houston Roller Derby Houston Roller Derby (HRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Houston, Texas. HRD was founded in early 2004, and is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History Originally formed in earl ...

, but then lost their quarterfinal to

Arch Rival Roller Derby Arch Rival Roller Derby, or ARCH, is a women's flat-track roller derby league in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 2005, Arch Rival is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History Arch Rival Roller Derby was founded as "Ar ...

. Queen City finished their weekend with a 270-77 consolation bracket 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 ...

. At the 2018 WFTDA Playoffs in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Queen City lost both its games, including a tight consolation round game to

Bear City Roller Derby Bear City Roller Derby (BCRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Berlin. Founded in 2008, Bear City is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History The league was founded as the Berlin Bombshells, although it n ...

, 218-212.

Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round''

References

External links

Queen City official websiteBuffalo RiverWorks
{{New York Sports Roller derby leagues in New York (state) Women's sports in the United States Sports in Buffalo, New York Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 Roller derby leagues established in 2006 2006 establishments in New York (state)