Rocky Mountain Roller Derby (RMRD) 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 based in

Denver, Colorado 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 ...

. Founded in 2004, Rocky Mountain 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), and has qualified for WFTDA Playoffs every year, including winning the

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 ( ...

in 2010.

History and organization

Rocky Mountain Roller Derby formed as the first contemporary roller derby league in Denver in 2004, and by July 2005 held their first local game, between the Red Ridin' Hoods and the Sugar Kill Gang. Later that year, the nascent organization split and a number of former members launched the rival

Denver Roller Dolls Denver Roller Derby (DRD) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. The league was founded in December 2005. Denver Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), joining in December 2007 as De ...

. In January 2010, RMRG moved into the Fillmore Auditorium, selling out their season opener in February. By 2014, Rocky Mountain Roller Derby had roughly 110 members, and a league comprising 4 home teams and 3 travel teams. Home teams are the Red Ridin' Hoods, the Sugar Kill Gang, United States Pummeling Service, and Dooms Daisies. All-stars from those teams form the interleague A travel team, the 5280 Fight Club, which competes against other roller derby leagues for rankings. A second (B) travel team, the Contenders, consists of Fight Club alternates and other league skaters. The latest Rocky Mountain Roller Derby travel team is Project Mayhem. Rocky Mountain Roller Derby is a registered non-profit organization.

WFTDA competition

The Rocky Mountain Roller Derby finished second in the 2009

WFTDA Western Regional Tournament The WFTDA Western Regional Tournament or WFTDA West Region Playoffs was one of four roller derby qualifying tournaments for the WFTDA Championships. The Tournament was organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Full WFTDA memb ...

, which they co-hosted with the

, qualifying them to compete in the 2009 Championships. At the 2009

, the 5280 Fight Club defeated

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 ...

in the first round by a score of 239-46. In the quarterfinals, RMRG beat the Philly Rollergirls Liberty Belles in overtime, 128-121, eliminating Philly from the tournament. In the semifinals, the 5280 Fight Club lost to the

Texas Rollergirls Texas Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas. Founded in early 2003 and widely credited as the league that started the modern roller derby movement, the Texas Rollergirls were the first flat-track league in ...

139-82, with Texas advancing to the championship bout and Rocky Mountain going to the third-place bout. Finally, the Rocky Mountain Roller Derby lost to the

in their second matchup ever, 151-103, to finish in fourth place for the tournament. The Rocky Mountain Roller Derby handed the

Oly Rollers The Oly Rollers are a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Olympia, Washington. Founded in February 2006, the Oly Rollers have won both the WFTDA Championship and the USARS National Championship. The Oly Rollers are a member of the W ...

their first ever defeat to finish first in the 2010 Western Regional Tournament. Just over a month later, Rocky Mountain faced Oly again in a rematch for the 2010 WFTDA Championships. In one of the most intense games in WFTDA history, Rocky Mountain beat Oly again by a score of 147-146 to claim their first WFTDA Championship. Prior to meeting Oly in the finals, Rocky Mountain's 5280 Fight Club had to get past previously-undefeated Gotham (113-79) in the semi-finals. In 2017, Rocky again qualified for WFTDA Playoffs ranked at 31 overall on June 30, however they declined their invitation to Playoffs.

Rankings

In popular culture

In 2013, league members Beth "Fiona Grapple" Bandimere and Mona "Triple Shot Misto" Egender competed on

Season 22 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'', and finished in third place; promotional materials provided ample coverage of Rocky Mountain Roller Derby.

References

External links

Rocky Mountain Roller Derby Official Website
{{Colorado Sports Roller derby leagues established in 2004 Sports clubs and teams in Denver Women's sports in the United States Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 Roller derby leagues in Colorado 2004 establishments in Colorado