The '
Victorian Roller Derby League
'' (VRDL or Victoria) 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

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Founded in 2007, VRDL provides opportunities for all ages and at all levels to participate and compete in Roller Derby. VRDL 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), having gained membership in December 2011. In November 2017, VRDL became the first non-American team to win 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 ( ...

. Since 2019, VRDL is the 2nd-

ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

team in the WFTDA. VRDL consists of three adult representative teams that compete in interleague competitions within

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and internationally: * VRDL All Stars / Lightning - the International representative team. * VRDL Thunder - The National representative team (Thunder) * VRDL Storm - The State representative team (Storm) VRDL also has two Home Teams, the Toxic Avengers and Dead Ringer Rosies. VRDL is currently planning the 2023 Home Season with dates. Alongside their adult teams, VRDL also runs Victorian Junior Roller Derby League, with both developmental and competitive training for junior skaters.

History

Founded in March 2007, the Victorian Roller Derby League was started by Cherry Rockette (Mandar Nelson), Betty Bamalam, Toxic Judy, Denim Destructor (Chandelle Macklin) and Hidden Magenta. By the end of the year the VRDL had 40 members, playing their first invite-only bout for friends and family at the Dandenong Showgrounds, and by 2009 the three teams were competing at 'Puckhandlers' in the suburb of

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. In 2008, the first interleague bout in Australia, "Skate of Origin", was held. The VRDL travelled to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to compete against

Adelaide Roller Derby Adelaide Roller Derby (ADRD) is a roller derby league based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2007, the league has four competitive home teams; The Mile Die Club, The Salties (formerly The Salty Dolls), The Road Train Rollers and The Wil ...

. The Victorians won at the end of a close bout. Other interleague bouts over the years have included "Skate of Origin 2" in Melbourne, where the Adelaide team defeated the Victorians; the

Great Southern Slam The Great Southern Slam (TGSS) is the largest competitive roller derby event in the Southern Hemisphere, contested by teams from New Zealand and Australia. It is held bi-annually in Adelaide in South Australia. TGSS was created and continues ...

in 2010, in which the VRDL won the largest roller derby competition that had been held outside of the United States; and the

Canberra Roller Derby League The Canberra Roller Derby League (CRDL) is a Canberra-based roller derby league. It was created in 2008, with the first bouts occurring in 2009. Canberra currently holds the Division 1 trophy for The Great Southern Slam. Canberra is a member ...

at the

AIS Arena AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Canberra, Australia. Its capacity is 5,200 and it was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indo ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 2011. In 2010 bouts were moved to the

Melbourne Showgrounds Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds ...

, and in 2011 the VRDL was both accepted into the

WFTDA Apprentice program 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. ...

and gained a new training ground in Preston. The VRDL was the first league in Australia to be accepted into the WFTDA Apprentice program. In December 2011, they graduated from 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 and became full members of the WFTDA - the first Australian member, as well as the first member league in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. This created opportunities to compete in Europe and the United States. In 2011 the VRDL played their first international match against the Hotrod Honeys from 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 ...

, losing out to the more experienced side. In November 2011 the VRDL played their second international match against the Rat City All Stars from the

Rat City Rollergirls Rat City Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2004 as Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, the league has incorporated alternative cultural influences, and has inspired and mentored other leagues. Rat C ...

, again losing to the more experienced team, but gaining a lot of skills in the process. In 2012 the league expanded to four home teams and two levels of skater development within their recreational league. In April the travel team competed in their first international tournament in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The Dust Devil Tournament is an invite-only event, which was then in its fifth year. The VRDL went into the tournament seeded tenth and ended in fifth place. The league used to field four home teams: Dead Ringer Rosies, Toxic Avengers, Rock Mobsters and Dolls of Hazzard. For now, these have been retired. In 2022,

hosted The Great Southern Slam at the

Adelaide Convention Centre The Adelaide Convention Centre is a large convention centre on North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. It was the first purpose-built convention centre to be built in Australia. History The convention centre was designed by John Andrews a ...

. VRDL sent both teams Lightning and Thunder. Lightning made it to the grand final against

, winning the final 248-66 and placing 1st in Australia. Thunder won the game to place 3rd in Australia in a tight game against

Brisbane City Rollers The Brisbane City Rollers (BCR) is a roller derby league based in Queensland, Australia. It consists of 3 women's intraleague teams, two women's travel teams and 1 men's travel team, which play against teams from other leagues. It is the ol ...

137-135.

In the community

The VRDL won the

Women's Health Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...

magazine inaugural Women in Sport Award for best 'A' team of the year in August 2011, citing the general groundswell of support from the Australia-wide roller derby community for this people's choice award. They contribute to the wider roller derby community in Australia by holding Master Classes and bootcamps on a regular basis, their coaches visit fledgling leagues all over Australia and are actively involved in the Australia Roller Derby Coalition (ARDC).

WFTDA competition

The VRDL All-Stars represent the Victorian Roller Derby League in WFTDA competition. In July 2013, VRDL was ranked at 31, earning them their first appearance in a WFTDA Division 1 playoff tournament, held in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

September 27 through 29, 2013. VRDL entered the tournament as the eighth

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

out of ten teams. This marked the first appearance in the WFTDA playoffs by an Australian and southern hemisphere-based league. With victories over 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, VRDL finished the tournament in fifth place. 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 ...

, VRDL defeated

Philly Roller Derby 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 organi ...

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 ...

and

to finish in first place. The league continued to strengthen, and in 2017 won the

, beating previous champions

Rose City Rollers The Rose City Rollers is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Portland, Oregon, operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Established in 2004, the Ro ...

180 to 101 in the final. VRDL jammer Samara "

Lady Trample Samara Pepperell (born 1991), known as Lady Trample, is a roller derby skater from New Zealand. Winner of the Most Valuable Player award at the 2017 WFTDA Championships, she is also the founder of the Chicks in Bowls (now Community in Bowls, CIB f ...

" Pepperell was named the tournament MVP. In 2018, VRDL received a bye directly to WFTDA Championships, by placing within the top four teams overall, as the first seed, in the 30 June rankings. At Championships in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in November, VRDL finished in second place, losing the final to Rose City in a rematch of the 2017 title game, 144-121. In 2019, VRDL received another bye to move straight to the championships. VRDL won against

Angel City Derby Angel City Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2006 by a collective of skaters, the league is composed of nearly 200 members divided into four teams who skate on a flat track and compete ...

169-88 to proceed to the semi-finals and was beaten by

Gotham 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 a close match 109-103. VRDL then played for 3rd against

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 ...

and after a tight and competitive game, won with a score of 119-107.

Rankings

With the March 2017 WFTDA rankings release, VRDL was the top-ranked team in the WFTDA for the first time. VRDL has maintained a position in the top 3 since. * ''bye = received bye directly to WFTDA Championships''

References

External links