Charm City Roller Derby (CCRD), was a flat track
roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...
league in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
. Founded in 2005, Charm City is a member of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History and league structure
The league was established in 2005 as Charm City Roller Girls, when Caroline Donaghy returned to Baltimore from
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, where she had skated with the
Space City Roller Girls, and began promoting the intention to start a league in Baltimore.
The first public Charm City game was held in 2006 at Skateland in Putty Hill.
Upon the league's formation, it comprised four teams: the Junkyard Dolls, the Mobtown Mods, the Night Terrors and the Speed Regime.
As early as 2008, games were being held at the
Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, and by 2009, the league was holding games at
Du Burns Arena in
Canton before sellout crowds of 2,000 fans.
, Charm City has three travel teams: the All-Stars represent the league in WFTDA competition, and Female Trouble and the Trouble Makers are B and C teams, respectively. A three-team home league features the Dundalk Deviants, Hampden Hons and Pigtown Butchers. The All-Stars are known for wearing helmets that feature elements of the
state flag of Maryland, which they first donned in 2008.
Charm City Roller Derby operates as a
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...
.
League member Joy Collision was a member of
Team USA, representing the United States at the
2011 Roller Derby World Cup
The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup was an international women's roller derby tournament organized by ''Blood & Thunder'' magazine. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world were fielded to compete for their respective nations.
The inaugural 20 ...
.
WFTDA competition
Charm City was announced as a new member of the WFTDA in May 2007.
The Charm City All-Stars first competed at WFTDA Playoffs in 2008 as the sixth seed at the
Eastern Regional, where they won their opening game against
Cincinnati Rollergirls, lost their quarterfinal to the
Windy City Rollers but recovered to defeat
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
to finish in fifth place.
In 2009 at the Eastern Regional, Charm City won their opener against
DC Rollergirls but then lost their semifinal to
Philly Roller Girls to put them in the third-place game, which they lost 156-143 to
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to finish in fourth place.
In 2010, an opening round win over
Steel City was followed by a loss to
Gotham Girls Roller Derby to put them in the third-place game again, this time beating Boston 162-128 to finish third and qualify for
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 organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...
for the first time.
At Championships, Charm City won their opening game against
Minnesota Rollergirls 249-118, but then lost their quarterfinal to
Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 165-103 to end their weekend.
At the 2011 East Regional (co-hosted by Charm City and DC Rollergirls at Du Burns Arena), the All-Stars defeated Steel City 189-94 to again finish in third place and advance to Championships.
At Championships, Charm City lost 160-121 to Minnesota in the opening round.
At the 2012 East Regional, Charm City finished in third place for the third straight year, via a 183-159 victory over
London Rollergirls, and again qualified for Championships.
At Championships, a 268-141 loss to
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
in the opening round eliminated the All-Stars.
In 2013, the WFTDA restructured the Playoff system, and Charm City qualified as the ninth seed for
Division 1 Playoffs in
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...
, where upset losses to Detroit and
Sacred City Derby Girls put the All-Stars in the ninth-place game against 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 Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...
, which they won, 189-177.
At the 2014 Division 1 Playoff in Salt Lake City, fourth-seeded Charm City finished in fourth place with a 183-156 loss to Rocky Mountain.
In 2015 at Tucson, Charm City was the fifth seed but dropped down to an eighth-place finish with a 191-165 loss to
Team United Roller Derby.
In 2016, Charm City dropped into
Division 2 for the first time, albeit as the top seed at the Playoff in Lansing, but were eliminated from Division 2 Championships contention with an upset loss to
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, 216-191. Charm City earned third place with a narrow 197-194 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 th ...
.
Charm City returned to Division 1 Playoffs in 2017 at
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
as the twelfth seed, but lost both their games to
Helsinki Roller Derby
Helsinki Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Helsinki in Finland. Founded in 2009, the league currently consists of three travel teams who compete against teams from other leagues. Helsinki Roller Derby is a member o ...
(308-144)
and
Rainy City Roller Derby
Rainy City Roller Derby (RCRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Manchester, England. Founded as Rainy City Roller Girls in 2008, the league consists of three teams that compete against teams from other leagues, and a development te ...
(258-78)
to finish outside of the medals.
In 2018, Charm qualified for the WFTDA North American East
Continental Cup held in
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
as the eighth seed, but after losing their opening game to
North Star Roller Derby 259-176 finished out of the medals.
Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round''
References
External links
Official website
{{WFTDA Division 1
Roller derby leagues in Maryland
Roller derby leagues established in 2005
Sports competitions in Baltimore
Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1
Women's sports in Baltimore
2005 establishments in Maryland