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

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 ...

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, ...

. 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 (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 neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various Freemasonry, masonic organizations including the ...

to Cobo Arena. 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, 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 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, defeating Rideau Valley Roller Girls of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, 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 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 ...

, Detroit finished outside of the medals after losing their quarterfinal to Gotham Girls Roller Derby. In 2018, Detroit was the twelfth seed at the WFTDA Playoff in

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

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

Rankings

* ''CR = consolation round'' * ''CC = Continental Cup''

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, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...

's directorial debut film, ''

Whip It! ''Whip It'' is a 2009 American Sports film, sports comedy drama film co-produced and directed by Drew Barrymore from a screenplay by Shauna Cross, based on her 2007 novel ''Derby Girl''. It stars Elliot Page as a teenage girl from the fictional t ...

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

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 Detroit Sports clubs and teams in Detroit Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 2005 establishments in Michigan