Duke City Roller Derby (DCRD) 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

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Founded in 2005, Duke City 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. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...

(WFTDA).

History

Founded in 2005, Duke City is the oldest roller derby organization in Albuquerque. Early on, the league comprised three teams based in Albuquerque, one in Santa Fe and one in

Rio Rancho Rio Rancho () is the largest and most populous city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It is the third ...

. By 2009, the league had moved its home events to the

Santa Ana Star Center Rio Rancho Events Center is an 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a city located near Albuquerque. The arena is located near the intersection of Unser Boulevard and Paseo del Volcan. It is part of a larger "City Center" pro ...

, with the hopes of drawing 1,000 fans per game. Originally in the WFTDA's

West Region Western Region or West Region may refer to: Places *Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi, the Western Region *Western Region, Bahrain * Western Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa *Western Region, Ghana *Western Region (Iceland) *Western Region, Nepal *Western Reg ...

, Duke City was moved to the

South Central Region In Vietnam, South Central Coast () and South Central Region () are two terms which can refer to the same region or two regions that do not correspond to each other. South Central Coast (sometimes called "South Central Region") consists of the i ...

in 2011. Duke City has been credited with developing "slow derby" strategies that are still employed by top teams in the WFTDA.

Teams

Duke City has three home teams, comprising the Disco Brawlers, Dooms Dames and Hobots. Duke City has two travel teams, the Juggernaughties B-team, and the Muñecas Muertas - "Murder Dolls" - A team, which competes against other A teams of members of the WFTDA. Duke City also operates a

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 ...

branch called the Marionettes, for girls between the ages of 8 and 17.

WFTDA competition

Duke City's all-star travel team, the Mueñcas Muertas, represented the league at the first

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 ...

in 2006, where they finished 19th out of 20 teams. At the 2007 WFTDA Western Regional Tournament Duke City won their opening game 110–82 over the

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Rocky Mountain Roller Derby (RMRD) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2004, Rocky Mountain is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and has qualified for WFTDA Playoffs every ...

, but then lost to

Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby (TRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league located in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in late 2003, Tucson Roller Derby is a skater-run non-profit organization and hosts monthly roller derby competitions showcasing bouts invol ...

in the quarterfinals, 166–41. At the 2008 Western Regional, Duke City opened with a victory over

Pikes Peak Derby Dames Pikes Peak Derby Dames is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2005, Pike's Peak is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). League history and organization Pikes P ...

and then upset the defending WFTDA Champion

Kansas City Roller Warriors The Kansas City Roller Warriors (KCRW) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Kansas City, Kansas that was founded in 2004. The members of the league are split into four home teams that play within the league and two travel teams tha ...

132–117, automatically qualifying for Championships. Duke City then lost to

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

in the semifinals and

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 ...

in the third place game to finish Westerns in fourth place. At Championships in Portland, Duke City lost their opening round game to

Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, 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 the sport's gover ...

182–25.Northwest Knockdown Tournament Results
, Northwest Knockdown ersion of 25 March 2016/ref> At the 2009 Western Regional, Duke City lost the fifth place game to Bay Area 105–103 to finish in sixth place. As the eighth seed at the 2009 Western Playoff, Duke City lost their opening games to Tucson and

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 ...

, before falling to

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 ...

to finish in tenth place. Ahead of the 2013 season, the WFTDA restructured its playoff system and that year Duke City qualified for the first Division 2 Playoff in Des Moines, Iowa as the sixth seed. Duke City defeated the

Omaha Rollergirls Omaha Roller Derby is a flat-track roller derby sports-league based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 2006 as Omaha Rollergirls, the league is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). History and structure Omaha Rollergirls was ...

212–189 to finish in seventh place.

Rankings

In the community

Duke City members do community outreach and fundraising, for organizations such as

Ronald McDonald House Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of ...

and the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico.

References

External links

DCRD Official Website
{{New Mexico Sports Roller derby leagues in New Mexico Women's Flat Track Derby Association Sports in Albuquerque, New Mexico Roller derby leagues established in 2005 2005 establishments in New Mexico Women's sports in New Mexico