Toronto Roller Derby
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Toronto Roller Derby (ToRD), 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 in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, 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 four house teams, one rookie travel team, and one WFTDA charter travel team. Since 2011, the league has operated out of a space in
Downsview Park Downsview Park () is a large urban park located in the Downsview, Toronto, Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was ...
, but announced in January 2015 that they were in search of a new home. They moved to another space near Downsview Park from 2015 - 2020. When the pandemic hit they lost the venue, and postponed practices until 2022. Since then they have moved to a new venue. After the pandemic the team's Chicks Ahoy!, Gore-Gore Roller Girls, Death Track Dolls and The Smoke City Bandits have been disbanded and the teams that remain are The All Stars and The Toxins (formerly known as the Vipers). The house league season runs in the spring and summer, with events for ToRD's all-star travel team scheduled year round. Toronto Roller Derby 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. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...
, having gained membership in June 2011. In December 2011 ToRD served as host of the inaugural
Roller Derby World Cup The Roller Derby World Cup is an international women's roller derby tournament formerly organized by ''Blood & Thunder magazine'', and currently organized by the Roller Derby World Cup Committee. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world c ...
.


League history and structure

In 2006, two separate organizations, the Toronto Terrors and the Smoke City Betties, formed independently with the goal of launching roller derby in Toronto, and after taking part in an event known as "Betties D Day" that August, joined forces to create Toronto Roller Derby. As of the 2018 season, Toronto Roller Derby has an all-star travel team, a rookie team, and a four-team house league. Until midway through the 2018 season, home events were held at The Bunker (also known as "Studio 3"), a former
Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
supply depot, located in
Downsview Park Downsview Park () is a large urban park located in the Downsview, Toronto, Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was ...
:. After losing access to the Bunker space in 2018, while ToRD continues to practice at Downsview Park, the new space is not suitable for hosting public games, leaving the league seeking alternative options for events.


Home teams

The Chicks Ahoy! feature bright green uniforms with a sailor theme. "The Chicks" appeared in the league final five out of the league's first six years, and were the league champion in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017. The Death Track Dolls uniforms are white jerseys with red "blood splatter" accents. "The Dolls" won their first league championship in 2013. The Gore-Gore Rollergirls wear distinctive leopard-print outfits. The only team to have appeared in all of the first six championship bouts, "The Gores" were the winners of the league's first final in 2007 and were the first league team to capture back to back titles, winning in 2009 and 2010. As of 2018, the Gores have appeared in all but two league championships, and won the league championship in 2018. Originally known as the Smoke City Betties, the Smoke City Bandits wear black and blue uniforms and were runner up in the 2009 and 2013 league finals, and in 2015 won their first championship. In December 2016, the league announced that the team had rebranded as the Smoke City Bandits.


League championship history

At the end of every season, Toronto Roller Derby holds playoff bouts, with the two finalists playing for the league championship trophy, known as The Boot.


Travel teams


Toronto Roller Derby All-Stars

Toronto Roller Derby's charter travel team, formerly named CN Power (playing on the name of the
CN Tower The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...
, a Toronto landmark) is the Toronto Roller Derby All-Stars. Every year, league members, including transfer skaters who have yet to be drafted to a home team, participate in tryouts, the results of which are used to select the All-Stars' roster. The team colours are pink, silver and white, and it plays home and away games against teams from other cities' leagues. Toronto was originally placed in WFTDA's North Central region, and after the introduction of the Divisions system debuted in Division 2 at 49th overall. By the end of 2013, Toronto had advanced 20 slots to 29th overall, and competed as a Division 1 team beginning in 2014.


WFTDA competition

CN Power, initially representing Toronto in the WFTDA's North Central Region, received their first
ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, 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 ...
at the conclusion of the 2011 WFTDA season, and debuted at 17th in the region. At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2012, this ranking had improved to 15th, and after the second quarter, another improvement, to 13th. In 2013, the WFTDA did away with regional rankings, and changed to ranking all member leagues from top to bottom; as of April 2013, Toronto was ranked 49th out of 155 ranked teams overall. In July 2013, it was announced that Toronto had moved 10 spots up in the rankings, to 39th overall, qualifying them for their first appearance in the WFTDA Division 1 playoffs, held in September 2013 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 ...
. On the first day of the tournament, Toronto, seeded tenth in the tournament, upset the seventh-seeded Sacred City Derby Girls in their first bout of the weekend, 215–90. This set up a bout versus the second-seeded Atlanta Rollergirls, who defeated Toronto 219–171. On the Saturday, CN Power upset the sixth-seeded
Boston Derby Dames Boston Roller Derby (BRD) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Boston, Massachusetts. The league was founded as Boston Derby Dames in May 2005, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league's all ...
, narrowly defeating them 204-198, and qualified for the bout to determine fifth place on the Sunday, where they fell 208-124 to the All Stars from the
Victorian Roller Derby League The 'Victorian Roller Derby League'' (VRDL or Victoria) is a flat track roller derby league based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 2007, VRDL provides opportunities for all ages and at all levels to participate and compete in Roller Derby. VR ...
, ending the tournament with a sixth-place finish. As of March 31, 2014, Toronto was ranked 13th in the WFTDA, making Toronto the highest-ranked team in Canada for the first time. In 2014, CN Power qualified for the WFTDA playoffs for the second time, with an overall ranking of 23, earning them an appearance at their second consecutive Division 1 playoff tournament, held September 19–21 in
Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
. Toronto entered the tournament as the sixth seed, and played their first game of the tournament against the
Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers is a women's flat-track roller derby league located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Juanna Rumbel (Elizabeth Gomez) and Sister Sledgehammer (Kelly Simmons) in 2004, Windy City is the first flat-track roller derby league establi ...
of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, losing 327-80, relegating them to the consolation bracket. Toronto then defeated the All Stars of Houston Roller Derby 220-140, lost to
Arizona Roller Derby Arizona Roller Derby is Arizona's first all female roller derby league. It was founded in 2003 making it one of the oldest resurgence roller derby leagues in America. Arizona Roller Derby, abbreviated as AZRD, is one of the founding members of th ...
167-137 and defeated Steel City Roller Derby of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, 184-170, to finish the tournament in seventh place. In 2015, CN Power again qualified for the WFTDA Division 1 playoffs, entering as the eighth seed in
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
,
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, and lost all three of their games to end the tournament in tenth place. After missing the WFTDA post-season in 2016 and 2017, in 2018, Toronto was ranked 59th overall in the June 30 rankings update, and received an invitation to a Continental Cup, but declined their invitation.


Rankings

* ''DNP = did not play''


Quad City Chaos

From 2010 through 2015, Toronto Roller Derby hosted an invitational tournament called Quad City Chaos each March, bringing in three WFTDA Division 1 leagues' A teams to play the All-Stars, along with B teams. In 2015 the leagues were the
Boston Derby Dames Boston Roller Derby (BRD) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Boston, Massachusetts. The league was founded as Boston Derby Dames in May 2005, and is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league's all ...
, Steel City Roller Derby from
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and the Rideau Valley Roller Girls from
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 ...
.


Bay Street Bruisers

The Bay Street Bruisers were one of the original six home teams when the league started play in 2007, but disbanded in early 2009 along with the original D-VAS. In 2011 the Bruisers name was resurrected for a "B team", to be a secondary travel squad in addition to CN Power. In October 2011, it was announced that they intended to start game play in 2012. The Bruisers uniforms are navy blue and gold, and feature a necktie detail, referencing their
namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...
in Toronto's financial district,
Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...
. On May 20, 2012, The Bruisers played their first interleague bout against the Ohio Roller Girls' B-team, Gang Green, bowing to the Ohio team, 163–109. In July 2012, the Bruisers competed at the Roller Derby Association of Canada's Eastern Region Championship tournament, held in
Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
, and finished the tournament in first place, defeating the All Stars from Forest City Derby Girls (
London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
) in the final, 163–88. The Bruisers' roster is determined using the same tryout process that determines the CN Power roster.


Vipers

Two teams from the original group of six in 2007 disbanded before the start of the 2009 season. The D-VAS and Bay Street Bruisers both folded in the Spring of that year, with their skaters dispersed to the remaining four league teams. The D-VAS (pronounced
diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...
, and short for Deadly Viper Assassination Squad), were relaunched in 2010 as the league's
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
squad, composed of newer and transfer skaters who have yet to be drafted onto the other four league teams, and they skate against other leagues' emerging talent. In 2011, the D-VAS split two bouts against Nickel City Roller Derby's Sister Slag squad, with the D-VAS winning the first bout in Toronto 71 to 38, and Nickel City hosting the follow-up bout in June in
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
, and taking the win 157 to 36. In July 2011, the D-VAS took second place in the 2 Fresh 2 Furious rookie tournament hosted by the GTA Rollergirls. In September 2011, the D-VAS faced off against
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
's Royal City Roller Girls All-Stars, with Guelph winning, 203 to 42. They wear black and red. In November 2016, the D-VAS officially changed their team name to the Vipers.


ToRD in the media


Whip It promotion

During the 2009
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
,
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 film Whip It had its North American premiere. To help promote the film, Toronto Roller Derby skaters wore "Hurl Scouts" uniforms from the movie, while others from the league held a public exhibition bout at Yonge-Dundas Square, an event which was attended by the stars of the film at halftime, giving Toronto Roller Derby their largest media exposure to date. ToRD's luck in securing the premiere, the legacy of the film festival event, and the film itself, have contributed to larger crowds and greater numbers of women trying out for the league.


Rogers TV

Since 2010,
Rogers TV Rogers TV (stylized as Rogers tv) is a group of English-language community channels owned by Rogers Communications. Many of these channels share common programs. Rogers TV broadcasts in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and ...
in Toronto has been airing playoff games from the Toronto Roller Derby house league season, beginning with the Championship Bout from November 2010, which was the first time a complete ToRD event was broadcast on local television. Starting in 2011, Rogers property
CITY-TV CITY-DT (channel 57), branded as Citytv Toronto or simply Citytv, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alo ...
has been providing regular news coverage on ''
CityNews City''News'' is the title of news and current affairs programming on Rogers Sports & Media's Citytv network in Canada. The newscast division was founded on September 28, 1975 as City''Pulse'' as a standalone local newscast on the network's CITY- ...
'', provided by
sports anchor In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...
Kathryn Humphreys, as well as Hugh Burrill.


Roller Derby World Cup

It was announced in early 2011 that Toronto Roller Derby was chosen to host the inaugural Roller Derby World Cup. In early December 2011 the event saw teams representing 13 countries in a four-day tournament held at The Bunker at
Downsview Park Downsview Park () is a large urban park located in the Downsview, Toronto, Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was ...
. League member Brim Stone, captain of both the Gore-Gore Rollergirls as well as CN Power, was named to
Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...
for the event, and was also named co-captain for the team. The event was won by
Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
who defeated Team Canada in the final. On December 29, 2013, five members of Toronto Roller Derby were announced as having made the 2014 Team Canada roster for the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup, to be held in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
: Bala Reina, Dusty, Dyna Hurtcha, Nasher the Smasher and Rainbow Fight. All five skaters were members of CN Power. Members of Toronto Roller Derby participated in the
2018 Roller Derby World Cup The 2018 Roller Derby World Cup was the third international women's Roller Derby World Cup, taking place on February 1–4 at EventCity, in Manchester, United Kingdom, with 38 teams competing. An international roller derby tournament, it was or ...
for a variety of teams: Santa Muerte (skating as "Pinoy Noir") for Team Philippines, Bethany "Boxcar" Fisher for Team Canada, and DaSilva and Pikante for Team Portugal.


See also

*
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 ...
*
History of roller derby The history of roller derby traces the evolution of roller skating races into a unique sport which underwent several boom-and-bust cycles throughout the 20th century. Although it was a form of sports entertainment for much of its existence, a grass ...
*
List of roller derby leagues This is a list of notable roller derby leagues,A Roller Derby "league" is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as opposed to the more typical use of the word league. and may include those that are no longer in existe ...


References


External links


Kathryn Humphreys takes a spin around the roller rink with some derby girls

Roller derby a hit in Toronto



Complete Toronto Roller Derby scores on Flat Track Stats
{{Ontario Sports Sport in Toronto Roller derby leagues in Canada Roller derby leagues established in 2006 2006 establishments in Ontario