WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK ROLLER DERBY MAGAZINE ISSUE 17, FALL 2012
proud partner of the WFTDA
fiveonfivemag.com
fiveonfive contents 34-35
4-5 advice
ask ms d’fiant and suzy hotrod!
WFTDA From two regions to four, the evolution of the WFTDA tournaments.
6-8 business how does your league roll eat your art out fundraiser
18-23 games and coaching
Jules Doyle
10-14
health and fitness athletic trainers: a good addition to your team derby and drinking
44-45 Sk8 the State
the big transition skate like you mean it
Three skaters, 713 miles, and over $7,800 raised for Multiple Sclerosis research, Sk8 the State takes on Iowa.
26-31 gear common questions and misconceptions toe stops
36-39 junior derby
46-47
training and conditioning juniorcon 2012 recap
Derby Burnout
40-41 rookie
Whether skater or volunteer, we all run the risk of getting burned out. Do you know the signs?
50-51 international derby 52-62 art and media 63 classifieds 68 horoscopes
Thom Evered
how to be a good guest league
business
eat your art out fundraiser R A C H E L R OT T E N , A N G E L C I T Y D E R B Y G I R L S
Every February for the past five years, Angel City Derby Girls (ACDG) has hosted a one-of-a-kind art showcase and auction called EAT YOUR ART OUT. The show features talented artists of all ages and mediums from around the world and has grown exponentially with each year’s show, it is not only an incredible experience in the LA art scene, but also Angel City’s largest annual league fundraiser. The fifth installment on February 25, 2012, sought to transport patrons to a 1920’s travelling carnival and art gallery inside of Titmouse Inc. animation studios, a space triple the size of the show’s previous home for the past four years at the Meltdown Comics Gallery. The Angel City skaters circled the floor as auctioneers in gold corsets with black and gold feathered head-pieces, donning circus-worthy makeup that transformed the ladies into everything from lizards, cheetahs, ring leaders, snake charmers, tattooed ladies (not a far stretch for some!) and bearded ladies. Famed artists, such as Andy Howell, Angry Woebots, Dave Crosland aka King Gum, Dave MacDowell, Jason Goad, Jim Mahfood aka Food One, Joe (Chogrin) Game, Johnny VamPotna, Josh Taylor, Kevin Knight, Lou Pimentel, and many more, contributed pieces to the silent auction. All were assigned minimum bid prices, but priced to sell at much lower cost than
FusaroPhotography.com
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normal gallery showings might allow, attracting a much larger crowd of art enthusiasts by being less cost-prohibitive. This year’s show was the largest fundraising event Angel City has put on to date, with over 800 attendees throughout the night browsing over 75 pieces of art, taking photos in the costume-ladened photo booth, enjoying the open bar, cotton candy, popcorn, and general circus merriment. Long-time league member and show curator Jane Dope has been instrumental in the creation of the show from start to finish and participates in every facet of the event from the selection of artists down to the costume and gallery design and volunteer placement for the show’s execution. As the show continues to grow in popularity in the LA art scene, we continue to be challenged with finding new, fun themes that will attract both the art collector and the casual art enthusiast. The event never ceases to amaze both the public and our league members, who truly find a sense of closeness in working together to make such a large scale event happen over the course of several months. Not only do we test the limits of our own creativity in an effort to financially support the league, but we usually end up with a few new fans as well!
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wftda
the evolution of the WFTDA tournaments r walde chwarz Jean S
B E T H R OW, C A R O L I N A R O L L E R G I R L S Since 2006, competitive flat track roller derby has culminated in a
Playoff and Championship bracketing in the current tournament structure,”
Championship tournament, where teams representing the best WFTDA
WFTDA Executive Director Juliana Gonzales said about that first
leagues in the world compete for the top spot.
tournament’s seeding process.
The first flat track roller derby championship, Dust Devil, was held in
In 2007, Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s competing leagues were
Tucson, Arizona. Because the 2006 Dust Devil tournament was the first
divided into Eastern and Western regional divisions to determine qualifiers
multi-league competition and there was no national ranking system in place,
for the Texas Shootout tournament, in Austin, Texas. Eight teams fought for
a series of round-robin mini-games were played to seed those teams worthy
the Championship – four from the Western division and four from the
of fighting for the Championship. The 20 teams were grouped into four pools
Eastern division.
of five teams. Each team in the pool played four 10-minute games. Point
At the Championship tournament in 2008, Northwest Knockdown in
differential was used to determine placement within each pool and overall
Portland, Oregon, East and West once again fought for the championship
ranking. Teams that placed in the top 3 of their pool advanced to
while fans and skaters saw the debut of The Hydra trophy. The Hydra,
a single-elimination style tournament, leaving 12 teams fighting for
named in honor of a founding WFTDA member and the first president of
the Championship.
the WFTDA, became the highly coveted championship trophy earned by
“It was part intuition, part invention, plus a lot of research into tournament models – but vestiges of that bracketing are still evident in our
the WFTDA Champion each year since. With the membership of the WFTDA continuing to grow, in 2009, leagues were subdivided into four geographic regions. East and West regions were joined by North Central and South Central, creating four regional playoffs funneling the top three leagues from each region into the Declaration of Derby championship tournament. These four playoffs, and the ensuing championship, created a total of five tournaments for WFTDA leagues, nicknamed “The Big 5.” “When WFTDA expanded from two Playoff regions to four in 2009, we doubled the access to tournament eligibility,” Gonzales said about the expansion. “Leagues that may have been under the radar, or who hadn't gotten a chance to showcase their talent, suddenly got a much better shot to prove themselves. Even more importantly, fans got to see twice the action, and the road to Championships became more publicly visible. Everyone could see how teams were developing over their season, and fighting their way up from the pool of 40 Playoff qualifiers to the Championships.” This Playoffs and Championships structure continued in 2010 and 2011 with the same format of four regions culminating in 12 teams competing
Ziv Kruger
for the WFTDA Championship. At the same time, WFTDA membership was growing at a rapid pace, adding more weight to preseason games as teams worked to earn an ever more elusive top 10 slot within their region.
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Jules Doyle
Some of that growth was taking place outside of North America,
again working with Blaze Streaming Media to provide exceptional coverage
where modern roller derby and the WFTDA first emerged. In 2011, the
for this new online channel, which builds on the success of the 2011 live
London Rollergirls became the first league outside of North America to
online tournament coverage.
qualify for the East Region Playoffs and made WFTDA tournaments a truly international affair. With the Playoffs and Championships tradition well established, the WFTDA is taking charge of its own tournaments for 2012. The WFTDA has always managed the competitive aspects
“WFTDA.tv is looking to redefine broadcast standards for the sport in an effort to strengthen the integrity and image of women’s flat track roller derby around the world,” said Erica Vanstone, Director of Broadcast Operations for the WFTDA. “In order to make the experience as fan-friendly
of the tournaments but in 2012, with the hire of
as possible, WFTDA.tv Playoffs and Championships
a Tournament Director on staff, it is managing
subscription costs will be significantly lower than rates
the event experience, as well. Having WFTDA managing
charged during the 2011 season. The WFTDA is also
the tournaments minimizes the financial risk of hosting
partnering with the Association of Flat Track Derby
and potentially increases the number of venues and
Announcers and Rinxter. We hope that working with
leagues able to accommodate a WFTDA tournament. One of the 2012 goals for Janis Kelley, WFTDA Tournament Director, is to create a brand for the five tournaments that is individualized for the regions and yet brings together the cohesive components of the WFTDA Playoffs and Championships. “We still want to ensure that participants and fans have the same positive, seamless experience they enjoyed with the member-league hosted tournaments,” Kelley said. “We’ve made an effort to have all of the logos
these entities will enhance the level of broadcast quality significantly, and that our productions will be more entertaining than ever!” As the battle for the Hydra draws near for 2012, the WFTDA continues to look at ways to enhance the fans’ experience and the skaters’ level of competition for tournaments. “What changes may come down the road for the future Playoffs and Championships? If history is any indication, the WFTDA will continue
retain an element of uniqueness that is reflective of the host league’s
to meet the needs and desires of the organization by providing additional
geography or local culture, but to visually make it apparent that they are
opportunities to highlight the incredible skill of our growing membership,
part of a whole. They stand alone, but in concert with the others, making
and we will continue to incorporate exciting projects and new technologies
a very clear statement that these are five large-scale tournaments that
that improve the participant, attendee and viewer tournament experience,
the WFTDA produces.”
both in the venue and as they tune in from all around the globe. The WFTDA
streaming live games from the Playoffs and Championships. The WFTDA is
Playoffs and Championships are the crown jewels of modern roller derby and WFTDA will make certain they really shine,” Kelley said.
Jules Doyle
One more addition to this year’s tournaments will be WFTDA.tv,
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