Tri-City Roller Derby hosts World Championship qualifiers in Waterloo

A dozen roller derby teams from across North America faced off in Waterloo for a spot in the WFTDA World Championships in Sweden this October

A dozen roller derby teams from across the continent took part in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) North America Playoffs, which were hosted by Tri-City Roller Derby.

The bout was held at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex between June 5 to June 7. Teams were put in a seeded knockout bracket to determine who would end up representing the division at the world championships this fall.

For Maggie Middleton, a skater with the Tri-City Roller Derby, the event did not disappoint.

“This weekend has been pretty incredible. We’ve got teams from all over North America joining us, and it’s run really smoothly thus far,” she said. “We’ve had some great, close games. We’ve had some fierce and high-level competition and it’s just exciting to be able to bring that to Waterloo Region.”

The city welcomed teams from as far as Florida and California.

A trip up north was a big factor for some of the southern competitors.

“We received a forum on what regionals we could potentially go to and we were like, ‘Wow, Canada, that would be wild’… and that’s what we got invited to,” said a skater named “Joint Custody” with the Bradentucky Bombers.

Getting across the border, however, created some uncertainty. Over the last few years, skaters have had trouble re-entering their home country after a competition.

Middleton detailed the collaborative effort it took to get all the teams to the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

“We were lucky that we did have some teams that were willing to cross the border and that our governing body was really open to making this tournament happen with both Canadian and American teams being nervous to cross the border,” she said.

According to skaters, issues at the border crossing were tied to the LGBTQ+ community and the current political climate.

“Unfortunately, trans and gender queer people are not often welcomed or included in sport,” explained Kaitrin “Big Poppa” Doll, a skater with Tri-City Roller Derby. “Roller derby is one of the spaces in sports where we have a thriving queer and trans community, and we really work hard to support participation.”

The sport has also faced similar challenges with governing bodies and decision-makers.

“We’re sometimes last in line for space, for funding, for recognition as a legitimate sport,” Middleton said. “Tri-City is one of the top teams in Canada and I think that really goes overlooked.”

The roller derby community may be small, but that doesn’t mean it’s tight-knit members wouldn’t ride for their sport when the time comes.

“Participate, donate, volunteer. Just check us out,” Doll said. “You’ll fall in love with it, I promise.”

After three days of competition, Calgary Roller Derby were crowned champions at the WFTDA North America Playoffs after beating the Montreal New Skids 118 to 99.

The team is now looking ahead to the WFTDA Championships, staged in Malmo, Sweden from Oct. 15 to Oct. 18.