Previews
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(51) Ohio Ready to Duel with (58) Dub City

Returning to Columbus after a challenging tournament weekend in Canada, Ohio Roller Derby will make new friends and renew a long-time rivalry as they welcome teams from Dub City Roller Derby (West Palm Beach, FL) and Steel City Roller Derby (Pittsburgh, PA) for the second-to-last home doubleheader of the 2018 season on Saturday, June 9th. A full member league of the WFTDA since the end of 2014, (58) Dub City had a busy and successful season last year, playing half of their sanctioned games at the Clover Cup and Mayday Mayhem tournaments and going 8-2 overall. While The Resistance have scaled back their travel for 2018, only scheduling four sanctioned games, their opponents are no less challenging. Currently 0-2, their season kicked off in late March with a 122-166 loss to Columbia Roller Derby at the 2018 Franky Panky invitational. Over Memorial Day weekend, Dub City took a home track loss to Sailor City Rollers (Buenos Aires, Argentina), who stopped in Florida on their way to the 2018 Besterns tournament in Colorado. The Resistance will make equally wise use of their trip north, playing the Ohio Roller Derby All Stars for the first time on Saturday before making the drive down

We’re off to Canada!

For the first time in four years, Ohio Roller Derby will travel internationally for tournament play, heading to Canada over Memorial Day weekend for the first annual Royal Brawl Invitational. One of 22 WFTDA Recognized Tournaments occurring this year, the three-day event will take place in Guelph, ON, Canada, presenting an opportunity for both A- and B-level competition for teams from across Canada and the northern United States. In addition to Ohio and hosts Royal City Roller Derby, participants include E-Ville Roller Derby (Edmonton, AB, Canada), Ithaca League of Women Rollers (Ithaca, NY), North Star Roller Derby (Minneapolis, MN), Ottawa Valley Roller Derby (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Queen City Roller Girls (Buffalo, NY), Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, ON, Canada), and Tri-City Roller Derby (Kitchener, ON, Canada). The Ohio All Stars will play three sanctioned games over two days, starting with a first-time bout against E-Ville on Saturday afternoon before rematching against prior opponents Royal City that evening and North Star on Sunday. Like Ohio, (47) E-Ville earned a spot at the 2017 WFTDA D2 Playoffs & Championships last August, but the two teams did not meet on the track. The E-Ville Dead are 2-2 thus far in 2018, losing an early season match

(51) Ohio Welcomes (42) Charlottesville Derby Dames

Following a decisive road victory against DC Rollergirls, (51) Ohio Roller Derby returns home to the Ohio Expo Center to host (42) Charlottesville Derby Dames (Charlottesville, VA) on Saturday, May 12th, in a first-time meeting of the two teams. Since becoming a full member league in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association in 2012, Charlottesville has been on an upward trajectory. A strong record in regular season play in 2015 led to their first postseason appearance at the WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs, and continued success catapulted them to a fourth place finish in Division 2 Playoffs in 2016. In 2017, Charlottesville had a stellar 8-0 season that helped push them back into Division 1 and earn a third consecutive Playoffs appearance, where they suffered two losses to higher-ranked Montreal Roller Derby and Jacksonville Rollergirls. Charlottesville kicked off their 2018 season in February with a 399-159 blowout against DC Rollergirls, and remain undefeated after knocking out Brandywine Roller Derby at the beginning of May. Retaining a majority of their 2017 Playoffs bench, Charlottesville boasts a veteran jammer pool that includes Spank Puncherella, Machete, River Styx Phoenix, and Stonewallup. Notably absent from the roster are jammer BOOM! ShakeTheRoom and heavy-hitting triple threat Miller-Miller, but

(47) Ohio Seeks New Adventure Against (91) West Virginia

Despite the lingering hold of winter on Columbus, Ohio Roller Derby extends a warm welcome to West Virginia Roller Derby (Beckley, WV) and South Bend Roller Girls (South Bend, IN) as they return to the Ohio Expo Center on Saturday, April 21. West Virginia, a state of smaller and in many cases more geographically isolated roller derby teams, made the bold decision to combine efforts across leagues with the hope of climbing the WFTDA rankings into Division 1. In a July 2017 statement, Beckley Area Derby Dames announced that the newly-formed West Virginia Roller Derby would take over their spot in WFTDA rankings, pooling the top talent in the state. Making a statement in their first game under the new name and charter, the West Virginia All Stars traveled to Tennessee in August and flattened the Nashville Rollergirls, 251-83. The inaugural battle with Ohio is the fourth of West Virginia’s five scheduled games for 2018. Currently 0-3, the WV All Stars suffered road losses at Mother State (Richmond, VA) in February and at Cincinnati Rollergirls (Cincinnati, OH) earlier in April. Their sole home game in March also ended in defeat to dark horse Gem City Roller Derby (Dayton, OH). West Virginia will

(47) Ohio to Host Northern Neighbors (37) Ann Arbor

With their home season well underway following a decisive victory over North Star Roller Derby in March, Ohio Roller Derby gears up for game two against Ann Arbor Roller Derby (Ann Arbor, MI) in what has become a yearly matchup. The teams have met twice now, each taking away a win: Ohio opened their 2016 home season with a 244-139 win against the Brawlstars, and Ann Arbor pulled off a 193-124 victory when hosting the Columbus squad last June. Ann Arbor went 4-6 in regular season play in 2017 before making their second postseason appearance and finishing out the year with two losses at the 2017 WFTDA Division 1 Playoff in Seattle. The Brawlstars kicked off their 2018 season with a trip to Buffalo, NY, where they lost an unsanctioned game to Queen City Roller Girls on March 24th. In addition to the trip to Ohio this weekend, they will also travel to South Carolina at the end of April for the fourth annual Southern Discomfort invitational, hosted by Columbia Roller Derby, and to the inaugural Udder Chaos tournament hosted by Mad Rollin’ Dolls (Madison WI) in May. A handful of home games against more local opponents such as Detroit Roller

(47) Ohio Roller Derby Launches Season Against (62) North Star Roller Derby

Ohio Roller Derby will open their thirteenth season on Saturday, March 17th, against North Star Roller Derby (Minneapolis, MN) here in Columbus at the Ohio Expo Center. The two teams have met only twice before, most recently in 2012, when Ohio pulled off a 149-101 road victory at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Though six years have passed, a few OHRD veterans from that roster remain, including Amy Spears, Bigg Rigg, Kitty Liquorbottom, Paige Bleed, and Zee “Loraine Acid” Gulertekin. The All Stars return to their home track at the Ohio Expo Center after a long hiatus from competitive play following their appearance at the 2017 WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs in Pittsburgh, PA, last August. Ohio went 1-2 at the tournament: after a difficult first game defeat by frequent opponent No Coast Derby Girls (Lincoln, NE), they pulled out a decisive victory over Treasure Valley Roller Derby (Boise, ID) and lost by only a handful of points to European powerhouse Bear City Roller Derby (Berlin, Germany). In the months since, Ohio skaters have quietly and consistently put in long hours at practice, patiently rebuilding the charter team and honing themselves for the challenges of the coming season. North Star has pared down their

Ohio Roller Derby 2018 Season Preview

Ohio Roller Derby will return to familiar ground as they enter their thirteenth year of competitive play in 2018, taking the track in the Ohio Building at the Ohio Expo Center for all home games this year. Ohio finds themselves in a rebuilding year after a string of retirements following their appearance at the 2017 WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs in Pittsburgh, PA, last August. The OHRD charter team composition may be different, but many of its skaters already have several years of play time together. A handful have returned from long-term absence and others have moved up from the Ohio B team, Gang Green. A focus on developing talent, building chemistry, and playing their best game of derby each game will not only allow Ohio to remain competitive within the WFTDA this year, but will set the team up for continued success as this charter gains experience and confidence together. Starting players Blitz Lemon, Gorges Curves, Lora “Outa My” Wayman, Slammerhead, and Val Holla have retired from competitive play, but fans may spot them cheering trackside on game day. Also notably absent from the track are Chainsaw, who will spend the season coaching after undergoing spinal fusion surgery earlier this year,

The Motor City VS. The Capital City

This Saturday, your #43 Ohio Roller Derby take on #28 Detroit Roller Derby in the final home bout of the season. This bout will not only continue the long-standing rivalry between the two squads, but also acts as a tribute to the rebirth of roller derby, as both Ohio and Detroit were two of the original 30 teams in the WFTDA. For the first time since 2013, Ohio has slid out of Division 1 and will play at the WFTDA Division II Playoffs in Pittsburgh from August 18-20th. Looking for momentum headed into the DII Playoffs, Ohio will continue to rely on a deeper jammer rotation than in seasons past with Gorges Curves and Pain Train leading the charge. Skaters Zee “Loraine Acid” Gulertekin, Lora “Outa My” Wayman, Bigg Rigg, Val Holla, TactiGal, and BrussKnuckles continue to compete to become that third jammer in Ohio’s rotation, all of whom have found success donning the star at different times during the season. Blockers Wayman, Amy Spears, Kelsey Khaos, Chainsaw, Slammerhead, Betty T. KayO, Rigg, and Acid will have their hands full with Detroit’s speedy and powerful jammers. Much like Ohio, Detroit has a lot of depth on the jammer line, but they do

#36 Ohio And #37 Charm City Clash in Columbus

This Saturday, the Charm City Roller Girls make their way to Columbus for the rubber match after each squad has been victorious once in their previous two matchups. Ohio has the most recent victory when they defeated the visitors 200-180 back in March 2015. Charm City was victorious in the first ever matchup in 2013, 232-132. Both squads are different now, and with Ohio currently sitting one spot ahead of Charm in the WFTDA rankings, a lot is riding on this contest. Ohio is 3-3 this season, coming off a tough home loss to Blue Ridge that came down to the final jam a couple of weeks ago. With Ohio and Charm City only one position apart in the rankings, the bout is (on paper) expected to be one of the closest contests all season for Ohio. In fact, Ohio is getting used to playing close games as four of their seven games (including one pre-season, non-sanctioned bout) this season have been decided by 30 points or less. Gorges Curves, Pain Train, and Val Holla continue to be Ohio’s go-to jammers, but Zee "Loraine Acid" Gulertekin stepped up against Blue Ridge and may see more time with the jammer star on

#36 Ohio Welcomes D2 Champs #42 Blue Ridge

This weekend the WFTDA International Division 2 Champions, Blue Ridge Rollergirls, take their shot at your Ohio Roller Derby. This matchup will be the second time the two squads have ever played each other, with Ohio being victorious back in 2013. Ohio is already five bouts deep into their 2017 season with games played against Naptown, Houston, No Coast, Killamazoo, and Brandywine. Ohio’s success has mainly been due to a deeper jammer rotation than in years past. With Gorges Curves, Pain Train, Val Holla, Lora "Outa My" Wayman, Blitz Lemon, and BrussKnuckles able to wear the star, Ohio’s jammers are able to go deeper into the game without sacrificing quality on the jammer line. In fact, three Ohio jammers have been able to eclipse the 100 point mark in three of their five bouts so far, with Val Holla scoring 113 points against Brandywine during Ohio’s last home bout. This bout will be Blue Ridge’s first sanctioned bout of 2017, with upcoming contests against Steel City, Calgary, and Brandywine in a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Championship bout as seen on ESPN3. Blue Ridge’s success lies primarily with superstar jammer, Dr. Octopushy. Dr. Octopushy was the only jammer at the Division