Leeds Roller Derby

Leeds Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Leeds, England. Founded in 2007, the league has two travel teams which play against teams from other leagues across Europe. Leeds Roller Derby is a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA)[1] and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[2]

Leeds Roller Derby
Metro areaLeeds
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded2007
TeamsLeeds Roller Derby A (A team)
Leeds Roller Derby B (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueThe Edge at University of Leeds
AffiliationsUKRDA, WFTDA
Websiteleedsrollerderby.com

History
Former Leeds Roller Dolls logo

Leeds Roller Dolls was founded in October 2007, becoming the first roller derby league in Yorkshire.[3] They played their first bout, against Auld Reekie Roller Girls, in November 2008.[4] In 2010 the league moved to play its bouts in the nearby town of Huddersfield. They returned to Leeds in 2013, hosting their games at the Leeds Futsal Arena.

Feral Fairy, one of the league's skaters, was selected for Team England at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup.[5] In late 2011, the league joined the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association while, in January 2012, it was accepted into the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Programme.[6] In March 2013, it became a full member of the WFTDA.[7] A number of Leeds Roller Dolls, including Feral Fairy, Shere Carnage and Rigor Morris, helped establish and train Aire Force One, Leeds' men's roller derby team.

Former Hot Wheel Roller Derby logo

Hot Wheel Roller Derby was separately founded in 2010, with two teams, which competed against teams from other leagues. By mid-2011, Hot Wheel had more than forty skaters.[8] In May 2012, the league travelled to Germany, where it beat the Stuttgart Valley Roller Girlz B team in front of a crowd of 1,200 fans.[9] In July, they narrowly lost to the Middlesbrough Milk Rollers, in the final of the Great Yorkshire Showdown tournament, where they had been ranked last the previous year.[10]

March 2013 saw Hot Wheels' European Roller Derby ranking at 19th,[11] and by September 2013 they had risen to 16th. In 2014, head coach Jerry Attric served as coach for the Men's Team England Roller Derby,[12] where they came second in the world. The Hot Wheel B Team played their first four bouts and were the highest-ranked all-female team at Sur5al. Hot Wheel Roller Derby joined the WFTDA Apprentice Program in October 2015,[13] and became a full member league in June 2016.[14]

In December 2016, Leeds Roller Dolls and Hot Wheel Roller Derby merged as one league, continuing under the name Leeds Roller Derby.[15]

Teams

Leeds Roller Derby currently has two travel teams, an A and B team, which play against teams from other leagues. The Rotten Rollers, the initial Travel team name, was retired at the end of the 2010 Season. As Leeds Roller Dolls, the A and B teams were known as the Rebel Roses and Whip-Its, respectively.

WFTDA rankings
Season Final ranking Playoffs Championship
2013 155 WFTDA[16] DNQ DNQ
2014 161 WFTDA[17] DNQ DNQ
2015 88 WFTDA[18] DNQ DNQ
2016 63 WFTDA[19] DNQ DNQ

Hot Wheel Roller Derby never received an official WFTDA ranking during its brief time as a member league.

References
  1. "Member Leagues – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. UKRDA. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  2. "Leeds Roller Derby – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  3. "Who are Leeds Roller Dolls? Archived 2012-03-26 at the Wayback Machine", Leeds Roller Dolls
  4. "LRDs First Ever Bout! LRD vs ARRG - Home - Closed - 29/11/08 Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine", Leeds Roller Dolls
  5. "Skaters". Team England. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  6. "13 Women's Roller Derby Leagues Join WFTDA Apprentice Program Archived 2012-11-01 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 31 January 2012
  7. "WFTDA Welcomes 5 New Members Archived 2013-05-11 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 7 March 2013
  8. "Roller derby girls get their skates on", Morley Observer and Advertiser, 10 August 2011
  9. Jonathan Brown, "Leeds's own Hot Wheel Roller Derby team beat top German opposition", Yorkshire Evening Post, 9 May 2012
  10. "Milk Rollers Scoop Best of Showdown Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine", Inside Line, 30 August 2012
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "WFTDA Apprentice Program Accepts 13 Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  14. "WFTDA Accepts 9 New Member Leagues - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  15. Pantry, Lindsay (2 October 2017). "Leeds Roller Derby celebrate a decade of skating in the city". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  16. "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  17. "Rankings: December 31, 2014". WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  18. "Rankings: December 31, 2015". WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  19. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
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