The DC Rollergirls

If you’ve already bought tickets to Nightmare on 95, the WFTDA East Region Playoffs in Baltimore Sept. 16-18, you’re in for a real treat. (And if you haven’t bought tickets yet, what are you waiting for?! The event is likely to sell out, so get them now at nightmareon95.com/tickets.) Although your favorite DC Rollergirls didn’t make the cut this year, no fan of derby will want to miss this event. When we said that this is the East Coast’s best roller derby, we were being a bit modest…in fact, this is some of the best roller derby in the country. Of the 10 teams making an appearance at the playoffs, 9 of them rank in the top 25 teams of WFTDA, as determined by Derby News Network. Whether you come for the whole weekend or just a day, there’s some awesome derby action in store. To get an idea of what you can expect, keep reading for our profiles of the 10 teams fighting to advance to the WFTDA Championships in Denver.

#1: Gotham Girls Roller Derby: The Manhattan squad has long been the East Coast’s untouchable powerhouse: Since 2008, Gotham has only lost once to an East Region opponent, when Philly upset them by 1 point in the 2009 East Region Playoffs. Gotham boasts some of the best players in modern roller derby—keep an eye on lightning-fast jammers Bonnie Thunders and Suzy Hotrod.

#2 Philly Rollergirls: If anyone can give Gotham a serious challenge at this year’s tournament, it’s Philly—but their bout against Gotham at June’s East Coast Extravaganza saw Philly stymied by new strategy and served an embarrassing 267-34 loss. You can bet the Liberty Belles have been working hard to overcome that setback—a likely championship game against Gotham on Sunday will be one to watch.

#3 Charm City Rollergirls: Before Philly can get to Gotham, they’ll have to hold off the co-hosts for this year’s tournament, who came within 8 points of beating Philly back in April. Since then, Charm has honed its skills against top nationally ranked teams like Rocky Mountain, Denver and Windy City. With the hometown crowd on their side, this could be their year to make a run for the title of East Region Champions.

#4 Steel City Derby Demons: Despite a mixed (5-4) record within the region this year, the ladies from Pittsburgh have found themselves within tantalizing reach of a third-place finish (and with it, a berth to nationals) thanks to Boston’s decline. But assuming they can hold back Montreal on Friday afternoon, they’ll still have to upset one of the higher-ranked teams to make it happen—and they’ve been handed solid losses by Gotham, Philly and Charm already this year.

#5 Montreal Roller Derby: Since they burst onto the WFTDA scene in 2009, Montreal has steadily risen in the rankings by dispatching lower-ranked East Coast teams. A controversial 2-point loss to Carolina at last year’s East Region Playoffs kept them out of contention for the championship bracket, but this year, a Friday quarterfinal upset of Steel City (who bested them by only 23 points in April) isn’t out of the question.

#6 Boston Derby Dames: The loss of some key players sent Boston into a rebuilding year in 2011, and they’ve had a tough slog against most of their East Coast opponents, falling to Gotham, Philly and Montreal, and eking out relatively close wins against Dutchland, Maine and Steel City. Their first-round game on Friday night is certain to be hard-fought—they’ll be bouting longtime rivals Charm City, whom they haven’t played in more than a year.

#7 Carolina Rollergirls: After nearly losing to the DC Rollergirls in their season opener, Carolina regrouped and has gone on to smash most of its opponents this season—but many were low-ranked or out of region, which explains Carolina’s 1-point slide in tournament seeding. Their weak regular-season schedule could come back to haunt them if they make it to the quarterfinal, where they’ll have to face Philly.

#8 Dutchland Derby Rollers: The ladies from Lancaster have been on a bit of a tear this year, steadily steamrolling nearly every opponent they’ve played (only a 38-point loss to Boston at the East Coast Extravaganza kept them from an undefeated regular season) and rising from #10 to #8 in the rankings. Their Friday-morning bout against Maine—who have also put in a strong showing this year—will be one to watch.

#9 Maine Roller Derby: Bolstered by a couple of Gotham transfers (Polly Gone and Barbara Ambush), Maine also jumped up two spots in the rankings this year, though their overall record has been more up-and-down than Dutchland’s. An upset win in Friday’s first round would mean they’d face Gotham later that day in the quarterfinal, pitting the team’s newest members against their old league.

#10 London Rollergirls: The final team in this year’s tournament is something of a wild card—London has yet to win a game this year against an East Coast opponent; they earned their tournament berth on the basis of their strong showing against Montreal, Charm and Steel City at April’s Anarchy in the U.K. tournament. All eyes will be on their opening bout against Carolina on Friday to see whether their spot in the top 10 is justified.

To download a full tournament bracket, go to nightmareon95.com/schedule-of-events/

Carolina’s Eris Discordia whips off her teammate to clear the Steel City pack. Photo by Chris Chin. 

Charm City’s Joy Collision ties up Boston jammer Sugar Hits while Holden Grudges takes the outside. Photo by Chris Chin.