Skaters Gear Up For The First Ever WFTDA Continental Cup: North America East
The WFTDA tournament season is here and there’s a lot to be excited about. 2018 brings the first-ever Continental Cups, which will showcase 32 teams through the three regional tournaments including the European Cup, the WFTDA’s first postseason tournament to exclusively feature teams from the European region. The Cups series kicks off today with North America East in Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S., and you can watch it live online at wftda.tv.
Still need a reason to tune in? We asked this weekend’s participating leagues how they were feeling about opening the WFTDA postseason; here’s what they had to say!
Boston Roller Derby
Boston, Mass., U.S. (Seed #1)
“Boston is thrilled to participate in the WFTDA’s first-ever Continental Cup! Massacre has been training hard and has had the fortune of playing great competitors this season. We are always excited anytime we get to take the track together and we hope to hear the pinches this weekend!”
— Boston Co-Captains, Wednesday Atoms and Culta Skaro
Mad Rollin’ Dolls
Madison, Wis., U.S. (Seed #2, WFTDA)
“The Dairyland Dolls are really excited to play in this first WFTDA Continental North America East Cup. We plan to fight hard in our first game against Royal or Dub City, and we’re focusing on the Charlottesville game we would potentially play on Saturday, Ultimately, our goal is the first place game — the Dairyland Dolls come to win!”
— Shananaguns of the Dairyland Dolls
Charlottesville Derby Dames
Charlottesville, Va., U.S. (Seed #3)
“I am excited to hit the track with amazing teammates that have been working so hard, on and off the track, to get us here. “
— Charlottesville All Stars pivot Miller-Miller
Blue Ridge Rollergirls
Asheville, N.C., U.S. (Seed #4)
“I feel like Blue Ridge is always underestimated. We just want to do what we usually do, and that’s to surprise everyone and bring the Cup home to Asheville!”
— Blue Ridge Captain Coma N. Ducer
Team United Women’s Roller Derby
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. (Seed #5)
“Each time I share the track with my team is a moment I look forward to. We’re thrilled to return to the WFTDA postseason; Team United is back and more motivated than before! We have been training to power through the Continental Cup with sweat, blood, and high fives. We’ve pulled together as a united group of women and plan to overcome with a victory.”
— Karma-lektrack of Team United
Columbia Roller Derby
Columbia, S.C., U.S. (Seed #6)
“CQS is excited to show what we’ve worked hard to accomplish this season! It’s great to see old friends and we look forward to making new ones on and off the track. To the last block, last jam, last whistle — we fight!”
— Columbia Captain Poison Violet
Royal City Roller Derby
Guelph, Ontario, CA (Seed #7)
“I’m excited to end my first season with the Brute-Leggers with a bang! We have worked really hard to get here and I’m so proud we’ve made it. I’m also pumped to see some really great officials who have also worked hard to be here, and I look forward to working with some of them in Atlanta as well.“
— Ziggy Scardust, jammer, Royal City
Charm City Roller Girls
Baltimore, Md., U.S. (Seed #8)
“Last year, Charm participated in the first-ever Playoffs in Europe, and this year we are playing in one of the first-ever Continental Cups. There’s something special about being an inaugural of anything. We’ve been preparing for this moment all season long and can’t wait to charm our opponents this weekend.
The amazing thing about post-season gameplay is that anything can happen. You don’t have rankings or other pressure weighing you down. All you have is the opponent right in front of you. I’m excited to troubleshoot and actively problem solve with this team — and to show our league, friends, and family what we are made of.”
— Jackie Treehorn, co-captain of Charm City
North Star Roller Derby
Minneapolis, Minn., U.S. (Seed #9)
“The coolest thing to see are people that are part of our league and not on the travel team giving us shoutouts on social media. It just feels like we have everybody behind us, which is really neat.”
— Pop Roxie, #11
Dub City Roller Derby
West Palm Beach, Fla., U.S. (Seed #10)
“We are excited for Cups because we have fought hard to get here. As the underdogs, we are looking forward to testing ourselves and hopefully making a few new fans for Dub City! We are all just really happy and excited for this opportunity!”
— Furious George #400, Blocker
Ohio Roller Derby
Columbus, Ohio, U.S. (Seed #11)
“We didn’t expect to make a tournament at the end of the season, so the Cup is an exciting opportunity for us to put a cap on our season and prep for next year.”
— Ohio Roller Derby Captain Amy Spears
Grand Raggidy Roller Derby
Grand Rapids, Mich., U.S. (Seed #12)
“Grand Raggidy Roller Derby is super stoked to be a part of the Continental Cups! It has been our goal all season to build a competitive team that consistently performs at the top of our game. We consider this an outstanding opportunity to showcase our talent and growth, and we’re ready to get to work this weekend!”
— Maggie Walters, Co-Captain of the GRRD All Stars
For more information on how the Continental Cups work, read our guide here. And for even more reasons to get excited for the WFTDA 2018 postseason, make sure to check out this article from the Apex.