Four teams. Three countries. Two continents. One thrilling night of roller derby!
The Rat City Rollergirls All-Stars make their 2013 Key Arena debut on June 8 in the most international RCRG bout to date! The All-Stars will be facing London Rollergirls’ (yes, THAT London), London Brawling with RCRG’s Rain of Terror playing Montreal Roller Derby’s secondary travel team, the Montreal Sexpos in the opener. This will be the first these teams have met, so be sure to attend this history making bout!
Rat City’s All-Stars compete internationally in the WFTDA Division 1, and are currently ranked 6th in the world. Since 2007, Rat City has competed in the WFTDA West Region, however, following the 2012 WFTDA tournament cycle, the regional model was disbanded. The new divisional model features WFTDA-wide rankings that seed teams into one of four Division 1 Playoffs in September. Using WFTDA-wide rankings should ensure that all Playoff tournaments are highly competitive and exciting for skaters and fans alike. WFTDA-wide rankings are calculated based on game results and include a strength-of-opponent factor. The high caliber play and elite athleticism of the Rat City All-Stars, backed by strong win-loss record against top opponents support the team’s high ranking, which is sure to continue to through the 2013 season.
This is the first time the London Rollergirls have visited the Pacific Northwest, but it’s not their first time facing top tier opponents—London Brawling competed at the 2011 and 2012 Eastern Regional Tournaments where they placed 5th, respectively. London is ranked 4th respectively. London is ranked 23rd by the WFTDA, but this rank likely underestimates their strength—in the past 12 months, London Brawling had very close games against 2012 WFTDA Championships competitors Windy City(9th), Philly (11th), and Charm City (17th).
On their Northwest trip this month, they’ll also be playing top teams in the area including Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice, Jet City Rollergirls’ Bombers, Terminal City Rollergirls’ All-Stars, and Oly Rollers’ Cosa Nostra Donnas. Additionally, many of their skaters are veterans of bronze medal winning Team England from 2011 Blood & Thunder World Cup Tournament.
Despite June 8 being the Key Arena debut, the RCRG All-Stars and Rain of Terror already have a few games under their collective belts. The All-Stars are 2-0 in 2013, with exciting wins over 7th ranked Angel City Derby Girls from Los Angeles, CA (193- 182) and #38 ranked Victorian Roller Derby from Melbourne, Australia (yes, that Australia!) (230-195). WFTDA Tournament invitations (complete with playoff seeding and location) will be released in July, so Rat City’s performance in May and June will ultimately affect the team’s tournament participation.
Rain of Terror suffered their first loss against the VRDL All-Stars (yes, the same team that our All-Stars played), but booked a big win over our neighbors up I-5, the Bellingham Roller Betties Blunt Force Trauma.
Get your tickets NOW to support Seattle’s domination on the world stage of roller derby at KeyArena this summer!