The roller derby nation will be rolling into our kind of town in just a few months for the fourth annual WFTDA Championship Tournament, drawing the best players and diehard fans from around the world--in fact, the roller derby nation is international, with London and Montreal currently competing in the East region. Perhaps out of its infancy and into its toddlerhood, flat track roller derby keeps taking surer steps into interleague play with fans gaining a wider knowledge of the sport as a whole: other cities' styles of play and their answers to our Beth Amphetamine and Varla Vendetta.

Tournament season gets underway this weekend with the Windy City Rollers All-Stars top-seeded in the North Central regionals in Green Bay. Most expect the top three seeded teams--Windy City, Detroit, and Madison--to advance to the championships. "But," says interleague committee co-chair Jackie Daniels, "I think the margins will be much closer this year. I would expect we are gonna see MANY tight games. We are seeing two teams make tournament debuts at Regionals, Omaha and Naptown. Minnesota seems to have some impressive recent wins. The always strong and hardworking North Star comes with a busy season behind them. Brew City, our hosting league, is another solid league with an arsenal of solid jammers with the great-natured Carrie A Hacksaw bringing some fun."

Players to watch on the second-seeded Detroit team are the sister duo of Elle McFearsome and Cookie Rumble. In their last intraleague bout, McFearsome and Rumble were named Offensive and Defensive Blockers of the Game--Elle with 21 assists and 63 total actions, and Cookie with 39 blocks and 55 total actions.

The mighty Mouse continues to be a threat for the third-seeded Mad Rollin' Dolls. In July, Mouse scored a record-setting 86 points in Madison's 180-80 victory over Houston.

Daniels also expects to see great things from Cincinnati, always a strong fourth in the region and now in their own practice space. Additional practice time is likely to have helped their fast defensive pack and strong jammers.

The regional and championship tournaments will be broadcast on the Derby News Network, and WCR is hosting a viewing party at Rodan undoubtedly with spirited commentary from skaters watching the live feed.

"It seems we have a lot of potential for some tough battles on the track for ranking," says Daniels. "I'll be watching them all!"

Talk Derby with your Friends!

•