Twister City Roller Derby Explained

Twister City Roller Derby
Founded:2006
Metro Area:Oklahoma City, OK
Country:United States
Teams:All Star Squad (A team)
Tornado Alley (B team)
Home Teams
Tracks:Flat
Venue:Arctic Edge Arena
Affiliations:WFTDA
Orgtype:501(c)3 non-profit organization

Twister City Roller Derby (TCRD) (formerly the Oklahoma Victory Dolls (OKVD)) is a flat-track roller derby league based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Founded in 2007, the league currently consists of two competitive teams which compete internationally against teams from other leagues, as well as home teams.

The current league is a result of two previous mergers: with the OKC Outlaws in 2015, and Oklahoma City Roller Derby in 2016. The league originally consisted of four home teams that competed against each other. Oklahoma Victory Dolls is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[1]

History

As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Twister City donates a portion of their profits to local charities and have also organized fundraisers for injured skaters.[2] They frequently volunteer for local charities and non-profits, and are regularly a part of local pride events.

In January 2017, the league announced it was merging with Oklahoma City Roller Derby and the new organization would continue under the Oklahoma Victory Dolls name.[3]

In March of 2020, OKVD, along with all other WFTDA-sanctioned leagues, took a hiatus from practice and gameplay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[4]

In June 2021, OKVD restarted practices, in compliance with the WFTDA return-to-play guidelines for sanctioned leagues. Intra-league gameplay remains on the horizon.[5]

In January of 2023, OKVD announced they were changing the name of the league to Twister City Roller Derby as a result of concerns over the connotations of the word "Dolls", with respect to both athletic seriousness and gender inclusivity.[6]

Oklahoma City Roller Derby

Oklahoma City Roller Derby (OKCRD) was founded by eight local women in March 2006 as the "Tornado Alley Rollergirls".[7] More skaters joined in April, and the league grew rapidly.[8] By the end of the year, the league already had four teams comprising a total of around 40 skaters, and was bouting regularly.[9] However, in 2007, the majority of two of the teams left the league: most of the Cell Block 9 team founding the Red Dirt Rebellion banked track league, and most of the Victory Dolls forming the Oklahoma Victory Dolls league. In 2008, the league adopted the Oklahoma City Roller Derby name, with Tornado Alley Rollergirls becoming a team name. It was accepted into the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program in July 2010,[10] and became a full member of the WFTDA in March 2011.[11]

WFTDA rankings as OKCRD

SeasonFinal ranking[12] PlayoffsChampionship
201127 SC[13] DNQDNQ
201228 SC[14] DNQDNQ
2013100 WFTDA[15] DNQDNQ
2014135 WFTDA[16] DNQDNQ
2015110 WFTDA[17] DNQDNQ
2016138 WFTDA[18] DNQDNQ

Oklahoma Victory Dolls

The Oklahoma Victory Dolls were the youngest league to be accepted as full members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)[19] at the time of their induction in September 2008.[20] They were a part of the South Central Region[21] of the WFTDA from 2008 to 2012. When the WFTDA changed to a Divisions-based ranking system in 2013, the Oklahoma Victory Dolls debuted in Division 2, ranked at 55.[22]

WFTDA competition

In 2013, Oklahoma Victory Dolls first qualified for WFTDA Playoffs, entering the Division 1 tournament in Asheville, North Carolina as the ninth seed, and taking seventh place with a 200-131 victory over the Nashville Rollergirls.[23] As the eighth seed in Salt Lake City in 2014, Oklahoma finished in tenth place with an overtime loss to Tri-City Roller Derby, 190-185.[24] In 2015, Oklahoma City dropped into Division 2 Playoffs in Cleveland as the ninth seed and came out in eighth place after a 179-137 loss to Jet City Rollergirls of Everett, Washington.[25] OKVD returned to Playoffs for the Division 2 Playoffs and Championship in 2017 as the fifth seed in Pittsburgh, and finished the weekend in seventh place.[26]

Rankings

SeasonFinal ranking[27] PlayoffsChampionship
2008NR[28] DNQDNQ
200918 SC[29] DNQDNQ
201018 SC[30] DNQDNQ
201117 SCDNQDNQ
201215 SCDNQDNQ
201334 WFTDA7 D1DNQ
201432 WFTDA10 D1DNQ
201564 WFTDA8 D2DNQ
201664 WFTDADNQDNQ
201739 WFTDA[31] N/A7 D2
201878 WFTDA[32] DNQDNQ
201976 WFTDA[33] DNQDNQ
2020CovidCovidCovid
2021CovidCovidCovid

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oklahoma Victory Dolls – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 9 December 2017.
  2. Jenni Carlson, "Derby players pitch in", The Oklahoman, 8 November 2009
  3. Web site: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. oklahomavictorydolls.com. 4 January 2017. 3 January 2017.
  4. Web site: 2020-03-14. 3/14/2020 --News: Cancellation for March 15, 2020. 2021-06-19. OKLAHOMA VICTORY DOLLS ROLLER DERBY. en-US.
  5. Web site: 2021-06-18. 06/17/2021 - We're Back.... 2021-06-19. OKLAHOMA VICTORY DOLLS ROLLER DERBY. en-US.
  6. Web site: 1/31/2023 - OKVD rebranding as Twister City Roller Derby . TWISTER CITY ROLLER DERBY . 23 April 2023 . 30 January 2023.
  7. "About OKCRD", OKCRD
  8. Tony Pennington, "Down and derby", Norman Transcript, May 20, 2007
  9. Alice Collinsworth, "Rolling in the new year", Edmond Sun, December 30, 2006
  10. "WFTDA Apprentice Program welcomes 16 new leagues ", 8 July 2010
  11. "WFTDA Welcomes 6 New Members ", WFTDA, 1 March 2011
  12. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  13. Web site: Current Rankings. WFTDA. 4 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20120125085842/http://wftda.com/rankings. 25 January 2012.
  14. Web site: Current Rankings. WFTDA. 4 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20130320122723/http://www.wftda.com/rankings. 20 March 2013.
  15. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2013 – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017.
  16. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017.
  17. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017.
  18. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 6 June 2017.
  19. "Oklahoma Victory Dolls"
  20. Moose Ondaluce, "MooseCast: (u) West Texas Roller Dollz at (u) Oklahoma Victory Dolls ", Derby News Network", 3 October 2008
  21. Web site: WFTDA'sSouth Central Region - Women's Flat Track Derby Association. wftda.org. WFTDA. 9 December 2017.
  22. Web site: First Rankings Calculator Release Today - LatestNews - Women's Flat Track Derby Association. wftda.org. WFTDA. 9 December 2017. 15 March 2013.
  23. Web site: Marshall. Justice Feelgood. D1A 7th: (9) Oklahoma Repeats on (8) Nashville, 200-131 Derby News Network. Derby News Network. 4 January 2017. 22 September 2013.
  24. Web site: Deadwards. Lisa. D1SLC 9th: Tri-City (#40) Finds Victory in Overtime over Oklahoma (#32), 190-185. Derby Central. 4 January 2017. 28 September 2014.
  25. Web site: WFTDA D2 Playoffs: Cleveland. Derby Central. 4 January 2017. 26 August 2015.
  26. Web site: Khaos. Merry. 7th Place: #5 Oklahoma repeats Victory over #15 E-Ville, 295-238. Derby Central. 5 January 2018. 20 August 2017.
  27. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  28. Web site: Rankings – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20090202070211/http://wftda.com/rankings. 2 February 2009.
  29. Web site: Rankings – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20100430194525/http://wftda.com/rankings. 30 April 2010.
  30. Web site: Rankings – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 4 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20110302222136/http://wftda.com/rankings/. 2 March 2011.
  31. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA. wftda.com. WFTDA. 5 January 2018.
  32. Web site: Rankings: December 31, 2018 . WFTDA . 14 September 2019 . 7 January 2019.
  33. Web site: 2019-06-05. Rankings: May 31, 2019. 2021-06-19. WFTDA. en-US.