MRDA Releases End of Season Rankings and 2013 Champs Seeding

For Immediate Release

September 12, 2013- The Men’s Roller Derby Association announces the end of year rankings determining who receives invites to MRDA Championships. The top eight teams earn a trip to Sioux City, Iowa October 19-20. The rankings will also serve as the seeding for the tournament.

Most notably, with wins over the Puget Sound Outcasts and the New York Shock Exchange at the Mohawk Valley Cup, the Mass Maelstrom move up to the #5 spot from #7. And, after tough losses to Portland’s Bridgetown Menace and the St. Louis GateKeepers at Quadtastrophe 2013, Puget Sound drops two spots to #7. The Deep Valley Belligerents will appear at Championships for the first time after finishing at #8

You can compare the previous rankings here.  For details about the MRDA Championships hosted by the Sioux City Kornstalkers visit the Championships Facebook page and website.

 

2013 Final Rankings

1   Your Mom Men’s Derby
2   St. Louis GateKeepers
3   New York Shock Exchange
4   Magic City Misfits
5   Mass Maelstrom Roller Derby
6   Bridgetown Menace
7   Puget Sound Outcast Derby
8   Deep Valley Belligerents
9   Race City Rebels
10   Minnesota Men’s Roller Derby
11   Southern Discomfort Roller Derby
12   Dallas Deception
13   Capital District Trauma Authority
14   Arizona Men’s Derby
15   Connecticut Death Quads
16   Mont Royals Montreal Men’s Roller Derby
17   Drive-By City Rollers
18   Rock City Riot
19   Manchester Roller Derby
20   Harm City Homicide
21   Carolina Wreckingballs
22   Boise Men’s Roller Derby
23   Sioux City Korn Stalkers
24   Quadfathers Men’s Roller Derby
25   Tampa Bay Men’s Roller Derby
26   Lane County Concussion
27   The Dirty Dozen
28   Cowtown Butchers Mens Roller Derby
29   Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg
30   Vermont Men’s Roller Derby
31   Uinta Madness Roller Derby 
32   Slick City Rollerz
33   Green Bay Smackers
34   The Hitmen of Manatee County

Association of Flat Track Derby Announcers to Staff 2013 MRDA Championships

For Immediate Release

August 30, 2013 – The Men’s Roller Derby Association is pleased to announce that it is teaming up with the Association of Flat Track Derby Announcers (AFTDA) to handle the announcing for the MRDA Championships in Sioux City, Iowa on October 19-20, 2013.  AFTDA will staff both the venue announcers and the broadcast announcers.

Those interested in announcing must apply at the following link by September 21, 2013: http://bit.ly/18Ma9n5

Announcers interested in the Head Announcer position must apply at the following link by September 14, 2013: http://bit.ly/16zBlFA.

Announcers must fill out both applications to be considered for both positions.

For more information about the MRDA Championships visit http://mrdachampionships.com/.

 

MRDA Unveils MRDAMerch.com

For Immediate Release

August 30, 2013- The Men’s Roller Derby Association is pleased to announce the grand opening of its new online merchandise store featuring items never before available from MRDA.

The discerning shopper can find t-shirts (in red, blue, green, orange, purple, and black), tank tops, and hooded sweatshirts for men and women as well as stickers, hats, members-only patches, and the always important drink koozie.

Show your support for men’s roller derby and get your merchandise in time for the MRDA Championships in Sioux City, Iowa in October 19-20. Visit MRDAMerch.com today.

MRDA Endorses the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup

For Immediate Release

August 29, 2013 – The Men’s Roller Derby Association announces its support and recognition of the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup (MRDWC) as the championship of national men’s roller derby teams.. 

The MRDWC recognizes MRDA as the global governing body of men’s roller derby and will play by the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby followed by MRDA.

Seventeen nations have been invited to compete in the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup taking place at the Futsal Centre in Birmingham, England, March 14-16, 2014.

To find out more about the Men’s Roller Derby World Cup visit: http://mrdwc.com/ .

If you would like to apply to Officiate/Announce/Volunteer at this event, applications can be found here: http://mrdwc.com/help-out/ .

MRDA Announces Creation of Rules Committee

For Immediate Release

August 12, 2013 – The Men’s Roller Derby Association’s Board of Directors recently approved the creation of a Rules Committee. The Rules Committee will initially be headed by MRDA Director of Officiating, Miss Trial.

The Rules Committee will primarily:

• offer insight and perspectives on any rules-related issues that develop.
• propose ways in which the rules can evolve to accommodate the needs of the game and MRDA member leagues.
• encourage rules discussions within MRDA membership.
• assist in collating feedback from MRDA members on rules-related issues.
• present feedback to WFTDA through MRDA’s seat on WFTDA’s Rules Committee Theory Panel.

In addition, the Rules Committee will be comprised of six members, four skaters and two officials. The initial Rules Committee members as voted on by MRDA’s membership are:

• Camel Joe – Sioux City KornStalkers Skater
• L8R SK8R – Carolina Wreckingballs Skater
• Stryker – Mass Maelstrom Skater
• Tony Muse – Your Mom Men’s Derby Skater
• Judge Injury – Independent MRDA Official
• Pol E. Dangerous – Independent MRDA Official

Please join MRDA in welcoming these new positions.

MRDA Announces Topics for August 15-16 Officiating Clinic

For Immediate Release

August 1, 2013 – Continuing its goal of building a strong and influential organization, MRDA is offering its first officiating clinic. The clinic will take place August 15th and 16th at the JFK Arena in Rome, New York.

Anne Persand and The Gorram Reaver will be leading the clinic covering many off- and on-skates activities including focus work, skating drills, impact assessment, and hypothetical situations, among other topics, with an emphasis on the unique challenges of officiating men’s roller derby.

There will also be other sections of the clinic covered by a variety of teachers:

• Bambi Lance, Head of the MRDA Safety Committee, will cover current safety training protocols, including gear checks and concussion protocols.
• Kilty Conscience will conduct a session on mediation and conflict resolution in officiating.
• Lethe L. Ejection will run a workshop on proprioception, adrenaline, and impact.
• Goldie Gloves will teach a stats workbook workshop called “Understanding Stats.”

There are still open spots for the clinic. To register visit http://tinyurl.com/MRDAOfficiatingClinic2013 . The deadline to register is August 8^th.

For more information, visit the Facebook event, the MRDA website, or contact clinic coordinator Anne Persand at officials_training@mrda.org.

 

MRDA Expands to 34 Member Leagues

For Immediate Release

July 16, 2013 – One of the guiding principles of the Men’s Roller Derby Association is to foster the development of sustainable roller derby leagues. In its efforts to help grow men’s roller derby, MRDA is pleased to announce the addition of three new leagues. 

Uinta Madness Roller Derby formed in 2010 and continue to grow as a part of Salt Lake City, Utah’s great roller derby community. Learn more about Uinta Madness by visiting their Facebook page.

The Hitmen of Manatee County (Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida) were founded in November 2011.  They are part of the Manatee County Hit Crew Roller Derby League, which includes women’s and junior derby. To learn more, check out their webpage.

Slick City Rollerz from Bakersfield, California were founded in August 2010. They are the third MRDA team in California. Go to Facebook for more information about Slick City.

Please join MRDA in welcoming these leagues. MRDA is now 34 leagues strong and continues to grow. For information on how to become a member league, visit http://www.mrda.org/membershiprequirements/.

Officiating Applications for 2013 MRDA Championships Are Live

For Immediate Release

July 10, 2013 – The 2013 Men’s Roller Derby Association Championships is a little over three months away, and MRDA is currently accepting applications for the event’s officiating crews. MRDA Championships will take place October 19-20, 2013 in Sioux City, Iowa and will feature competition by the top eight MRDA leagues.

The deadline to submit interest in Tournament Head Referee and Tournament Head Non-Skating Official (NSO) positions is this Friday, July 12, 2013. Details are on the application. The deadline for applying to be a Crew Head Referee and Crew Head NSO, in addition to Apprentice, general Skating Official and NSO positions, is August 23, 2013.

To apply, visit the following URL: http://tinyurl.com/MRDA2013ChampsOffApp.

The official Facebook page for the 2013 MRDA Championships is here. 

MRDA Announces 2013 Mid-Season Rankings

For Immediate Release

July 2, 2013 – MRDA announced the mid-season rankings for the 2013 season.  The biggest debut to the rankings is London’s formerly-unranked Southern Discomfort Roller Derby entering at #10 after a great showing at the Big O. Another big mover is the Deep Valley Belligerents moving up six spots to #8 after nearly pulling off an upset against #6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby’s Bridgetown Menace in April. 

The top five spots remained the same with Your Mom Men’s Derby retaining the top spot. You can see the initial 2013 rankings here.

The Mohawk Valley Cup August 17-18 in Rome, New York is the final remaining major men’s tournament of the 2013 regular season. The Mohawk Valley Cup features eight MRDA member leagues and could shake things up ahead of the final 2013 rankings set for release in mid-September.

The top eight teams in the end-of-year rankings will attend the 2013 MRDA Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, October 19-20.

 

2013 MRDA Mid-Season Rankings

#1 Your Mom Men’s Derby – Des Moines, IA

#2 St. Louis GateKeepers – St. Louis, MO

#3 New York Shock Exchange – New York City, NY

#4 Magic City Misfits – Jacksonville, FL

#5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby – Tacoma, WA

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby’s Bridgetown Menace – Portland, OR

#7 Mass Maelstrom – Lancaster, MA

#8 Deep Valley Belligerents – Ukiah, CA

#9 Race City Rebels – Indianapolis, IN

#10 Southern Discomfort Roller Derby – London, England

#11 Twin City Terrors – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

#12 Capital District Trauma Authority – Albany, NY

#13 Connecticut Death Quads – Waterbury, CT

#14 Dallas Deception – Dallas, TX

#15 Arizona Men’s Derby – Phoenix, AZ

#16 Mont Royals Montreal Men’s Roller Derby – Montreal, Canada

#17 Rock City Riot – Fargo, ND

#18 Harm City Homicide – Baltimore, MD

#19 Drive-By City Rollers – Los Angeles, CA

#20 Carolina Wreckingballs – Columbia, SC

#21 Boise Men’s Roller Derby – Boise, ID

#22 Pioneer Valley Roller Derby – Northampton, MA

#23 Sioux City Korn Stalkers – Sioux City, IA

#24 Tampa Bay Men’s Roller Derby – Tampa Bay, FL

#25 Cowtown Butchers – Kansas City, MO

#26 Lane County Concussion – Eugene, OR

#27 Mean Mountain Boys – Burlington, VT

#28 Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg – Milwaukee, WI

#29 The Quadfathers – Utica, NY

#30 Green Bay Smackers – Green Bay, WI

#31 Manchester Roller Derby – Manchester, England

MRDA Representative to Serve on WFTDA Rules Theory Panel

For Immediate Release

June 11, 2013 – The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has announced the creation of a Theory Panel as part of an expansion of their Rules Committee. Per WFTDA’s press release, “The Theory Panel is charged with managing the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby from a big picture, theoretical perspective. The panel’s duties include gathering information from the sport’s stakeholders, observing game play and officiating, and conducting formal testing of proposed rules changes.”

MRDA is very happy to announce that the WFTDA has invited the MRDA to have a representative on this Theory Panel. MRDA’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to have MRDA’s Director of Officiating, Miss Trial, serve for MRDA in the inaugural filling of this position on the WFTDA Rules Theory Panel.

While this will not initially be a voting position on the panel, MRDA’s representative on the Theory Panel will have the ability to present directly to WFTDA any concerns of MRDA’s membership, in addition to giving MRDA a voice in the evolution of the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby. This inclusion of an MRDA representative on the WFTDA Theory Panel marks another step in the strengthening of the relationship between these two organizations seeking to grow and improve roller derby.