Minnesota Roller Derby (MNRD)[1] is a flat trackroller derby league based inSaint Paul, Minnesota, in theUnited States. Founded in August 2004 asMinnesota RollerGirls by the Donnelly sisters, MNRD was one of the first 30 members of theWomen's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) by early 2006.[2] Today the league has over 80 skaters playing on four home teams as well as their All-Star team,[3] which has qualified for WFTDA Playoffs every year since its inception.[4]
Over 3,700 spectators attend the opening bout of the 2007 seasonOriginal Minnesota RollerGirls logo (2004-19)
Since 2005,[5] the league has played and practiced at theRoy Wilkins Auditorium[6] in Saint Paul, with capacity for up to 4,000 spectators for roller derby,[7] and average attendance ranging between 1,800 and 3,000 fans at MNRD events.[8] MNRD claims to be the first league in the country to have a professional space for practices and bouts.[3]
Minnesota Roller Derby is alimited liability company composed of volunteer skaters aged 18 years and older and other volunteers. No skater or volunteer associated with the Minnesota Roller Derby is paid, nor do they profit based upon level of involvement or upon team wins. Proceeds raised by the league pay for practice space rental, legal and promotional fees, as well as traveling costs to play other WFTDA members in other states and in other countries. The remainder of the revenues are donated to a variety of local charities, with a general focus on organizations that benefit women.[9]
In 2011, Minnesota began the DebuTaunts training and recreation program as a way to bring additional skaters into the league. By 2015, almost all new skaters in the league had spent at least one session in the recreation and training program. In 2016, the DebuTaunts began regularly bouting against regional opponents including Chippewa Valley Roller Derby (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) and the Roller Underground Dirty Ores (Eveleth, Minnesota), and by 2019 the DebuTaunts program, which rebranded as Windchill during that season, was re-envisioned as a primary "on-ramp" into Minnesota Roller Derby.
In 2018, the league launched ajunior roller derby program, the Minnesota Frostbite, bringing its training resources in line with other top-tier roller derby leagues.[10] The program is open to skaters of all genders aged 6–17.
In November, 2015, the Minnesota RollerGirls were the host league for the 2015 InternationalWFTDA Championships at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and in May 2016, Visit Saint Paul named the Championships as their 2015 Event of the Year.[11][12] The Minnesota All-Stars also competed at the tournament, losing their sole opening round game, 185-173 toTexas Rollergirls of Austin.[13]
Minnesota Roller Derby is composed of four home teams: the Bodies of Water, the Maul Rats, the Roller Vortex, and the Wednesday Warnings. These teams were created during a complete re-draft of the league following a missed Season 17 and a shortened Season 18 in which the league due to theCOVID-19 pandemic fielded a pair of adult and a pair of junior teams. From 2005 to 2020, the league's home teams were the Atomic Bombshells, Dagger Dolls, Garda Belts, and Rockits. The Silver Bullets, which competed only in the league's inaugural season, were reorganized and re-themed as the Rockits for the 2005-06 season and remained the Rockits until the pandemic dissolved the original home teams. The four teams play against each other at home, with these games comprising the home season. Every MNRD home season concludes with a championship game, with the winner receiving the championship trophy, known as The Golden Skate.[14]
Dagger Dolls win the Golden Skate in 2012
Winners of the Golden Skate
Year
Season Champion
2005
Dagger Dolls
2006
The Rockits
2007
Atomic Bombshells
2008
The Rockits
2009
The Rockits
2010
Atomic Bombshells
2011
The Rockits
2012
Dagger Dolls
2013
Atomic Bombshells
2014
Garda Belts
2015
Dagger Dolls
2016
Atomic Bombshells
2017
Atomic Bombshells
2018
Atomic Bombshells
2019
Rockits
2020
Rockits
In 2018 a new trophy for the winner of the third-place game was unveiled. The inaugural Bronze Bearing Trophy was won for the first time by the Garda Belts.
The Minnesota All-Stars are the league's charter all-star interleague team. This team of elite skaters, drawn from the home teams, trains together year-round and travels for sanctioned WFTDA bouts throughout the year.[15]
The Minnesota Nice are the other half of the All-Stars program. The league's B-team are both a pool of dedicated B-team skaters and a backup personnel pool that the Minnesota All-Stars can draw from in the event of an injury or a skater leaving the program due to pregnancy or employment opportunities outside the Twin Cities. The Nice also travel to tournaments and plays in national- and international-level B-team competitions.
Separate from the charter program, the Minnesota Windchill recreation and training program maintains a bouting-ready team which plays smaller leagues and B-teams throughout the Upper Midwest.
Minnesota was one of the pioneers of the "wall" technique of blocking, where blockers engage the jammer as a unit rather than individually. Their tenacious defence has earned the nickname "the Great Wall of Saint Paul."[16]
The Minnesota All-Stars have qualified for WFTDA Playoffs and/orWFTDA Championships every year since the first Championship, the Dust Devil tournament, in 2006, at which they placed fourth overall.[17] In 2007[18] and 2008,[19] as members of the WFTDA'sEast Region, the All-Stars competed at the annualWFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament without advancing to the Championship.
Starting with 2009,[20] MNRG qualified for theWFTDA North Central Regional Tournament for all four years, advancing to compete in the WFTDA Championships in 2010,[21] 2011[22] and 2012.[23] MNRG hosted the 2009 North Central Regional Tournament, the "Brawl of America", at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, at which they came in ninth place.[24]
Minnesota has a long-standing rivalry with Chicago'sWindy City Rollers, and in June 2012 the two teams played to a rare tie in WFTDA-sanctioned play.[25] The tie (later upheld upon review by the WFTDA)[26] resulted from a scorekeeping correction made well after the end of play, avoiding a potential overtime jam[27] which ordinarily would have settled the score. In the 2013 revision of the Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby, it was specified that the score at the time the game-ending whistle is blown, once confirmed by the officials at the end of game time, is official and that scorekeeping errors must stand if any are discovered after the official final score is recorded.
In 2013, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association realigned its competitive divisions to emphasize teams' win–loss record and difficulty of opponents rather than organizing by regions. The Minnesota All-Stars competed atDivision 1 Playoffs during the era of the Divisional system. When the Second Regional Era begins in 2023, Minnesota will compete in the North America East region along with rivalsMadison Roller Derby,Windy City Rollers, andArch Rival Roller Derby.
In 2018 the league declined invitation to the WFTDA Playoffs inA Coruña, Spain, citing the cost of air travel to the city.[28]
Minnesota Roller Derby has been featured in numerous local media outlets, such as theStar Tribune,[5][62] thePulse of the Twin Cities,[63] vita.mn,[64]Minnesota Public Radio,[65] and theCity Pages,[66] and were briefly featured in aCoca-Cola/NASCAR national ad campaign.[67] Emergence Pictures produced the filmMinnesota Mean, a documentary following six of the players.[68] This film premiered April 15, 2023.[69]
Minnesota All-Stars Lynn "Juke Boxx" Klass and Melissa "Medusa" Arnold represented the United States onTeam USA at the2011 Roller Derby World Cup.[71] In 2014, Juke Boxx returned to the Team USA roster, joined by Dana "Second Hand Smoke" Noss, for the2014 Roller Derby World Cup.[72]
