Royal Windsor Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaWindsor
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded2007
Dissolved2023
TeamsWho Dares Windsor (A team)
B-Headers (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueWindsor Leisure Centre
AffiliationsWFTDA
Websitewww.royalwindsorrollerderby.co.uk

Royal Windsor Roller Derby (RWRD) was a flat track roller derby league based in Berkshire, England. Founded in 2007 as Royal Windsor Roller Girls, RWRD was Berkshire's first roller derby league, and one of the first in the UK. The league trained in Ascot and played its home games at Windsor Leisure Centre.

RWRD was a member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA)[1] and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[2] The team announced it had played its last game on 5th November 2023[3]

League Structure

RWRD haa two travel teams who competed with teams from other leagues:[4]

  • Who Dares Windsor (A)
  • The B-Headers (B)

There were also two intra-league teams.

League History

Royal Windsor Rollergirls had only five skaters and one referee when it was founded in September 2007, but grew rapidly and had 40 members by April 2010.[5] They played their first bout in 2009, at the Wycombe Sports Centre in nearby Buckinghamshire, which was attended by more than 350 people.[6]

The league was a founder member of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association in 2010.[7]

In July 2011, Royal Windsor Rollergirls joined the WFTDA Apprentice Program,[8] and became a full member in June 2012.[9] The league continued to be active both regionally and internationally, competing in the British Roller Derby Championships in 2015-2018, and European tournaments such as "Slip It" 2018.[10]

Windsor created the concept of Sur5al in 2012, which is a short-form version of roller derby.[11]

The league won the Community Club of the Year award, voted for by the public, at the fifth annual Get Berkshire Active Awards in 2017.[12]

In October 2018, Royal Windsor Rollergirls changed their name to Royal Windsor Roller Derby.[13]

National Team Representation

The league's Head Coach, Rollin' StoneR, was Lineup Manager on the coaching team for Team England Roller Derby for the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup and the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup.[14]

WFTDA rankings

Season Final ranking[15] Playoffs Championship
2013 149 WFTDA[16] DNQ DNQ
2014 173 WFTDA[17] DNQ DNQ
2015 168 WFTDA[18] DNQ DNQ
2016 267 WFTDA[19] DNQ DNQ
2017 263 WFTDA[20] DNQ DNQ
2018 199 WFTDA[21] DNQ DNQ

*Please note that rankings were suspended in March 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Five Nations Roller Derby Championships

The league participated in the inaugural British Roller Derby Championships in 2015, as part of the Women T2 South tier. They won all of their games, facing up against Bristol Roller Derby, London Rockin' Rollers, Brighton Rockers Roller Derby, Seaside Siren Roller Girls and Portsmouth Roller Wenches.[23] This performance saw them progress to the Women T2 Playoffs 2015, where they lost to Nottingham Hellfire Harlots Roller Derby, 223-143, but won against London Rockin' Rollers, 231-141.[24]

In 2016, they found themselves in the Women Tier 1 Premier of the competition. They lost all their games, beaten by London Roller Derby's Brawl Saints (B), Glasgow Roller Derby, Newcastle Roller Derby and Leeds Roller Derby.[25]

They moved down to the Womens T2 UKRDA National tier in the restructured tournament in 2017. They had a difficult start to the competition, losing two games in a row to London Rockin' Rollers and Swansea City Roller Derby, but won their remaining three games against SWAT Roller Derby, Big Bucks High Rollers and Kent Roller Derby.[26]

Royal Windsor Roller Derby won the silver medal in the Womens T2 UKRDA National tier in 2018. To achieve this, they faced London Roller Derby's Batter C Power (C) twice, Rebellion Roller Derby, Bath Roller Derby and SWAT Roller Derby.[27]

In 2021, the British Championships rebranded as the Five Nations Roller Derby Championships.[28]

Sur5al

Windsor are credited with developing the concept and hosting the first roller derby Sur5al tournament in 2012.[11][29][30] Sur5al is a short-form, one-day roller derby challenge event in which up to fifteen teams of 5 skaters compete in two-minute jams, which can't be called off, with each team playing every other team just once through the day. The format has since been used around the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Member Leagues – United Kingdom Roller Derby Association". ukrda.org.uk. UKRDA. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "Royal Windsor Rollergirls – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Royal Windsor Roller Derby – Facebook". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Jo (7 October 2018). "Welcome!". Royal Windsor Roller Derby. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Roller Derby mania hits Windsor". 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  6. ↑ "Girls roll into town for 'British Bulldog-style' bout". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  7. ↑ "UK Roller Derby History". UKRDA. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  8. ↑ "WFTDA Adds Crop of 15 Apprentice Leagues - Latest News - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  9. ↑ "Nine Leagues Become Full WFTDA Members - Latest News - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  10. ↑ "2018 Slip It | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  11. 1 2 Smith, Jo (6 December 2018). "Sur5al". Royal Windsor Roller Derby. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "Get Berkshire Active: Sporting heroes recognised at the fifth annual Get Berkshire Active awards". Royal Borough Observer. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  13. ↑ Smith, Jo (7 October 2018). "History". Royal Windsor Roller Derby. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Team England Coaches Appointed". 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  16. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  20. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  21. ↑ "Rankings: December 31, 2018 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  22. ↑ wonderpance (2020-05-28). "WFTDA Releases Rankings Transition Plan for COVID-19 » WFTDA Roller Derby Resources". WFTDA Roller Derby Resources. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  23. ↑ "British Roller Derby Championships 2015: Women T2 South | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  24. ↑ "British Roller Derby Championships 2015: Women T2 Playoffs | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  25. ↑ "British Roller Derby Championships 2016: Women Tier 1 Premier | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  26. ↑ "British Roller Derby Championships 2017: Womens T2 UKRDA National | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  27. ↑ "British Roller Derby Championships 2018: Womens T2 UKRDA National | Roller Derby Stats & Rankings | Flat Track Stats". flattrackstats.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  28. ↑ "Five Nations Roller Derby". Five Nations Roller Derby. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  29. ↑ "Sur5al". Sur5al. 18 September 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  30. ↑ tigerbaybrawlers. "Tiger Bay Brawlers". Tumblr. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
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