Fort Wayne Roller Derby
| Metro area | Fort Wayne, IN |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Teams | Bomb Squad (A team) SWAT Team (B team) |
| Track type(s) | Flat |
| Venue | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| Affiliations | WFTDA |
| Website | www |
The Fort Wayne Derby Girls (FWDG) is a roller derby league based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 2005, the league currently consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues.
FWDG was the first flat track roller derby league in Indiana,[1] founded in October 2005[2] by Tonya Vojtkofsky, who skates under the name "Minx".
The league played its first exhibition bout in May 2006, to a crowd of 1,200 fans.[2] According to Amber Recker, the first skater to respond to Minx's call for a new team, "We kind of had to get butts in seats by playing up the fighting and more of the sexy aspect of it. As we've evolved... we're much more sports driven".[3] FWDG first played a team from another league in January 2007, when it took on the Gem City Rollergirls,[2] and, in the same month, it joined the Women's Flat Track Derby Association,[4] and by mid-year was ranked 29th in the country.[1]
The league also focuses on charitable fundraising, and had donated more than $26,000 to charities by June 2008.[5] In 2009, it formed a B team, scrapping its intraleague teams.[6]
FWDG hosts the annual Spring Roll tournament, featuring women's, men's and junior roller derby tournaments.[7] The league has links with the Fort Wayne Derby Brats, a junior squad coached by Minx.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Roller derby meet expected to draw 8 clubs to Coliseum", Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 28 October 2007
- ^ a b c "About", Fort Wayne Derby Girls
- ^ Chad Ryan, "Derby Girls ready to roll on 5th season", Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 7 January 2010
- ^ "Fort Wayne Derby Girls, Inc. Joins Women's Flat Track Derby Association", WFTDA, 10 January 2007
- ^ Andrew Swanson, "Derby Girls give back to community", Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 18 June 2008
- ^ Chad Ryan, "Derby Girls on fire to win", Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 9 January 2009
- ^ Cindy Larson, "Rockin' and rollin'", Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 13 May 2011
- ^ "About The Derby Brats", Fort Wayne Derby Brats
