Helsinki Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Helsinki in Finland. Founded in 2009, the league currently consists of three travel teams who compete against teams from other leagues. Helsinki Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[1]

Helsinki Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaHelsinki
CountryFinland
Founded2009
TeamsAll-Stars "Ninja Turtles" (A team)
Queen B's (B team)
C-Cassette (C team)
Alpakka (rec)
Track type(s)Flat
AffiliationsWFTDA
Websitewww.helsinkirollerderby.com

As of 2010, the league's skaters included Annabel Apocalipstick, Estrogeena Davis, Renée Hellweger and Bananaspit.[2] Eleven of their skaters were selected for Team Finland at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup.[3]

WFTDA competition

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The league was accepted into the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice program in July 2011,[4] and it became a full member of the WFTDA in September 2012.[5] In September 2011, Helsinki competed in the Battle of the Nordic Light, the first roller derby tournament in Scandinavia.[6]

During 2013, Helsinki played in the first Suomi Cup of roller derby, taking second place in the tournament after losing narrowly to Kallio Rolling Rainbow in the final.[7]

In 2015, Helsinki qualified for the WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs for the first time, traveling to Omaha, Nebraska for the tournament in October,[8] where they finished seventh by defeating Buffalo, New York's Queen City Roller Girls, 274-199.[9] In 2016, Helsinki returned to Division 1 Playoffs, entering the Madison tournament as the sixth seed, and finishing in sixth place.[10] As the fifth seed at the 2017 Division 1 Playoff in Malmö, Helsinki won their opening game against Charm City Roller Girls 308-144,[11] but then lost their quarterfinal against the host Crime City Rollers 215-170.[12] Helsinki finished their weekend with a consolation bracket victory over Calgary Roller Derby Association, 365-107.[13] In 2018, Helsinki competed at the WFTDA Playoff in A Coruña, Spain, finishing their weekend in the consolation round with a 208-172 loss to 2×4 Roller Derby.[14]

Rankings

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Season Final ranking[15] Playoffs Championship
2013 121 WFTDA[16] N/A N/A
2014 57 WFTDA[17] N/A N/A
2015 33 WFTDA[18] 7 D1[9] DNQ
2016 22 WFTDA[19] 6 D1[10] DNQ
2017 14 WFTDA[20] CR D1[13] DNQ
2018 18 WFTDA[21] CR[14] DNQ
  • CR = consolation round

References

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  1. ^ "Helsinki Roller Derby – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  2. ^ Maria Pettersson, "Tytöt taklaa tykimmin", City, 17 April 2010 (in Finnish)
  3. ^ "WFTDA and the Roller Derby World Cup Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 1 November 2011
  4. ^ WFTDA Adds Crop of 15 Apprentice Leagues Archived 2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 13 July 2011
  5. ^ "WFTDA Adds Four New Members Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA, 7 September 2012
  6. ^ Pernilla Nielsen Negrén, "Tjejer i nordiskt slag", Skånska Dagbladet, 3 September 2011 (in Swedish)
  7. ^ Jouni Munukka, "Roller Derby on naisten anarkistinen kontaktilaji", Helsingin Sanomat, 4 November 2013 (in Finnish)
  8. ^ "No Coast among teams tabbed for international roller derby playoffs in Omaha". Lincoln Journal Star. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  9. ^ a b "2015 WFTDA D1 Playoffs: Omaha Central". Derby Central. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  10. ^ a b Boom, Sonnet (25 September 2016). "D1M: #5 Team United sinks #6 Helsinki, 206-155". Derby Central. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  11. ^ Berrick, Genevieve D (8 September 2017). "D1M: #5 Helsinki beats #12 Charm City, 308-144". Derby Central. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. ^ Skelton, K (8 September 2017). "D1M: #4 Crime City rolls over #5 Helsinki, 215-170 | Derby Central". Derby Central. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  13. ^ a b Berrick, Genevieve D (9 September 2017). "D1M: #5 Helsinki finishes #11 Calgary, 365-107". Derby Central. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  14. ^ a b "2018 Playoffs A Coruña Game 14: Helsinki vs. 2×4 Roller Derby – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  16. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2013 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. January 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. January 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. January 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Rankings: December 31, 2018 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.