Carolina Rollergirls

History

While traveling through Austin, Texas in late 2003, graphic designer Laura Weakland stumbled upon a banked-track roller derby bout put on by the Lonestar Rollergirls, and came home with the plan to start a local league in Raleigh. Although inspired by a banked-track event, practicality dictated that Weakland pursue flat-track derby. Weakland, now known by her derby name "Celia Fate", began soliciting potential skaters with recruiting sessions in early 2004. Initial practices featured some women who had skated as adults, but many hadn't been on wheels since middle school and practices were loosely organized and at first consisted of mostly drills and laps.

CRG held its first exhibition bout on September 19, 2004 at Raleigh's Skate Ranch, featuring two ad-hoc teams, the Crimson Crushers against the Black Widows. A second exhibition was held two months later on November 21, 2004. The first two permanent home teams, the Debutante Brawlers and Trauma Queens, came into being and CRG held its first official bout on April 10, 2005, as the Trauma Queens defeated the Debutante Brawlers 138-131. The Debutante Brawlers took the season championship on June 19, 2005, ending the league's inaugural season.

In 2006 CRG introduced the Tai Chi-tahs as a new home team, who claimed the Golden Skate Championship that year, defeating the Debutante Brawlers 149-142. By this point, a two-phase season had developed, with home team matchups taking place the first half of the year and interleague games (featuring visiting leagues from across the country) in the second half. Just as the league had outgrown its two-team structure, in 2006 it had also outgrown its venue of two years, the Skate Ranch of Raleigh. After regularly bouting to sell-out crowds at the Ranch, the league decided to move to historic Dorton Arena at the State Fairgrounds, although the Skate Ranch would remain its practice facility.

The 2007 season saw the league play an unprecedented number of games against an even greater number of opponents, including a round robin tournament between all three home teams on January 21. In March, fans witnessed the first of four double-headers, with the Debs going up against the Queens and the Chi-tahs taking on the Atlanta Rollergirls travel team. In mid-April, the Chi-tahs defeated the Queens (56-41) and the Debs crushed the Cincinnati Rollergirls All-Stars (73-25) at the second double header of the season. A week later they treated fans to a third home-based double header in which the Chi-tahs defeated the Debs (78-65) and the Trauma Queens took down Birmingham, Alabama's Tragic City Rollers (63-53). On June 9, the last of the season's double headers kicked off with an interleague win for the Trauma Queens against Southern Virginia's Dominion Derby Girls (72-44). In the second half, the Tai Chi-tahs and Debutante Brawlers kept the energy high with a razor-close battle that saw the Chi-tahs bring home a one-point victory and the Golden Skate for a second year in a row.

The 2008 season kicked off on March 29 with a match-up between the Trauma Queens and two-time Golden Skate winners the Tai Chi-tahs. The Queens came out strong and played a defense-heavy game that led to a substantial victory over the Chi-tahs, 104-34. Despite strong showings by several key skaters, the Chi-Tahs lost their second game,and their chance at the championship, on April 20 to the Debutante Brawlers, 85-55. This second Chi-tah loss guaranteed both the Debs and the Queens a shot at the Golden Skate, regardless of the next game's outcome. The rookie-heavy Debs, led by league veterans Shirley Temper and Roxy Rockett, rolled away with an 81-69 victory over the Queens and their second solid win of the season. On June 7, the Debs and Queens skated through triple-digit temperatures at Dorton Arena, as the Debs took a substantial early lead in the first half, but the Queens fought their way back in the second half. Ultimately, the Debs won their first championship since 2005, 57-50.

WFTDA competition

On November 18 2005, CRG played its first interleague (and away game) against Minnesota Rollergirls. Minnesota defeated Carolina by a wide margin, but in January 2006, Carolina hosted a rematch and held the score to a 10-point differential. CRG's undefeated 2006 interleague season saw the All-Stars defeat Las Vegas's Neanderdolls, both at home (127-65) and away (133-84), as well as Providence Roller Derby's Rhode Island Riveters (131-102) and Phoenix's Tent City Terrors (100-90), both at home.

CRG began 2007 with an away-game win against Baltimore's Charm City Roller Girls (140-72). In March 2007, CRG participated in the inaugural East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX), a derby tournament hosted by the Philly Rollergirls. The CRG team succeeded in both of their WFTDA bouts there, rolling over New York's Gotham Girls Roller Derby 115-104 and soundly defeating the Detroit Derby Girls 192-49. On May 12, the CRG All-Stars went to Phoenix for a tight rematch against the Tent City Terrors, losing by three points.

The latter half of 2007 took the 7th-ranked CRG All-Stars on the road, first to Providence in June for a second win against the Rhode Island Riveters 104-68, and then, in August, to the WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, where the team placed third and secured its slot at the upcoming WFTDA Championships in Austin, Texas. Just two weeks before that, the All-Stars brought the action back home for a face-off against the Texas Rollergirls, narrowly losing 64-59. On the weekend of September 29–30, the All-Stars advanced to the final four (the only eastern division league to do so) with a respectable win against the Tucson Roller Derby Saddletramps 80-73. The following day, CRG fought a hard battle against the Kansas City Roller Warriors, losing by only eight points 108-116. CRG returned home ranked 4th in the country, a three-slot improvement over its previous ranking. After a brief break, the interleague season continued at home in November with an easy win against San Francisco's Bay Area Derby Girls, 74-45.

On December 2, Kansas City came to Raleigh for a much-anticipated rematch. After suffering such a narrow loss in Austin, the CRG All-Stars pulled out a one-point win. In 2008, the CRG All-Stars went to Philadelphia for the second annual East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX), where they kicked off the weekend event with an easy win against the Denver Roller Dolls, 129-49. On Sunday, CRG played Chicago's Windy City Rollers, resulting in a 16-point win, 76-60.

League governance

The league is governed by a board of directors. Skater participation is encouraged and, in fact, necessary, as CRG is run entirely by volunteerism. The league is run by the skaters, for the skaters. Board positions include Chair, Training Director, Marketing Director, Director of Sponsorship, Director of Finance, League Representative, and Head of Bout Production. League meetings are held quarterly. Although non-skaters (e.g., referees and other support staff) can serve on committees, only skaters vote on league issues.