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Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1

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The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 (WFTDA Division 1) is the highest level of play in women's flat track roller derby.

Contents

Organisation

The division consists of the 36 highest-ranked members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, based on performance over the previous year, who compete across three Playoff tournaments with 12 teams at each Playoff.

Historically, the WFTDA instead operated four regions: East, North Central, South Central and West. At the start of 2013, these were redivided into three divisions, each operating worldwide. However, foreseeing continued growth in membership, the WFTDA stated that future developments were likely to include new regional structures alongside the divisional system. Through 2016, under the original divisional system, Division 1 comprised the top 40 eligible teams, with the next 20 eligible teams qualifying for Division 2 Playoffs.

Teams in Division 1 play in bouts through the year, aiming to qualify for one of the three Division 1 Playoffs. Starting with 2015, sanctioned-game play requirements were modified to be simply any 4 WFTDA-sanctioned games played between December 1 of the previous calendar year and June 30, without a requirement to play a certain number of games against similarly-ranked opponents. Teams which do not play a minimum number of sanctioned bouts are not permitted to compete at the Playoffs. Eligible teams ranked 37-52 as of June of the calendar year remain eligible for Division 2 Playoffs.

Member leagues

The 2014 Division 1 membership list was announced on 9 December 2013, based on the overall rankings that took effect as of 30 November 2013. The same methodology was employed in 2014, and membership of Division 1 that year mostly comprised teams from the United States, but also Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Starting in 2015, division assignments were announced based on June 30 rankings. As the annual June 30 rankings now determines Playoff position, and as the divisional definition is only used for playoff assignments, the rankings as of June 30 2016 determine Division 1 membership. As of 2016, Division 1 now also includes members from Finland and Sweden.

As Division 1 membership reflects either end of year rankings (2013-14) or June 30 rankings (2015 - onwards) the dates in the below table reflect that.

Former members

Eight teams which were original member of Division 1 dropped to Division 2 at the conclusion of the 2013 WFTDA season. Since then, additional teams have dropped out of Division 1.

Division 1 Playoffs

Prior to 2015, teams in Division 1 played in bouts through the year, aiming to qualify for one of the four Division 1 Playoffs. Each Playoff includes ten teams. However, Division 1 teams are not guaranteed a playoff spot, as teams in lower divisions can qualify by being ranked among the top forty WFTDA members. Additionally, teams which do not play a minimum number of sanctioned bouts are not permitted to compete at the Playoffs, with Division 1 teams required to play at least 4 WFTDA-sanctioned bouts following the previous year's championship and the current year's June 30, with at least 3 of those being against other D1 teams.

After 2015, in-division gameplay requirements for playoff consideration were dropped, leaving the June 30 rankings as the sole determinant of division eligibility.

2013 Playoffs

All four of the 2013 Playoffs were played in the United States. The top three teams from each Playoff qualify for the WFTDA Championships, and the London Rollergirls became the first ever non-U.S. team to achieve this. The Oly Rollers, who on June 30 2013 were ranked 3rd overall, chose not to compete in the required minimum sanctioned games, with the full knowledge they would miss the WFTDA tournaments as a result. Oly still remains a member of the WFTDA and may qualify for 2014 WFTDA playoffs if they meet their requirements.

2014 Playoffs

All four of the 2014 Playoff tournaments were again played in the United States, and again the top three teams from each tournament qualified for the 2014 WFTDA Championships.

2015 Playoffs

The same format was used for the 2015 Playoffs.

2016 Playoffs

The 2016 Division 1 Playoffs followed the same format as previous years, once again distributing the qualifying teams using an S-curve seeding structure. For the first time, two of the Division 1 tournaments were held outside the United States, both in Canada: the first in Montreal, hosted by Montreal Roller Derby, and the second in Vancouver, hosted by Terminal City Rollergirls. Montreal Roller Derby became the first Canadian team to qualify for the Division 1 Championship by placing third at their own tournament in September.

References

Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 Wikipedia