ABOUT US
The Roller Derby World Cup is an international roller derby tournament formerly organized by Blood & Thunder magazine, and currently organized by the Roller Derby World Cup Planning Committee. National and borderless teams from around the world compete for the Roller Derby World Cup trophy.
So it begins.
The inaugural 2011 Roller Derby World Cup was hosted by Toronto Roller Derby, and was held December 1 through 4, 2011, at The Bunker at Downsview Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup had thirteen countries taking part and was the first tournament for many national teams. Each team sent a roster of 20 skaters, plus alternates, to take part. Though not affiliated with the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the World Cup was and is played and officiated under a ruleset developed and standardized by the WFTDA. The event was live-streamed by DNN (Derby News Network). The participating countries were: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States. It was won by USA Roller Derby, who beat Team Canada by a score of 336 points to 33 in the final.
From 13 to 30!
The second World Cup took place December 4 through 7, 2014, in Dallas, Texas at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Thirty countries took part, including all thirteen teams from the inaugural event. The participating countries were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Wales, and West Indies. The event was live-streamed.
USA Roller Derby repeated their victory, this time defeating Team England in the final 219–105.
And then 30 goes to 38!
The third RDWC was held in Greater Manchester, England, 1-4 February at Event City and was hosted by Rainy City Roller Derby. New teams joined the tournament (which included expo bouts from emerging nations): Austria, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Iceland, Team Indigenous, IRN, Korea, Phillipines, Poland, Romania and Russia. An International Junior Derby Exhibition game took place on day 4, featuring skaters from all over Europe. All four days were live-streamed by Derby Duck Productions and day 4 was broadcast on BBC Sports (website and app) with over 40,000 unique viewers.
USA Roller Derby defeated Team Australia in the final 187–146, with the closest final game so far.
For 2025, we expect 48 teams!
The 2025 Roller Derby World Cup will be held in Innsbruck, Austria - hosted by Fearless Bruisers Innsbruck at the multi-sport complex, OlympiaWorld; which served as the Olympic Park for the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics. Using 3 of the venues on the OlympiaWorld campus, there will be 5 tracks, over 4 days, all of which will be live-streamed by Real Time Events. Tickets are currently on sale.
Our Mission
The mission of the Roller Derby World Cup Planning Committee is to promote international amateur sports competition in the sport of roller derby. We are committed to enhancing the image and stature of roller derby on an international level by correcting the misconceptions and previous stereotypes about the sport, recognizing the positive individuals in the sport and advancing roller derby worldwide through athleticism, leadership, sportsmanship and fairness. The purpose of the Roller Derby World Cup Planning Committee is to communicate new ideas and improve current practices regarding the event and ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the athletes and crews participating, the fans watching and the roller derby community as a whole while continuing the trend toward international recognition in mainstream media.
The Roller Derby World Cup Planning Committee was created not long after the 2014 event to continue fostering the growth of international roller derby competition and works closely with the Roller Derby Nations Committee, an organization that advocates for national teams and their best interests.