The Detroit Derby Girls, or DDG, are a women's flat-track roller derby

Roller derby

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...

 league based in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. The league was formed in January, 2005 and held their first bouts in February, 2006. The Detroit Derby Girls are a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

Women's Flat Track Derby Association

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...

 (WFTDA).

Teams

The Detroit Derby Girls league is composed of five home teams: the D-Funk Allstars, the Devil's Night Dames, the Detroit Pistoffs, the Pistol Whippers, and the Grand Prix Madonnas. In 2010 DDG added the fifth team (Grand Prix Madonnas) and moved venues from the Masonic Temple to Cobo Arena..

The league also has two travel teams composed of league skaters (an "A" all-star team and "B" team) who compete against other cities.

2009

The Detroit Derby Girls finished third in the 2009 WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament

WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament

The WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament or WFTDA North Central Region Playoffs is one of four roller derby qualifying tournaments for the WFTDA Championships.The Tournament is organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association...

, qualifying them to compete in the 2009 National Tournament.

At the 2009 WFTDA National Championships, the DDG faced defending WFTDA champions Gotham Girls Roller Derby

Gotham Girls Roller Derby

Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area...

 in the first round. Gotham won by a score of 187-38, eliminating Detroit from the tournament.

Detroit Derby Girls are ranked 12th overall on Derby News Network

Derby News Network

Derby News Network is an internet broadcast network featuring the international sport of roller derby, using the internet to collect remote streaming video, photographs, audio, and text from reporters around the world, and distribute it internationally. DNN is frequently cited as an authoritative...

's Power Rankings.

Film Appearance

A number of skaters of the Detroit Derby Girls appeared in Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore

Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...

's directorial debut film, Whip It!.

External links

• Detroit Derby Girls Official Website