You won't see any movement in the elite portions of this list; the top ten in the WFTDA are the same as they were in January. All the action this spring has been in the upper reaches, but now that the WFTDA has 55 member leagues (39 of whom are ranked) anything in the top 20 is worth some bragging rights. Read on for the numbers.

So, have you been lured into thinking the only tournaments and other big events are WFTDA's East, West, and National Playoffs? Granted, those are big, but there are plenty of other events goin' on around North America that are well worth checking out!

What you've missed!

This Saturday's DC Rollergirls intraleague double-header got a write-up in the Metro section of the Washington Post. The article was mostly typical "by day/by night" fare, and the author was WAY off about the size of the crowd; there were approximately 1400 people in attendance. But still, it's nice to see that some of the old-school fans are really getting into flat-track derby.

A couple of years ago, we reported several stories on the violent arrest of Assassination City's Muff Thumper. The case finally made it through court and, after hearing from many witnesses, the judge ruled that Muff was not guilty of assaulting the officer. So why'd he slam her on the ground hard enough to leave a big 'ol blood stain? "Officer Gordon has had 27 complaints filed against him in his 14-year career, most of which were ruled "unfounded" or "inconclusive." Of the inconclusive complaints, at least two involved allegations of excessive force."

(Updated: to adjust final score.)

On Saturday, February 16, 2008, you could feel the walls of Bladeworld vibrating for about a quarter mile around because of what was going on inside.

This was the rivalry that pits the #4 ranked Texas Rollergirls (TXRG) Texecutioners against the #6 ranked Tucson Roller Derby (TRD) Saddletramps. The last time these two teams met was in December, 2006 and in that bout, Tucson beats Texas 62-60 in overtime.

January 26th is a strange night for those of us in the area from which Leadjammer originates, because all of our established leagues are playing at the same time!

- The Mad Rollin' Dolls kick off their fourth season tonight.

- Windy City Rollers have CHANGED their season structure from summer/fall to winter and ALSO kick off their fourth season tonight. The change in their league-season play is assumed to be due to the heavily weighted late summer, early fall tournament schedule, which would have disrupted their season.

- Brewcity Bruiser play their Championship tonight! And it's not just any Championship, based on the semi-finals. The Shevil Knevil's, who had NEVER won a bout, upset the #1 seeded Rushin' Rollettes (last year's champs) by a single point! The Crazy 8's upset Maiden Milwaukee, also advancing. This creates the unlikely #3/#4 match-up for the Championship!

But wait, there's more! Wisconsin has a new third league - the Fox Cityz Foxz who bout publicly for the first time next Saturday, Feb. 2nd. So, get that on your calendar. More details to come!

In an announcement on amp.az, Arizona Roller Derby (AZRD) has announced that former league founder Ivanna S. Pankin as well as Trish The Dish have returned to the league. No team assignments are known at this time.

Recently, Ivanna and Dish moved from Las Vegas to Tucson and moved their business, Sin City Skates to a new location in Tucson. We will have a story about the new Sin City Skates on the December edition of the Arizona Derby Report (AZDR).

A copy of AZRD's announcement follows:

Production Charts and the Hutchinson Leader (MN) note that the upcoming roller derby film Whip It will be directed by Hollywood star Drew Barrymore. Whip It's screenwriter, L.A. Derby Doll Maggie Mayhem (aka Shauna Cross), is also the author of Derby Girl. The Leader article states that it's unclear if the movie is an adaptation of the book or just something similar. This will apparently be the first time directing for Barrymore. That's cool, but who will play K.C. Carr? Note to Barrymore: if it's set in the mid-west, go flat track for extra derby cred. And shoot the big climax bout scene at the Roy Wilkins.

Summary (from the article): "A Midwestern, small-town, teenage girl discovers the high-energy world of roller derby and must decide if she’s willing to go against her parents and friends in order to pursue the sport she loves."

Update: Ms. Mayhem emailed in to clarify things. She writes, "...it is an adaptation of my book, Derby Girl, and takes place in and around austin, tx. not the midwest. not that the midwest isn't cool." So much for the Roy. Ah, they'll probably shoot it in Vancouver anyway!

(Played by Derby Dolls banked track rules: 1 minute jams, lead jammer is always the one in front, minor penalties = penalty box for one minute and one blocker down from the team, major penalties = penalty box for one minute, no jammer for the penalized team, 2 penalty points for penalized skater, 5 penalty points and the skater is ejected. Penalty assessment is regardless of whether the penalized skater is a jammer or blocker. Penalties are similar to WFTDA 2.0)
by Busta Armov
December 8, 2007

Via twitter: The WFTDA is proud to announce it's 50th member league - Burning River Roller Girls in Cleveland, Ohio! Congrats ladies!

It's been just over two years since the ULC became the WFTDA (leadjammer.com went online about a month later) and the wildfire spread of roller derby has been so oft noted that it's almost cliché. But a little nugget of news like that comes through and makes a guy say "yeah, damn that's cool."