We did it! Maine Roller Derby hosted its first international tournament

We did it! Maine Roller Derby hosted its first international tournament: Skatecationland: the way derby should be.

Maine Roller Derby (MRD) hosted its first international tournament on June 8-9, 2024 at Happy Wheels in Westbrook, Maine. The tournament, called Skatecationland: the way derby should be, featured guest leagues Bux-Mont Roller Derby from Hatfield, PA, the Muddy River Rollers from Moncton, NB, and Lehigh Valley Roller Derby out of Bethlehem, PA facing off against MRD’s All-Star Travel Team. MRD was thrilled to present the only roller derby tournament in Maine during 2024 and the first since the pandemic.

Derby fans enjoyed two days packed with three bouts each day. These sanctioned games affected all participating leagues’ Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s Northeast region rankings. MRD entered the tournament ranked 56th and left ranked 48th.  

“Maine Roller Derby took its biggest hit ever during the pandemic. It’s taken us years to restart our competitive program. This felt like such a huge opportunity to bring high-level roller derby to Maine,” said tournament director Heather “Dash” Steeves. “For more than 10 years our league has traveled the country to defend our spot in the international rankings, now it’s time to bring the world to us.”

For many MRD members, this was their first experience at a tournament. The tournament directors intentionally invited rurally-isolated leagues like MRD, who were closely ranked, providing folks opportunities they rarely get, while also showing incredible and close gameplay to MRD’s fans.

Maine Roller Derby showed up in a way never seen before with more than 70 league members volunteering their time. For MRD’s first-ever tournament, it went so smoothly, and was so easy, it truly showed the power of teamwork. MRD’s mission is “to promote the sport of roller derby, maintain a competitive athletic program in the WFTDA, and make a positive impact in our community.” MRD lived that all weekend on the track, in the crowd, and behind the scenes. In addition to MRD members, our visiting teams, and local officials and volunteers, MRD welcomed 21 visiting, guest officials to Happy Wheels.

Thank you to all who helped to make MRD’s dream of hosting a tournament come true. MRD hopes you had an amazing time and learned something new about the sport of roller derby. Bringing competitive, sanctioned WFTDA play to Maine was a huge triumph.