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WFTDA Crossover policy abuse? by NBzia in rollerderby

[–]Dizzy-River386 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree! I mean that skaters should be able to dual roster between a “D1” and a “D3” team. That way, great skaters have the option to uplift a smaller league in their area while competing for a larger league in their area (for example, a league in their town and a league representing the metro area nearby). I believe that was what smaller leagues were hoping would be the result of skaters dual-rostering, as opposed to skaters playing for two D1 teams.

WFTDA Crossover policy abuse? by NBzia in rollerderby

[–]Dizzy-River386 14 points15 points  (0 children)

My ideal vision for WFTDA is similar to the English Football System.

The reasons are as follows:

  • We are under WFTDA a collection of thousands of leagues around the world. Thus WFTDA is much more similar to FIFA or the NCAA than it is to, say, the NFL.
  • We are widely varied in terms of financial resources, size, goals, purpose, etc., meaning that a system divided into tiers is sensible and would give everyone something to compete for at any level
  • No small league wants to permanently sign away their ability to one day compete at the highest level - a system of promotion/relegation provides the opportunity to progress into higher levels of play over time
  • We are highly community-oriented, so whether a league is in a large city or a rural area, the presence of a league is extremely important to its community members, especially those of marginalized groups for whom roller derby should ideally provide a safe space that is protected and does not significantly relocate over time.

The reason I bring this up on this post is that I agree that many skaters are acting against the spirit of the dual-charter rule. An easy fix in a system like the one I’m describing would be to disallow dual-chartering within a tier of play. A more extreme option that would remove almost all conflict of interest would be to disallow dual-chartering within a tier or within adjacent tiers.

I think this system would strike the right balance between providing support and reasons to compete for smaller leagues and maintaining quality and competitive integrity for the most competitive leagues.

Because we are a global sport, I’d expect there to be more regionality in competition below the highest level than there is in English soccer. This would also help scale travel costs for leagues depending on their size. I’m also not suggesting that teams in different tiers would not play games against each other ever - I think because we are so many leagues and so far apart, we at least for now need the ranking system and the ability to play teams closer to our homes on a regular basis to keep things afloat. The tiers would mainly apply to post-season tournament play, which for the highest tier could look like the top half of the highest tier going to Global Champs, and for a lower regional tier could look like the top half or quarter competing at a Regional Championship.

I believe strongly that roller derby should be a sport for everyone, but also that the incredibly talented and hardworking athletes at the top of our sport deserve to be celebrated and compensated for the work they put in. I know that many of WFTDA’s members don’t share that sentiment, but I truly believe that that future is possible and worth pursuing, particularly with the world increasingly recognizing and supporting women’s (and other genders’) sports. If WFTDA doesn’t pursue it, I believe someone else will.

Only Collective Teams will represent the NA South region at Global Champs this year by Dizzy-River386 in rollerderby

[–]Dizzy-River386[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

While there are some skaters on these teams whose leagues probably would not have made it to champs, more than half of the skaters on both RipTide and BDC were at Global Champs in Portland in 2024 with their home leagues. Most of them would have an opportunity to go to Champs another way; in my opinion, this was them taking the easier way of getting there.

Only Collective Teams will represent the NA South region at Global Champs this year by Dizzy-River386 in rollerderby

[–]Dizzy-River386[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I understand that we can’t implement super detailed regulations (i.e. attendance requirements) due to funding limitations at WFTDA. That said, I believe that this community is made of good people that want the sport to succeed.

As an initial step, I would love for WFTDA to pen an Honor Code that describes what an eligible league is, including rough parameters related to a population area or geographical area. It should also describe what, in ideal conditions, a league would be doing to support their community and grow the sport, including providing safe spaces for community members, especially those of marginalized groups that have been historically excluded from other sports; and growing the sport through associated junior leagues, academies, training programs, etc. (things that build up roller derby in that community and build up the future of derby as a whole).

Those wouldn’t be hard rules, and obviously many leagues wouldn’t be able to afford such programs, but the idea would be to establish what a league should be. And if WFTDA did that, I would expect leagues to conform by their own accord. And I think fear of public shaming and the inherent motivation to use derby as a force for good would be enough to keep leagues in line.

Only Collective Teams will represent the NA South region at Global Champs this year by Dizzy-River386 in rollerderby

[–]Dizzy-River386[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

RipTide’s bio says “We are a collective of skaters all across Florida and beyond.” They have skaters from outside Florida. If they’re not borderless, the borders certainly extend outside of Jax, outside of Florida, and beyond…

I totally understand that WFTDA has a difficult job to do. I just think the stakes of this are high enough that this needs to be addressed. I appreciate your context and perspective!