Kalamazoo Roller Derby (KRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 2006, the league consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History and organization
The league was founded in early 2006 as the Kalamazoo Kamikazes, and played its first bout the following year.
By 2008 they had rebranded as the Killmazoo Derby Darlins and moved from the RollerWorld roller rink to Wings Stadium where they sold out all 800 advance tickets for a June game. It doubled its membership in 2009, following the release of the movie Whip It!."Graham Couch column: Skilled and sometimes brutal, Killamazoo roller derby club is worthy of Kalamazoo's attention", Kalamazoo Gazette, July 15, 2011
Killamazoo was accepted into the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program in October 2009,"Apprentice Leagues", WFTDA [version of 16 November 2009] and became a full member of the WFTDA in September 2010."9 Leagues Join WFTDA for Full Membership ", WFTDA, 1 September 2010
The league plays its bouts at the Wings Stadium, and aims in particular to attract families to watch.Andy Fitzpatrick, "", Battle Creek Gazette, April 8, 2010
In January 2018 the league announced a rebrand as Kalamazoo Derby Darlins.
In December 2020, the league announced a rebrand as Kalamazoo Roller Derby in a move to embrace diversity and inclusion.
WFTDA competition In 2013, Killamazoo qualified for WFTDA Playoffs for the first time, participating at the Division 2 tournament they hosted at Wings Stadium. Killamazoo was the third seed and finished the tournament in third place with a 250-219 victory over NEO Roller Derby (Akron, Ohio). In 2014, KDD again qualified for Division 2 Playoffs, and were the fourth seed at Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, and won the third place game 180-162 over Gold Coast Derby Grrls of Fort Lauderdale.
SeasonFinal ranking"Current Rankings", WFTDAPlayoffsChampionship201120 NCDNQDNQ201213 NCDNQDNQ201345 WFTDA3 D2DNQ201461 WFTDA3 D2DNQ201580 WFTDADNQDNQ201694 WFTDADNQDNQ201799 WFTDADNQDNQ
References