After months of anticipation and planning and 2 jam-packed days of roller derby, the first-ever Quick Rip to the 6ix tournament kicked off our competitive season on March 21st & 22nd!
The event, hosted and run by members of Toronto Roller Derby, Montreal Roller Derby and Durham Region Roller Derby, saw six Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) sanctioned games be played over two days. After the sanctioned games, Durham Region hosted an open scrimmage. All games were played at the King City Arena & Community Centre in King City, Ontario.
Alongside Toronto’s All-Stars and Montreal’s Sexpos, participating teams were Hammer City Roller Derby’s Eh! Team, Queen City Roller Derby’s Lake Effect Furies, and both the All-Stars and Yankee Brutals from Connecticut Roller Derby. All six teams played two games over the course of the weekend.
Of course, without any officials, these teams could not have played any games at all. Thankfully, a wonderful team of referees and non-skating officials came together for the tournament, led by Tournament Head Referee Yogi, Tournament Head NSO Matante and Games Tournament Oversight Officer Zed. They and all the other members of the officiating crew made sure of a safe, fair and fun weekend of derby.
The tournament kicked off at 12:30 PM on Saturday, March 21, where the Montreal Sexpos defeated the Connecticut All-Stars, 199-131. This competitive, exciting game set the tone for the rest of the day, as the 2:30 PM game saw the Connecticut Yankee Brutals edge out a close win over the Hammer City Eh! Team, 188-146. The Sexpos would then return to the track at 6 PM for the final game of the day, falling to the Queen City Lake Effect Furies, 232-80.
Alongside the games being played, fans were treated to an opportunity to shop merchandise from all the leagues playing in the tournament, as well as the tournament’s sponsors.
Sunday, March 22 kicked off bright and early, as the local favourites, the Toronto All-Stars took on the Yankee Brutals in the first-ever matchup between the two teams, winning the 9:30 AM game 249-91. 11:30 AM saw the Lake Effect Furies and the Connecticut All-Stars match up in both teams’ second game of the weekend, with the Furies coming out ahead, 249-87. The final WFTDA-sanctioned game of the tournament came at 1:30 PM, and saw the Toronto All-Stars finish off their weekend with a 278-96 victory over Hammer City.
The festivities were not over yet, however, as Durham Region Roller Derby’s open scrimmage started up at 3:30 PM, and featured skaters from all three hosting leagues as well as Hammer City, Ottawa Valley Roller Derby, Royal City Royal Derby, Peterborough Area Roller Derby, Renegade Derby Dames, Hogtown Roller Derby, Minnesota Roller Derby, and more. Skaters of various levels were all able to compete in a wonderful game that was a perfect way to close out the weekend.
Toronto Roller Derby thanks all of our fans for their support, and hopes you will continue to follow the team as we plan more games and events for this upcoming season. All information regarding future events will be posted to our Instagram page at instagram.com/toderby as well as on our website. Any questions or requests for further information can be sent to info@torontorollerderby.com.
Looking for more photos from the event?
Check out all of the incredible photographers who attended!
Darren Stehr
