Okinawa Roller Derby

Okinawa Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Okinawa, Japan. Founded in 2010, the league currently consists of two teams, an all star team which competes worldwide and a B team which competes against teams from other leagues in Japan. Okinawa Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[1]

Okinawa Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaOkinawa
CountryJapan
Founded2010
TeamsUndertow (A team)
Kokeshi Roller Dolls (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueComprehensive Park Arena
Risner Gym
AffiliationsWFTDA
Websitewww.okinawarollerderby.com

History

The league was founded as "Kokeshi Roller Dolls" in August 2010 by Amanda Harms (known as "Pisa Cake")[2] and Nicole King ("Nurse Fight'n Bail"). It held its first practice in October, with only six members, but had twenty skaters by the end of the month, and in January 2011 formed three intraleague teams. In May, it played its first bout, an intraleague contest.[3][4] This attracted more than eight hundred fans.[2] Many of the league's members are not native Okinawans, and are often expatriate Americans in the armed forces, or come to Japan for work or with family.[3][2]

In October 2011, Kokeshi was accepted as a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Programme,[5] and it became a full member of the WFTDA in June 2013.[6][7]

In March 2017, the league announced a rebrand as Okinawa Roller Derby, maintaining the Kokeshi Roller Dolls name for its B team.[8]

WFTDA rankings
Season Final ranking[9] Playoffs Championship
2014 214 WFTDA[10] DNQ DNQ
2015 223 WFTDA[11] DNQ DNQ
2016 317 WFTDA[12] DNQ DNQ

References
  1. "Okinawa Roller Derby – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. Matt Orr, "Women on Okinawa find friendship through roller derby", Stars and Stripes, 26 May 2011
  3. Asa Spades, "Can You Believe There's A Roller Derby League HERE?! Kokeshi Roller Dolls", DerbyLife, 16 September 2011
  4. "Kokeshi Roller Dolls to launch inaugural season", Weekly Japan Update, 19 May 2011
  5. "WFTDA Accepts 13 Leagues into Apprentice Program", WFTDA, 27 October 2011
  6. "WFTDA Welcomes First Full Member Leagues in Asia and South America Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine", 6 June 2013
  7. "Kokeshi Roller Dolls joins Women's Flat Track Derby Association Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", Stars and Stripes, 6 June 2013
  8. "Now Introducing... ORD!". Okinawa Roller Derby | Kokeshi Roller Dolls. Okinawa Roller Derby. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  9. "Current Rankings", WFTDA
  10. "Rankings: December 31, 2014". WFTDA. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  11. "Rankings: December 31, 2015". WFTDA. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  12. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
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