Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1

The initial Division 1 membership list for 2013 was based upon the team's rankings as of June 30, 2012.[2] The 2014 Division 1 membership list was announced on 9 December 2013, based on the overall rankings that took effect as of 30 November 2013.[7][8] The same methodology was employed in 2014, and membership of Division 1 that year mostly comprised teams from the United States, but also Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Eight teams which were original members dropped out of Division 1 membership at the conclusion of the 2013 WFTDA season.[9] Since then, additional teams have dropped out of Division 1.

Starting in 2015, division assignments were announced based on June 30 rankings, and in-division gameplay requirements were removed.[3] As the annual June 30 rankings now determines Playoff position, and as the divisional definition is only used for playoff assignments,[3] the rankings as of June 30, 2016 determine Division 1 membership.[10] Membership includes all teams that are eligible for Division 1 Playoffs, even if a team declines their invitation to Playoffs, as well as teams ranked beyond the usual Division 1 cutoff who are invited due to higher-ranked teams not competing. Teams that do not meet minimum gameplay requirements are ineligible to receive a Playoffs invitation and therefore not included as Division 1 members. In 2016 Division 1 also included members from Finland and Sweden.

Notes

All four of the 2013 Playoffs were played in the United States. The top three teams from each Playoff qualify for the WFTDA Championships, and the London Rollergirls became the first ever non-U.S. team to achieve this.[12] The Oly Rollers, who on June 30, 2013 were ranked 3rd overall, chose not to compete in the required minimum sanctioned games, with the full knowledge they would miss the WFTDA tournaments as a result.[13] Oly still remains a member of the WFTDA and could have qualified for 2014 WFTDA playoffs if they met their requirements.[13]

All four of the 2014 Playoff tournaments were again played in the United States, and again the top three teams from each tournament qualified for the 2014 WFTDA Championships.

The same format was used for the 2015 Playoffs.[24]

The 2016 Division 1 Playoffs followed the same format as previous years, once again distributing the qualifying teams using an S-curve seeding structure.[25] For the first time, two of the Division 1 tournaments were held outside the United States, both in Canada: the first in Montreal, hosted by Montreal Roller Derby,[26] and the second in Vancouver, hosted by Terminal City Rollergirls.[27] Montreal Roller Derby became the first Canadian team to qualify for the Division 1 Championship by placing third at their own tournament in September.[28]

A new structure was announced for 2017, whereby Division 1 membership was reduced to the top 36 eligible teams, to be spread over three Playoff tournaments with 12 teams each; the top four teams from each playoff will advance to Championships.[1] The 2017 Division 1 Playoffs were held in Seattle, Washington September 1–3, Malmö, Sweden September 8–10, and Dallas, Texas September 22–24, feeding into the 2017 Championships in Philadelphia.[33] The participating teams were announced on July 14, 2017.[34]