So, have you been lured into thinking the only tournaments and other big events are WFTDA's East, West, and National Playoffs? Granted, those are big, but there are plenty of other events goin' on around North America that are well worth checking out!

What you've missed!

Blood&Thunder Boot Camp (Feb. 21 - 24) - If there are any skaters that wrestled with deciding whether this event would be worth the expense, and decided not to go, you made the wrong decision. Around 125 skaters (From California to Canada and even Hawaii) had the workout and times of their derby lives. A huge kudos to Black Dahlia and Robin Graves for what was a well-executed camp, filled with great coaches, skaters, and off-track sessions. A lot of credit also goes to the San Diego Derby Dolls who were wonderful hosts. Training facility included both a flat and banked track, most everything took place in the one huge indoor space where the tracks were located, and staying there was inexpensive and easy, as a very derby-friendly hostel was conveniently connected to the same building the training was done in.

The event's highlight was the selection of a camp team which bouted against SDDD's All-Star Team. First, SDDD has come a long way in its flat track program. Both the opening league bout and the all-star/camp team bouts were terrific. Their flat track program is not one to be overlooked! They're learning at an amazing pace. Both bouts took place in a fan-packed rink. The camp "Tourists," as the team called themselves, appeared to be in trouble until Miss Fortune (Rat City's West Regional Co-MVP and Nationals team MVP) busted a 19-0 jam about 8 jams into the bout. Duke City's Muffin ran 15-3 and 14-3 jams shortly afterward. The shift in momentum and the continual gelling of the Tourists pulled them into the lead before the first half was over. The defense put up by players such as Ivanna S.Pankin (AZRD), Trish the Dish (AZRD), Demanda Riot (BADG), Goodie 2 Skates (Rose City), Viagrrra Falls (Rose City), and others, was stifling in the second half, giving them around a 25 point win. The team was built from top veteran players, such as Ivanna, to one skater going through only her second bout.

So, what defines a successful event? How about the scribblings on Sunday's schedule asking that the 5:00pm session not be canceled! That's right, after four intense days of training, many didn't want to leave even an hour early.

The Sunshine Smackdown (April 5-6) - Florida's Broward County Derby Grrls had a great idea. Why not throw a tournament for your first event and open the doors to the public to just "come on in!" This great PR move kicked off roller derby in the Fort Lauderdale area with a three team tournament won by the home league. Florida is exploding with leagues and Broward County didn't skate anything like a team playing it's first public bout.

The Big One (April 5-6)California tournament hosted in Sacramento (I believe), featuring California leagues from within a few hours of the Bay Area. What many don't realize, is that California is producing leagues at an astronomical rate - upwards of about 24 at the moment. Though the tournament was dominated by the tenured, and well-known, Bay Area Derby Girls (vastly improved since the '07 Dust Devil), we're not far away from seeing teams in the West challenged by the likes of Sac City, San Diego, and many others.

What's yet to come!

The Beast in the East (April 19)The international growth of roller derby is epitomized by the number of leagues which have sprung up in Canada. With WFTDA's recent announcement that they will sanction Canadian leagues; the number of leagues, quality, and aspirations to be as good as they can be will only grow. April 19th marks Canada's Beast in the East tournament. The 16-team, one-day tournament will feature teams from Montreal Roller Derby (hosts), Hammer City Rollergirls (Hamilton, ON), Toronto Roller Derby, Ottawa Roller Derby, Forrest City Roller Derby (London, ON), and even sneak in one American League - Queen City Rollergirls from Buffalo, NY. With Hammer City already having impressed last Thanksgiving weekend at Fort Wayne's Fall Brawl, the Canadian leagues have shown their mettle and are not to be taken for granted!

Roll for a Cure (May 10) Orange County California's league is not only hosting what may be the best matchups this Spring, but the tournament is doing it to help join the fight against breast cancer! Matchups will be strong as OC will be on display with Houston's HaRD Knocks travel team, the Minnesota RollerGirl's All-Stars, Bay Area Derby Girls' All-Stars, and Rose City's travel team.

East Coast Derby Extravaganza (June 21-22) The only thing marring this event last year was the tremendous ice storm that hit the East Coast toward the end of last winter. Having prevented many skaters from being able to fly into Philly and creating "glacial movement" atop the facility, where thick ice sheets literally slid off the roof and did heavy damage to nearby vehicles, the weather did all it could to dampen spirits, but was ultimately unsuccessful. For those who did attend, they had nothing short of a great time. This year the ECE is the ECDX, an even larger event AND, leaving nothing to change, schedule during the summer. A tremendous number of WFTDA sanctioned bouts will be played this year, but don't worry, for those of you who loved the fun scrimmages pitting skaters against each other based on everything from height to motherhood, there is plenty of that too. This is likely to be the best combination of skillful play and sheer derby fun to be had all year.

Roller Con '08 (July 30 - August 3) In its fourth year, expect nothing but the best from Roller Con. Last year was not only very well attended, but it was also the year it gelled into a true derby convention. Boot camps, street scrimmages, informative sessions, and the new vendor village blossomed to complement the tremendous fun, frivolity, and networking opportunities Roller Con had always been known for. The hard work of Ivanna S.Pankin, Trish the Dish, Hurt Reynolds, and countless others created the type of event that should be on your calendar the moment the date is released. This year's Roller Con will have even greater room to provide more of everything you want, as the Imperial Palace (the convention's hotel) and Flamingo have both been purchased by Hilton (thank you Paris and your little dog!), giving organizers space to use at the hotel next door to broaden the number of activities. Check out the Roller Con '08 site. Rooms are already booking quickly.

Fall Brawl 2008 (Sept. 20) If you don't know where Fort Wayne, Indiana, is, get out the map! Last year's 8-team Fall Brawl, held over Thanksgiving weekend, was a great tournament which featured many leagues that may not (yet) be on your radar, as well as the winning combination of Detroit and Grand Rapids players who won the tournament (team Mitten Kittens) and the developmental inter-league team, Fort Wayne's Flyin' Squirrels. Though the level of play varied from two years of inter-league experience to having never played inter-league before, it was perfectly bracketed, being fair while creating some incredibly memorable bouts. The double-elimation tournament is doubling in size this year and moving to two tracks. It's also moving to one month earlier.

WFTDA's Western Regional Tournament (October 3-5) Houston Roller Derby, Houston, Texas, will be the home of 2008's Western Regional Tournament. Once again, the top 12* leagues from West of the Misssissippi River, by ranking, will compete to become the four teams representing the West at the Championship Tournament.

WFTDA's Eastern Regional Tournament (October 10-12) Madison Wisconsin's Mad Rollin' Dolls will host the other half of the regional playoffs, as the 12* top ranked teams from east of the Mississippi will compete to determine their four teams who will participate in the Championship Tournament.

WFTDA's Championship Tournament (November 14-16) Rose City and Rat City will combine forces to host the 8*-team National Championship Tournament in Portland, Oregon. The Kansas City Roller Warriors will be in the hot-seat through the West and, to their hopes, the Championship Tournament defending their 2007 title.

*Indicates number of teams participating as understood at the time this post was written.