Carolina Rollergirls
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| Metro area | Raleigh, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Founded | January 2004 |
| Teams |
Carolina All-Stars (A-team) Carolina Bootleggers (B-team) Chapel Thrillers Durham Crash Raleigh Ruckus |
| Track type(s) | Flat |
| Affiliations | WFTDA |
| Org. type | 501(c)(3) NPO |
| Website | www |
Carolina Rollergirls, known as CRG or Carolina Roller Derby, Inc. is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Raleigh, North Carolina. Operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and founded in January 2004, CRG is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
While traveling through Austin, Texas in late 2003, graphic designer Laura Weakland stumbled upon a banked-track roller derby bout put on by the Lonestar Rollergirls, and decided to start a local league in Raleigh. Although inspired by a banked-track event, practicality dictated that Weakland pursue flat-track derby. Weakland, now known by her derby name "Celia Fate", began soliciting potential skaters with recruiting sessions in early 2004. Initial practices featured some women who had skated as adults, but many had not been on wheels since middle school and practices were loosely organized, at first consisting of mostly drills and laps.
CRG held its first exhibition bout on September 19, 2004 at Raleigh's Skate Ranch, featuring two ad-hoc teams, the Crimson Crushers against the Black Widows, and a second exhibition followed on November 21, 2004. The first two permanent home teams, the Debutante Brawlers and Trauma Queens, took part in CRG's first official bout on April 10, 2005, as the Trauma Queens defeated the Debutante Brawlers 138-131. The Debutante Brawlers won the season championship on June 19, 2005, ending the league's inaugural season.
In 2006 CRG introduced the Tai Chi-tahs as a new home team, who claimed the "Golden Skate Championship" that year, defeating the Debutante Brawlers 149-142. By this point, a two-phase season had developed, with home team matchups taking place the first half of the year and interleague games (featuring visiting leagues from across the country) in the second half. After regularly bouting to sell-out crowds at the Ranch, the league moved to historic Dorton Arena at the State Fairgrounds, although the Skate Ranch would remain its practice facility.
The 2007 season opened with a round robin tournament between all three home teams on January 21, and featured four double-headers, with the Debs going up against the Queens and the Chi-tahs taking on the Atlanta Rollergirls travel team in March. In mid-April, the Chi-tahs defeated the Queens (56-41) and the Debs beat the Cincinnati Rollergirls All-Stars (73-25). A week later the Chi-tahs defeated the Debs (78-65) and the Trauma Queens took down Birmingham, Alabama's Tragic City Rollers (63-53). On June 9, the last of the season's double headers featured an interleague win for the Trauma Queens against Southern Virginia's Dominion Derby Girls (72-44), and the Tai Chi-tahs beat the Debutante Brawlers by one point to win the Golden Skate for the second straight year.
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