The Mad Rollin' Dolls sent their touring team, the Dairyland Dolls, to Tucson, Arizona in February, to represent at the Dust Devil, the first roller derby tournament ever. They joined, met, pummeled and drank with 19 other teams representing flat-track leagues across the US in a battle for the initial rankings of the derby world. It was a roller derby bonanza: three days of ties, shutouts, grudges, and takedowns with the finest offenses, defenses, jamming, strategies, as well as last-minute reversals of fortune and marathon-level athleticism.

The Dairyland Dolls represented well, skating right in on Friday and shutting out the Windy City Rollers first thing, 42-0. They also played the Dallas Derby Devils and Bay Area Derbygirls from San Fran, quality teams on their way to doing some serious damage. Unfortunately, the Dolls fell to their old nemeses the Tent City Terrors in a crazy, jammer-killing bout. Both teams' defenses were on overdrive; the final score was 7-5.

The Friday mini-bouts determined the seeding for the weekend tournament; the Dolls were placed 7th based on total point differential. They were two points from getting a bye on Saturday and ranking in the top four… ooo, those Tent City Terrors are gonna get it next time!

In a coincidence of rankings, the Dolls faced off against the Gotham Girls again on Saturday afternoon. As usual, the poor Gotham Girls never stood a chance. Final score: 142-70, and the Dolls moved on to the quarterfinals.

On Saturday night the Dolls played the Tucson Saddletramps on their home turf. The Dolls came out swinging and gave the Tramps both guns, but couldn't match the phenomenal skill and teamwork of the home team. Final score: 82-52. It was a fun, firey bout, and the Dolls look forward to another match up.

Once eliminated, the Dolls had nothing to do but compare bruises and watch the final four on Sunday. The Texas Rollergirls went home with the trophies, with Tucson in second, AZRD in third and the Minnesota girls fourth.

For more details visit Hell Hound's blog from the weekend.

The Dolls would like to thank everyone who donated and who came to our parties and events as we raised funds for the touring team. Travel is expensive, and you helped reduce the burden on the home league. So, thanks!

Events like the Dust Devil tournament are made possible through the collaboration of flat-track roller derby leagues affiliated with the Womens' Flat-Track Derby Association, or WFTDA. These leagues are all skater-owned and -operated, and share standards of rules, safety, and play in order to foster the growth of all-girls flat-track derby as a legitimate sport, with member leagues that are inclusive to all women and run by skater consensus. Roller derby 4-ever!