Home / Superfit Hero Blog / Superfit Hero Sponsored Teams attend the 2019 International WFTDA Championships
Superfit Hero Sponsored Teams attend the 2019 International WFTDA Championships
Superfit Hero takes pride in supporting and empowering athletes of all shapes and sizes. Through our Team Sponsorship Program, we support teams that are committed to the values and ideals of athleticism, empowerment and inclusivity in all areas of their sport.
Superfit Hero supports teams who are beacons of inclusion and diversity in sports for their communities. We feel strongly about our support and sponsorship of WFTDA teams because they are not only committed to supporting women in sports, they've also committed to supporting gender expansive athletes.
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is an international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby and their mission is to promote the sport of flat track roller derby and revolutionize the role of women in sports through the collective voice of its member leagues around the world.
"In 2011 when the WFTDA first adopted a policy that was inclusive of many transgender athletes, it was the most progressive standard of any sport at that time. However, members of the athlete-run organization, along with society as a whole, have become more educated about gender identity in recent years. WFTDA members felt that the old policy, which included references to trans women athletes' hormone levels, had the potential to exclude and discriminate, and therefore did not reflect the WFTDA's values." - WFTDA on broadening protections for gender-expansive participants
Transgender, intersex, genderqueer, nonconforming, nonbinary and two-spirit athletes are all welcome and encouraged to participate in WFTDA member leagues. The WFTDA has one of the most progressive standards for inclusion of any sport today, being updated in 2015 to remove all references to hormone levels.
Founder and roller derby athlete, Micki Krimmel, started Superfit Hero in 2015 to empower roller derby athletes of any and all sizes through premium activewear. Now in 2019, we sponsor a total of eleven roller derby teams, four of whom will be attending the 2019 International WFTDA Championships from November 15-17 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Three Superfit Hero Sponsored Teams are competing for flat track roller derby's highest honor, the Hydra trophy. And the fourth, Team Indigenous Rising Roller Derby, will be playing in an exhibition game of Borderless Nations with Jewish Roller Derby.
MEET THE SUPERFIT HERO SPONSORED TEAMS GOING TO CHAMPS
Angel City Derby
Where it all started. Micki Krimmel skated as a jammer for the Hollywood Scarlets, Angel City Derby's top-ranked and internationally competitive travel team, for several years before retiring from competition. Today, Micki supports Angel City as a sponsor, coach, and top fan. Skating with Angel City allowed Micki to come into her own as an athlete and feel at home in her body. When it came time for her to take on her next business venture, it seemed like a no-brainer to support the sport and the athletes who had so significantly changed Micki's sense of self and thus, Superfit Hero was born. Established in 2006, Angel City Derby is THE flat track roller derby team of Los Angeles, CA and boasts one of the most tight-knit teams in the sport, including amazing skaters like Superfit Hero Sponsored Athlete, Lo Betancourt. Angel City is now celebrating their 12th year as an organization, and their charter team the Hollywood Scarlets have been contenders for the Hydra for seven consecutive seasons. The Scarlets earned gold medals at their Playoff Tournament earlier this year in Winston-Salem and they're coming into Champs ranked 6th in the WFTDA. Their first game of the weekend is on Friday, November 15 at 4PM EST versus Victoria Roller Derby, ranked 2nd in the WFTDA. *Photo credit: Marko Niemelä Photography
Gotham Girls Roller Derby
Hard. Smart. Together. Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a proud founding member of the WFTDA and is undoubtedly one of the top contenders for the Hydra trophy each year. Currently ranked 3rd, the Gotham All-Stars consistently medal year-after-year in the International WFTDA Championships and have been able to take the Hydra home to New York five times (2008, 2011-14) since it's inception in 2008. Gotham's All-Stars come into Championship Weekend the number two seed, playing their first game on Friday, November 15 at 8:30PM EST. They'll take on the winner from Game 2: either tournament host and returning team Montréal Roller Derby's New Skids on the Block, or up-and-coming 2x4 Roller Derby from Buenos Aires, Argentina in their debut WFTDA Championship appearance. *Photo credit: David Dyte
Philly Roller Derby
Philly Roller Derby, another founding member of the WFTDA, is ready to go and hungry for their return to the Championship stage after not making the cut the past five seasons. Philly Roller Derby's Liberty Belles may be considered an underdog for this tournament weekend, but do not underestimate them! They've been practicing and strategically playing games all season to prepare for this year's comeback. The Liberty Belles placed third, taking home bronze medals in their Playoff Tournament earlier this year in Seattle. Currently ranked 9th in the WFTDA, The Belles play in the first game of the weekend, taking on the powerhouse that is Texas Rollergirls on Friday, November 15 at 10AM EST. With the single-elimination structure, Philly MUST win this game to continue through the weekend and we'll be rooting for them! *Photo credit: David Dyte
Team Indigenous Rising Roller Derby
For the first time ever, the WFTDA is hosting an exhibition game of Borderless Nations on Saturday, November 16 at 11AM EST. We Are Nation: A Game Without Borders will feature Team Indigenous Rising and Jewish Roller Derby (JRD). Rising is extra special to us because Superfit Hero Team Member Kristina Glass, aka Krispy, is Gaduwa Cherokee, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and a coach for Team Indigenous Rising. Representation absolutely matters and we need to share stories of indigeneity in order to break down the settler-colonialist and patriarchal norms that dominate mainstream sports (and even roller derby) EVERY DAY! We hope that you'll tune into this revolutionary exhibition game. Earlier this year, Team Indigenous Rising and Jewish Roller Derby met at RollerCon's "Tournament of Nations" and it was definitely a highlight of this annual week-long event in Las Vegas. Rising took the win over JRD and they're ready to defend that win again this weekend. *Photo credit: Elizabeth Marchiondo Imaging
Superfit Hero is proud to sponsor the 2019 International WFTDA Championships in Montréal. Tune into WFTDA.tv for a FREE broadcast of the We Are Nation: A Game Without Borders on Saturday, November 16 at 11AM EST. And watch all weekend starting Friday, November 15 at 10AM EST buy purchasing a tournament watchpass, also at WFTDA.tv.
Empowering women's sports, queer and gender expansive athletes, Indigenous athletes, and athletes of color is the ethos that Superfit Hero was built upon and we will never stop supporting these truly revolutionary athletes and people.
***If your team (roller derby or any other sport) is interested in Superfit Hero Sponsorship, check out our Team Sponsorship Program and apply for 2020.***
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