If you’ve been to our website, one of our games, or talked to one of our skaters, you’ve probably heard this mysterious word, that sounds something like “Wiffda” and wondered just what that is. Well, it’s our lazy pronunctiation of WFTDA, or the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.
The WFTDA is a sort of coalition of leagues (in fact, its original name way back when was the United Leagues Coalition), kind of like what the NFL or NCAA might be. But unlike those other governing bodies, the folks who make up the WFTDA aren’t nameless administrators — they are the leagues and skaters themselves. Each member league of WFTDA has representatives who not only handle voting and discussion on behalf of their league, they also do the day-to-day work that makes the WFTDA run.
What does WFTDA offer leagues? The thing that most folks bring up first is the official ruleset. WFTDA rules are what most flat track derby leagues play by, whether or not they are members of the organization. That ruleset is not just made up by WFTDA and disseminated; in fact, each rule change is debated about, written by and voted on by the member leagues.
