Membership Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8.15.07 CONTACT: Mercy Less, aka Kristin Hendrick, WFTDA Marketing/PR Chair: media@wftda.org

WFTDA EASTERN REGIONAL ROLLER DERBY TOURNAMENT "Heartland Havoc" TO BE BROADCAST BY MavTV

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is punchy with excitement to announce a new partnership with cable channel MavTV to broadcast this weekend's Heartland Havoc, the WFTDA's inaugural Eastern Regional Roller Derby Tournament.

The WFTDA's three-day tournament will be held August 17-19 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, and will feature twelve full-length bouts, according to rules of play set by the WFTDA.

The episodes will air weekly on MavTV which is broadcast to 8 million homes, from DISH Network to Cablevision NYC, and satellite carriers in Australia, New Zealand, and India. Along with original and repeat airings telecast in HD on MavTV, the coverage will also be webcast on MavTV's broadband player in the Sports section on www.MavTV.com along side American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and other growing competitive sports. All twelve bouts will be taped and edited for broadcast on MavTV within a few weeks as individual one-hour episodes to air weekly on MavTV's Flat Track Fridays, an existing programming block that also includes coverage of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

Dynamic leagues such as the Mad Rollin' Dolls, Windy City Rollers and Boston Derby Dames will compete against other amateur all-women leagues during this historic weekend to showcase the top level of roller derby play in the Eastern Division. For the first time, viewers will be able to watch the best of the best advance to the Nationals Championship Tournament in Austin, TX,on September 29-30th of this year.

WFTDA President, Crackerjack (Colleen Bell) of the Madison, WI, Mad Rollin' Dolls league, welcomes the opportunity to expand the awareness of women's flat track roller derby. "This tournament represents the best athletes from our organization, playing against their peers from the most established women's roller derby leagues in the nation," says Bell. "The opportunity to showcase our sport on the growing MavTV network is something we're very excited about."

MavTV CEO Steve Severn discussed his network's small, but loyal and growing viewer base. "MavTV is available in over 8 million households and more than 55 markets in the United States. We're happy to partner with the WFTDA to expand coverage of this growing sport where athletes truly play for the love of the game." Severn urges fans to show their support by calling and e-mailing their cable or satellite provider to add MavTV to their channel lineups.

Mercy Less (Kristin Hendrick), Marketing/PR Chair of WFTDA stated, "The producers and executives at MavTV and Chet Burks Productions have been supportive of our vision in bringing our brand of women's flat-track roller derby to television by broadcasting bouts in their entirety. This broadcast deal is historic in that it will ensure that the focus is on the gameplay instead of fodder for reality television or human interest stories."

ABOUT THE WFTDA: www.wftda.org

ABOUT EASTERN REGIONAL TOURNAMENT/ HEARTLAND HAVOC: Heartland Havoc will mark the first time an official WFTDA tournament has been held in the East Region, defined as east of the Mississippi River. The twelve WFTDA Division I & II teams competing include Atlanta Rollergirls, Boston Derby Dames, Carolina Rollergirls, Detroit Derby Girls, Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Grand Raggidy Roller Girls, Mad Rollin' Dolls, Minnesota RollerGirls, Ohio Roller Girls, Philly Rollergirls, Providence Roller Derby, Windy City Rollers. The top four teams will advance to the national tournament to be held in AUstin, TX in September, where they will compete against the top four teams from February's 2007's Western Regional Tournament.

For more information: ohiorollergirls.com/site/heartlandHavoc/

ABOUT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/TEXAS SHOOTOUT: Texas Rollergirls present the WFTDA National Championship in the birthplace of flat track derby (Austin, TX) on September 29-30, when the top 8 teams from across the country will converge on Austin to duke it out for the title of 2007 WFTDA Champions. The two-dayderby event will take place at the Austin Convention Center in front of 2500 spectators, and will also showcase bands, scrimmages, and merchandise.

Additional information and tickets for this event are on sale at: www.wftdachampionships.com