Derby in Anchorage

As Roller Derby continues to be one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association has announced another expansion as 13 more leagues join the Apprentice Program.

This is the first time the association has released these statistics quarterly. Since the program was established last year they have been put out monthly to deal with the initial rush of applications. However, even with this change in the measuring, there seems to be little slowing in the number of leagues joining.

The 13 new additions join the 35 leagues already signed up. In a further sign of the global expansion of the sport and the association, not only does this induction include another non-U.S. league (Canada's Tri-City Rollergirls from Kichener, Ontario), but also two in Alaska (Rage City in Anchorage and the Fairbanks Rollergirls). That means the WFTDA now has apprentice leagues in 25 states plus Canada and the UK.

So what do leagues get from the program? WFTDA Executive Director Juliana Gonzalez (known to Texas Rollergirls' fans as Bloody Mary) explained, "Apprentice leagues are paired with a mentor from a full member league. The mentor gets to know the league and its values, and offers guidance both in orienting the potential member to the WFTDA and in league management and growth in general. Even well-established leagues tend to enjoy the benefit of tapping the WFTDA collective consciousness for advice or ideas to develop their league."

The current expectation is that a league in the apprentice program should take around a year to be ready for full membership. Since the first apprentice leagues entered the program in September 2009, Gonzalez said, "I expect we'll see a class of graduates in Summer 2010."