Just a few days ahead of Arizona Derby Love Day (November 22), Michi-chan Sports is proud to announce that we have completed a major milestone in the DerbyData Project. The DerbyData Project was intended to restore the data that existed on the prior DerbyData and Michi-chan websites that ran from 2007~2013 and to also fill in the gaps in coverage for the entire time from when the very first modern resurgence roller derby bout was played in Tempe on November 22, 2003 to today.
The DerbyData Project is a major research and historic preservation project that was to obtain information on the occurrence and outcome of any modern resurgence roller derby bout/game that met one of the following criteria:
- Bouts/games that were physically played in the state of Arizona, regardless of the location of the teams playing; or
- Bouts/games that were physically played outside the state of Arizona which involved at least one Arizona-based team.
For this project, we looked at several sources including:
- Legacy data from Michi-chan Roller Sports Productions (2007~2013).
- Social media posts (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram).
- League websites in their current form.
- Old league websites that were captured by archive.org.
- Direct correspondence with leagues.
- Photosets originally posted by photographers.
- Videos of previous events/bouts.
- FlatTrackStats.com was used as last resort.
Through the efforts of this project, the project has identified a total of 2,630 events that meet the criteria above. Of those events, we have been able to obtain the outcome (final score or cancellation) of a total of 2,058 events (78.3%). A breakdown of events by year will be shown below.
We include the data that we were able to find about the roller derby leagues that are now defunct or otherwise inactive, including:
- Arizona Renegade Rollergirls
- Casa Grande Roller Derby
- Copper State Derby League
- Dirty Verde Roller Derby
- Dry Heat Derby
- Greenlee County Rollers
- Harmonic Violence Rollergirls
- Havasu Hitgirls
- Phoenix City Rollers (Arizona Bruisers)
- Safford Roller Derby
- Singlehanded Roller Derby
- Tucson Gunslingers
The DerbyData Project was also a very educational experience as we have now been able to document and track the growth of the Arizona derby leagues leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic (which we call the "2020 crud"), the destruction of the entire sport's infrastructure as it applied to Arizona and then the rebuilding efforts undertaken by the leagues once it was declared safe to start engaging in full-contact competitive sports. As such, the DerbyData Project has included data on all previously scheduled bouts/games for 2020 that were cancelled as a result of the CDC guidelines.
Next step: League outreach
In the next part of the DerbyData Project, Michi-chan Sports will be building lists by derby league identifying the bouts/games for which we do not have final scores. The primary reason why we do not have scores for these bouts/games is due to the leagues failing to follow up to their external and virtual fanbase by publicly posting the final score of the bout/game or that they have posted it in the past but removed the information instead of maintaining a permanent historical record.
We will be asking the leagues to dig deep into their records to see if they can help fill some of the remaining gaps. We understand this may be difficult for some leagues, especially due to the impacts to the entire sport during the 2020 Crud where some leagues turned into mere shells of their former selves. Our intention is not to pressure leagues and we are under absolutely no time constraints. Information provided directly by the leagues will be properly credited in the listing of that bout/game.
Arizona is the "second birthplace" of modern roller derby and the rich history of our sport, each individual league and each person who has ever been involved in this sport must be recognized and preserved. Roller derby is more than just a sport, it is a culture that has changed the lives of many people including those who have never skated or reff'd a jam.
We thank the leagues in advance for their participation in this project.
Data obtained through this project will be made available in user friendly forms through Michi-chan Sports (the iwantmorederby.com website) and will eventually be made available in raw forms to assure that the data is open for the entire community and not just proprietary to Michi-chan. This can also assure that the data lives even after the Michi-chan era comes to a full and complete end (if you know what we mean). This is our state.. this is our derby!
Breakdown of the database by year
| Year of bout/game | Bouts/games with outcomes | Bouts/games in database | % of bouts/games with outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 2004 | 14 | 19 | 73.7% |
| 2005 | 17 | 28 | 60.7% |
| 2006 | 77 | 87 | 88.5% |
| 2007 | 53 | 57 | 93.0% |
| 2008 | 71 | 73 | 97.3% |
| 2009 | 59 | 61 | 96.7% |
| 2010 | 93 | 101 | 92.1% |
| 2011 | 120 | 134 | 89.6% |
| 2012 | 119 | 138 | 86.2% |
| 2013 | 131 | 164 | 79.9% |
| 2014 | 98 | 152 | 64.5% |
| 2015 | 106 | 157 | 67.5% |
| 2016 | 111 | 155 | 71.6% |
| 2017 | 113 | 179 | 63.1% |
| 2018 | 155 | 192 | 80.7% |
| 2019 | 159 | 204 | 77.9% |
| 2020 | 85 | 100 | 85.0% |
| 2021 | 7 | 14 | 50.0% |
| 2022 | 43 | 74 | 58.1% |
| 2023 | 100 | 146 | 68.5% |
| 2024 | 154 | 197 | 78.2% |
| 2025 | 172 | 197 | 87.3% |
| Total | 2,058 | 2,630 | 78.3% |
Bouts/games missing final scores: 572
