We bring you another guest RDIT contributor this week, this time it’s Garrison Killer of Queen of the Rink and the Twin Cities’ derby beat.  His feature articles highlights the North Central regional tournament picture as it currently stands, which should be of great interest to all derby fans, as the NC arguably has the best parity of any of WFTDA’s regions. Enjoy and comment!- RDIT editorial staff.

The next three weekends will largely determine who will be invited to play at the WFTDA North Central bracket in Indianapolis, as well as where teams will fall in that bracket.

You’re probably aware that the Midwest Brewhaha is coming up, and you may be wondering why I’m writing a preview of the NC’s big spring derby event three weekends early. While it’s certainly true that the ‘Ha will have a hand to play, there’s more to it than just Brewcity’s May 21st-22nd shindig.

Indeed, the North Central is in the midst of a changing of the guard the likes we’ve not seen since 2007’s East and West tournaments. Two teams have charged up the top ten of the midwest, while two mainstays (Madison and the North Stars) are having lousy starts to their year. With the possible exception of the Windy City Rollers (whose Streak we will touch upon shortly), the field is wide open. The North Central’s voting leagues are going to have a difficult task in July when they make determinations of who is ranked where.

So as those of us who watch the North Central with keen interest sit back and take in the next three weeks, we’d like for you – the fan or player outside of the Midwest – to have a primer of what the hell is about to happen.

The Big Three – Let’s start with The Streak. Windy City (#1) has never been defeated by a team residing in its region. That’s an 18-0 record. Detroit (#3) came close in March, losing by only 19. At the Midwest Brewhaha, it’ll be Minnesota’s (#2) turn to try to take down Chi-town’s finest. If Minnesota doesn’t win, the players of the NC will have to weigh Minnesota and Detroit’s excellent quarters thus far and decide who’s better. Will one of those two teams have a superior record, or will they have to reach back to 2010 NC Regionals and note the MNRG’s upset over Detroit?

Tornado Watch… – Meantime, Detroit has a game that they will want to win if they plan to stay in contention for a top-two spot. Naptown (#6), just off of an upset on Cincy (#5), is getting back on the bus and heading to Detroit on May 7th. The Naptown Tornado Sirens are hunting for that third rank. A win against Detroit will probably convince a bunch of leagues to give them that spot, no matter how well or badly Minnesota does against Chicago at the Brewhaha.

Naptown also has another chance just before the ‘Ha to try to nail another high-ranked team of the North Central; they get to play Madison (#4) on the 21st of May.

The Outfit’s Wall – Naptown isn’t the only one running up the rankings. The Chicago Outfit became a full member of WFTDA less than a year ago, but they’ve already broken into the NC top ten. Last weekend’s decisive victory over Minneapolis’ North Stars will likely propel them higher.

However, The Outfit has the potential to also be a gateway to Regionals for smaller teams. They won a much closer bout against Bleeding Heartland in March, and they will play both Ohio and Arch Rival at the Brewhaha. If either of those are close matches – or if those rivals defeat The Outfit – those teams are going to get a good look when North Central leagues decide on their rankings.

The Bubble is Very Large -Arch Rival (#10), Ohio (#11), Fort Wayne (#12), Bleeding Heartland (#13), Grand Raggidy (#14) and Burning River (#15) all have several bouts over the next three weekends. Upsets amidst this group of midranked teams will create an opportunity for a league to jump into the top ten – particularly if Madison, Brewcity, or the North Stars perform badly in their remaining games. Otherwise, it’s a six-way dance for one or two spots.

Also of note: Grand Raggidy (#14) lost to Detroit (#3) by only 56 points. Raggidy may be back – but will it be in time for Regionals?

Madison Must Win – The MRD is in some trouble. Madison may have gone to the WFTDA Championships last November, but they’ve lost to both Minnesota and Detroit by over a hundred points each, and they’ve got only two more matches against NC teams that will make a difference in the Q2 rankings. It’d be surprising to see them fall out of the top ten, but an NC shutout in the month of May might send them deep into the qualifying round.

The first of those games is against Naptown on the 21st. Nothing would stop the fall faster than taking out the Tornado Sirens. That’ll be a big game that will take place away from the Brewhaha; they’re playing at Madison’s Alliant Centre. If they lose to Naptown, Madison will likely drop further. However, they will then travel to Milwaukee for the final bout of the Brewhaha. Milwaukee’s #8 right now off of a near loss to Naptown, but they’ve never won against the Mad Rollin’ Dolls in three tries of sanctioned WFTDA play. Can the Brewskis get the win, or will Madison make the series 4-0? Madison needs that victory.

Brewski’s two Bullets – It’s good to be a tournament organizer. Brewcity has scheduled two fantastic bouts for themselves during their Midwest Brewhaha. They’re aiming high this year. They’ll be shooting for the Minnesota’s #2 ranking in the final bout of Saturday. A win would send them zooming up the NC ladder, but even a moderate loss would cement them firmly into the NC ladder. Their second game? As mentioned above, that’s against Madison. You want to hear a crowd cheer on their team? Brewski fans are some of the best in the region, and Madison’s audience is only an hour and a half away. If you’ll be able to hear the pixelcast announcers over the roar of the crowd, you’ll be lucky.

So that’s it. Six stories to keep you occupied over the next three weeks. The North Central has never had so many games played against other NC leagues outside of our tournaments. The top ten is about to be very crowded.

Here’s the schedule of games to track. It’s not exhaustive, but it will give you a sense of what to follow. Have fun.

May 7/8th:
Naptown (#6) at Detroit (#3)
** Fort Wayne (#12) at Grand Raggidy (#14)**

May 14/15th:
Ohio (#11) at Arch Rival (#10)
** Bleeding Heartland (#13) at Fort Wayne (#12)** – Spring Roll

May 21st:
Naptown (#6) at Madison (#4)
** The Outfit (#9) v Ohio Rollergirls (#11) - Brewhaha
**The Outfit (#9) v Arch Rival (#10) – Brewhaha
Ohio (#11) v Bleeding Heartland (#13) – Brewhaha
**MNRG (#2) v Brewcity (#8) **- Brewhaha

May 22nd:
Arch Rival (#10) v Burning River (#15) – Brewhaha
**WCR (#1) v MNRG (#2) **- Brewhaha
**Madison (#4) v Brewcity (#8) **- Brewhaha

Three more games of note for the quarter:
WCR (#1) at Cincy (#5) – June 4th: Cincy gets their shot at the unkillable beast in June
North Star (#7) at Arch Rival (#10) **- June 11th: With all the activity in the next three weeks, an NSRG victory might be needed to keep them in the top ten.
**Detroit (#3) at Cincy (#5) – June 18th: Cincy goes for Detroit. Want more chaos in the region? Imagine Cincy beating Motown’s red and black.

Thanks to Jason Bechtel for the featured image from last Saturday’s Naptown @ Cincinnati game. For more of Garrison Killer’s writing and other great derby related news and reviews, visit Queen of the Rink.