Ride on, roller girls

Local roller-derby leagues, the Sac City Rollers and the Sacred City Derby Girls, were both recently invited to compete in this year's Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 2 Playoffs, scheduled to take place in Duluth, Minn., and Ontario, Canada.

Both teams chose to decline the opportunity because of the high cost of travel expenses and competition fees. The silver lining, however: The Sacred City Derby Girls will host a Division 1 Playoff series at the Memorial Auditorium instead.

Here, 10 of the 40 qualified Division 1 teams will compete for a spot at the national championship games.

The WFTDA is an association of roller derby leagues that represents and ranks 243 member leagues and 114 apprentice teams around the world from Colombia to Japan, Germany to New Zealand.

For this upcoming playoff series, WFTDA-registered teams, including New York City's defending champions, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, and Colorado's Denver Roller Dolls, will lace up skates and tighten up knee guards for the chance to claim the championship title in Nashville, October 31-November 2. $18- $25 at varying times on Friday, September 5, through Sunday, September 7; at the Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street; www.wftda.com/sacramento.