Tacoma hosts JRDA Open Division playoffs, Champions berth on the line
Tacoma’s JRDA playoff weekend put a Chicago berth on the line at Tacoma Armory. Six junior derby teams battled in a bracket that doubled as a showcase for the Northwest scene.
The JRDA Open Division playoffs turned Tacoma Armory into a proving ground, with bracket winners from the June 20-21 event earning the only thing that really matters in this stage of the junior derby ladder: a trip to JRDA Championships in Chicago on July 11-12. For Tomorrowland Junior Roller Derby, the host league in Tacoma, the weekend was more than a home event. It was a chance to put the city on the map inside a postseason structure that stretches from local league play to national championship contention.
The field brought together Tomorrowland Junior Roller Derby, Mob City Junior Roller Derby, Foxtails Junior Derby, Southside Revolution Junior Roller Derby, Pixies Roller Derby and Emerald City Junior Derby. That lineup gave Tacoma a sharp regional edge, with teams from Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, Spokane and Eugene all feeding into the same bracket at 1001 S. Yakima Ave., Tacoma, WA 98405. Tacoma Arts Live listed tickets at $20 per day or $35 for the weekend, and said they were sold exclusively through Zeffy, making the event easy to access for fans who wanted to watch the postseason unfold in person.
The playoff stop mattered because JRDA uses this path to separate the field quickly and cleanly. JRDA says it works with junior roller derby leagues in the United States to develop the sport for youth, while also collaborating with international junior roller derby organizations to grow the game worldwide. It also follows WFTDA flat-track rules, with JRDA addenda designed for youth athletes, which is exactly why these playoff weekends carry so much weight: they are not just local showcases, but part of a formal competitive structure with national consequences.
Tacoma’s role in the 2026 postseason also reinforced the city’s place in the junior derby ecosystem. JRDA’s playoff bracket listed Tacoma as one of several sanctioned Open Division sites, and its 2025 playoff history shows Tomorrowland Junior Roller Derby was already part of that national conversation in Salem, Oregon last year. Tacoma Arts Live said streaming information and bracket scoring would be provided, a reminder that the event was built for both the live crowd and the broader derby audience following the results. For Tacoma, hosting the playoffs meant more than two days of games. It meant visibility, credibility and a direct line to championship weekend.
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