Roller Competitions
If you are the fastest, meanest, or most graceful thing on skates, check out these competitions in North, South, and Central America where you and your team can pit yourselves against the best teams on both continents.
Roller Derby
California's annual Battle for the Coast women's roller derby tournament invites teams like the Bakersfield Diamond Divas and the San Diego Derby Dolls to battle it out for the regional championship.
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) has this useful listing of both regional and national tournaments on their web site. The United States is divided into four regions for the purposes of women's roller derby: East, West, North Central and South Central. Once a year, the top teams in each region face off against one another, and the top teams from each regional tournament try to claw their way to the top in a national event. The regional and national tournaments have a different theme and logo design every year, depending on where they are held. For instance, last year's South Central tournament, held in Lincoln, Nebraska, was called "Amber Waves of Pain," and the previous year's North Central tournament in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was called "Brawl of America."
Roller Hockey
The North American Roller Hockey Championships are called NARCh, and this year they are taking place at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. Of course, roller hockey teams need to win regional qualifying tournaments in order to make it to the main event. A schedule of regional competitions is available here.
South American roller hockey players and fans can turn to the Rink Hockey South American Club Championship, organized by the Confederacion Sudamerica de Patin, which is based in Santiago, Chile.
Roller Speed Skating
The most significant competition for speed skaters in the Americas is the Pan American Games, which, like the Olympics, is held every four years and has many different events. Unlike the Olympics, however, it does not ignore roller sports. The 2011 games are in Guadalajara, Mexico.
USA Roller Sports, an organization which helps promote American roller sports teams, also lists many competitive speed skating events, from Milpitas, California to Rosario, Argentina.
Artistic Roller Skating
Schedules for artistic and figure roller skating competitions are available here, from USA Roller Sports. Attend the Tri-State Figure Contest in Delanco, New Jersey, or head to Auburn, Washington, for the Northwest Figure Skating Invitational.