Tournament FAQs

Many of the answers to these questions can also be found in the Contract sent out every year to teams. If there is not an answer here or in there, please get in contact with us here

Table of Contents

Can you explain why we have to pay a Demerit Deposit for 2026?

Demerit deposits and fines for repeated infractions as set out in the contract have been introduced for all teams due to an increase in demerits over the last two years which cause significant additional work for our volunteers and lead to uncertainty for teams (such as repeated charter issues and failure to follow processes).

These will be held in a ring fenced account unless demerits are issued and can be returned at the end of each competitive season on request. Should 5nrd cease to operate these will, of course, be returned ahead of early settlements.

Can a Skater be on our Team? (Charter eligibility)

This question intends to expand on and clarify sections 4.2 and 4.4 of the Contract.

A Team’s Charter may consist of up to 20 skaters for each team. If the Charter is registered with WFTDA or MRDA it must comply with the eligibility criteria set forth by the relevant governing body. For non-registered teams the charter must contain a minimum of 10 “unique” skaters who do not appear on any other charter on the same side of the tournament.

If the Team’s Charter contains more than 10 skaters, up to 8 skaters  in surplus to the first 10 may appear on another Team’s Charter from the same League (“Crossover Skaters”).

Five Nations defines a Crossover Skater as one who appears on multiple Charters on the same side of the Tournament.

  1. Skater A is on the Charter for W Anytown A and W Hometown A. This skater is a “Crossover” Skater on the W side of the tournament.
  2. Skater B is on the Charter for OTA Anyborough A and W Hometown. This skater is not counted as a Crossover skater, as they only appear on one charter on each side of the tournament.

WFTDA defines a Crossover Skater as one who appears on “up to two active charters at any given time. The two charter teams being from any member league. Participation from other associations (e.g. MRDA, JRDA) is not counted in this total.”

MRDA defines a Crossover Skater as “one who appears on a member leagues Primary and Secondary Charter. For MRDA Sanctioned play, skaters are not permitted to be on Charters from multiple teams.”

Five Nations permits eight (8) Crossover Skaters on any given Charter, for both WFTDA and OTA/MRDA Charters. For MRDA sanctioned games; only five (5) of these Crossover Skaters may appear on another MRDA Charter for the league.

Skaters can only appear on a Team’s Charter if they meet the following criteria:

  • Skaters on the charter must be full members of the League.
  • Skaters may not appear on more than Two Charters on the same “side” of the tournament at any time under any circumstances
  • Skaters may appear on charters for another league on the other “side” of the tournament (WFTDA/OTA/JRDA)
  • Skaters can only be on a maximum of three charters total.

Skaters can appear on two different Leagues’ charters on the same tournament “side” if and only if:

  1. The teams are in different tiers.
  2. WFTDA-side: The teams are no more than two tiers apart  (i.e. Tier 1 and Tier 3 is acceptable, Tier 1 and Tier 4 is not)
  3. OTA-side: The teams are no more than one tier apart (i.e. Tier 1 and Tier 2 is acceptable, Tier 1 and Tier 3 is not)
  4. The skater genuinely meets all league membership requirements, and appears on the charter for multiple games

The rules regarding how many tiers apart the teams are do not apply to teams from the same League. A Skater may appear on Hometeam A (Tier 1) and Hometeam B (Tier 5).

Examples

  • Skater Z appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1) and Hometown B (WFTDA Tier 4). This is acceptable as the two teams are from the same league, the Skater counts as a Crossover on both Hometown’s Charters.
  • Skater A appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1) and Anyborough A (WFTDA Tier 2). This is acceptable as the two teams are on the same tournament side, are in different tiers but are no more than two tiers apart.
  • Skater B appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1), Hometown B (WFTDA Tier 4) and Anytown (OTA Tier 2). This is acceptable as the skater is on two league’s charters, on different tournament sides, and their home league has teams in Tier 1 and Tier 4
  • Skater C appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1) and Anyborough B (WFTDA Tier 4). This is not acceptable as the two teams are more than two tiers apart.
  • Skater D appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1), Othertown A (WFTDA Tier 2) and Anytown (OTA Tier 2). This is acceptable as the skater appears on the maximum of three charters, but only two charters on one side of the tournament. The skater counts as a Crossover only for Hometown A (WFTDA T1) and Othertown A (WFTDA T2), they do not count as a Crossover for Anytown (OTA T2).
  • Skater E appears on charters for Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1), Hometown B (WFTDA Tier 3), Anytown A (OTA Tier 2) and Anytown B (OTA Tier 3). This is not acceptable as the skater appears on more than three charters in total.
  • Skater G is chartered with Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1). They are added to the charter for Anyborough A (WFTDA Tier 2) for a single game and then are immediately removed. This is not acceptable as skaters must appear on multiple game charters for both teams.
  • Skater H is chartered with Hometown A (WFTDA Tier 1), Hometown OTA (OTA Tier 3) and MRDA-league A (OTA Tier 2). This is acceptable as the skater appears on the maximum of three charters, but only two charters on one side of the tournament. The skater counts as a Crossover only for Hometown OTA (OTA T3) and MRDA-league A (OTA T2), they do not count as a Crossover for Hometown A (WFTDA T1). They are eligible for MRDA Sanctioned play, without counting towards the MRDA crossover limit, as they only appear on one MRDA Charter.

Can I transfer leagues during the season and still play 5N?

Yes, Skaters may transfer between Teams and Leagues during a season provided they:

  • Follow the relevant governing bodies Transfer policy as appropriate. 
  • Appear on the new Charter more than 30days before the game

A skater may not transfer from and back to the same team in a single Season except due to changes in personal circumstances or exceptional scenarios, to be discussed with Five Nations in confidence.

How do I submit my Charter?

Prior to the start of each season, teams must declare whether they plan to submit their charter via MRDA Central, WFTDA Charters or the Five Nations Roller Derby charter process.

What should I do if I update and submit my Charter on WFTDA or MRDA Central?

If you are submitting your charter for 5N through MRDA Central or WFTDA Charters, and make a change to your charter during the season you should email into: gameplay@fivenationsrollerderby.com and just let us know it’s been updated. This ensures no discrepancies in paperwork.

Where can I find the footage tracker?

Navigate to the “20XY 5NRD League Access” shared folder on the 5N GDrive and there should be a “Footage Tracker” spreadsheet.

Where are the stats books?

Navigate to the “20XY 5NRD League Access” shared folder on the 5N GDrive and there should be a folder titled IGRFs and statbooks.

Officiating Nomination FAQs

How many Officials do I need to supply?

In line with the contract, all teams must provide three nominated officials for game days they are playing in. At least two of these officials must be non-skating officials.

How many games must the supplied Officials be available for?

Officials nominated must be available for at least two games at the event (unless the event is a single game, though we strongly recommend against single-headers as we find they’re harder to get Officials for).

How do I supply Officials?

Your nominations have to be submitted through TOaST (rollerderby.directory) at least 30 days before your scheduled game day.

What if I am struggling for Officials?

We expect all teams to make every effort to provide nominated officials that they have recruited themselves – if there are several teams in your division who are able to provide more nominations than needed or officials for games they are not playing, you could seek to combine nominations. As a reminder, teams should not put up individual posts seeking nominations in the various official recruitment facebook/discord channels (your Division Head Official – DHO will do this) but we do strongly encourage you to use your own social media channels or in-person networks to seek out nominations.

With the number of teams in the tournament, and the number of game days in the schedule, we simply cannot run game days without teams providing officials themselves as well. Your DHO can help once you’ve exhausted all other avenues and only if given suitable notice (at least two weeks before the nominations deadline).

As representatives of your leagues, it’s important that you keep your officials in mind when agreeing game dates and locations. We strongly encourage you to give your officials the same travel benefits as your skaters, if this is something your league offers, and/or factor them in when arranging your travel plans. If you have any questions or concerns, pop us an email on 5nrd.tho@gmail.com.