Smalltown Smackdown 2024
Eight roller derby B-teams (or B-level roller derby leagues) from across America’s Heartland that skate under the ruleset and rankings of the international Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) converged on the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Muncie, Indiana, over the weekend of June 8–9 for the annual Smalltown Smackdown Cornament of Champions, hosted by Cornfed Roller Derby (formerly, Cornfed Derby Dames — yes, like the Cramps tune).
Once upon a time, there was a roller derby tournament for B-level roller derby teams called the “B-Cup.” The tournament was hosted by the late, great Bleeding Heartland from Bloomington, Indiana. The league and their tournament are both gone now, but a B-level roller derby tournament remains an Indiana summertime tradition in the Smalltown Smackdown, hosted by Cornfed Roller Derby in Muncie, northeast of Indianapolis, not far from the campus of Ball State University.
Beside host league Cornfed’s B-team, the Killer Kernels, this year’s Cornament featured six other B-level teams from four states, plus a borderless team. Black Diaspora Roller Derby, Athens Ohio Roller Derby from Athens, OH, BisMan Bombshellz from the Bismarck-Mandan area of North Dakota, Cape Girardeau Roller Derby of Cape Girardeau, MO, Chicago-Style Roller Derby out of Roselle, IL, Prairieland Punishers Roller Derby of Decatur, IL, and the Rolla Rockets from Rolla, MO.
