When the whistles blow on May 5th, the Lane Events Center will transform as the Big O Roller Derby Tournament kicks off its 6th year. The three-day tournament takes place May 5-7 and will host 35 women’s, men’s, and junior roller derby teams. Teams representing four different continents and nine countries will be hitting the tracks, competing for ranking points to attend playoffs to fight for the title of world champion. More than 4,000 skaters, fans, officials, and volunteers from all over the country and beyond are expected to attend.

While hundreds of skaters will be rolling around Eugene, the Big O Tournament will also highlight many local non-profits and community partners on Friday night. Non-profits and other alternative sports teams from around Lane County have been invited to attend the tournament to network and promote their local organizations and to spread the community love to other amateur sports leagues in the area.

To close out the weekend, Sunday night will feature a showdown between the tournament's most valuable players (MVPs) and USA Men’s Roller Derby and USA Roller Derby, respectively. Tickets are available for just $15 on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night after 5pm!

Competing teams include the repeat 2015 & 2016 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) World Champions, Portland's Rose City Rollers, along with six more of the top 10 women's teams including Victorian Roller Derby League, Angel City (Los Angeles), Arch Rival Roller Derby, Denver Roller Derby, and the Texas Rollergirls. Local Lane County Concussion and Emerald City Reservoir Dolls will be playing in the men’s and junior divisions, respectively.

The 2016 Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) World Champions-the St. Louis Gatekeepers-will also be competing, along with several other top-ranked men's teams including Portland's Bridgetown Menace and Puget Sound Outcast Roller Derby. The full line-up of teams is available on our website at http://bigotournament.com/.

Evening, daily, and weekend tickets are available for $15-$60 at Brown Paper Tickets: http://bigo2017.brownpapertickets.com/. On Friday and Saturday nights, $15 gets you in the door after 5pm. Day passes are $25 or come for the whole weekend for $60.

The event will have a full house of local and national vendors, as well as local food and beer for the attendees. The 2016 Big O was awarded the Sustainable Event of the Year by the City of Eugene in part for its entirely volunteer-run organization, but volunteers are still desperately needed. No experience is necessary and volunteers receive one-day entry for each 3-hour shift worked. If you would like to lend a hand and see some of the best roller derby in the world, visit http://bigotournament.com or contact [email protected].