The situation seemed inevitable for the Arch Rival Roller Girls and the St. Louis GateKeepers, both high-profile representatives of women’s and men’s flat-track roller derby in the Gateway City: a joint presentation in order to showcase each respective league to a unified audience.
Two weekends from now, the vision becomes a reality.
The pair of St. Louis-based franchises recently announced that their respective local campaigns will both be competed at monthly events for the entire 2014-15 intraleague schedule, set to launch Saturday, November 8 at Midwest Sport Hockey at Queeny Park.
Within both leagues are three local squads. Six regular season events at the indoor Ballwin facility will lead to each league’s respective championship bout, set for a twin bill at Chaifetz Arena next June.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
For Arch Rival, founded in 2005 and members of the Women’s Flat-Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the opportunity to present events with their “brothers in derby” should give those who are familiar with the “sisters” renewed enthusiasm.
“Our league is really excited about it,” said Arch Rival skater Shimmy Hoffa on a recent episode of the Derby Deeds Podcast. “It’s something new and it’s something fresh. Next year, we’re going to be entering our tenth season. We were looking for a way to revive our local season. This will be a really great jump start for that.”
Conversely for the GateKeepers, now in its fifth year of operation and members of the Men’s Roller Derby Assocation (MRDA), the pairing should provide intrigue for those unfamiliar to the sport.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
“I think for new fans, if you’re looking for a game to go to, and you have the opportunity to see both men and women playing in the same evening, I think it’s really an attractive thing,“ said GateKeepers skater Magnum P.I.M.P. on the aforementioned podcast. “You get to see what St. Louis derby is all about. It’s strengthening our derby community.”
Both skaters will see firsthand the new partnership in play two weekends from now at the November 8 launch. Hoffa’s local sistren, two-time ARRG defending local champs the Smashinistas, faces the M-80s while Magnum’s team, the Dogtown Rockets, meets defending GKRD “Turf Wars” kingpin, the South Grand Slammers.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
The two leagues’ other competing franchises, Arch Rival’s Stunt Devils and the GateKeepers’ Riverfront Crimes, wait in the wings and make their local season debuts in December. In the six-event regular season, each league’s respective teams will play each other twice, leading to renewed rivalries.
Hoffa sees how Arch Rival, which presented its local season finale in front of 2,000 this past April at Chaifetz, can bring awareness to the other gender’s representation of the sport.
“Women’s roller derby seems to have a really strong niche in St. Louis, so it’s great to expose our fans to men’s roller derby,” she said. “They will get to see what they’re all about and the GateKeeper fans will get to see what we do. We’re hoping that consolidating the two premiere leagues in the area will help bump up attendance.”
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Likewise for the GateKeepers, Magnum anticipates his league, ranked second internationally in the MRDA, to gain traction locally, which can lead to additional interest for those who want to participate.
“This is a great recruitment opportunity for us,” he said. “The fact that we have a bunch of guys who get together to play roller derby, which they love, in front of a larger crowd now is definitely a plus. Knowing that it’s in conjunction with a women’s league that we’ve got great ties with, it’s just an attractive thing for any new skater to come into.”
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Both leagues are familiar with each other and often work side-by-side. Skaters for Arch Rival serve as bench coaches and support personnel at GateKeepers’ events and vice-versa. Officials and outside volunteers also assist the two franchises.
Bottom line, the goal is to strengthen the St. Louis-based leagues internally and to promote the sport overall externally. Both eagerly anticipates the launch two Saturdays from now.
“Everything seems to be coming together,” said ARRG’s Hoffa. “We’re going to put everything we have into making local derby a really fun event for the fans, skaters and volunteers.”
Discounted 2014-15 Season Passes, which includes double headers for the six-event ARRG/GKRD regular season, the June Championship games at Chaifetz Arena and three travel team twin bills in Summer 2015 (10 events total) are available online at Brown Paper Tickets. The 10-event season pass is available for a discounted rate of $100 by going to THIS LINK.
Arch Rival Roller Girls (ARRG) & GateKeepers Roller Derby (GKRD)
2014-15 Local (Interleague) Season Schedule
All regular season bouts held at Midwest Sport Hockey – Queeny Park
11/8/14
(ARRG) Smashinistas vs. M-80s
(GKRD) South Grand Slammers vs. Dogtown Rockets
12/6/14
(GKRD) Riverfront Crimes vs. South Grand Slammers
(ARRG) Stunt Devils vs. Smashinistas
1/3/15
(ARRG) M-80s vs. Stunt Devils
(GKRD) Dogtown Rockets vs. Riverfront Crimes
2/7/15
(GKRD) South Grand Slammers vs. Dogtown Rocket
(ARRG) Smashinistas vs. M-80s
3/7/15
(ARRG) Stunt Devils vs. Smashinistas
(GKRD) Riverfront Crimes vs. South Grand Slammers
4/4/15
(GKRD) Dogtown Rockets vs. Riverfront Crimes
(ARRG) M-80s vs. Stunt Devils
6/13/15 ARRG & GKRD Local Championships at Chaifetz Arena
For more information on the Arch Rival Roller Girls, go to archrivalrollergirls.com.
For more information on GateKeepers Roller Derby, go to stlgatekeepers.com.
