After being dormant for almost three years, the travel teams of St. Louis-based Arch Rival Roller Derby (ARCH) returned to form and collectively snared a three-game sweep at their hosted “Midwest Derby Ope’n” held this weekend in St. Louis.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
The two-day event presented at dual locations featured quad-skate squads from ARCH as well as Minneapolis-based Minnesota Roller Derby and Chicago-based Windy City Rollers.
The Arch Rival All-Stars, currently ranked fifth internationally by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), decisively claimed a pair of wins while the League’s b-team, the ARCH Nemesis, also rolled to victory.
On Saturday night at Midwest Sport Hockey in Ballwin, the ARCH All-Stars posted a 390-16 victory over Minnesota, currently ranked #39 in the WFTDA. The contest was St. Louis’ first game since November 2019 and the duke was claimed early with a solid one-two punch of high-powered scoring assisted by a lock-down defense.
“It was amazing,” said ARCH jammer Hart, who collected MVP honors after the game. “We’ve been waiting so long and have been working on this. We’ve tried this (in practice) on each other and now we see that it works. Good energy and positivity.”
The trend continued Sunday at The Skatium in South St. Louis as the All-Stars churned a 283-34 triumph over the Windy City Rollers All-Stars, currently ranked #20 in the WFTDA.
ARCH, who finished fourth at the 2019 WFTDA International Championships, continues play November 4-6 at the Home Town Throw Down in Portland, Oregon hosted by the WFTDA defending Champions, Rose City Rollers.
Meanwhile, Arch Rival’s b-team, the Nemesis, skated to a 254-95 victory over Minnesota Nice Saturday night at Midwest Sport Hockey. The squad, who last competed in October 2019, featured both returning veterans and new faces in the mix which provided the crowd a glimpse into the future.
The team travels to Pittsburgh next month to compete at the “Flavortahn Throwdahn,” hosted by Steel City Roller Derby October 22.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
In other games held during the “Ope’n” weekend, the Windy City Rollers All-Stars finished the two-day tilt 1-1 thanks to a 166-107 victory over the Minnesota All-Stars Saturday afternoon in a closed-to-the-public contest held at Midwest Sport Hockey. Play was extremely tight early, but the Chicagoans pushed the differential to 40-points-plus midway through the first period and was able to keep that high play in stride.
The League’s b-team, the Windy City Second Wind, churned a 267-139 win over the Minnesota Nice in a contest held Sunday morning at the Skatium.
For information on Arch Rival Roller Derby, visit their official website.
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.
