This weekend, the primary travel squads of the St. Chux Derby Chix and the Arch Rival Roller Girls face a common opponent in the Nashville Rollergirls, albeit on different days within different environments.
This Saturday night, SCDC’s Pack In Black, currently ranked #36 internationally by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), hosts the #31 Music City All-Stars at Matteson Square Garden in St. Peters.
Then on Sunday morning, the Arch Rival All-Stars, ranked #23, entertains the Tennesseans in a “closed-to-the-public” game at ARRG’s practice facility in South St. Louis.
Both respective contests are WFTDA-sanctioned and their ensuing results will be calculated into all three squads’ international rankings. The trio is each currently classified as Division 1, earmarked for the Top 40 leagues globally, and if all maintains that status in early July, then a post-season trip within the WFTDA’s upper-echelon is guaranteed.
In short, this upcoming weekend is important for all three leagues and the competitiveness displayed at both contests is projected to be performed at full speed.
Whereas the St. Louis-based contingent will take to the flat-track for the first time this season, the St. Charles County squad continues interleague play and desires to even its overall record.
Photo Credit: Lipstick Lezgo
St. Chux (1-2) launched its 2015 campaign at the inaugural “How The West Was Won” invitational in Chandler, AZ two weekends ago, where the Pack In Black’s first victory of the season, an 84-point duke over #52 Brewcity, was bracketed by setbacks to #35 Arizona and #53 Calgary.
“We met some amazing teams in Arizona, we had a great time, and we learned a lot about our team and the things we need to change in our game,” said Pack In Black captain Pixie Dust-Ruction of the “Copper State” trip. “We were glad to learn of the things we need to fix so early in the season and we went straight to work as soon as we returned.”
Photo Credit: Lipstick Lezgo
St. Chux is paced offensively by jammers G.I. Jamie, Jedi Knight-N-Gale and Sleazy E. while blocking is provided by Whip L’Ash, who picked up the “Overall MVP Blocker” award in Arizona, the aforementioned Dust-Ruction as well as Tara Eyes, Slaughter Haus, Lisa Frank-N-Stein, Big Red, Jane Error, Zo D. Ax, Blue Collar Brawler, Nikki Trixx, Zombie FireBomb and Peg E. Sass.
Saturday’s meeting will be the inaugural match-up between the two leagues and the St. Chux captain feels that her squad will be prepared for the visitors positioned five rankings’ spots higher.
“Nashville is new to us, but we are sure that they will not be an easy team to face,” said Dust-Ruction. “As we always do with a team new to us, we will just focus on our strategy. We will definitely be implementing the changes we have made based on what we learned in Arizona.”
Photo Credit: Jeff Higgins
The Pack In Black have a five-game winning streak at Matteson Square Garden and Dust-Ruction knows the advantages of playing at home in front of a legion of red-clad supporters.
“Being at home with our own fans, in our own venue makes all the difference!” she said. “We hope to have a strong showing of fans to cheer us on and help us be as strong as we can be! We love our wonderful fans and can’t wait to see them all!”
Saturday’s St. Chux/Nashville tilt, which will be followed by a “B-team” battle between SCDC’s Helle’s Belles (0-1) and NRG’s Music City Brawl Stars (2-0), begins at 6 pm and tickets are available at the door or online at a discount AT THIS LINK.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
Meanwhile, Arch Rival (0-0) begins its new season after concluding 2014 equaling its highest result in WFTDA post-season play historically. St. Louis placed sixth in the Salt Lake City round of the Division 1 playoffs last September and finished 9-8 overall.
The launch of the ARRG campaign has high expectations, considering the return of veteran skaters and the addition of transfers that are providing a lot of buzz within the sport’s circles.
“Our goal this season is to make some noise in the world of derby,” said Arch Rival co-captain Bricktator. “We are definitely a team to watch. Unlike many other teams in WFTDA that had a handful of retirements and transfers, ARRG is returning with its entire team plus some new and formerly-retired faces. ARRG finished its season in 2014 with great momentum and we are carrying that through into 2015.”
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
The newly-minted co-captain herself is a new face to the Arch Rival travel team complexion. A transfer jammer from San Francisco-based B.ay A.rea D.erby, Bricktator won “Most Valuable Player” at the aforementioned Division 1 playoff in Salt Lake City last year and has posted multiple triple-digit performances locally this season. Also “donning the star” is reigning league MVP Brickyard, four-season All-Star Mighty Mighty Boston and sophomore A-teamer Annie Swanson.
Blocking will be paced by returning starters Shimmy Hoffa, Emily Rinehart, Mayor Francis Slayer, Shear-Ra Powers, Kayla Sebier, Vanessa Tutka, Chewblocka, Cloak N’ Drag-Her, Grave Danger, Science Friction and co-captain Party Foul.
Also in the mix for the Arch Rival charter are blockers Jamheiser Bush, Party Rockher and The Ginger Assassin as well as a pair of transfers, Aceta Menacin, a multi-positional threat from Bloomington, Indiana’s Bleeding Heartland Roller Derby and Ninja Sass’Em, a blocker from the St. Chux Pack In Black.
Photo Credit: Bob Dunnell
What could be instrumental for Arch Rival Sunday is the fact that, although they are competing as a collective group for the first time this weekend, all members of the travel squad have competed individually in the league’s intense “local team” campaign for the past five months.
The advantage? There won’t be any “rink rust” to physically and mentally shake off prior to its match-up against Nashville.
“By already playing in a handful of local games, our skaters have continued to stay fit and work together,” said Bricktator. “The local season allows us to take a more relaxed approach to derby before ramping it up for travel season.”
In assessing its Sunday morning opponent, the co-captain knows that Nashville, who has been a fixture of WFTDA Division 1 since calculated rankings were established in 2013, brings plenty to the flat-track table. The opportunity for Arch Rival to scout the Music City All-Stars on Saturday against St. Chux could potentially provide a slight edge.
Photo Credit: John “Eggysan” Egbert
“They have sturdy jammers and feisty blockers who continue to work until the final whistle blows,” Bricktator said. “We have the advantage of watching their game against SCDC the night before our game, so that will help inform how we play.”
A Sunday win sets the tone for Arch Rival, which results in traction within the ultra-competitive WFTDA landscape and a potential trip to its high-end post-season.
“A victory against Nashville would be a great first step in our journey,” states the co-captain. “We have higher practice requirements and additional team responsibilities this season, so it would be great to see our hard work during preseason pay off.”
Both SCDC and ARRG’s opponent this weekend looks to use the Missouri trip as an opportunity to maintain its respective footing within the WFTDA Top 40.
Nashville (0-1) started the season with a 157-90 road loss to #26 Naptown (Indianapolis, IN) on January 17. Despite the defeat, the Music City All-Stars saw plenty of positives in the tussle with the higher-ranked Tornado Sirens.
“While we didn’t come away with a win against Naptown, we played the game we wanted to play,” reflected Music City All-Stars co-captain Big Banger of the Circle City opener. “When we keep our cool and our focus, we can control the pack and frustrate our opponents. Also, it turns out we play much better when we are not in the penalty box.”
Even though the team hasn’t taken to the flat-track in a WFTDA-sanctioned game in almost two months, Banger sees this as an advantage for her sistren. The additional time needed to prepare has benefited Nashville heading into this weekend’s docket.
Nashville Co-Captain Big Banger. Image Credit: Nashville Rollergirls
“We are ready!” said the co-captain. “We’ve had about two months of straight training, without any distractions. We’ve been tweaking our strategies, and are focused and ready to get the job done!”
The roster for the Music City All-Stars contains a wealth of derby experience. Alongside Banger, jamming will be paced by returning starter Chelsea Dagger. NRG veterans from last year’s post-season team, including Tear O’Bite, Cole Hearted, Electra Cal, Maulin Monroe, Phantom Power, Lady Fury, Morgan Levy, Zip Drive, Stella Live and Ann T Histamine, return to the fold. Also on the charter are Evil Mendes, Ginger Juke, Gnarly Quinn, Kill’n Dem Hose, S. Botts and Sugar.
Picking a standout from the talented line-up of 18 skaters is difficult. Everyone from Music City has positively evolved and executed in the early stages of the campaign, both with game play and behind the scenes.
“Honestly, every team member has really stepped it up this season, both on the track and off,” said Banger. “It’s hard to think of someone to highlight. I’ll give a shout-out to Electra Cal for being so dedicated to her strength program (and creating programs for the rest of us as well!) and my fellow captain Tear O’Bite who is thinking about derby in all of her spare moments and probably in her sleep, too.”
2015 Music City All-Stars. Image Credit: Nashville Rollergirls.
Unlike Nashville’s ledger against St. Chux that contains no prior results, its all-time series with Arch Rival currently sports a split. St. Louis topped the visitors, 206-64, at their last meeting in July 2012.
While the complexions of both rosters Sunday will be substantially different when compared to three years ago, the overall strengths of both leagues, both sixth place finishers at their respective WFTDA playoff rounds last season, are extremely comparable.
“I imagine both teams have experienced a lot of turnover since our last game versus each other,” said Banger. “I think all history can say is that we are both pretty good at roller derby. We’re really excited for this matchup to see where we stand in 2015.”
It’s an extremely tough weekend for Nashville, considering that it has to compete against a higher-ranked Arch Rival the morning after a projected hard-fought game against closely ranked St. Chux the night prior.
That being said, Banger believes it’s the kind of challenge that the Volunteer State rollers gladly accepts in its trip to the “Show-Me State.”
“We are really excited to play two teams that are ranked so closely to us,” the co-captain said. “I think they will both be extremely competitive, which is exactly what we need to keep us on our toes as we continue the 2015 season. St. Chux and Arch Rival have pretty different playing styles, so this weekend will be great for helping us adapt to different situations.”
And with a weekend sweep, the Music City All-Stars will have effectively said to the Missourian leagues that they have “showed them.”
For more information on the St. Chux Derby Chix, go to stchuxderbychix.com.
For more information on the Arch Rival Roller Girls, go to archrivalrollergirls.com.
For more information on the Nashville Rollergirls, go to nashvillerollergirls.com.
(Featured image photo credit: Jeff Higgins and Bob Dunnell)
