The Kansas City Roller Warriors welcomed a phenomenal crowd at Memorial Hall last night as they took the track for the opening night of their 2017 season. And if last night’s bouts are any indication, this could be the season no self-respecting derby fan in Kansas City wants to miss.

The big(gest) winners of the evening had to be the Victory Vixens, who pulled out a mind-boggling win over the Knockouts in only the second overtime jam we’ve ever witnessed on the track. The score was tied at 194 at the end of regulation, and when the overtime jam was completed, the All Americans had pulled ahead of the Glitter Mafia 221-206 — a razor-thin margin in WFTDA competition.

The second bout of the evening looked almost as close, especially at the beginning, with the Black Eye Susans and Dreadnought Dorothys trading the lead like baseball cards for most of the first half.

The Dorothys led for most/all of the second half. Nearer the end, Enigma and the BES starting closing the gap, and they may well have if time hadn’t run out. The Ruby Reds took home the first win of the season, 198-160 over the Black & Yellow. That would be a much bigger margin in MADE roller derby, but under the WFTDA rule set, it’s potentially just a matter of a couple of jams, so the end result was much closer than most people realize.

Current Standings:

Victory Vixens: 1-0
Dreadnought Dorothys: 1-0
Black Eye Susans: 0-1
Knockouts: 0-1

From what we saw last night, you can expect more of the same close competition as the 2017 season wears on. With the teams this evenly matched, there is no telling where we’ll be when the Rink of Fire rolls around in May.

The Kansas City Roller Warriors‘ next bout is on January 28, and we’ll have photos up from this weekend’s action as soon as we’re able.

Many thanks to the ladies and gents of KCRW for an outstanding season opener. Stay tuned!