With a new year comes a brand new season of flat track roller derby madness in Kansas City, and this Saturday night, the Kansas City Roller Warriors light the fuse on what is guaranteed to be an explosive year at historic Memorial Hall.
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Doors open at 5:00 p.m., and the first bout of 2019 begins promptly at 6:00.
Kicking things off, the 2018 Rink of Fire Champions, the Knockouts, face their perennial rivals, the Black Eye Susans. If history is any indication, fans at Memorial are in for a treat as these two talented squads face off in what is traditionally one of the fiercest match-ups of the season. It’s a great way to kick off the new year.
Immediately following, the dreaded Dreadnought Dorothys take on the Victory Vixens in another classic match-up that promises a memorable start to the new year.
LA’s Cuisine will be serving up some of the finest barbecue in Kansas City — including vegan and gluten-free options — and there will also be $2 beers available until 6:00.
Adult tickets are $15 at the door, and kiddos ages 6-12 are just $10 each. The afterparty will be held at the 403 Club just minutes from Memorial Hall immediately following the bouts.
We will, of course, be trackside for Saturday night’s event, and whether you’re able to attend or not, you can get scores and highlights throughout the evening on our Twitter page, no account necessary, and you can also see exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos on our Instagram page.
We hope to see everyone at Memorial Hall this Saturday night as the Kansas City Roller Warriors kick off their 2019 season!
There was a time in Kansas City when the roller derby season didn’t start for another two or three months. The Kansas City Roller Warriors‘ season typically ran from March to August, and Fountain City usually started in February and lasted through roughly the end of summer.
Times have thankfully changed, and nowadays, the months-long wait for more roller derby action has been pared down significantly — especially when you consider KCRW’s mini-tournaments and invitationals that can extend into December, rendering the “off season” a bit of a misnomer.
Derby fans in Kansas City will be able to get their flat track fix starting January 5 when KCRW kicks off its 2019 season at Memorial Hall in KCK.
We’ll have the full details for you as bout day draws nearer. Mark your calendars now for January 5 and join us trackside as we spend another incredible season covering this amazing league.
Later, toward the end of January, Fountain City Roller Derby‘s all-gender/coed league kicks off ’19 with Game 1 on January 26.
Stay tuned to KC Derby Digest, both here and on social media, for all the latest in upcoming roller derby action right here in KC. 2019 is a season you won’t want to miss!
So what if it’s still July? The Kansas City Roller Warriors have already announced their 2019 home schedule, and we couldn’t be happier with the news!
Next season, these queens of the flat track will join us for seven home bouts, and the dates are as follows:
January 5
February 2
March 2
March 30
May 4
June 22
July 20
All dates are Saturdays, and all bout nights happen at Memorial Hall in KCK.
As always, we’ll have full details as these events draw near, but in the meantime, mark your calendars and prepare for another phenomenal season on the flat track with the Kansas City Roller Warriors!
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more exciting in the world of Kansas City roller derby, the Cowtown Butchers bring you their newest coed team, KC Derby Crush!
Coed teams are all the rage nowadays for MRDA teams looking to join forces with their female counterparts, and we’re thrilled that the Butchers are on board as well. Best of all, their first game is this weekend against the Sewer City Goonies just to our north in Riverside!
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So what Kansas City flat track superstars are involved in this new coed endeavor you’re guaranteed to love? We got in touch with Cobrashark, co-captain of the Crush, and he was nice enough to send us the full lineup for this weekend’s game against Sewer City. Here now is your KC Derby Crush:
Cobrashark (captain)
Peanut Butter Panic (captain)
D’stroyer
Hellbilly Deluxe
Holden U’Backs (transfer from the St. Louis Gatekeepers)
Jamalamadingdong
Jam-pa
Jess Decker
Mary Lou Wretched
Peter Babriel
Polish Hitman
Ram Ram
Tuff Noogies
Wreckin’ It Right
Doors open at River Roll Skate Center at 6:30, and the games begin at 7:00. Tickets are $10 for everyone ages 11 and up. Kids 10 and under are admitted free. For an additional $10 fee, you can bring a 17x17x17 cooler full of your favorite beer — no glass or hard liquor allowed. Be sure and bring your own chairs, too.
Join KC Derby Crush this Saturday night for their inaugural game against the Sewer City Goonies!
Derby fans, this Saturday night marks more than one very special occasion in the world of Kansas City roller derby, and even the most casual fans of the sport won’t want to miss this one. Not only is it the 2014 Dead Girl Derby championship games — not only is it the very last house event under the name Dead Girl Derby before they transition over to the Fountain City moniker — but perhaps most importantly, it marks the return of the great Pippi Strongblocking to the flat track after her enormously successful fight against breast cancer.
We will have much more on the return of Pippi Strongblocking later this week. For now, let’s turn our attention to the games themselves.
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Deadly Sirens vs. Lovely Lethals
The first contest of the evening is a grudge match between the Deadly Sirens and the Lovely Lethals, two teams with tremendous talent who have struggled to bring things together the last couple of seasons, and that’s really all you can say about it. It’s a phenomenon we affectionately refer to as the Reverse Bumblebee Effect.
For decades, you see, scientists were confounded by the fact that bumblebees were able to fly, given their measly wingspan and wing mass vs. body weight. Physics allegedly told us they shouldn’t be able to get off the ground at all. Although that mystery has since been solved, the Sirens and the Lethals have the exact opposite problem: for all appearances, they have everything in the world going for them, but for the most part, haven’t been able to maintain flight.
The Lovely Lethals, in particular, were only able to muster 19 points against the Royal Pains last month and 14 points against the terrifying Shotgun Sheilas back in February. The Deadly Sirens have come about as of late and nearly took down the Sheilas last month, eventually dropping that one 78-70.
Given the apparent resurgence we’re seeing from the Ladies in Teal, we’re predicting a Deadly Sirens win by about 12 points. Expect that, but don’t expect it to be easy; historically, the Lovely Lethals remain one of the most dangerous teams this young league has ever seen, recent troubles notwithstanding, and they have a tendency to bring it when it really counts. This season’s grudge match should be a fantastic one.
Royal Pains vs. Shotgun Sheilas
No one could have been surprised when the Royal Pains, defending Dead Girl Derby champions, began the season with a bang and a 27-point win over the Deadly Sirens. The Purple Passion has been practically unstoppable the last couple of seasons, and 2014 looks to be more of the same.
Likewise, the Shotgun Sheilas have been terrorizing the flat track in this town since before they were even called the Shotgun Sheilas. They went undefeated for about two calendar years and still haven’t lost a game to anyone other than the Royal Pains since mid-2011. They lost the 2013 championship game to the Pains in a bit of a shocker last season, and you can bet they’ll be looking to change things up as the season comes to a close this weekend.
Things to consider:
The Royal Pains beat the Shotgun Sheilas in their only match-up this season back on April 19th, final score 39-34.
Pippi Strongblocking is back for the Sheilas, and she’s always a major factor. The Sheilas are at full strength and have no players out on injury.
Lone Rager and Lady Killshot, major defensive and offensive powers, respectively, won’t be playing with the Pains this weekend.
Last month, the Sheilas nearly lost to a Deadly Sirens team that’s only beaten the Lovely Lethals for the last couple of seasons.
Nobody said calling this one would be easy.
All things considered… we’re predicting a Royal Pains win by 4 points. That’s it. It’s hard to imagine the point spread being any greater than that, but it is, on the other hand, quite easy to see this one coming down to the very last jam. These two incredible teams are both poised to become the first ever two-time Dead Girl Derby champion — that’s right, it’s never happened before — and while we’re giving the edge to the Pains, this final game of 2014 could easily be decided by the smallest of factors, given the caliber of teams we’re dealing with. If you’re not excited for this year’s championship game, you just haven’t been paying attention.
Doors at Kemper Arena open at 5:00. First whistle is at 6:00. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for kids ages 6-12, and ragamuffins ages 5 and under are admitted free.
As always, you can follow our Twitter feed for scores and highlights as the games progress, as well as our Instagram page for a behind-the-scenes look at Dead Girl Derby on bout night. Whatever you do, don’t miss the 2014 championship games at Kemper this Saturday night. This one is definitely shaping up to be one of the best yet.
If you’ve been following the KC Derby Digest Experience on various social media, you know by now that the Rushin’ Rollettes captured the Blacksnake Rollergirls 2014 championship this past weekend at the St. Joseph Civic Arena for the first time in their brief history.
We’d predicted a Danger Dolls win by about a dozen points or so, but the Rollettes surprised us — in a good way! — by taking home the trophy in one of the better games we’ve seen this season, final score 39-30.
The 2014 champion Rushin’ Rollettes
The Venomous Vixens tasted victory Saturday night as well, taking down the Jesse Janes in the pre-championship grudge match 51-38. KC Derby Digest was on hand, of course, to capture the madness, and we’ll let you know the moment the photo album has been published.
Congratulations to everyone in the Blacksnake Rollergirls organization for a phenomenal third season of flat track action in St. Joseph. We couldn’t be more thrilled to see this league take off the way it has. They have an all-star game against the Fountain City travel team coming up, as well as a charity game in St. Joe in mid-September, so we’ll keep you posted on your next opportunity to see these amazing Blacksnake ladies in action.
All that's fit to digest from the world of Kansas City roller derby!
