Category Archives: KCRW

The Kansas City Roller Warriors Mini Home Team Season

This Sunday night at Skate City West, the Kansas City Roller Warriors are finally back to a regular schedule in what they’re calling their Mini Home Team Season.

And as D’Nouncer Duane put it on draft night, “It is the dawn of a new era.” Because, my fellow derby fans and enthusiasts, you are witnessing just that.

If you haven’t heard the news, the Kansas City Roller Warriors are making history by not only redrafting all the teams but also creating new house teams altogether.

You read that right. Our hometown teams, the Dreadnought Dorothys, the Victory Vixens, the Black Eye Susans, and the Knockouts have seen their last games. That could be the biggest news in the history of the league, apart from when the teams were first formed to begin with. As you’ve probably guessed, we’re not sure how to feel about it, but first, let’s take a look at what’s ahead.

The 2023 Season

When the pandemic hit, the first things to shut down were sports and recreation leagues. No one knew what to expect; some even speculated we’d be back in action in only a few weeks. That… isn’t quite what happened, and in the meantime, a lot of people put a lot of thought into what’s important and what they wanted to do moving forward.

As you may remember, the 2019-20 season promised big things—chief among them more than a half-dozen returning veterans from years past that old school fans like myself could only dream of seeing on the flat track again.

We even saw Annie Maul in black and yellow.

But the pandemic changed a lot of things. Some players who may have been on the fence about continuing to skate perhaps saw an opportunity for a clean break. Others decided to mix it up a little more and joined Fountain City Roller Derby since that league began playing quite a bit earlier than KCRW did. Any way you cut it, the Roller Warriors found themselves with far fewer available players than before the world ended, which explains not only the delay in restarting house team competition but also the decision to rebrand with three new house teams.

The Teams

Our new Kansas City Roller Warriors house teams are named after well-known Kansas City locales, and they are the Strawberry Hellions, the 18th & Vines, and the Midtown Misfits.

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the thought and creative design that went into these new teams, their names, and their mascots. Big picture, the whole thing frankly couldn’t be more perfect. When Dead Girl Derby changed its name to Fountain City Roller Derby at the end of the 2014 season, they did so to better tie the league to its beloved hometown. It was a brilliant move.

And although saying goodbye to the four house teams we’ve loved and cheered on for more than a decade isn’t easy, we’re equally excited about how these new house team names will reflect where they’re from and represent Kansas City at least as well as their predecessors did.

Some Final Thoughts

The Glitter Mafia will live on in our hearts. “Black Eye or Die” will forever be a trackside battle cry in Kansas City. The Vixens made us love the red, white, and blue in a way we never thought possible. The Dorothys’ six-year championship streak may never be duplicated.

The memories we’ve shared with this league since we discovered it in late 2009 are practically endless. We watched in awe every season as the Dreadnought Dorothys steamrolled team after team, taking home trophy after trophy, seemingly impervious to the skill and tenacity of the teams with whom they shared the track.

We celebrated with the Victory Vixens in 2012 as they became the first non-Dorothys Rink of Fire champions in league history.

We held our breath as the Black Eye Susans captured their first Rink of Fire title the following year in one hell of a nailbiter that featured the very first overtime jam we’d ever seen.

And the Knockouts completed the set as they won their first Rink of Fire championship the year after that, something that would’ve been practically unthinkable just a few short seasons earlier.

We mourned alongside our Roller Warrior friends in 2016 at the untimely passing of the legendary Coach Ice, who (among many other things) helped lead our All Star team to the national title in 2007.

We cheered again for the red, white, and blue in 2015 and 2016 as the Vixens became the first team since the Dorothys to win back-to-back championships.

In 2017, the 3-3 Susans defeated the 6-0 Dorothys in one of the most shocking upsets in Rink of Fire history up to that point.

Not to be outdone, the 2019 Vixens topped even that as they entered the Rink of Fire with a dismal 2-4 record and soundly defeated the 6-0 Knockouts in an outcome no one could have seen coming, no matter what they tell you.

For all the years, all the cheers, all the tears, and everything else we shared with these four house teams: Thank you.

Thank you for the endless talent, dedication, patience, and commitment it took to keep this incredible labor of love afloat all these years, and thank you, as always, for the opportunity you’ve afforded us to join you in promoting and enjoying the Greatest Sport in the World… in the greatest city in the world for it.

We will miss the Ruby Reds, the stars and stripes, the Ladies in Teal, and the Black & Yellow, certainly—but we also look forward to a future in which a new generation of Roller Warriors action takes the track and makes new memories for a new generation of roller derby fans… right alongside the old ones.

Onward and upward, Roller Warriors. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us next.

Welcome back.

Do you believe in derby miracles?

Once or twice in a lifetime, if you’re especially lucky, a sports team comes along that defies incredible odds to take home all the marbles… and a little piece of forever.

No one expected the 1969 New York Mets, who had lost 101 games only two years prior, to take the World Series against the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles — but they did, four games to one. They called them the Amazin’ Mets.

In the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the U.S. men’s hockey team took a roster full of amateurs and upset the Soviet Union, the four-time defending gold medalists, in a medal-round game that would become known as the Miracle on Ice. Team USA would go on to defeat Finland for the gold.

And this weekend at Memorial Hall, the 2-4 Victory Vixens soundly defeated the 6-0 Knockouts to take home the Tim Warder Trophy and cement their place in Kansas City roller derby history as the ultimate unstoppable underdogs.

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We’ve never seen anything like it, and neither have you. In the long and storied history of the Kansas City Roller Warriors, a 2-4 team has never even gone to the Rink of Fire, let alone taken home the win. The 2017 Susans won the championship on a 3-3 record — an incredible feat on its own — but that’s as close as we’ve come to the insanity that gripped Memorial Hall Saturday night.

No matter what they tell you, no one could have predicted a team that didn’t even win a bout until May would take home the trophy and all the bragging rights in the world just two and a half months later.

The Victory Vixens have overcome the most incredible odds we’ve ever seen on the flat track at home, and we congratulate them on their tenacity, their resilience, and their championship attitude.

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Many thanks to the entire Kansas City Roller Warriors organization for one of the most entertaining seasons in recent memory, and thank you for allowing us to be a part of it once again. We look forward to sharing the track with you for many years to come!

Knockouts remain undefeated, Vixens notch first victory of the season

Last weekend’s bouts at Memorial Hall gave Kansas City roller derby fans more to cheer about, and while one of the evening’s games ended a bit predictably, one certainly didn’t, keeping things fresh as the march to the Rink of Fire continues.

It’s never a good idea to count anyone out, but the way this season has progressed so far, almost no one expects the Knockouts to start dropping games now. This year’s Black Eye Susans are pretty scrappy and formidable, but the Glitter Mafia has been pretty unstoppable, bringing home five wins in five games by an average of 54 points per game. Last Saturday night was no exception as they took the win over the Susans 205-134 in the second bout of the evening.

The real story, of course, was the resurgent Victory Vixens who, up to this point in the season, hadn’t brought home a win all year. It wasn’t for a lack of trying — they even gave the Knockouts a solid run for their money in Game 2 back in February — but somehow, victory managed to elude these Vixens consistently until Game 5 two Saturdays ago when they pulled out a stunner against a Dreadnought Dorothys team many people were expecting to make a Rink of Fire appearance again this year.

They may still; both they and the Susans sit at 2-3 on the season, and they don’t face each other again for the rest of the year, so depending on what happens next month in Game 6, the league may have to do some number crunching to determine which team makes a championship run alongside the Knockouts.

With that in mind, the Vixens’ 147-140 win over the Dorothys last weekend may have marked a turning point in the season for more than just the Red, White, and Blue.

Regardless of where the teams land, it was nice to celebrate a win with the Vixens.

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Current Standings

Knockouts: 5-0
Black Eye Susans: 2-3
Dreadnought Dorothys: 2-3
Victory Vixens: 1-4

KCRW’s next bout is on June 22, and of course, we’ll remind you of that as the date draws near. Stay tuned to KC Derby Digest for more info on the incredible 2019 season!

Featured Skater – February 2019

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Our Featured Skater for the month of February is
Dizzy Aster of the Kansas City Roller Warriors!

Name: Dizzy Aster
Team: Victory Vixens
Number: 5
Position: Jammer, Blocker, Pivot
Seasons with KCRW: 1


Where did your roller derby career begin, and how did you discover the sport?

“A few years ago I was having a mini freakout about my upcoming 30th birthday (which yes, seems so silly now), and I was like, “I need to do something really cool RIGHT NOW before I’m TOO OLD!” (See? So silly.)

I don’t remember what exactly made me think of roller derby. I do remember that I was determined to do the coolest thing I could think of, and that thing was roller derby. Shortly after that, I was somewhat serendipitously introduced to two skaters from Topeka. They convinced me to go to practice with them, and just like that, I became a skater for the Capital City Crushers. I was a Crusher for three seasons before transferring to KCRW at the beginning of this season.”

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Roller derby changes every life it touches. How has it changed yours?

“I played team sports growing up, all the way up through high school, and then nothing through college and my 20s. I ran a lot and did the occasional rec softball, but nothing like roller derby. I forgot how much I LOVED being on a team. Camaraderie! Common goals! Friendship!

Speaking of friends, you know how they say it’s hard to make new friends as an adult? Not with roller derby! Friends! Friends galore! It’s very likely you’ll find someone that’s just your type of weirdo to be your friend. It’s nice. Also, it’s the most consistent working out I’ve done in my adult life. I can talk myself out of going to the gym, but I hate missing practice!”

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Tell us the origin of your derby name.

Dizzy Aster was gifted to me. I had something entirely different picked out, but didn’t really love it. My friends Jake and Mary were expecting their first baby. Jake wanted to name it Dizzyaster. Mary said no, thank you. Jake said I should use it as my roller derby name. I said I would be honored. The baby’s name is Maya. This is a true story.”

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What sets you apart in KCRW?

“Oh man, I don’t know. I do hope people see that I take this very seriously, but also that I am having a seriously good time.”

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What makes Dizzy Aster tick? At the end of the day, what keeps you going in this crazy love we call roller derby?

“The “well it’s now or never!” attitude that came with joining roller derby at 30 has stuck with me. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. Might as well do something awesome now! I love roller derby so much, more than anything else I’ve ever done or tried. And I never felt like I was really good at anything before. This is my thing. I found it! I want to be really, really good at it. I want to see how far I can push it while I’m willing and able. That’s why I transferred to KCRW.

Also, I’m very competitive. This is probably a healthier outlet for that than, say, competitive eating. Although I can eat an impressive amount of tacos!”

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To see more of Dizzy Aster and all the Kansas City Roller Warriors in action, visit our photo albums on Smugmug, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram.

KCRW Game 2 Results

So last weekend’s Kansas City Roller Warriors bout on February 2… were you there?

Did you see that?

It was the biggest crowd at Memorial Hall in quite some time, due in part to the Girl Scouts of NE Kansas/NW Missouri and in part to the Kansas City Junior Warriors and their families. That kind of crowd engagement is fuel for the derby fire, electrifying as it was, and our hope is that we can keep that kind of energy going the entire season.

The first bout of the night saw the Knockouts grab up another victory, this one against a Victory Vixens team that hasn’t notched a win yet in 2019, but shouldn’t be taken lightly. They gave the Dorothys quite a run last month, and this month, they only lost by 29 points, final score 289-260, which isn’t a lot under this rule set.

The Knockouts probably are the team to beat again this season, but the Vixens are clearly one of the most dangerous teams on the track in KC. We’ll be keeping an eye on them, and you should too.

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The Juniors wowed the crowd with their first appearance of the season in an exhibition scrimmage, and then the Black Eye Susans faced off against a Dreadnought Dorothys team no one thought could drop this game.

Except… that they did.

The Dorothys held at least a slim lead most of the game — they were up 77-65 at halftime — but like the Vixens, the Susans just kept finding ways to fight back.

Unfortunately, a good portion of the crowd left at halftime, presumably since the night was running long due to the Juniors’ scrimmage, and there were so many kiddos in attendance that night.

Let me tell you, they missed out.

With only 10 seconds left on the game clock, the Dorothys led 129-117 as (what everyone assumed would be) the last jam of the game commenced. As the game clock ran out, a Susans blocker clobbered the Dorothys jammer at the far apex, sending her down hard and triggering an injury time out.

Thankfully, the jammer was all right and left the track on her own. Under WFTDA rules, though, if a jam is called off at the discretion of an official — an injury time out, for instance — and there are fewer than 30 seconds left on the game clock, an additional jam may be run at the discretion of the head referee.

And that is what happened. By now, the Dorothys’ lead was down to three, and the Susans had one last opportunity to take home the win.

The crowd went insane as the Susans’ jammer took lead, fought halfway through the pack, and passed the star to the pivot, who barreled through for four points and called off the jam. The Black Eye Susans straight-up shoplifted the win from the Dreadnought Dorothys by a final score of 132-131 as the remaining crowd at Memorial Hall roared its approval.

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I’m telling you… those Dorothys are something else, and the tenacity on the part of the Susans was unmatched Saturday night. If there was ever any doubt that this is one of the greatest shows in Kansas City, well, it’s gone now.


Current Standings

Knockouts 2-0
Dreadnought Dorothys 1-1
Black Eye Susans 1-1
Victory Vixens 0-2

The Kansas City Roller Warriors‘ next event is on March 2. We’ll have photos from last weekend’s bout published as soon as we can. Keep an eye on our Smugmug album, and we’ll probably post links here too.

KCRW Game 2 Preview

This Saturday night at historic Memorial Hall in KCK, the Kansas City Roller Warriors storm the track for Game 2 of their 2019 season. It’s guaranteed to be one of the biggest nights of the year, so make sure you’re there to see it.

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Click for the Facebook event page.

Several things set Game 2 apart, not the least of which is the planned mini-scrimmage by the Kansas City Junior Warriors taking place between Saturday night’s bouts. If you’ve never been to a Juniors game, this is your chance to preview these young warriors on wheels prior their regular season bouts, which typically begin toward the end of summer. It’s no stretch to say that many of these players represent the future of Kansas City roller derby, and we’re excited to see them back on the track.

This weekend’s KCRW bouts will feature the dominant Knockouts taking on the Victory Vixens. The Juniors scrimmage will follow, and the evening’s action ends with the Black Eye Susans facing off against the Dreadnought Dorothys.

Doors open at 5:00 Saturday night. As always, there will be a 50/50 drawing, this month benefiting the Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri, many of whom will be on hand for the evening’s festivities.

The concession stand will have $2 12-oz. beers on sale between 5:00 and 6:00, and LA’s Cuisine will be serving up some of the best barbecue KC has to offer, including vegan and gluten-free options.

Adult tickets are $15, and kiddos ages 6-12 are only $10 each.

Join us trackside this Saturday night for the Kansas City Roller Warriors‘ Game 2!