Gotham Girls Roller Derby

= Gotham Girls Roller Derby =

Gotham Girls Roller Derby (GGRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area. GGRD is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) which was formed in November 2005.

GGRD hosts flat-track roller derby competitions which showcase bouts among the various teams in the league. The league is made up of four home teams that play within the league and at times compete with member teams from other WFTDA leagues. The league is also home to inter-league competition teams, the Wall Street Traitors and the Gotham Girls All-Stars, which are teams compiled of league skaters from all four home teams and compete against other leagues. The Gotham Girls All-Stars represent the league in WFTDA inter-league competitions that count towards WFTDA national rankings.

Gotham Girls Roller Derby is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. The IRS recognized Gotham Girls Roller Derby as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity in September 2008.

Teams

Each GGRD skater competes on a single 'home team.' Each home team is supported by a 'Jeerleader' squad.

• The Brooklyn Bombshells. Founded 2004.

Team Mascot: Victor E. Jeerleader Squad: The Bomb Squad.

• The Manhattan Mayhem. Founded 2004.

Team Mascots: Flying Mason and Matt Lock. Jeerleader Squad: The Jailhouse Rockettes.

• The Queens of Pain. Founded 2005.

Team Mascot: The Persuader. Jeerleader Squad: The Royal Pains.

• The Bronx Gridlock. Founded 2006.

Team Mascot: Skid Marxx. Jeerleader Squad: The Backseat Betties.

These teams practice together and jointly manage the league. The borough-based team designations do not necessarily reflect the residences of the skaters on a particular team.

Additionally, the league fields compilation teams:

• The Gotham Girls All-Stars - The sanctioned all star travel team for competition with other leagues in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, composed of skaters from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan teams.

• The Wall Street Traitors - An "all-borough" travel team for exhibition games with other leagues, composed of skaters from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan teams.

• The Meat Packing District - An "all-rookie" travel team for exhibition games with other leagues, composed of rookie skaters from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan teams.

Competitive History

2008: GGRD enters the second season practicing at the “Crashpad,” and 12 new skaters are added to the league roster. Season games are held at Hunter College in Manhattan, with one season-opening interleague bout against Philadelphia (a Gotham Victory) at the Schwartz Athletic Center on the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University. In June, the Gotham Girls All-Stars thrill the nation with a milestone 60-point win over the original flat-track roller derby pioneers, the Texas Rollergirls, at the East Coast Derby Extravaganza hosted by the Philly Roller Girls. This is followed by an All-Star victory over the Denver Roller Dolls. In July, GGRD is ranked #2 nationally within the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.

2007: In February, GGRD secures a practice space known as the “Crashpad” and welcomes 14 new skaters to the league. Season bouts are held at City College of New York in Harlem with two additional bouts at Hunter College. The Bronx Gridlock enjoys an undefeated season and wins the GGRD Championship in a final over the Queens of Pain.

In interleague action, the Gotham Girls All-Stars begin the season with a loss to the Carolina Rollergirls and a victory over Chicago's Windy City Rollers. Gotham then starts to put its full-time practice facility to use and proceeds to dominate the Heartland Havoc, the first ever WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament (August, in Columbus, Ohio), and are crowned 2007 Eastern Region Champions, with a sequence of blowout victories over Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, Windy City, and Detroit. At the Texas Shootout (the 2007 WFTDA National Championships in Austin, Texas), the GGRD All-Stars are eliminated in the first round by the eventual 2007 WFTDA champions, the Kansas City Roller Warriors. GGRD is ranked #5 nationally within the WFTDA.

Gotham concludes the season with interleague victories over the Rose City Rollers of Portland, Oregon and the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls of Denver, CO.
2006: The Gotham Girls All-Stars travel to Tucson, Arizona to compete in the Dust Devil Tournament, the first ever WFTDA sanctioned flat-track roller derby tournament, and emerge ranked 11th nationally with "mini-bout" victories over Atlanta and Albuquerque, "mini-bout" losses to Texas and Kansas City, and a full-length bout loss to Madison.

GGRD forms its fourth home team, the Bronx Gridlock. In March, the Skate Key unexpectedly closes down and GGRD loses its practice and bout venue three weeks prior to its scheduled 2006 season opener. GGRD launches “Operation Crashpad” to scour the New York boroughs in search of new practice and bout venues. Throughout the season, league and team practices are held at public outdoor venues, as skaters persevere through rain, cold, asphalt, and darkness. Regular practice venues included Tanahey Playground (Manhattan), Dutch Kills Park (Queens), Mafera Park (Queens), Peter's Field (Manhattan), Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Manhattan), Stanley Isaacs Playground (Manhattan), basketball courts under the West Side Highway at 78th Street (Manhattan), and William F. Passannante Ballfield (Manhattan).

Season games are attended by sold-out crowds at the Schwartz Athletic Center on the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University and at Hunter College in Manhattan, with one additional regular season bout (Queens vs. Manhattan) held in Seaford, Long Island as part of a unique double-header featuring another regular-season bout of the Long Island Roller Rebels. The Queens of Pain win the GGRD Championship for the second season in a row, losing to the Brooklyn Bombshells in May but defeating the Bronx Gridlock once and the Manhattan Mayhem twice (once in the regular season and once in the finals) to take the trophy.

The season concludes with an interleague bout victory over Philadelphia and a loss to Providence.

2005: GGRD launches its first full season of roller derby at The Skate Key. The league now boasts a skater roster of 20-25 skaters and forms a third home team, the Queens of Pain, created after two games between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The Queens of Pain are undefeated throughout the season and become the first GGRD Season Champions and are awarded the GGRD Golden Skate Trophy by virtue of defeating the Manhattan Mayhem in the finals. The Gotham Girls All-Stars play (and lose) their first inter-league bout against the Mad Rollin' Dolls of Madison, Wisconsin. GGRD holds its first tryouts - over 100 hopeful skaters attend; 24 skaters are accepted for the 2006 season.

2004: GGRD continues to recruit skaters, referees and staff and holds periodic fundraisers. GGRD finds a new venue for practices at The Skate Key in the South Bronx. Practices are held twice weekly at The Skate Key and Rev. Joseph Moffo asphalt hockey rink in Tanahey Playground located in New York City’s Chinatown. GGRD host their first ever exposition flat-track roller derby bout (titled the Beat Down in the Boogie Down) and a crowd of 600 shows up to see the Brooklyn Bombshells and Manhattan Mayhem compete. (The Brooklyn Bombshells won, in overtime.)

2003: Karin Bruce (aka Chassis Crass) and David “Lefty” Leibowitz, both working independently to start a women’s roller derby league, meet thru an online classified ad. They decide to work together and form Gotham Girls Roller Derby. GGRD starts recruiting skaters and holding weekly practices at “open skate” sessions at Empire Roller Skating Center, a roller rink in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

League Champions and Major Awards

League Champions are determined in an end-of-season playoff bout.

Award winners are determined by poll of league members.

The C.A.N.T.S.L.E.E.P. award is the "Crass Award for Never-Tiring Support for the League with Endless Enthusiasm and Positivity," named for league founder Chassis Crass. In 2005 this award was titled the "Miss GGRD" award, and it was re-named in 2006.

External Links

* [http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/ Gotham Girls Roller Derby]
* [http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/mayhem/ Manhattan Mayhem]
* [http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/bombshells/ Brooklyn Bombshells]
* [http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/pain/ Queens of Pain]
* [http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/gridlock/ Bronx Gridlock]
* [http://www.wftda.com/ Women's Flat Track Derby Association]
* [http://www.flattrackstats.com/ Flat Track Stats; independent derby ranking analysis]