The St. Louis GateKeepers are an open gender flat-track
roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.
Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
team based in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. It was founded in November 2009 by Magnum, p.i.m.p. (Scott Meyer), a referee for the
Arch Rival Rollergirls, and Bat Wing (Evan Jones). Since then, the league has grown to support two touring travel teams (the main travel team and the B-Keepers, the travelling B-team) and three local teams: The Creve Coroners, The Central West Friends, and the Raiders of Forest Park.
History
The St. Louis GateKeepers were conceived by Scott Meyer (who skates under the name Magnum p.i.m.p.) and Evan Jones (Bat Wing) on the way from a men's roller derby bout in Sioux City. Together, they started the GateKeepers in November 2009. Since then, the league has grown from starting with only a few players to a roster that includes over 40 skaters. The GateKeepers won the Men's Roller Derby Association World Championship in 2015.
Spring Roll 2011
The St. Louis GateKeepers received considerable attention for their performance at the 2011 Spring Roll tournament hosted in
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Despite being a relatively young team, the GateKeepers were undefeated in the tournament. Notably, the GateKeepers beat the high-ranking Puget Sound Outcasts and broke the 24-game winning streak of the previously undefeated
New York Shock Exchange
The New York Shock Exchange (NYSE) is a men's roller derby league, based in New York City. The league consists of four teams, two interleague teams and three intra-league teams.
The league was founded by Gotham Girls Roller Derby coach Jonat ...
.
Local League Structure
The St. Louis GateKeepers consists of three local teams, each named after a St. Louis neighborhood. The teams are The South Grand Slammers, The Riverfront Crimes, and the Dogtown Rockets, and are named after the
South Grand Avenue district, the
Riverfront area, and
Dogtown, respectively. The teams practice together at regular practices, but bout against each other in a series of matches deemed 'Turf Wars', culminating in a yearly championship. The league is entirely skater-run, with the players helping to run the teams, referee the local bouts and pay for rink time.
2011 Schedule
Intraleague Schedule
March 26 - South Grand Slammers vs. Riverfront Crimes
April 16 - Dogtown Red Rockets vs. South Grand Slammers
May 21 - Riverfront Crimes vs. Dogtown Red Rockets
June 18 - South Grand Slammers vs. Riverfront Crimes
July 23 - Dogtown Red Rockets vs. South Grand Slammers
Aug 20th - Riverfront Crimes vs. Dogtown Red Rockets
Sept 17th - Turf War Championship
Interleague Travel Team Schedule
* B-Keepers Game
2010 Season Interleague Stats
References
External links
St. Louis GateKeepers Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis GateKeepers
GateKeers
Men's roller derby
Roller derby leagues in Missouri
Roller derby leagues established in 2009
2009 establishments in Missouri