St. Louis GateKeepers

St. Louis GateKeepers

Metro area	St. Louis, Missouri
Country	United States
Founded	November 2009
Teams	GateKeepers Travel Team South Grand Slammers Dogtown Rockets Riverfront Crimes B-Keepers
Track type(s)	Flat
Venue	various
Affiliations	MRDA (Men's Roller Derby Association)
Org. type	skater-owned
Website	StLGateKeepers.com

The St. Louis GateKeepers are an all-men's flat-track roller derby team based in St. Louis, Missouri. 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).^[1] 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 South Grand Slammers, The Riverfront Crimes, and the Dogtown Rockets.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] The league is entirely skater-run, with the players helping to run the teams, referee the local bouts and pay for rink time.^[6]

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

Date	St. Louis GateKeepers vs.	Location	St. Louis GateKeepers	Opposing Team
02/05/11	Race City Rebels	Indianapolis, IN	213	63
05/14/11	Puget Sound Outcast	Ft. Wayne, IN (Spring Roll Tournament)	201	78
05/15/11	Harm City Homicide	Ft. Wayne, IN (Spring Roll Tournament)	261	56
05/15/11	New York Shock Exchange	Ft. Wayne, IN (Spring Roll Tournament)	158	138
05/29/11	Ozarks Derby Brigade*	Springfield, MO	348	35
06/11/11	Twin Cites Terrors	St. Louis, MO	207	43
07/09/11	Ozarks Derby Brigade*	St. Peters, MO	272	71
08/27/11	Des Moines	Des Moines, IA	159	116
10/22/11	Puget Sound Outcast	New York, NY (MRDA Championship)	106	127
10/22/11	Magic City Misfits	New York, NY (MRDA Championship)	145	170

* B-Keepers Game

2010 Season Interleague Stats

Date	St. Louis GateKeepers vs.	Location	St. Louis GateKeepers	Opposing Team
03/20/2010	Race City Rebels	St. Louis, MO	125	17
05/08/2010	Twin City Terrors	Fort Wayne, IN	49	35
05/08/2010	Dallas Deception	Fort Wayne, IN	43	40
05/08/2010	Puget Sound Outcast	Fort Wayne, IN	120	121
06/12/2010	Race City Rebels	Indianapolis, IN	226	68
08/21/2010	Twin City Terrors	Lakeville, MN	144	93
09/26/2010	Magic City Misfits	Fayetteville, AR	170	143
02/05/2011	Race City Rebels	Indianapolis, IN	213	63

^[7]

References

1. "About GateKeepers". Retrieved 2010-03-10.
2. "St. Louis GateKeepers". Retrieved 2010-03-10.
3. Campbell, Chris (4 January 2011). "Chaos, aggression and knee pads". Metro St. Louis Suburban Journal. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
4. Justice Feelgood Marshall. "Spring Roll: MRDA Recaps". Derby News Network. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
5. "St. Louis GateKeepers". Retrieved 2010-03-10.
6. Weich, Susan (24 March 2010). "All-male squad breaking ground on St. Louis roller derby scene". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
7. "St. Louis GateKeepers Bout Results". Retrieved 11 March 2011.

External links

• St. Louis GateKeepers Home Page