Gem City Roller Derby (GCRD) is a women's flat track

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

league based in

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, Ohio. Founded in 2006, the league features two teams that compete against teams from other leagues, plus three home league teams that play each other. Gem City is a member of the

Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...

(WFTDA).

History and organization

GCRD was founded as Gem City Rollergirls in January 2006 by Ginger Clark and Andrea Moore, known as "Helen of DesTroy" and "Cyn Vicious". The league initially formed two teams, the Queens of Hearts and the Aces of Spades, that later became the Rude Girls and Damage Inc. After a decrease in league membership, the two teams became one for several years. Steady growth led to a return of the two-team structure for the 2014 season. The new team names are The Purple Reign and The Violet Femmes. Gem City rebranded in June 2016 as Gem City Roller Derby, and further expanded to include three intraleague home teams, who play one another during the travel team off season: Bully Frogs, Snark Attack, and Murder Squad. The Bully Frogs were the initial home season champion, with a 174–154 victory over the Murder Squad in March 2017.

WFTDA

GCRD initially joined the

(WFTDA) in December 2007.Gem City Rollergirls
, Flat Track Stats However, after struggling to maintain a sufficient number of eligible skaters, GCRD was unable to play any fully sanctioned bouts during the 2008 season. During 2009 several long-standing skaters left the league, which also incurred increases in rink costs; however the league survived.Amelia Robinson,

, ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employee ...

'', 26 March 2010 In 2010, the league reverted to the status of apprentice members of the WFTDA. The league grew each year following and, during the 2013 boot camp, nearly doubled in size to a total of over fifty skaters. Gem City earned its full WFTDA status back for the 2014 season.

Rankings

* ''league did not receive WFTDA final rankings 2010-2013''

References

{{Ohio Sports Roller derby leagues established in 2006 Roller derby leagues in Ohio Sports clubs and teams in Dayton, Ohio 2006 establishments in Ohio