The St. Louis GateKeepers are an open gender 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 ...

team based in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. 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 Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. 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.

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 A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers. The riverfronts are mostly lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a s ...

area, and

Dogtown Dogtown or Dog Town may refer to: Entertainment * ''Dogtown'' (film), a 1997 film * ''Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town'', a 2009 book by Elyssa East * "Dogtown" (''The Simpsons''), a 2017 season episode * '' 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