Gotham Elects Not to Sign a New Practice Space Lease

At the start of 2020, we at Gotham were looking forward to the challenges and changes that the new year had in store for our organization. As we entered our seventeenth season of roller derby, we were tasked with addressing the needs of our growing league and community. This fall marked our tenth year in our  practice space — our “Crash Pad” — and we were faced with the decision to renew our lease or find a bigger space that would allow for expansion. 

When the pandemic struck and New York City became the epicenter this spring, we immediately stopped our in-person programming. Due to the impact of COVID-19, we’ve lost nearly all of our main income streams and, with the phased reopening of the city, we do not yet know when we’ll be able to return to contact roller derby. Given this lack of clarity around when we’ll be able to begin generating revenue again, we have made the difficult but fiscally responsible decision not to renew our lease or sign a new lease on a space at this time.

Gotham is a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission of fostering personal, mental and physical strength through collaboration, inclusiveness and community-building while representing New York City in athletic excellence. In the years since our league’s founding, this is not the first time we’ve been without a dedicated space. The spirit of Gotham, our love of our community and for the sport of roller derby will always transcend physical location. 

We exist whether or not we have a permanent space. In the short or immediate term, we will continue to offer digital programming through our Twitch channel and updates on our social media. With our newly created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, we will use this time to address diversity and inclusion issues in our league and community. 

To address our needs during this time, our league leadership has developed a three-phase strategic plan to help us survive, then revive, and thrive, while focusing on the key pillars of capital, community, and communication, from which we will emerge stronger, financially stable, and a more connected community. 

Elements of this plan include:

• Offering virtual programming and in-person skating programming, when it’s permissible to do so, following the science-based return to play guidelines set forth by the WFTDA, the governing body of the sport, along with abiding by local city and state guidelines.

• Establishing and implementing much-needed change through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives

• Finding opportunities to partner with the wider New York City skating community 

• Building connections with leadership in other roller derby leagues and non-profit organizations 

• Creating new revenue streams and ensuring sustainable funding sources

• Moving into a new permanent space by January 2022

We are so grateful for all of the support we’ve received from our league and the wider community during this challenging time. As a 501c3 non-profit, we welcome tax-deductible donations to continue our operations and providing support to our members.  If you are interested in partnering with, donating to, sponsoring, or volunteering for Gotham, you can contact info@ggrd.nyc. 

For more information about our organization, check out this website, sign up for our newsletter at the top right of this page, and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gothamderby and Twitter at https://twitter.com/gothamderby.

We can’t wait until we can be hard, smart and together again, in person. 

Photo by Gotham Roller Derby

Limited Edition Gotham Pride Merch - Available through June 1

Merch alert! Summer may look different than we thought it would, but that doesn’t mean we can’t show off our pride. Check out our Gotham Pride collection—rainbow chic, crop top realness.

We will continue to offer some Pride designs after June 1 - but some of these options will disappear forever after that. So order early to be sure to get the design you want!

Photos by Jean Schwarzwalder

The Heat is On in Coney Island as GGRD Comes to Town for Annual Doubleheader

By Thomas Gerbasi

With all due respect to Joey Chestnut and the gang downing hot dogs last week, the real summer sport of Coney Island returns to Abe Stark Arena on Saturday, as the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league hosts its annual doubleheader, an always festive event highlighted by visits from GGRD alumni and fans that prefer world-class derby action to rides on the Cyclone (though that is a post-event option).

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

And when it comes to derby, this Saturday in July always produces one of two things: it either determines who battles it out for the Golden Skate trophy that is awarded the league champions or it previews the following month’s playoff action.

In 2019, we’re getting a championship preview, as the Bronx Gridlock and Manhattan Mayhem collide in advance of their August 24 title bout at John Jay College in NYC. Plus, the teams competing in the August 3 third-place bout at John Jay – the Queens of Pain and Brooklyn Bombshells – get acquainted in their final regular season contest.

Yet even though such matchups in other sports might be categorized by resting starters, testing out new strategies and the like, with so few home games in the GGRD season, there is no holding back or saving anything for the swim back. Every game is played to win by everyone on the track.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

That’s why loyal Gotham fans will show up for what is expected to be another sold-out event, and there is plenty of intrigue in both bouts on the boardwalk.

In 2018, the Bronx Gridlock were the comeback story of the year, as they roared back from years of bad luck to win the league title, breaking an eight-year championship drought in the process. This year, the cabbies are in a much different position, as they look like a team not just in position to repeat as champs, but one that could become the league’s next dynasty. That’s how they’ve looked in their wins in 2019, finding a way to win a close one against Queens in March, and then defeating Brooklyn more comfortably in May. As for Manhattan, a squad seeking its first title since 2016, they’ve been the league’s juggernaut in 2019, with a 53-point win over Brooklyn and a 66-point victory over Queens. Those are two teams you don’t blast through, but Mayhem have done it. Suffice to say, this is a clash of the titans in Coney Island.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

When it comes to the preview of next month’s third-place game, Brooklyn and Queens meet up, and while it’s been rough for both teams in the nuts and bolts of wins and losses, it got rougher for the Bombshells when All-Star jammer Miss Tea Maven went down with a knee injury that will keep her sidelined from Saturday’s bout. For the fans in attendance, the key thing to watch is how Brooklyn’s other jammers will step up against a Queens team that remains as dangerous as they’ve ever been, despite the 0-2 mark for the year. 

So while it’s going to be hot outside in Brooklyn on Saturday, it may get even hotter once the whistle blows inside Abe Stark Arena because while playoff spots are already secured, that little something-something called skater pride means both bouts of this doubleheader will be fought as if a championship is on the line.

Showdown at John Jay as Queens and Bronx Fight for the Golden Skate

by Thomas Gerbasi

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers ain’t got nothin’ on the Bronx Gridlock and Queens of Pain. Sure, it’s impressive that either the Cavs and Warriors have won the last four NBA Finals, but from 2005 to 2010, Queens or the Bronx were the only members of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league to win the Golden Skate Trophy.

Now that’s really impressive.

On Saturday, one of these storied squads will reign once again, bringing a sense of nostalgia to the 2018 GGRD championship game at John Jay College in NYC, but also perhaps ringing in a new era for the league.

PHOTO MANISH GOSALIA

Since the Gridlock’s last title in 2010, parity has made GGRD one of the most competitive home team leagues in the world. With practically every bout played with title game intensity, it’s no surprise that the league’s All-Star team is consistently in the running for a WFTDA world championship. But in recent years, it’s been Brooklyn and Manhattan trading titles back and forth, with only a 2013 win by Queens breaking up this new monopoly.

On paper, it would make one assume that Queens and the Bronx have been bringing up the rear for the last seven years, and while that’s been the case for the bad luck Bronx, Queens has been a perennial powerhouse, with only a series of untimely defeats keeping them from winning the title year after year after year.

One could say that there is no better mix of bruising defense, high-powered offense and veteran experience than what the ladies in black bring to the track, and you would get few, if any, arguments. And with Suzy Hotrod, Ana Bollocks and Hyper Lynx reminding the younger players on the team what the glory years were like and what it takes to hoist the Golden Skate, it’s hard to see them as anything but a prohibitive favorite this weekend, especially after going 3-0 this season with a 182-147 win over the Gridlock in June.

PHOTO MANISH GOSALIA

But as the old saying goes, that’s why they play the games, and if any team has consistently upset the odds, it’s been the Gridlock. For years after 2010, the cabbies often had to battle injuries and roster turnover more than their fellow league mates.  That can break a team’s spirit, but as the adversity piled up, the Bronx got tougher. And after snapping a three-year losing streak in 2017, they beat the defending champion Bombshells by 49 points in the 2018 opener, and then bounced back from the loss to Queens with a 51-point victory over Manhattan to clinch their return to the title game.

And now, the odds don’t matter. All that matters is what happens on the track over 60 minutes on Saturday. It’s the dream of every derby skater. Win, and you’re a champion. Lose, and it’s a look toward 2019 and thoughts of what might have been. Queens and the Bronx know what’s at stake.

So just blow the damn whistle.

Tonight’s game is sold out!! Follow us on Twitter for recaps and score updates. 

Brooklyn and Manhattan Play for the Championship of Each Other Tonight

By Thomas Gerbasi

On paper, a league’s third-place game is, well, the third-place game. But when the Brooklyn Bombshells face the Manhattan Mayhem tonight at John Jay College in NYC, it will likely feel like a championship game three weeks before the Queens of Pain and Bronx Gridlock do it for real on August 25.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

Why is that, you may ask? Is this just pre-game hype to get you into the city on a Saturday night? Well, if you’re reading this, you know precisely why there will be a championship intensity between the Bombshells and Mayhem, and it’s been something repeated over and over in this space for years.

But for the uninitiated, whether they play each other in April or August, Manhattan and Brooklyn always play as if the Golden Skate trophy is up for grabs. I’ve asked skaters about it every year, and no one can put a finger on it, but suffice to say that theclash of blue and orange produces magic on the track year after year after year.

This season has been no different, with May’s regular season meeting between the league powerhouses delivering another nailbiter, with Brooklyn edging Manhattan 169-164. That’s in keeping with tradition, as Brooklyn has now won five of sevenmeetings with the Mayhem since 2013, with the total margin of victory being 37 points. Average winning advantage? 5.2 points.

Sure, most games of this nature are an opportunity for the skaters to hit the track one more time with their home team, maybe try out some new strategies and make sure not to enter the post-season with any injuries. In this case, there will be no stone left unturned in search of victory and no figurative punches pulled for 60 minutes.

It’s Brooklyn. It’s Manhattan. And it’s like the great sportswriter Jerry Izenberg said of the trilogy between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier: by the time they made it to Manila in 1975, they were fighting for the championship of each other.

There’s no Golden Skate up for grabs tonight, but Brooklyn and Manhattan are playing for their own title. And there’s no third-place about it.

Tickets for tonight are available here.