The Garden State Rollergirls (GSR) are kicking off a new season of all-female flat track roller derby in northern New Jersey with a move to the Inline Skating Club of America in Wallington, and a schedule that begins with a bout on March 13 and extends through November.
This year the league will be hosting seven home bouts at the Wallington rink, including a set of intraleague bouts and doubleheaders featuring the league’s two teams, the Ironbound Maidens and Brick City Bruisers (so named because of the league’s first three seasons in Newark). Competitors hail from locations spanning from Delaware to Toronto to New Hampshire. GSR opens the season with an intraleague St. Patrick’s Day-themed face-off at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 13th that will feature the debut of the league’s newest members – rookies that are referred to as “fresh meat” in the roller derby world.
WHAT: Roller Derby – Garden State Rollergirls Season Opener
DATE: Saturday, March 13, 2010
TIME: Doors open at 7:30 p.m., whistle blows at 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Inline Skating Club of America – 551 Main Ave. Wallington, NJ 07057
TICKETS: Available at http://www.GardenStateRollergirls.com. Adults $10 in advance, $12 at the door and children 10 and under are half price.
GSR is extremely excited about our new season and the move to Wallington brings Roller Derby to an expanded audience in Bergen and nearby Passaic counties
said Monica Smyczek, president of the league, who skates under the name Kitty Von Karnage.
This move has allowed us to hold home bouts on Saturday nights, invite an exciting lineup of challengers, and continue to introduce even more people to the excitement of the sport.
Denis Jelic of Inline Skating Club of America said
We’ve been one of the preeminent rinks in the area for the roller hockey community, and adding roller derby to the mix gives us the chance to be part of introducing a new sport to not just our current customers and fans, but also to others in the area that have never been to our rink. We are very excited to add a superb group of people and this great sport to our facility.
The league will be celebrating the new season with a fundraiser and kick-off party to be held from 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, February 20th at Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield, NJ.
The home bout schedule for the remainder of the season is as follows:
April 17th – Double Header: Ironbound Maidens and Brick City Bruisers vs. Lehigh Valley Rollergirls
May 22nd – Ironbound Maidens vs. Diamond State Rollergirls (Wilmington, DE)
August 14th – GSR Intraleague Bout
September 25th – Double Header: Ironbound Maidens vs. Toronto R.D. and Brick City Bruisers Bruisers vs. Central Mass R.D.
October 23rd – GSR sIntraleague Bout
November 20th – Double Header: Ironbound Maidens vs. Philly Independence Dolls and Brick City Bruisers vs. Boardwalk Brawlers (Wall, NJ)
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the first whistle blows at 8:30 p.m. for all home bouts. Tickets for the home opener bout and the kick-off party are currently available online at gardenstaterollergirls.com.
About Garden State Rollergirls (GSR)
The Garden State Rollergirls LLC is a skater-owned and operated roller derby organization, with members hailing from all over northern New Jersey and the NYC metro area. GSR was established in spring 2006 to bring the classic sport of roller derby to New Jersey in a new action-packed form. The league skated its first three seasons at Branch Brook Park Roller Rink in Newark, NJ.
About Roller Derby
Roller derby involves two teams of four blockers skating round an elliptical track, while a point scorer from each team (“the jammer”) tries to fight their way through, gaining a point for each opposing player they pass. Trips, grabs, elbows, and fighting are all illegal – but spine-crunching shoulder barges, hip checks and booty blocks are legit.
