Gotham Girls Roller Derby
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|
| Metro area | New York City |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Teams |
Gotham Girls All-Stars (A team) Brooklyn Bombshells Manhattan Mayhem Queens of Pain Bronx Gridlock Wall Street Traitors (travel) Grand Central Terminators (travel) Diamond District (travel) Gotham Girls Junior Derby (youth) |
| Track type(s) | Flat |
| Venue | varies; most frequently at Hunter College Sportsplex |
| Affiliations | WFTDA |
| Org. type | 501(c)(3) NPO |
| Website | gothamgirlsrollerderby.com |
Gotham Girls Roller Derby (GGRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby is also a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The first flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area, GGRD is one of the preeminent leagues in roller derby, having won five WFTDA Championships.
Gotham Girls Roller Derby hosts has a four-team home league, and also four interleague teams, composed of member of the four home teams, that play against teams from other leagues. The Gotham Girls All-Stars, as the league's A team, represent Gotham in WFTDA interleague competitions that count towards WFTDA rankings.
The skaters, referees, and other league volunteers have the option to adopt derby names for their uniforms, league activities, and other league business. Members choose their own names which they may start using after an initial league probationary period.
Gotham Girls Roller Derby is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. The IRS recognized Gotham Girls Roller Derby as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity in September 2008.
Most GGRD skaters compete on home teams, which practice together and jointly manage the league. The borough-based home team designations do not necessarily reflect the residences of the skaters on a particular team, each of which is supported by a 'Jeerleader' squad. A few skaters do not compete on a home team, and only skate as All-Stars.
Additionally, the league fields compilation teams:
Karin "Chassis Crass" Bruce and David “Lefty” Leibowitz, both working independently to start a women’s roller derby league, met through an online ad in 2003, and together formed Gotham Girls Roller Derby (GGRD), and recruiting skaters and holding “open skate” sessions at Empire Roller Skating Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In 2004, GGRD continued to recruit skaters, referees and staff and held fundraisers. GGRD began practicing twice weekly at The Skate Key in the South Bronx, and also at the Rev. Joseph Moffo hockey rink at Tanahey Playground in New York City’s Chinatown. GGRD hosted their first exhibition bout, called "Beat Down in the Boogie Down", and a crowd of 600 came to The Skate Key to see the Brooklyn Bombshells defeat the Manhattan Mayhem, in overtime.
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