FCRD: A history

DGD, Season 1 – Photo courtesy of Fire Branded Photography

As we move on with the 9^th Season of Fountain City Roller Derby (FCRD), it’s fun to look back to see where we’ve come from. FCRD actually started as Dead Girl Derby (DGD). In 2009, the founders of DGD broke off from the Kansas City Roller Warriors. The first season, DGD skated with two teams, Gang Green and Black Plague. The bouts took place at Northland Rolladium Skate Center in Liberty, MO, and the players for the two teams switched after every bout. If there was one thing DGD needed in its first season, it was bodies. It was not unheard of for girls to join the league and be thrown into a game a few weeks shortly thereafter. There was some training, but mostly a sink-or-swim attitude. The league was considered a non-profit organization and was skater owned and operated.

DGD must have been doing something right as it quickly grew to have enough skaters to have 4 teams (called “House” teams) for Season 2. Those teams were the Deadly Sirens, the Royal Pains, the Lovely Lethals and the Fearleaders. New skaters and returning skaters were thrown into a pot and drafted to the 4 teams by selected captains. These skaters would spend the entire season with the same team, a departure from the first season. Season 2 also saw the league move to RiverRoll in Riverside, MO for all of DGD’s games and practices. Each team played each other twice during the regular season.  At the end of the regular season, the teams with the two best records played each other in the first ever championship game. While the Deadly Sirens came in as the proverbial favorite, the Lovely Lethals prevailed and became the first champions of DGD.  

DGD Season 2 – Photo courtesy of Fire Branded Photography

Season 3 of DGD started out with some turmoil. DGD received a letter from a cheer squad in Oklahoma, also called the Fearleaders, threatening to sue DGD for using their name. Not wanting to fight the matter in court, the Fearleaders changed their name to the Shotgun Sheilas. All of the new skaters were put into a pot with the skaters who declared free agency (a first for DGD, any skater unhappy with their team could elect to put their name back into the draft) were drafted to the 4 House teams. The roster of each team swelled to 18 skaters. DGD kept growing and growing. The teams again played 6 regular season games and the Lovely Lethals took on the Shotgun Sheilas in the championship game.  The Sheilas prevailed finishing the season with a perfect 7-0 record. Between season 3 and 4 the Board of Directors disassembled, and 5 founding members established an LLC known as Victrix to manage the league.

Season 4 saw DGD leave RiverRoll and search to find a new home.  After a few months of practicing at Levo Gym and Watson’s Rolladium in Blue Springs, DGD found a new home for practice at B&D Skate Center in Independence, MO. The move freed the league to relocate the House bouts to Hale Arena and Kemper Arena in the West Bottoms. Going from a skating rink to arenas that held a minimum of 5,000 people was a huge move for the league and a sign that DGD had staying power and legitimacy, something DGD had been searching for since it first began. The first game at Hale Arena started off with a bang as 1,301 fans showed up in support, easily the largest crowd in the league’s history. The championship game pitted the defending Shotgun Sheilas against the Royal Pains at Kemper Arena. The two teams split the season series leading to a hard fought championship game won by the Royal Pains, giving DGD its third different champion in 3 seasons. Season 4 also saw the return of two teams that had been previously been retired, Black Plague and Gang Green, which made up the introductory Zombie League. These teams were made up of developing skaters who didn’t see playing time for the House teams due to the large roster sizes each House team was now experiencing. The experiment went so well that DGD kept Gang Green and Black Plague for Season 5 to help develop incoming skaters.   

Season 5 brought something that had never been tried in the Kansas City roller derby community, coed roller derby.  About 15 men signed up to join the league and about 30 women decided to join them to form 2 co-ed derby teams, Public Enemies and The Untouchables. These teams played each other 4 separate times at B&D Skate Center. Before the coed bouts, the two revived teams of Black Plague and Gang Green square off in a battle between two set rostered teams, a departure from the rotating teams members from Season 4. The championship game was a rematch of the Season 4 title bout between the Royal Pains and the Shotgun Sheilas to be played again at Kemper Arena.
Season 5 also marked the beginning of the DGD’s travel team.  As a sign of things to come, the travel team skated under the name Fountain City Roller Derby and is made up of some of the best female skaters in FCRD.  FCRD continues to grow as it now consists of 115 members and 9 teams, an amazing achievement for a league that started with 3 skaters just 5 short seasons ago.

DGD, Season 5 – Photo courtesy of Fire Branded Photography

    Season 6 began with a name change from Dead Girl Derby to Fountain City Roller Derby.  No longer had a league comprised of only girls, the league outgrown the name it had skated under since the beginning.  “Fountain City” is also a tribute to the city in which it represents, Kansas City aka The City of Fountains.  With the interest of coed on the rise, a third coed team called the Usual Suspects was added. Zombie League went back to mashup teams, rather than set rosters to allow newer skaters the ability to learn and play with as many skaters as possible. The season closed with the Royal Pains and Public Enemies taking the championship trophies. FCRD decided to send both a women’s and a coed team to M.A.D.E nationals, and FCRD brought home the championship trophy in both categories!

FCRD, Season 6 – Courtesy of Zaftig Unicorn Photography

Season 7  - Women’s House Championship game was between Shotgun Sheilas and the Lovely Lethals. This year was the closest competition between the teams. All four teams had a chance to play in the championship game until the last game was played, where points scored became the determining factor. Coed season brought in a fourth team from St. Joseph to play against our three teams, with The Untouchables taking the win in the championship. FCRD sent a women’s team and a coed team to M.A.D.E nationals, bringing home the trophy for coed once again!

FCRD, Season 7 – Courtesy of Zaftig Unicorn Photography

Season  8 saw an even closer competition between the four House teams. Almost every game was a nail-biter to the end. With smaller rosters, each House team worked harder than ever--making the competition a more even playing field, and super exciting to watch! In the end, the Royal Pains took home the trophy, making it their fourth championship victory overall. This upcoming coed season will be determined in the following games, with the Zombie League games to follow. Zombie League has transitioned from a developmental league to a recreational league, allowing female skaters from House teams and coed teams extra time on skates, as well as the ability to help train and play with our newest skaters.

Season 9 of FCRD brought one major change for the league—new leadership. While the league maintained its four house teams, three coed teams, and zombie league, the behind the scenes projects changed. The new leadership is comprised of Quad Squad and several committee coordinators. Quad Squad is an LLC made up for four league members that run the business aspects of the league, and the committee coordinators are league members that help ensure all the different aspects of the league run smoothly. This season of derby has been one for the books! The Deadly Sirens are soon to take on the Shotgun Sheilas for the championship. This could be the first championship win for the Sirens, and they are hungry to take on the undefeated Shotgun Sheilas, who stand poised to win it all. For coed, this last game determined that the Untouchables are going to take on the Usual Suspects for the championship. Both these teams have played a skillful, fast-paced game, and we’re eager to see who will win the trophy. These championship bouts will take place on September 30th at B&D Skate Center at 6:00pm. You do NOT want to miss out! Zombie League has flourished this season, playing teams from across the Midwest including Franklin County Fury and the Missouri River Rollers, and they will be travelling to Leflore County on September 15th. With skills development and determination, these skaters continue to kick butt and take names even as the newest members of our league. We are so excited to see where they go next!