Five Stride Live: All About Outdoor Wheels - Wed. May 6 at 8:00 PM on Twitch

On May 6 at 8:00 PM, we debut the first virtual seminar in a series from the Five Stride crew & hosted by Gotham.

This week we will chat all about outdoor wheels - what’s best on different surfaces and for each skating style. There will be time for Q & A at the end of the seminar. We hope you can join us!

All Five Stride Live seminars will air on Twitch, Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM EST.

Photo by Five Stride Skate Shop

AMA with Gotham Referees on Twitch - Sat. May 2 at 7:00 PM

This Saturday, May 2 at 7:00 PM, Gotham referees will be featured in our first AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Twitch. Rev Riot, Strong Female Character (aka Coffee), Ref in Peace, and Lone Scar will answer all your burning derby questions. It will be hosted by coach and former skater Raggedy Animal, who’s played through at least a half-dozen rule sets, and Jumper Bones, a member of our Basic Training program, who is sure to be full of questions. Come prepared with your greatest derby rule head-scratchers!

Photo by Jean Schwarzwalder

Sweating for Support: A COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser May 1-8

Looking for some at home fitness motivation? Join the Gotham family in a fundraising workout challenge.

Gotham is partnering with Make the Road New York for a fundraiser called “Sweating for Support.” All proceeds will be split equally between Gotham and Make the Road New York.

Photo by David Dyte

How it Works

Participants will complete as many rounds as they can of a 20-minute workout in one session on any day between May 1 and May 8. Donation pledges are made either per round completed ($5/round suggested) or as a set amount for the entire workout. You may also seek out sponsors, or sponsor someone else to donate without breaking a sweat yourself.

Don't forget to take a selfie and tag @gothamderby, @maketheroadny, and #sweatingforsupport after completing the workout!

Full fundraiser details, including how/where to donate can be found on our fundraiser page - mightycause.com/story/SweatingForSupport
 

Why Make the Road New York?

As a New York-based organization, GGRD feels the impact of COVID-19 on our city and recognizes the exacerbation of inequalities that already existed before the pandemic. 

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted immigrants and communities of color, and low-income immigrant households in New York have been excluded from government relief. Make the Road New York is a Bushwick-based organization that builds the power of immigrant and working class communities and will provide at least $1 million in direct cash assistance through an Emergency Response Fund to those in crisis.

We’re proud to partner with this local organization and do our part to ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors can access support to stay safe and healthy during this time.

Please feel free to share with friends, family and fellow fans. Any questions can be addressed to communityoutreach@ggrd.nyc. We thank you for your continued support in this unprecedented time!

Print or share this donation card on social media.

WFTDA Championship Watch Party at Sugarburg Nov. 17

Join us at Sugarburg to cheer on Gotham’s All-Stars at the 2019 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association World Championship, taking place in Montreal! Gotham competes for the gold medal on Sunday, November 17th starting at 4:30 PM.

We will have happy hour specials during every game, Gotham bingo, free fries for friends in Gotham gear, and will be displaying the game on the big screen with sound!

Updates will be posted for each game throughout the weekend with all the details. You can also keep track of the schedule and brackets courtesy of the WFTDA.

Sugarburg
519 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11211
(at Union Avenue)

See you there!

Photo by Sean Hale.

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.