Meet St. Louis’ roller derby champions

St. Louis boasts two top-ranked derby leagues, St. Louis GateKeepers and Arch Rival. They squared off against some of the best skaters in the country at the Sibling Rivalry Tournament.

by

Last weekend, St. Louis' roller derby teams, Arch Rival Roller Derby and the St. Louis GateKeepers brought some of the country's best teams to the Lou. 

The second annual Sibling Rivalry invitational brought in 10 teams from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and the Men’s Roller Derby Association (MRDA) to compete head-to-head in an intense three-day tournament. Right now, both teams are internationally ranked; the GateKeepers are number one in MRDA, and ARCH is number 8 in WFTDA.

The women skaters of St. Louis beat Dallas. Against the Gotham Girls, New York City's five-time World Champions, the Arch Rival All-Stars were neck in neck, but eventually lost.

“I was most excited about playing Gotham,” says Arch Rival All-Star, Carrie Carpenter, a.k.a. Shimmy Hoffa. “It’s the first time Arch Rival has ever played Gotham, so that in-of-itself was an accomplishment. But then to be able to play competitively with Gotham really brought it home for me how much our league has grown in terms of skating level and competitive play.”

The men’s St. Louis team, the GateKeepers, were victorious against Magic City, Denver Ground Control, and Twin Cities, top 10, 15, and 25 teams, respectively.

“Sibling Rivalry really gave us the opportunity to work on some new strategies, perfect some staple skills, and to see what worked and what didn't, so we can really dial in our play during this last phase of our practice plan,” says Tony Correnti, president and co-captain of the Gatekeepers.

The GateKeepers are the defending MRDA Champions and hope to keep it that way. “All of our work this season will be prepping us for MRDA Champs in Wales in October," says Correnti. "'Three-time international champions has a nice ring to it, and we are training hard to achieve that goal."

Meet some of the St. Louis skaters below.

Kayla Woodward, a.k.a. K. Woodward #810

Arch Rival All-Star Team member

Woodward is in her sixth season of derby and plays whatever position she’s asked. She blocks, pivots, and jams with unwavering determination.

“Listen: derby isn’t a sport. It’s a lifestyle. I do it, my husband does it, and my mom even used to play and now refs. My husband and I both play for top-level teams, we both coach, we are both sponsored skaters, we both aspire to be better because this is the thing we do that makes us feel confident and powerful.”

Tony Correnti, a.k.a. Percy Controll #82

President and co-captain of the GateKeepers

Correnti started as an official for Arch Rival in 2009. He skated for Team USA in 2014 in Birmingham, England and in 2016 in Calgary, Canada, taking home the gold in both World Cups. Correnti helped lead the GateKeepers to win the MRDA International Championships in 2015 and 2016.

“The best thing about roller derby is feeling like I'm a part of something much bigger than me, and that my efforts not may be leading to something huge in the future.”

Amy Bellm, a.k.a. Jamheiser Bush #33

Arch Rival All-Star member

Bellm plays as the team’s blocker and jammer. When she’s not busy being a beast on skates, Bellm hits the books. She’s finishing up a bachelor's degree in social work and will attend UMSL in the fall a master's in social work graduate teaching assistant.

“I was excited to play Gotham for the first time in the history of Arch Rival. St. Louis' women's league has never had the opportunity to play this number-two-ranked team in the world, and I anticipated being able to hang with their skill level. Although we lost, we showed that we were able to play on that level.”

Scott Meyer, a.k.a. Magnum, p.i.m.p. #7

GateKeepers co-founder

Meyer, a member of the board of directors for USA Men’s Roller Derby, began his skating career as a referee for Arch Rival Roller Derby in 2006 and eventually became their head referee. In 2009, Meyer co-founded the GateKeepers.

“We are the No. 1 seed going into the 2017 MRDA Championship being held in Cardiff, Wales. If we win the Championship this year, we will be the most successful team in MRDA history. My favorite part about roller derby is the fast physical game play and the league of people continuously working together to accomplish our goals. I met my wife playing roller derby in 2009. Roller derby has definitely added a lot of great things to my life!”

Hannah Williams, a.k.a. Salty #6080

Arch Rival All-Star Team member

Williams is one of the team’s pivots and blockers. She's an accomplished skater, a registered nurse at Children’s Hospital, and a total cat lover.

“Coming into this weekend, I was excited for us to continue showing the derby community that Arch Rival is not a team to be overlooked. We play with intensity, power, and purpose. We will make you work for every point... and we’ll have fun doing it! I will never forget coming out of the pack after my second scoring pass in our game against Gotham. It was a reminder of how much I have grown as a skater since joining Arch last year, and how lucky I am to be part of a team who supports and celebrates each other.”

Jake Woodward, a.k.a. Bled Zeppelin #618

GateKeepers Travel Team member

Woodward made the USA Men’s Team and had the opportunity to travel to Canada to compete in the World Cup.

“My favorite aspect of roller derby is definitely the brotherhood and being able to compete for your city all around the world, and knocking people down with your homies.”

Stay well mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally with our Wellness newsletter.
Or, check out all of our newsletters.