Atom 'Front Runner' Derby Bout Recap!

On Sunday the 26th of September, the StL GateKeepers and Magic City Misfits faced off in an epic battle between two of the top four teams in men's derby. The GateKeepers caught the derby world's attention earlier this year by making it to the championship game of Spring Roll and only losing by one point to the Puget Sound Outcasts, one of the most established teams in Men's derby. St. Louis was only six months old at the time. The Misfits came into this bout with their two previous bouts being complete blowouts, winning by over 160 points in each match up. Their National Champion jam skaters quickly building enormous buzz with their speed and dynamic moves on the track. The title of the bout was ‘Disputed Champions’ as the winners would consider themselves the best in the country, though a couple other teams would have something to say about that claim.

The bout started with the GateKeepers striking first blood but quickly releasing their early lead due to the Misfits ability to repeatedly earn lead jammer. After several low scoring jams, the first breakout point run (20) was made by the GateKeepers, taking advantage of a Misfits jammer penalty. The GateKeepers controlled the lead for the rest of the half due to more untimely jammer penalties to the Misfits. Their aggressive acrobatic jammers had trouble maintaining control with the cohesive pack work of the GateKeepers. Right before half, the Florida boys cut the lead drastically by going on a strong run that left the GKers advantage to only 26, still leaving it anyone's game.

The second half started very strong for the Misfits. They battled back and took a two point lead ten minutes into the second half. Their home crowd cheers were soon silenced as the GateKeepers quickly regained the lead and never gave it up. For St. Louis, it was a total team victory as they lost Wrecking Bill to injury and Boba to an accumulation of 7 trips to the box with many jams left in the bout. Their talented deep bench was up to the task presented to them. The final score was 170-143 in the GateKeepers favor.

Knowing the agility and quickness of our opponents, I skated on Juke 2.0s (95a). The smaller diameter and width of the wheels allowed for better responsiveness and control while making quick direction changes. We skated on an amazingly grippy and smooth coated wood floor. The Juke 2.0s were the perfect wheel for that bout.

The GateKeepers next bout is Oct 23rd when our temporary intraleague teams, the Force and the Dark Side, face off for a third and final time. I’m also keeping an eye out for the release of the Juke Alloy wheels… those look incredibly rad.

Living the derby dream,

Magnum, p.i.m.p.
StL GateKeepers
Captain/Coach
Atom Front Runner