St. Chux Derby Crew (SCDC) is hosting a quad-wheeled showcase this weekend where monies raised help fund their league for future competition while additional donations benefit an area non-profit with a lengthy history.
The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) rep from St. Charles County presents “Skatesgiving 2025” Sunday at the Beal Center at the Chesterfield Sports Complex (150 N. Eatherton Rd.) Doors open at 3:30 pm and the first whistle blows at 4 pm.
Tickets are $10 for general admission while children under 12 are free. (LINK FOR ADVANCE TICKETS)
The flat-track franchise, founded in 2009, is excited for the continuation for a successful event they launched in 2023.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be holding Skatesgiving for the third year in a row,” said SCDC President Trekkie Monster. “This year saw a lot of changes: a different venue (and) a different registration platform. The team really showed resilience in pulling this event together.“
What makes this event unique will be the complexion of teams facing each other. Rather than the traditional set-up of a SCDC team competing against a visiting opponent from another city, multiple all-gender teams culled from regional roller derby franchises will be assembled based on skaters’ tenure and skill set.
A trio of exhibitions will be skated beginning with a “Rookie Rumble” that is designed for athletes new to the sport. That’s followed by a pair of contest featuring an advanced challenge for those with one-to-three years of flat-track play and a finale for experienced skaters.
“The fact that SCDC has been able to host skaters of all levels at Skatesgiving is also an example of our values for all skaters to have an environment in which to grow,” said Benny Drillz from the league’s Board of Directors. “Both SCDC and other leagues have had skaters whose first scrimmage was the (our) Rookie Rumble – including this year!
“I often tell people that’s part of the fun at Skatesgiving: you get to watch some of derby’s greatest players, but you also get to see some players’ first steps towards greatness.”
That’s a portion of this Sunday’s greatness. The other equal part involves a chance for both spectators and participants to personally contribute to the event’s charity partner.
For the third straight year, the League selected Bridgeton-based St. Louis Area Foodbank, which has distributed over 46 million meals to Missouri and Illinois families since its 1975 founding.
All guests attending Sunday can bring non-perishable items to the event for a direct drop-off. Items that can be donated include: all canned goods, boxed rice, pasta and cereal products, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, as well as personal care and baby items.
As an incentive for both participants and fans, those that bring canned goods will receive a discount on their entry fee, with each donated item worth $1 off an entry ticket (up to a maximum of $5 off.)
“We’re honored to partner with (them) for a third year and being able to help our community while playing the sport we love is an amazing thing,” said Drillz. “As we continue to work with non-profits and community aid organizations, we want SCDC to represent care, acceptance, and positivity in both the derby and the local community.”
Alongside SCDC, other local roller derby Leagues will have skaters representing, including St. Louis-based Arch Rival Roller Derby and GateKeepers Roller Derby, Illinois-based Confluence Crush Roller Derby and other WFTDA Leagues from the bi-state area.
For friendly competition prior to the first whistle, the Leagues will be competing against each other to see who can bring in the most donations.
“We’ll be running a tally to see which league can donate the most items,” said Trekkie Monster. “The winning league will receive a trophy that I can only describe as ‘very on-brand for SCDC.’”
Fore more information on SCDC, go to their official website.
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Litehouse Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews. Finally, he prefers Diet Ski over coffee.
