Arch Rival Roller Derby has established a culture dedicated to hard work and the desire to be great and with the addition of a former Bay Area Skater Bricktator in 2015 the team has continued to thrive and build on that culture. The Arch Rival All-Stars have been in the top 10 in the WFTDA rankings the last 4 years and will be making their 4th consecutive WFTDA Champs appearance in 2018.

This year with wins over the perennial power house Texas Rollergirls and a very strong up-and-coming contender in Crime City, Arch Rival is coming into champs ranked as the 4th best team in the world and will be looking to make some noise at the 2018 WFTDA Championships.

In this episode of Roller Derby Diaries we interviewed Bricktator, Bolt Action and Shear-RA Powers at the 2017 Champs in Philadelphia and wanted to get a little glimpse into their back stories and the culture that has made Arch so successful over the years.

Bonus Interview: With Bricktator from Arch Rival

Tell us about your notable wins this season.

Defeated Texas at SweatFest, 253-78 (175 point difference)

Defeated Crime City in the gold medal game at Playoffs in A Coruna, 342-149 (193 point difference)

Arch has been steadily rising in the National WFTDA Ranks over the last few years. What were the teams rankings over the last five seasons?

Sept. 30, 2014: Rank 21

Sept 30, 2015: Rank 10

Sept. 30, 2016: Rank 8

Sept. 30, 2017: Rank 7

Sept. 30, 2018: Rank 4

Have there been any notable additions and retirees to the team the last couple of years and who has been on the steady rotation for the All Stars recently?

Vicious vanGoGO, while previously at jammer at Gotham transferred to Arch Rival last year and is now a blocker for Arch Rival. We had some significant retirees from 2017 including main rotation skaters, Harmony Killerbruise (jammer), Shimmy Hoffa, and Salty (blockers) but most of our Charter stayed intact this year. Skaters who have been on the team but did not see as much playing time in previous years have developed to fill critical roles on the roster this year, including Pegasass and Fletcher.

We gained Lux Furious, previously of Atlanta Rollergirls.

Our main rotation blockers who have been together since 2015 are Cloak 'N Drag-her, Shear-Ra Powers, Smarty McFly, Kayla Woodward, Jamheiser Bush, and Grant.

Rounding out our jammer rotation we have Bricktator, Swanson, Psychokid D Freakout, Reptar, and our newcomer, The Jukes On You.

Tell us a little about Arch Rival and anything you want us know about the League.

We are from St. Louis. Which is in Missouri. Which is actually a way cooler city than you think it is.

We are Arch Rival, not Arch RivalS, which people say too often.

In general, our team consists of skaters who started with Arch Rival and moved up through the levels, skaters who transferred to Arch Rival from smaller leagues in the Midwest, and skaters who have transferred in from other high level teams (Minnesota, Atlanta, Bay Area, Denver, and Gotham).

We have the best coaches in the WFTDA. They are the same as last season: The Saint, a skater on the Gatekeepers, and Code Adam, a level 5 official.