Gotham mourns the loss of Sarah "Sexy Slaydie" McKemie

The Gotham Roller Derby family is saddened to announce the passing of Sarah McKemie, known to her friends and fans as Sexy Slaydie, on Wednesday, March 27.

Slaydie was one of the greatest blockers to ever grace the track, an intimidating force at game time, but also an accessible and popular ambassador for the sport through her time with the Gotham All-Stars and the Brooklyn Bombshells, as well as the Nashville Rollergirls and Team USA. The derby world can agree that there was no one kinder than number 68C, who took her jersey number in tribute to the iconic Elvis Presley comeback special of 1968.

Slaydie solidified her place as among the best to ever do it by winning titles at WFTDA championships and at home with Gotham, and earning gold skating in the World Cup. Off the track, she loved her work in music law, but nothing compared to the love she shared with her husband Daniel and their son Henry.

She was 38, and had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer two years ago. Gotham sends its sincerest condolences to Slaydie’s friends and family after the loss of our beloved number 68C. Slaydie left a lasting legacy here in New York, and a hole in our community that can never be filled.

The family has requested donations in Slaydie’s honor to the following charities:

The Colorectal Cancer Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering

Her son Henry McKemie’s college fund (CODE: 80L-M86)

Photo by Manish Gosalia

Brooklyn Bombshells vs Queens of Pain - Saturday, June 3 at Lakeside

Get ready New Yorkers –
Gotham Roller Derby's Season Opener is Saturday, June 3!

Brooklyn Bombshells and Queens of Pain will face off in our 2023 season opener. Who will win? Be there to find out - purchase tickets now!

Doors at 5:30 pm
Game at 6 pm
LeFrak Center at Lakeside
in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Help Gotham Roll into a New Home

As you all know, the repercussions of the pandemic have been vast. Gotham Roller Derby, NYC's only flat track roller derby league and founding member of the WFTDA, has faced innumerable setbacks in an attempt to rebuild. Because of your generous support over the past few years, we've been able to host a few mash-up games, deliver some paid programming for both adults and juniors, and even engage in some interleague play. 

If you live in NYC, you know how difficult it is to find affordable real estate (or, frankly, any real estate). Add in our very specific spacing needs and you can imagine that our space search has been very difficult. Despite all this and many other setbacks along the way, we have found a new home for Gotham — but we need help now more than ever.

In order to secure this space and pay for the necessary construction costs it needs to be functional, we need to raise $600,000 in a very short amount of time. This space will benefit more than just the denizens of Gotham — other NYC skate groups will be able to rent out the space to use as well, bringing more access to roller skating in the Brooklyn and Queens area. 

Our goal is intimidating, but so are we. Will you join us in continuing NYC's history of roller derby and roller skating excellance?

To donate, please visit www.mightycause.com/organization/gotham. Want to connect and share any ideas? Please reach out to fundraising@ggrd.nyc — we look forward to hearing from you! 

photo by David Dyte

Gotham's Board of Directors is seeking new members!

If you are interested or know a good candidate, please reach out. Candidates are not required to be active or former league members. Please read the outline below and reach out to the board (bod@ggrd.nyc) if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Board of Directors
As a non-profit organization, Gotham is led by a Board of Directors. This Board serves as the organization’s governing body, and works together with Gotham’s annually elected Advisory Board (AB) which administers all day-to-day and operational issues.

In compliance with state and federal law, Directors act as the fiduciaries responsible for the financial, legal, and public interest activities of the organization. Specific Director responsibilities include:

• Advancing the league’s mission

• Approving the annual operating budget and reviewing all major financial plans (including, but not limited to, lease signing, borrowing, investing, and negotiating major contracts)

• Coordinating annual tax filings and financial audits

• Assuming responsibility on behalf of the organization for legal issues and lawsuits

• Overseeing paid employee annual compensation and performance

• Recruitment and planning for succession – specifically in collaboration with the league’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

The Board currently has 6 members and maintains active officer positions. Directors are nominated and approved by a selection committee consisting of the full board and a minimum of two active league members.

Commitment

• Time: Directors serve a term of two years, up to a maximum of 6 consecutive years. Typically, the Board holds monthly meetings but makes special arrangements to meet more frequently or to meet with AB members as needed. In addition, Directors are expected to attend at least 1 annual league meeting and at least 2 Gotham games annually.

• Total personal time commitment is estimated between 5-10 hours monthly.

• Finances: Gotham currently has no give/get policy in place.

• Directors are expected to participate in league fundraising – through organizing events or campaigns, supporting league initiatives, soliciting gifts and donations, and other means.

Expertise
The current Board comes from a range of backgrounds. Gotham is in a transitional period, navigating a variety of organizational issues, and additional expertise is sought in the following areas:

• Fundraising & event planning

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Finance/investment

• Human Resources

• Strategic Planning

• Architecture/Construction/MEP fields

• Non-profit management

• Marketing/social media

• Video/visual media arts

• Board governance and expansion

• Web development

• Community building with local gov’t and community organizations

• School systems/youth

• Legal experience

• Professional athletic organizations connection or experience

Photo by Christina Morillo

Juniors Expo & Monster Mashup - Sunday 10/9/2022 at Prospect Park

Gotham Roller Derby’s 2022 Season concludes on Sunday, October 9! These are the last games this year that Gotham will host at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

The evening kicks off at 6:00 PM with the Gotham junior skaters playing their very own mash-up game! At 7:30 PM, the All-Boro Monster Mash-Up game will pit the Vampigeons against the Were-Rats, celebrating the spooky fall season and bringing back the teams that went head-to-head in our June mash-up!

The final game will combine jammers, blockers, and pivots from every home team, and highlight some of the league’s newest upcoming skaters – their collective chemistry together could make all the difference on the track. You’ll have to head to Prospect Park on the late afternoon of October 9 to find out which of these spine-chilling teams comes out on top to close out 2022!

Photo by Jena Cumbo