A new annual sports tradition is coming to Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky! The Cincinnati Rollergirls and the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls of Northern Kentucky are pleased to announce that the first-ever “Crosstown Knockdown” game between the two teams will take place on Saturday, June 9 at the Cincinnati Gardens.

In the same vein as the Crosstown Shootout, the annual men’s basketball game between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University, the teams plan to play each other annually at alternating venues.
Both the Cincinnati Rollergirls and the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls have been playing the full-contact sport of roller derby for fans at home and around the country since 2006, but the teams’ top skaters have never played each other publicly. That will change with the first Crosstown Knockdown on June 9, when the Cincinnati Rollergirls A team, the Black Sheep, will battle the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls’ A team, the Blackouts.
“This game will finally give fans of both teams something they’ve been wanting to see for a long time,” said Lauren Bishop, a member of the Cincinnati Rollergirls’ Leadership Team and a retired skater known as “Miss Print.” “Rather than continue competing with each other for fans, the Cincinnati Rollergirls and the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls realized that we could expand the fan bases of both teams and the increase the popularity of roller derby in general by establishing a friendly rivalry and playing an annual game.”
Silverose of the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls said: “BBRG has a lot of firsts happening this year: First year as a part of WFTDA, first big venue at the Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU and now our first face-off against CRG just north of the Ohio River from us. Roller derby is such an awesome and exciting sport, and the greater Cincinnati area is lucky enough to have double the hard-hitting action right in their backyards!”
Both teams are members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the governing body of women’s flat track roller derby. The Cincinnati Rollergirls’ Black Sheep have a 3-3 record this season and are currently ranked 9th in WFTDA’s North Central region. The Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls’ Blackouts, who became WFTDA members in March, have a 2-1 record this season and are not yet ranked.
June 9 game is the last home game of the season for the Cincinnati Rollergirls. The team’s travel season continues through the fall around the region. Black-n-Bluegrass’s home season continues through Sept. 22 at the Bank of Kentucky Center, with a post-season tournament of Kentucky roller derby teams scheduled for Oct. 20.

Crosstown Knockdown Details

What: The 2012 Crosstown Knockdown between the Cincinnati Rollergirls and the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls and CRG’s Fan Appreciation Night
When: Saturday, June 9, 2012
Where: Cincinnati Gardens, 2250 Seymour Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45212
Time: Doors open at 6 p.m. The undercard game between Cincinnati Rollergirls B team, the Violent Lambs, and the Little Steel Derby Girls (Youngstown, OH) begins at 7 p.m. The main event between the Cincinnati Rollergirls’ Black Sheep and the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls’ Blackouts game begins at about 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: Advance tickets are $10 for adults for general admission seating, $12 for trackside seating (18 and older), $5 for kids 7-12 and free for kids 6 and younger. Day-of tickets are $12 for adults for GA seating, $15 for trackside seating, $7 for kids 7-12 and free for kids 6 and younger through the Cincinnati Gardens Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets including select Kroger stores, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Cincinnati Rollergirls contact: pr (at) cincinnatirollergirls.com
Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls contact: press (at) black-n-bluegrass.com, www.nkyrollerderby.com