Garden State Roller Derby Ends Its 20th-Anniversary Season Saturday in North Arlington

"Family-friendly" and "full contact" don't usually share a flyer. Saturday night in North Arlington, they do.

Garden State Roller Derby closes out its 2026 season on Saturday, Nov. 14, when its Brick City Bruisers take on Jersey Shore Roller Derby at the Inline Skating Club of America, 170 Schuyler Ave. in North Arlington. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the first whistle is at 6 p.m., the league said.

It's more than a finale. The league says 2026 marks 20 years since it got its start in 2006, and it bills itself as New Jersey's oldest operating women's flat-track roller derby league, competing in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's North American Northeast Division. The Bruisers, the league's B-team, are closing out what organizers called a year of growth, with new transfers and a class of skaters from the league's new training program joining the veterans.

Adult tickets are $20 at the door or $16.30 in advance through the league's Ticketleap page, organizers said. Kids under 12 get in for half price, and children under 4 are free.

After Saturday, the league heads into its winter off-season. Experienced skaters who want to try it can drop in on a series of open scrimmage dates over the winter, organizers said, with details on the league's website. Besides the Bruisers, the league fields the all-star Ironbound Maidens as its other traveling team, plus two home teams, the Northern Nightmares and the Gateway Grim Reapers, that face each other during the season.

Source: Garden State Roller Derby.

File photo: A roller derby bout (not Garden State Roller Derby). Quejaytee / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0