IOWA — This weekend kicks off a flurry of action among Iowa’s growing LGBTQ+ identified women’s team sports, with home openers for women’s tackle football teams near Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, and two roller derby teams squaring off in Iowa City.
Altogether, seven women’s football and roller derby matches involving six Iowa communities take place this Saturday and next. The two sports have strong followings among LGBTQ+ communities not only because they both provide sports opportunities for women that they don’t traditionally have — but also because most roller derby teams are inclusive of transgender and nonbinary players.
The Cedar Raptors host the Midwest Mountain Lions from Wisconsin, and the Iowa Phoenix host the Minnesota Minx.
Cedar Raptors, Iowa Phoenix have home season openers in Independence, Indianola
Here’s a look, for starters, at what’s coming up Saturday for Iowa women’s tackle football. Saturday’s games take place at separate times, within two hours of each other:
• The Cedar Raptors kick off the day — and their home season — with a 4 p.m. match in Independence, Ia., against the Midwest Mountain Lions, Wisconsin’s only women’s tackle football team. Tickets are $10 for this event, which takes place at Independence High School, 700 20th Ave., Independence.
• Three hours later and 120 miles away, in Indianola, the Iowa Phoenix women’s tackle football team takes on the Minnesota Minx in the Phoenix’s home opener at Bill Buxton Stadium, 701 N. C St. Tickets for the 7 p.m. match are $12; get yours here.
Both teams are part of the American Women’s Football League, which has 34 teams nationwide for women+ football players in two conferences.
Saturday, Old Capitol City Roller Derby hosts the Capital City Crushers in Iowa City, while the Des Moines Derby Brats host a two-day tournament in Des Moines.
Roller Derby season picks up in four Iowa communities Saturday
Iowa cities with roller derby teams competing Saturday include the Council Bluffs area near Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa City and Waterloo/Cedar Falls. Here’s a rundown of the competition this weekend:
• Iowa City hosts a showdown between its home roller derby team, Old Capitol City Roller Derby, and the Capital City Crushers of Des Moines. The match is 5:30 p.m. at Mercer Park, 2701 Bradford Dr., Iowa City. Tickets are $10 at the door.
• The Cedar Valley Roller Derby team based in Waterloo journeys Saturday from Waterloo to Omaha, connected to Council Bluffs on the Iowa/Nebraska border. They’ll play the Omaha Roller Derby at Schenzel Community Center, 2220 N. 20th St., starting at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.
• Des Moines hosts a tournament for roller derby youth this weekend. Coordinated by the Des Moines Derby Brats, four youth roller derby teams match up in eight bouts over two days. You can catch the Des Moines Derby Brats matches at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m. Sunday. Other youth roller derby teams participating are the Denver Roller Derby Major Turbulence; the Fraser Valley Fury Junior Roller Derby from Chilliwack, British Columbia; and the Sioux Falls Junior Roller Derby SoDak Attack. The tournament is at the Mid-American Energy RecPlex, 3500 Grand Ave., West Des Moines.
Ames Roller Derby (left) travels to Kenosha, Wis., April 25, while the Quad City Rollers (center) host the Aurora 88s from Illinois April 25. Also, Cedar Valley Roller Derby heads to Omaha April 18.
Phoenix v. Raptors, Quad City Rollers at home, Cedar Valley on the road April 25
Next weekend, the big matches for these LGBTQ+ identified sports continue. The biggest: a match-up between the Raptors and the Phoenix Sat., April 25, at Indianola Middle School, 403 S. 15th St. in Indianola, near Des Moines. Tickets for this 6 p.m. match-up are $12; get yours here.
• Also, the Quad City Rollers, whose home base includes Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side, host the Aurora 88’s from Illinois at the QCCA Expo Center, 2621 4th Ave, Rock Island. Tickets for this 6 p.m. match are $10; get yours here.
• Lastly, Ames Roller Derby team travels from central Iowa to Kenosha, Wis., where they’ll play the Root River Rollers for their season opener.
(Caleb Sneeden contributed to this report)
