理由 — The Story
Why We Meet
We've always said it in six words: we meet new friends, and we beat new friends. Three tournaments later, The Meet to Beat has grown into something bigger than any of us planned — and this is the story of why we're giving it one final, all-out run.
How it began
The Meet to Beat started as a small rebellion against the usual tournament grind — less about the trophy, more about the people you'd never otherwise get to skate with.
We wanted more community in the derby community, and to give people a place to remind themselves why they love this game.
The Meet to Beat And 2 Meats 2 Beat
Year one was all about making new friends and learning from strangers.
Year two, we tied people up with their best friends and celebrated the relationships this game has built for us.
We tried an auction draft — NOT because it can be reflective of how we value each other, but because it gives players a chance to over-perform low expectations, or challenges them to meet the responsibility of being a big-budget player! And it can also show us just how much we sleep on our friends sometimes.
Why this is the last one
Admittedly, I broke down during the planning of The Meet to Beat. A friend had to sit me down and pull me away from working on it for my own health. (And I'll be eternally grateful to them for it.) But after that first tournament, I saw too many smiles, and heard too many requests for a second, that I had to do it again.
A tournament this personal takes everything you've got to run. After three years, we're choosing to go out at the very top — on our own terms, with the people who made it matter.
And when everyone asked for one more, we couldn't say no. So we're making the final one the boldest we've ever attempted.
The twist that changes everything
Year three, we're taking a twist on the whole thing — mixing teams up on the fly, and hoping you get to meet everyone and make something beautiful.
Meet to Beat 3 introduces the Switch: win a game, and the winning captain trades two players from each team. It's roller derby's first mixed-ruleset draft tournament — which means the friend across the track today might be your teammate tomorrow.
That's the whole heart of it. By the time The Meat Ball wraps on Saturday night, you won't just have opponents. You'll have a family.