What IS Roller Derby Anyway?

Like many sports, Roller Derby has evolved over time …

• 1930’s – Roller derby began as a form of contest entertainment, an energetic alternative to the dull dance marathon
• 1950’s – Professional touring leagues of skating men and women competed before stadium crowds around the U.S.
• 1960’s – Televised bouts of female skaters gained popularity, but transformed the sport into scripted bawdy entertainment, the female equivalent of studio wrestling
• 1970’s – Public interest declined as derby ceased to be “real”
• 2005 – Rollergirls, A&E’s reality TV show, featured a women’s roller derby league in Austin, Texas, daring to be taken seriously

Today roller derby is a fast-growing sport. Two teams comprised of female roller skaters put on helmets and pads, skate around an oval track (flat or banked) and compete for points in a series of jams, constrained only by the time limits of two 30-minute periods.

Currently, roller derby has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in both active participation and public spectatorship. New leagues continue to emerge across the country.

To understand this sport

• with room for women of all shapes, ages and sizes
• where the players don’t fit the traditional concept of athlete
• where “booty-blocking” is a tactical term, and
• which perpetuates an ironic clash of female aggression, sisterhood and campy humor

… it helps to first understand the game.

Okay, let’s talk technical for a minute.

Two teams, five skaters each: 4 blockers and 1 jammer.

Blocker
At the first whistle, the eight blockers start to skate counter-clockwise in a pack. Among these is each team’s special blocker, called a pivot, who sets the pace. The pivot is identified by the stripe on her helmet.

The blockers have two jobs – block the opposing jammer, and clear a path for their own jammer. Blockers can assist their jammer by “whipping” her ahead in the pack.

Jammer
A second whistle launches the two competing jammers, who chase the pack. The first jammer to legally make it through the pack is now the lead jammer. Only she has the right to call off the jam at any time, a strategic move. You can tell the jammer – she’s the one with the star on her helmet (kind of like Dr. Suess’ Sneetches).

Scoring
The jammers are the point-scorers. Scoring begins only after the jammers complete their first lap through the pack, lap around and enter the pack for the second time. One point is scored for each opposing blocker passed by the inbound jammer. Jammers may lap the pack as many times as possible until the jam is over, its conclusion signaled either by the lead jammer or after two minutes. The team with the most points wins.

Rules, Refs and Penalties
Legal blocks use body, torso, shoulders and rear end. Illegal blocks include tripping, grabbing and pushing. A blocker may chase after a breakaway jammer, but it is illegal to block or assist when more than 20 feet from the pack. Penalties are charged for illegal blocking, fighting or exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct.

Skating referees control the game by tracking the time and enforcing the rules.

Added Intensity

• Power play (major offenders must sit out for one minute of play)
• Overtime (tie-breaker decided with a full-length 2-minute jam)
• Role exchange (a jammer may strategically trade roles with her pivot by exchanging helmet covers during the jam)
• Post-jam challenge (a penalty) may result in more points being scored

And these ladies can skate! So what if a blocker weighs 200 pounds! She’s jostling for position within a pack of women on wheels, plowing at high speed around a track.

And so what if the jammer weighs 90 pounds! She’s weaving and bobbing, shooting through sudden holes in this rolling mass so that she can lap around to do it again.

So now we are ready to roll …