Roller Derby

When one utters the phrase “roller derby,” she can usually expect a response with reference to banked tracks, short shorts, and clotheslines. A spectacle sport in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, roller derby was once more a kin to professional wrestling – employing fake fights and pseudonyms with girls often being traded like baseball cards to different cities throughout the U.S.

Although the names and outfits have remained, the rest of the game has changed dramatically. Now a new crop of leagues has begun popping up on flat tracks across the country, this time with a unique “punk rock” attitude. The new generation of derby skaters pays homage to the traditions of the past by combining hard-hitting action with explosive entertainment. The women in roller derby are real athletes who have a great time while taking and giving real hits.

Roller Derby Basics

• Roller derby games are called bouts
• A bout is divided into two 30-minute periods of play
• Periods are comprised of smaller sections called jams
• Each jam may last up to two minutes
• For each jam, teams have no more than 5 players each on track
• Positions for each team include 1 pivot, 3 blockers, and 1 jammer
• Jammers score points by passing members of the opposing team
• Blockers comprise “the pack” and attempt to assist their team’s jammer while attempting to slow the opposing team’s jammer.
• The pivot sets the pace of the pack while also guiding the other blockers and acting as the last line of defense.
• The jammers must navigate through the pack one time before beginning to accrue points.
• The first jammer to legally pass through the pack will achieve “lead jammer” status which provides her with the ability to end the jam before the full two minutes has passed.