A game played on either a flat track or banked track. Members of both teams wear quad skates and circle the track in packs. The pack for each team consists of a pivot and three blockers. There is also a jammer for each team on the track who tries to score points by passing opposing blockers.
The pivots job is to keep control of the pack speed. The blockers job is to keep the opposing jammer from getting through the pack and to assist their own jammer through.
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Roller derby] or derby is played in two minute increments called jams. Jams continue for a twenty minute period. There are three periods in a bout.
Roller derby is a full contact sport, where players are encouraged to knock down their opponents by hitting them (also called blocking). Each league maintains their own rules of blocking.
The
history of
roller derby spans from the 1930's, to the present. In it's current incarnation, it is typically an all-female sport, and the vast majority of
roller derby leagues play on a flat track. Play between flat track leagues is governed by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, or WFTDA who impose rules of the sport and the league for membership. There are currently (as of
October 2006) over 500 flat and banked track leagues around the world, most of which are DIY all-female leagues who govern themselves. Each league can impose it's own standards and rules for inner league play.
Roller derby can also be used as an adjective to describe a tough
girl, or an activity that is aggressive and rough.
Women who play
roller derby are often called derby
girls or rollergirls.
