What is Roller Derby?

Roller Derby has its roots in 1930's America, but in it's most recent incarnation, is an all-female, full contact sport played on quad roller skates. A Roller Derby match is known as a 'Bout', and is usually made up of two half hour periods, consisiting of 2 minute 'Jams'. Two teams of five skaters line up on an oval track with eight girls grouped together making up the 'pack' on the pivot line, and two 'Jammers' (or point scorers) lined up on the Jammer line behind them. On the referee's first whistle, the pack move off anti-clockwise around the track and once they have travelled 20 yards, a second whistle starts the Jammers. The Jammers sprint to catch up with the pack and endeavour to skate through or around it. The first Jammer to get through is awarded 'Lead Jammer' status. Skaters in the pack will try to stop the other's team's Jammer by 'blocking' (legal hits or barges) and try to help their own Jammer. Once the Jammers have got through, they lap the pack, and on the second pass, score a point for every member of the opposite team that they manage to get past. They can continue sprinting round, lapping the pack and scoring points for 2 minutes, or until the lead Jammer calls off the Jam. Then, the teams have 30 seconds to line up another five skaters and do it all again! Of course, it's a bit more complicated than that - a full set of the latest rules can be read here: Or click the short film to see Hammer City Rollergirls' awesome short film explaining the basics - thanks for letting us use it ladies! The best bit though, is that you can choose your own Skate name - a kick-ass alter-ego to use on (or off!) the track. Each Skate name is unique and registered on the master derby roster with every skater from around the world.

Click here for Rules! V 4.0