Roller Derby Lingo:
- Bout: The match. Composed of 2 teams fighting to score points.
- Jam: The individual sessions of play. May last up to 2 minutes.
- Jammer: The point scorer. Designated by a star on the helmet.
- Blocker: The defensive players. They form the Pack.
- Pivot: The lead Blocker. At the head of the Pack, they
designate speed and communicate with their teammates. Designated by a
stripe on the helmet.
How the game is played:
- A Roller Derby Bout is played in three 20 minute periods broken into Jams.
- In each jam the two teams put 5 players on the
track: 1 Jammer, 3 Blockers, and 1 Pivot.
- At the beginning of the Jam the blockers and pivots line up together and form what is known as
the pack.
- The Jammers start from a position behind the pack.
- At the
whistle signaling the start of the jam, the pack begins skating.
A few seconds later, the whistle blows again and the Jammers are off.
- The goal of the Pack is to prevent the opposing team's Jammer from
navigating through the pack while assisting their own Jammer.
- The goal of the Jammer is to break through the pack in order to score points for his or her team.
- After a Jammer has successfully broken through the pack the first time, he or
she skates around the track to catch up with the pack and break through
again.
- The
first Jammer to pass through the pack cleanly is awarded "Lead Jammer"
status. This allows the Jammer to call of the jam at any point. Lead
Jammer status is retained for the entirety of the Jam.
- If neither jammer is able to pass through cleanly, there is no Lead Jammer and the Jam will be played for a full 2 minutes.
- Points
are scored for each opposing player the Jammer passes upon the second
pass. Points accumulate in this fashion for the duration of the Jam.
- Players are
allowed to check members of the opposing team using their shoulders and
hips. Pushing, tripping, blocking from behind and hitting with any part
of the arm from the elbow down are all illegal and may result in minor
penalties.
- If four minor penalties are assessed on a given player, that
player will be sent off the track for 1 minute. Players can be removed
immediately for major offenses such as fighting or gross
misconduct.
- At the end of the third period, the team with the
most points is declared the winner. After shaking hands with the
opposition, skaters from the victorious team are required to perform
several victory laps during which they will pump their fists in the air
and/or blow kisses to the cheering crowd.
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