BlackLantern
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As some of you all know, I have become involved with roller derby in my home state and it being a very grass roots type of sport I wanted to spread the wealth and here we go
What is Roller Derby?
Roller Derby is a sport that has been around for about a century with roots primarily in Texas and Louisiana. It was once a very theatrical (and scripted) event but has evolved into a legitimate sport with some of the old spirit
How is Roller Derby played?
There are two types of roller derby...banked track (which most of you have seen in old school reruns or the movie Whip It) and Flat Track (which is the type prominently played today) primarly due to cost and it's just easier to lay down a track on a flat surface
a typical roller derby bout is played over two 30 minute halves and broken up into 2 minute races called "Jams"
a jam starts with 10 skaters on the track...8 of these skaters form what is known as "the pack", these skaters are playing both offense and defense
behind that group are two skaters known as "jammers"...these are the skaters that score the points. Once the pack starts to skate, the jammers start after a second whistle...they must pass through the pack legally (no penalties or cutting the track), once they have done so they can begin to score points
Points are scored by passing a skater on an opposing team (even skaters in the penalty box)
How big is roller derby?
there are many different organizations but I would direct you to this website: http://wftda.com/leagues
Roller Derby is probably the only sport in the United States where the womens component is vastly larger than the mens component, but there are mens derby teams and I would direct you here : http://www.mensderbycoalition.com/
odds are there is a league or team near you, go out, support them....any WFTDA leagues are skater run and skater owned...any money you donate goes right to the teams...not some fat owner sitting in a skybox
What is Roller Derby?
Roller Derby is a sport that has been around for about a century with roots primarily in Texas and Louisiana. It was once a very theatrical (and scripted) event but has evolved into a legitimate sport with some of the old spirit
How is Roller Derby played?
There are two types of roller derby...banked track (which most of you have seen in old school reruns or the movie Whip It) and Flat Track (which is the type prominently played today) primarly due to cost and it's just easier to lay down a track on a flat surface
a typical roller derby bout is played over two 30 minute halves and broken up into 2 minute races called "Jams"
a jam starts with 10 skaters on the track...8 of these skaters form what is known as "the pack", these skaters are playing both offense and defense
behind that group are two skaters known as "jammers"...these are the skaters that score the points. Once the pack starts to skate, the jammers start after a second whistle...they must pass through the pack legally (no penalties or cutting the track), once they have done so they can begin to score points
Points are scored by passing a skater on an opposing team (even skaters in the penalty box)
How big is roller derby?
there are many different organizations but I would direct you to this website: http://wftda.com/leagues
Roller Derby is probably the only sport in the United States where the womens component is vastly larger than the mens component, but there are mens derby teams and I would direct you here : http://www.mensderbycoalition.com/
odds are there is a league or team near you, go out, support them....any WFTDA leagues are skater run and skater owned...any money you donate goes right to the teams...not some fat owner sitting in a skybox
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