The Rules Of Roller Derby

By Author: Frank Moory
Total Articles: 3
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Roller derby has gained a lot of popularity in past few years. There are many people who want to get involved with roller derby but they don't know about the basic rules of the game. This article is a small guide explaining about the basic rules of roller derby

The Scoring

Roller derby is not like football or baseball where the entire team tries to score a goal. It is more like a race where one skater called jammer must pass through group of skaters from the opposite team. If the jammer cannot pass through all her opponents, the team scores no point. It is more of an offense and defense game. Basically, there are three positions in the game - jammer, blocker, and pivot. Pivot refers to people who attempt to knock down the players of opposite team in order to help their teammate pass through them.

Player Arrangements

To begin with, two teams of five players each stand on the starting line. The jammer for each team stands at the back and begin skating only after the rest of her team skates of. The main aim of the jammer is to pass everyone from the opposite team and score point in the process. The jammer ...
... scores a point for every opponent she passes. Meanwhile the other four players try their best to knock the opponents down in order to stop the jammer of opposite team from scoring points and make it easier for their own jammer to score.

The Pivot

From the five players that stand at the starting line, the blocker with striped roller derby helmet is the pivot. A pivot is the most responsible person of the flock and guides the speed of her blockers after analyzing where her own jammer and other team's jammer are. She may also signal the team to skate slower if she notices that her own jammer is trying to catch up to them. Pivot is often the last person that jammer passes by and stands as the last line of defense for her team.

The Jammer

You can clearly differentiate the players of a team from the roller derby gears they wear. A jammer wears a star helmet. Once the game begins, the jammer wait until the rest of the team members get 20 feet ahead of her. The jammer who manages to get first through the pack is titled as lead jammer. Only the lead jammer has the power to call off the jam before the clock ends. The biggest advantage is that the lead jammer can stop the play if she is tired. If the jammer manages to pass everyone from the opposite team including the jammer, she has scored a grand slam and earned one extra point.

The Blockers

The players that try to oppose the jammer from opposite team are the blockers. They do not wear any special roller derby gears like pads or helmets that differentiate them. They bash into blockers of the opposite team to allow their jammer to pass through.

Blockers usually play defensive and have direct physical contact with blockers (or jammers) of opposite team. Therefore, they must wear proper roller derby gears and roller derby pads to protect themselves from any sort of injuries.

Frank Moory is an expert in article writing and has done a lot of research online and offline. Come visit her latest websites on Roller derby gears and roller derby pads