The Revelstoke Derailers play their first of three home games this weekend, so we asked our freelancer Imogen Whale to write about her own experiences playing the physical sport that is exploding in popularity around the world.
When I walked into my first Roller Derby practice, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d heard the classic rumours about bad behaviour, booty shorts and random acts of violence, but I was excited all the same. Two years have now passed, so I feel qualified to set a few things straight. Derby is not about reckless and naughty attention seeking women. Sure, some women wear booty shorts and saucy names run amok. But don’t be fooled, The Derailers are part of an athletic team sport, and the players are highly skilled, competitive and dedicated to the game.
Roller Derby is an organized sport with a global and Canadian network governed by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The WFTDA set the rules and players pay insurance and membership to participate in authorized games. Teams are ranked both nationally and internationally. There are rules, strategy, team play, world championships and a booming male league.
Most people struggle with the rules when watching. Let me break it down simply. The jammer (star helmet) is the point scoring player on whom the audience often focuses and is one of five players on the track for each team. The other four players are blockers who make up the pack and use either a defensive or offensive strategy to enable their jammer and disable the other team’s jammer, often within a few seconds of one another. Within the pack there is sometimes a pivot (stripe helmet) who leads the pack plays. Both jammers have to make it through both packs once at the whistle before they can score points. The first jammer to go though first gets the “lead” jammer call and with it the ability to end a jam if she so desires. Jammers score points by passing opposing players. The team with the highest score wins.
The game is physical. We wear very little padding and many kinds of hits are legal, though we have physical penalties. Everything from the shoulders to the knees on the sides and front are fair game; back, low or high blocks are not. Track cut penalties usually occur when jammers are knocked out of the track. The jammer needs to skate back in behind the person who hit them or get a penalty.
Sometimes people get hurt, but usually it’s muscle strains, mild concussions or broken fingers. Since joining, my own accident prone tendencies have left me with plenty of bruises (the worst being on my butt from landing on my own skate wheel), a concussion and a partially separated shoulder. Every injury happened in practice.
The Derailers keep getting better. Some of our players skate on All Star/Rep Okanagan teams. As the years go by, we improve our skating skills and game play. We run a fresh meat (new skater) program so intensive the new players join the team as strong and knowledgeable skaters.
Most importantly, we have fun. We travel to away games. The women run the gamut in age, from early twenties to late forties. There are dedicated refs, coach and volunteers. Kids are often running the stands while we practice, and some of my closest friends in town are players. These women are local business owners, paramedics, city employees, rail road workers and everything in between.
So come to a game and check out what Roller Derby is all about. Yes there is pageantry, but there is also big physical play, sportsmanship, and tactics. The season opener is May 2, whistle at 7 p.m., at the forum. It’s $10 for adults and kids under 12 are free. There will be a beer garden.
