Who wouldn't love a full-contact, punky women's sport?
I had lots of fun at a bout last night, even though the team I was rooting for lost. Northern Kentucky's Black-n-Bluegrass railed on the Lafayette Brawlin' Dolls. The score was ludicrous - something along the lines of 120 to 47. Every moment was an adventure. We sat on the skating rink, in what is termed "suicide seating" because we were often tackled when one of the skaters was thrown out of bounds.
Here's a description of how Roller Derby works:
The bout happens on a track. Everyone is wearing quad-wheel skates. Each bout is broken into two halves, which are 1/2 hour each. Within each half are several 2-minute jams. Each jam has two teams with 5 players: jammer, pivot, and blockers. After a jammer's first lap, points are earned each time the jammer passes a player on the opposing team. Here's a bit about each player:
1 pivot who wears a striped helmet:
The pivot sets the pace for the pack, but that's not all. They also...
Keep track of the other team
Call plays
Keep an eye on the jammers
Act as blockers
3 blockers wearing plain helmets:
The blockers are the ones who try to knock out the other team's jammer
Blockers are strong, hefty women who are mean as spit and ready to attack anyone who gets in the way.
Also help out jammers by giving them a push or pull to get ahead of the pack.
1 jammer with a starred helmet:
Jammers start a moment later than the pack
Work their way through the pack
Earn points for their team
Thin, lithe, but able to take a beating
Often the strongest speed-skater
So- yeah. Cheap pizza, cheap beer, loud music, riotous laughter, athletic punky women - Now that's a sport I enjoy!
Has anyone else been to a Roller Derby?
Or maybe there are some Derby Girls among us!