… that’s the short summary of the trend sport type „Rollerderby“, which has been swept over from the US to Europe. The sport itself is, of course, much more than that.
The professional roller skating has been popular since the 1930s in the USA, and has lived through highs and lows before it completely disappeared from the scene in the 80s. In 1999 it was the „Texas Rollergirls“, which lifted the roller derby from the baptism. The Women’s Flat-Track Derby Association (WFTDA), founded in 2005, promotes the sport of the Roller Derby and is hosting sports competitions. The philosophy of WFTDA is „from the skaters to the skaters.“
For the players, the main body of the game is the tactical instructions and the physical play. For the spectators the pushings are, beside the frightening masks and fight names of the players and leagues, the highlight of the show.
WFTDA Member leagues are ranked nine times per year, with monthly rankings through June, then bi-monthly through the end of the year. Leagues must play at least three sanctioned games against three unique opponents to be included in WFTDA Rankings, and must complete their Division Game Play requirements to qualify for tournament seeding. Leagues that have not yet played three sanctioned games will not appear in the rankings. There are currently 381 Member Leagues. The current leader of the ranking is Gotham Girls Roller Derby
International WFTDA Championships starting on November 04th, 2016
At the beginning of November, the season highlights will take place in Portland, USA: the International Championships. On whatislive are the links to the three-day event, which unfortunately will not be transmitted free of charge.
Here`s the trailer to this spectacular event:
Play and rules of the roller derby
Roller Derby is a young trend sport from the USA, which is exercised almost exclusively by women. Two teams, each with five players, ride on their roller skates on an oval 30 x 18 meter flat track. Another variant of the Rollerderby, called Banked Track Roller Derby, is practiced on the steep lane, but is by no means as popular as the flat variant.
Each team has four blockers, which must prevent the other team’s point-maker (Jammer) from overtaking them. At the same time, the blockers try to pave their way through the opponents. For every overtaken blocker, the Jammer makes a point. A game (bout) takes twice 30 minutes and is divided into two-minute jacks. After each jam, a team may be replaced. There are a maximum of 14 players in the squad.
As with any other sport, the Roller Derby also has a set of rules developed by the relevant WFTDA World Federation. The legal body contact is limited to the hips, shoulders and the front body. Holding, elbowbuck, leg or drive in the back belong to the unauthorized maneuvers. For every rule offense the offender must be on the penalty bench for one minute.
(SDM)
Sources:
https://wftda.com/