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What is Roller Derby?
During a bout, two teams of five skaters each face off on the track. In our case, it is a flat track. Each team consists of a pivot, three blockers and a jammer. The pivot sets the pace and leads the group of skaters, and the blockers stay behind them, guarding each other in what we call "the pack." The jammers are the scoring skaters and start about 20 feet behind the pack. When the whistle blows, the pack takes off. On a second whistle, the jammers start fighting their way through the pack. When the first jammer makes it through the pack without penalty, she's designated the "lead jammer." The jammers must lap the pack once before sprinting through the pack to score points by passing members of the opposing team. A jam lasts a maximum of two minutes, but the lead jammer has the right to call off the jam by putting her hands on her waist. The rest of the team tries to stop the opposing jammer from passing them and scoring. At the same time, they block the opposing team's blockers to help their jammer score.
Isn't it just fighting on roller skates?
No. Though there's bound to be falls there are rules. Legal blocks involve the blocker using her arm, from shoulder to forearm, to make contact with the front of her opponent's body, from her neck to her waist. Blockers may also use their bodies to block other skaters. Illegal blocks include grabbing, tripping, blocking from behind, elbows in the face, fighting � all the obvious stuff.
Derby History 
In 1935, during the worst times of the Great Depression, a man named Leo Seltzer invented a spectacle called roller derby. Originally, the derby was just a simulation of a cross-country roller skating race, where participants circled a track thousands of times to simulate the distance between LA and New York. Occasionally, massive collisions and crashes occurred as skaters tried to lap those who were ahead of them. Like any good American sports entertainment promoter, Seltzer realized this was the most exciting part and tweaked his game to maximize the carnage. Two teams of five skaters now circled the pack, with each team sending out a "jammer" to skate around and lap members of the opposing team. It became a full-contact physical sport, with elbows, body-checks and fights galore. The fans loved it.
By the late '40s and '50s, roller derby was at its peak. Bouts drew as many as 30,000-40,000 fans, and skaters, now household names, appeared on the covers of national magazines. This continued through the '60s and '70s, until the gas shortage caused the main derby leagues to fold. Though there have been occasional attempts to revive the sport since then, it has mostly remained dormant.
But now a new crop of leagues has begun popping up across the country, this time with a unique punk rock attitude. Places like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, Raleigh, Austin, Las Vegas, Kansas City and the Cayman Islands have all contributed to the trend. The new generation of derby skaters pays homage to the traditions of the past by combining hard-hitting action with explosive entertainment.
Since its decline in the early '70s, roller derby has been waiting to make a comeback.
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