Hello Derby Fans!
Today marks the beginning of a very special series: ‘So You Wanna Derby’ where I, your favorite derby guide, will be going over various tidbits, histories, guides, and maybe even lesser-known treasures, of our favorite sport. Our inaugural session begins with the basics: who’s who on the track. (Before we begin, mostly everything I’ll be talking about in this series has to do with flat track derby- there’s also banked track roller derby, but we’ll save that for a future post!)
There are three playing positions in derby: blockers, pivots, and jammers. Each lineup for a jam consists of three blockers, one pivot, and one jammer, for a total of five players in a jam. Combined with the other team, there should be ten players on the track for each jam (barring any penalties of course!).
Jammers: This position wears a helmet cover with a star on it. The jammer’s goal is to pass opposing blockers, which scores that team points. There are some nuances to how points are scored, for example, jammers can only begin scoring on the second time through the pack, but in essence the jammer’s job is to get through all the players as fast as possible, over and over again.
Blockers: This position wears no helmet cover. They make up the essence of the pack, and are there to stop the opposing jammer from moving forward, while also helping their own jammer through the pack. They play both offense and defense
Pivots: A special blocker, this position wears a helmet cover with a stripe on it. While normally doing the duties of a blocker, the jammer may pass their helmet cover to the pivot, causing the pivot to become the new jammer. Once again, there are some nuances around how this pass must be made and potential repercussions, but the pivot exists to become a new jammer if needed.
There are all sorts of strategies and moves that players in these different positions can do, and a variety of ways to play derby. In my opinion, that’s what makes the game so fun- it’s reactionary and changes every time!
There’s one more group of people you might see wearing skates around the track: the Skating Officials (SO), or referees. They will always be wearing black and white striped shirts and skate around the outside or inside of the track to enforce rules of safe and fair game play. There are also non-skating officials (NSOs) who are the ones that enforce the penalties the Skating Officials call, time the match and the penalties, keep score of the game, operate the scoreboard, and so much more. As their name implies, that group of referees are not on skates, but their role is just as essential in running a smooth derby game.
While the excitement of a derby game might have you focused on the players on the track, the officials are what enable us to play the game, and we are always grateful for the support of all our officials!! Speaking of games, we have one coming up at the end of April, and tickets can be found here! Could be a good time to put your newfound knowledge to work, and see if you can identify who’s who on the track.
Next week, I’ll be back to talk about our upcoming bout and our incredible sponsorship partner. Stay tuned until then!
Hugs and bruises,
Public Emily No. 01