Roller derby

(Baltimore, Maryland).]]

Contemporary roller derby is an American-invented contact sport with roots in sports entertainment. The game is based on formation roller skating around an oval track by two teams. Points are scored when the designated scoring player (the "jammer") of a given team laps members of the opposing team; hence offense and defense typically occur simultaneously.

Roller "derbies" were originally straightforward amateur or professional (paid) endurance races on roller skates, which were popular from the 1880s into the 1920s. A popular, multi-day touring exhibition of such races began in 1935 during the Great Depression, which simulated cross-country races by professional two-person male-female teams. Soon thereafter, the teams were restructured, a point-scoring system was enacted, the endurance aspect was abandoned, and forms of contact were allowed, creating the basic format of contemporary derby. and predominantly female, maintaining many of the sports-entertainment qualities such as pseudonyms and colorful uniforms, but eschewing "staged" events with pre-determined winners. Contemporary roller derby is an international sport with over 600 women's leagues in more than 20 countries (as well as a growing number of male, co-ed, and junior exposition teams). Furthermore it is not exclusively a young woman's game as people over 40 also participate. Leagues typically operate on an amateur circuit, and are based on a strong do it yourself ethic which features both athleticism and elements from punk and third-wave feminist aesthetics.

Contemporary roller derby is played by rulesets created by organizational bodies which include the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), World Organization of Roller Derby (WORD) and Old School Derby Association (OSDA). The WFTDA ruleset is the most frequently used ruleset in modern roller derby.

Rules

(Baltimore, Maryland) blocker vs. a Rhode Island Riveter (Providence, Rhode Island) jammer]]

Most roller-derby leagues use rules developed by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), summarizable as follows: A newly developed "Western Style" strategy has been developed, in which players skate backwards, forcing the jammer to re-enter further behind the pack.

Contemporary roller derby

.]] , Australia in November 2010.]]

While a small number of for-profit organizations, consisting largely of veterans from earlier revivals, continued to organize one-off matches in California into the early 2000s using paid skaters, an international grassroots DIY revival occurred that was organized by young women unaffiliated with previous incarnations of the sport. The contemporary revival restored a focus on athleticism, albeit with modern-day campy accoutrements. The degree of blend between athletecism and camp varies from league to league.

Contemporary roller derby has become sufficiently entrenched in American pop culture to be featured in televised corporate advertising for insurance, a breakfast cereal , and an over-the-counter analgesic. A very particular roller derby trope —a bleeding jammer— has been used independently on agitprop button advocacy on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Roller derby has spread beyond its American roots, with leagues extant in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. and were formed in an indie, DIY spirit by relatively new roller derby enthusiasts. These leagues deploy traditional quad roller skates, and a punk aesthetic and/or ethic is often prominent. Many, if not most, are legally incorporated as limited liability companies, and a few are non-profit organizations. Most compete on flat tracks, though several leagues skate on banked tracks, with more in the planning stages.

Each league typically features two or more local teams which compete in public matches, called bouts, for a diverse fan base; larger venues hosting audiences ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 are no longer unusual. Members of fledgling leagues often practice and strategize together, regardless of team affiliation, between bouts. Moreover, as the business and infrastructure of the sport has matured, successful local leagues form "travel teams" composed of the league's best players to compete with travel teams from other cities and regions. Such tournaments include Boise's "Spudtown Knockdown," a two-day double elimination tournament featuring teams from the American West and Canada.

Most players in these leagues skate under pseudonyms, also called "derby names," many of which are creative examples of word play with satirical, mock-violent or sexual puns, alliteration, and allusions to pop culture. Examples include Sandra Day O'Clobber (Sandra Day O'Connor), Scariett Tubman (Harriet Tubman), Skid'n Nancy (Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen), and Goldie Knoxx (Goldilocks, Fort Knox); examples of mock-violent names include Anna Mosity (animosity) and Phatal Pheromone (fatal pheremone), and examples of sexual puns include Slaybia Majora (Labia majora) and Amanda Jamitinya (a man to jam it in ya). New players are often encouraged to check their name against an international roster to ensure novelty and uniqueness of the alias before officially using it. Referees may also choose to use derby names as well. (By the 2009 season, however, a small number of players on at least three leagues had started skating under their real names.) The phenomenon of roller derby aliases has attracted legal and sociological analysis within the ambit of intellectual property and trademark law as an indigenous activity.

The names of the bouts themselves are typically as sardonic and convoluted — for example, Nightmare on Hull Street (Nightmare on Elm St.), Night of the Rolling Dead (Night of the Living Dead), Are You There Blocker? It's Me, Jammer (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret), Knocktoberfest (Octoberfest), Spanksgiving (Thanksgiving), Seasons Beatings (Seasons Greetings), Grandma Got Run Over By a Rollergirl (Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer), Skate & Destroy Her, Mama Said Knock You Down (Mama Said Knock You Out), Cupid's Quarrel, Shamrock and Roll, Pushin' Daisies, Cinco de May-hem (Cinco de Mayo), and War of the Wheels (War of the Worlds).

The camp can extend to players' uniforms as well. Costumes are often inspired by or comparable with rockabilly or burlesque fashions, and tattoos and tutus are commonly in evidence, as are fishnet stockings. In some roller derby leagues, showy on-track behavior, half-time entertainment and randomly selected "penalty games" emphasize the "entertainment" in sports entertainment. The extent to which such non-athletic stylizations are embraced varies from league to league, and continues to be a source of some contention.

is wheeled out of an international tournament by EMTs.]] As roller derby is a contact sport, the risk of injury is non-trivial. Injuries range from common bruises and sprains to broken bones and concussions and beyond. As is the case with many sporting events and other large public gatherings, many modern roller derby games are required to be played with EMTs on hand Some leagues prominently display their injuries, and safety and injuries are a perennial topic on skating blogs and other forums.

Although the 2000s revival of roller derby was initially all-female, some leagues later introduced all-male teams, and co-ed games. Furthermore, as of February 2010 there were over 40 junior roller derby programs across four countries in various stages of development. Despite being viewed by some as risqué adult-oriented entertainment, the positive empowering aspects of the sport is a draw for some youth.

Mixed-sex, for-profit leagues

A handful of leagues, mostly mixed-sex, have origins in earlier incarnations of the sport and heavily promote themselves as professional due to their history, management, membership, style of play and marketing considerations. As of the mid-2000s, most of these leagues do not compete in regular seasons, but rather schedule infrequent special-event games, drawing from a relatively small pool of skaters to form the roster of two teams put together just for the event, or on one team that plays against a similar club from another league. Team names typically pay homage to memorable Roller Derby and Roller Games teams of the past.

Such leagues include Roller Game (Japan), National Roller Derby League (California), American Roller Derby League (California), American Roller Skating Derby (California), Roller Games International (California), and the not-for-profit but mixed-sex Brisbane City Rollers (Australia).

Associations and governing bodies

Many leagues choose to be members of organizations that are chartered to facilitate competition between those organizations' members. Although they don't "govern" the sport in a broad sense, such organizations may formulate and publish rules of play, sanction specific competitions, organize tournaments, publish rankings, certify referees, and provide other services for their members in good standing.

WFTDA

In 2004, a number of all-female leagues formed what is now the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), which coordinates and sets the rules that govern sanctioned inter-league competition among its members. The WFTDA member leagues create "travel" teams who play against each other in regional matches, although some leagues that are not WFTDA members have independently arranged their own travel teams and inter-league bouts. WFTDA also publishes rankings and organizes annual championship tournaments for its members in good standing. As of January 2011, WFTDA had 104 member leagues and 58 apprentice leagues. While not directly affiliated, many independent leagues around the world have adopted the WFTDA rules and standards either completely or as a foundation for their own rules.

Men's Roller Derby Association

In November 2007, three northeastern men's roller derby teams formed the Men's Derby Coalition, now named the Men's Roller Derby Association but frequently referred to jocularly as "merby" (Men's Derby) or "brollerderby" (Bro derby). The skaters in the MDC are all men, and skate by WFTDA's rules. As of March 2011, there were 11 members of MDC and 19 unaffiliated men's leagues that play under the same rules.

OSDA and OSDA Professional

In May 2007, a handful of leagues formed the Old School Derby Association (OSDA), which promotes, for inter-league play among its members, a set of rules inspired by earlier, banked-track incarnations of the sport. OSDA combines aspects of both old and modern rule sets to create a fast-moving, ultra-defensive game. The organization membership is open to all; men, women, co-ed, flat track and banked track. As of January 2011, there were five member leagues, one of which is banked track.

In August 2010, the OSDA Professional League announced its first professional team. This co-ed team follows OSDA rules on a banked track.

Other organizations

In 2004, members of Arizona Roller Derby split off to form the Renegade Rollergirls. Their form of roller derby has no referees or penalties, and has a unique scoring system. As of August 2009, there are seven Renegade Rollergirls leagues.

In 2009, the major contemporary banked track leagues formed the World Organization of Roller Derby (WORD) to being formalizing modern banked track rules for interleague play. Much of the WORD ruleset is designed to be compatible with WFTDA rules to more easily allow skaters and refs to participate in both types of competition.

For purposes of "amateur" competition, all roller skating sports are within the scope of the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) its member continental confederations, and those confederations' national members. One such national organization is the governing body for roller sports in the United States, USA Roller Sports (USARS). Although USARS members include the WFTDA and many individual roller derby skaters, as of 2009, USARS does not recognize the authority of any roller derby-specific organization and does not actively govern roller derby competition or any other league activity. USARS also does not yet acknowledge roller derby by name in its bylaws; it only acknowledges "artistic, speed, and hockey", although its membership application for individuals has additional categories "noncompetitive", "recreation" and "aggressive"—roller derby was listed under the latter in 2005, and is its own category in 2006.

History

The term roller derby dates at least as far back as 1922, when Joe Keris from the Chicago Tribune used it to describe multi-day, flat-track roller skating races, similar to banked-track marathons reported on by The New York Times in 1885 (a six-day race) and 1914 (a 24-hour championship), among others.

Promoter Leo Seltzer and sportswriter Damon Runyon are credited with modifying these endurance competitions in the 1930s by emphasizing the physical contact and teamwork—and thus the more spectacular aspects of the sport. Seltzer trademarked the name Roller Derby, reserving it for use by his traveling troupe of professional skaters. Roller Derby took root as an icon of popular culture as matches were held in numerous cities throughout the U.S. and sometimes broadcast on radio and, eventually, on television.

Rival organizations such as Roller Games (featuring the Los Angeles Thunderbirds) came and went as the sport/spectacle endured several boom-and-bust cycles throughout the second half of the 20th century. The initial business model of roller derby finally collapsed in the mid-1970s, but the sport underwent several professional, on-and-off TV revivals which were spearheaded by veteran skaters, including a continuation of Roller Games under new management, a 10-year International Roller Skating League (IRSL), and the short-lived, TV-only spectacles RollerGames and RollerJam.

Trademarks

As of 2009, several trademarks for "Roller Derby" are registered with the USPTO.

Two are registered by Roller Derby Skate Corporation, a manufacturer of wheeled skates, based in Litchfield, Illinois: A brand name and logo for roller skates, wheels, and repair parts, first used in commerce in 1935. A brand name and logo for t-shirts, jackets, and trousers, first used in commerce in 1987.

In July 2008, an attorney for Gotham Girls Roller Derby filed a petition to cancel Roller Derby Skate Corp.'s registration of the mark "Roller Derby" for entertainment exhibitions. The petition to cancel alleged that "roller derby" is merely descriptive of the services it intends to identify and therefore is not eligible for trademark protection. In addition, the petition alleges that "roller derby" is a generic term referring to the sport of competitive skating, that the registrant engaged in fraud when it filed its trademark renewal, and that Roller Derby Skate Corp abandoned the trademark because it had not used the trademark in connection with skating exhibitions for over a decade. "Gotham Girls Roller Derby", first used in commerce in 2005. "Texas Rollergirls Rock n Roller Derby", an entertainment exhibition involving a contest between teams of roller skaters, first used in commerce in 2003.

"Do You Derby?", was trademarked in 2006 by OC Roller Girls of Orange County, CA

From 1950 to 1980, "Roller Derby" was a trademark registered in Canada by Leo & Jerry Seltzer's companies for printed matter, skates, merchandise, and ratings systems relating to roller skating races. However, that registration was expunged in 1980 and has not been active since then.

The common noun "roller derby" is generically used to refer to the sport in all its forms.

Nonfiction literature

Michelson, Herb. A Very Simple Game: the Story of Roller Derby. 1971.

Deford, Frank. Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby. Little, Brown and Company, 1971. ISBN 0-316-17920-5.

Coppage, Keith. Roller Derby to Rollerjam: The Authorized Story of an Unauthorized Sport. Santa Rosa, California: Squarebooks, 1999. ISBN 0-916290-80-8.

Fitzpatrick, Jim. Roller Derby Classics... and more!. Foreword by Ann Calvello. Trafford Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-4120-6678-6.

Joulwan, Melissa. Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track. Touchstone (Simon & Schuster), February 2007. ISBN 978-0-7432-9715-8.

Mabe, Catherine. Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels. Speck Press, 2007. ISBN 1-933108-11-8.

Barbee, Jennifer and Cohen, Alex. Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby. Soft Skull Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59376-274-2.

Documentary film and television

In 1949, Roller Derby Girl, a 10-minute short film produced and directed by Justin Herman was released as part of Paramount's Pacemaker series. It was nominated for, but did not win, an Academy Award in 1950.

In 1971, the documentary film Derby (titled Roller Derby in the United Kingdom) was released. Directed by Robert Kaylor and produced by Jerry Seltzer's own company, the film follows skater Mike Snell as he becomes immersed in the world of 1970s professional Roller Derby, and provides competition footage as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of several Roller Derby pros.

In 1986, the 57-minute documentary Roller Derby Mania was released direct to video (NTSC VHS) in North America. It features the L.A. T-Birds roller games team, and includes archival footage of the game's previous incarnations. A Region 1 DVD edition was released in 2003.

In 1991, the 30-minute documentary Roller Derby Wars was released direct to video (NTSC VHS) in North America. It was released on video in the UK in 1993 (PAL VHS).

In 2001, Demon Of The Derby, a biographical documentary about aging roller derby star Ann Calvello, was released.

In 2004, the 32nd episode of the sports documentary series Woodie's World aired on ESPN and contained a segment on a 1971 roller derby revival.

In 2005, the 9th episode of the sports documentary series Timeless aired on ESPN and spotlighted the Los Angeles Derby Dolls.

Jam, a film about the lives of derby skaters and promoters, premiered in 2006. The film won Best Documentary at the South by Southwest film festival.

In 2006, the 12-minute documentary High Heels on Wheels was released. The film features several former professional skaters reminiscing about their roles as female athletes and "out" lesbians in the roller derby community.

In 2006, A&E; aired a 13 episode TV series, "Rollergirls" focusing on the lives and games of Austin, TX banked track league TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls. Due to its national and international audience, this show was a catalyst in the modern revival.

Hell on Wheels, a documentary about the creation of the all-female roller derby league in Austin, Texas, in 2001 that sparked the modern derby revival premiered in March 2007 at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Blood on the Flat Track, a documentary about the formation of Seattle's Rat City Rollergirls, premiered at the 2007 Seattle Int'l Film Festival. It was picked up for US distribution by Strand Releasing and Canadian distribution by Mongrel Media. ratcitymovie.com

In 2008, ESPN SportsCenter aired and published on the Internet Roller Derby Revival, a short feature about the roller derby revival.

In 2008, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation aired Roller Derby Dolls, a short documentary about the recent revival of Roller Derby in Australia.

In 2009, Metro Sports aired Roller Warriors, a 7-part documentary series covering the 2008 Kansas City Roller Warriors season; the series was issued on DVD later that year.

Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers, a documentary about a Portland (Oregon) league, premiered in 2010.

See also

Ann Calvello

Joan Weston

Bill Bogash

History of roller derby

List of roller derby leagues

References

External links

The Girls of Roller Derby - slideshow by Life magazine

Flat Track Stats - Statistical aggregation of WFTDA sanctioned roller derby

International Rollergirls' Master Roster - International derby name and team registry

Category:Punk Category:Sports entertainment Category:Team sports Category:Third-wave feminism Category:Sports originating in the United States Category:Roller sports