Roller Derby Date

In Bellingham we have a very active roller derby league called the Roller Betties.  This league consists of 4 female only roller derby teams.  The teams have bouts about once a month at the Sportsplex indoor arena.  The derby sets up on the soccer field and brings in the floor for each bout. Kim took us to the bout for a our date this week.  The Sportsplex filled up with players and fans, ready for the action.  I had zero idea of what to expect.  The only education I've had on roller derby was from Whip It the movie. I don't think I learned much about the strategy of the game from this movie.
I will try my best to explain the game to you.  The players outfit themselves with flashy, outrageous, somewhat aggressive attire as to scare or intimidate the opponent.  There is one lead "Jammer" that wears a star helmet, and another skater with a striped helmet who leads the strategy of the block.  The lead jammers goal is to break lose from the pack and then lap the group over and over.  All the other skaters act as defensive blocks and also run screens to allow the lead jammer to pass.  The lead jammer is the first jammer to break lose, when the other teams jammer breaks lose they can also score points as they pass players, but they don't have all the benefits of being first. The lead jammer has control of when to stop the Jam. The strategy of the jammer is to know when to stop the jam as to optimized her points and minimize the other teams points.  It kinda reminds me of Football. The majority of the team stays together in a line ready to block and limit movement, while the jammer (mix between quarterback and running back) races around the track avoiding being blocked.
What a fun time to get loud and watch some highly physical contact sport.  One thing I really appreciated was when a player would get hurt.  They would turn off the music and everyone got quiet until the player got up, and then they would cheer them off the floor.  Roller Derby has a great sense of family and comradery.  The teams are competing, but it appears as they all understand that they are in this sport together and at the end of the bout it is all about staying safe and having fun.
Kim took me to grab burritos during the game, and afterwards we headed home to sit on the couch and continue our reading through Romans.  I really enjoyed my first roller derby experience.