What is Roller Derby?

Series Summary

Roller derby is a contact sport played on roller skates, that was invented in the United States in the 1930's. Originally a professional, paid sport for both men and women, today, roller derby is almost all amateur women's leagues. Roller derby is played on a track in which two teams of five attempt to score points by getting one skater, called the jammer, to pass a pack of players from both teams. There are a variety of intricate rules involving the position of players, timing and penalties, however understanding these roller derby rules makes for a fun and energetic sporting event.

In this free video series, our expert will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about the history of roller derby. You will also get tips and advice on how to form your own roller derby league, including how to hold tryouts and how to promote your roller derby team. If you ever wanted to be a roller girl, our expert will also give instructions how to join a roller derby team, what the rules of roller derby are and how to maintain safety in roller derby. If you are interested in this fun women's sport, let our expert explain all the intricacies of the game.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Jerry Seltzer from the International Roller Derby League for Expert Village. Roller derby came about in a very strange way. My father was a promoter of walkathons and he came up with an idea way back in 1935 of taking the concept of walkathons which was a man-woman team and putting them on rollerskates. They would skate the distance from Chicago to Los Angeles over a twenty day period and the winning team won. Eventually roller derby became a skating game, five men five women on a team and my father was aided by famed sportswriter Damon Runyon in creating the rules. And eventually roller derby was shown on television stations all across the United States, had huge attendance ranging from Madison Square Garden to Los Angeles to The San Francisco Cow Palace and in one game in September in 1972 over fifty thousand people showed at White Sox park in Chicago. Unfortunately the league went out of business in 1973. "