Flat Track Derby began way back in the 1920s, gaining momentum in the 1970s but faded away along with tie-dye T-shirts.

Back with a vengeance, the roller derby of today appeals to women who want to participate in a competitive sport with “something that sets you apart from the other soccer moms!” according to one skate rat.

The Workout

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association says the players have to use their own power to build momentum around the flat track, making it a great physical challenge.

An average-sized skater can burn 400 to 1,000 calories an hour in competition, depending on how fast they skate. Each roller jam is an hour of intense, fast-paced movement. It’s typical to jam twice a week with warm-up, practice, and game time totaling 2 hours.

The derby women learn falling, stopping, laps, and fast laps. Not to mention the rounds of sit-ups, push-ups and stretches pounded out to improve athleticism. Derby improves stamina and strength, while beefing up your quads and hamstrings.

In order to maintain balance and control with a pack of other shifty-eyed chicks with their “game” on hip checking, weight-shifting, skating, spilling, and rolling on requires a high level of core activation, balance, and positional sense.

The Jam

Each roller derby game or Jam is a series of bouts between two teams of five players broken into two 30-minute periods. Each team’s Jammer is the only player to score points. The three Blockers try to stop the other team’s jammer. while propelling their own jammer forward. Each team’s Pivot sets the pace for the pack. She also keeps an eye on the jammers, calls her team’s plays, and acts as a blocker.

The Dangers

These skilled and dedicated athletes are at high risk for various musculoskeletal injuries. The common injuries endured are bumps and bruises, broken bones, swollen ankles and jammed fingers. All the women are armed with roller skates, mouth guards, protective padding, and a sporty helmet.

I went to the fights and a roller derby broke out!

Well yes, there can be some rough play in this sport, but all leagues are very different and if it’s not your cup of tea then look for a lighter league in your community.

Learning how to fall is one of the first things skaters learn. The number one thing is being comfortable on roller skates. That includes skating and spilling!

The Alter Ego

It’s the Derby women’s alter egos that play this game with comic-book-style gear and a spicy moniker. Derby allows the skater to turn off the stresses of her daily life and just play sport. Dig it with punny nicknames like Boom Boom Betty or Debbie the Destroyer, the Derby women cartoon up their look with far-out leggings, and trashy miniskirts.

So if you’re still on the fence, Roller Derby is for women of all ages who want to gain confidence, make friends, and learn the art of risk taking. Hell-ya!

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