Derby dos and don'ts — So how does this roller derby thing work anyway? Just about any derby Web site will supply you with the rules and regulations, but the Texas Lonestar Rollergirls (the first group of women to start the roller derby resurrection) have a nice one at txrd.com/rules.htm.
Boiled down, there are five women on each team: blockers, a pivot and a jammer. The jammer is the only one who can score; her goal is to break through the pack of blockers and lap them so she can score points (each opposing player she passes garners one point).
Players are allowed to block with their bodies, but cannot grab other players — or throw elbows, or punch each other, or get in fistfights ... even though that does happen, particularly on the A&E Rollergirls. You can see clips from the show and photo galleries of its foxy, no-bullshit stars at aetv.com/rollergirls.
Wanna see some feathered hair flyin' from roller derby's heyday in the '70s? Check out rollerderbypreservationassociation.com, for tales of derby back in the day (the site is still a little bare and appears relatively new).
And for a fascinating account of the history of both roller derby and the roller skate, check out rollerskatingmuseum.com.
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