Have a better understanding of the game at your next bout. Check out these terms to brush up on your derby talk.

ACCUMULATION OF MINORS – when a player is called for 4 minor penalties, she must serve time in the penalty box - one minute in flat track and one jam in banked track (the same as one major penalty)

ASSIST – a move that is used by a blocker to help her team’s jammer gain position in the pack or to get through the pack; examples include whips, bumps, pushing and pulling

BANKED TRACK – a oval-shaped track that is angled toward its center at approximately 25 – 35 degrees

BOUT – a 60-minute game of roller derby

BLOCKER – a player trying to assist her team’s jammer through the pack while preventing the opposing team’s jammer from getting through the pack

CALLING OFF THE JAM – when a jammer puts her hands on her hips, thereby ending the play; this can only be done by the lead jammer

CUTTING THE TRACK – when a player is knocked out of bounds and advances position when she re-enters the track; a minor penalty is drawn if one player is passed, and a major penalty is drawn if the skater passes multiple players or the foremost member of the pack

DOLL HOUSE – the San Diego Derby Dolls’ training facility

FLAT TRACK – an oval shaped track on a flat surface made of wood, Masonite or cement

GRAND SLAM – when the lead jammer passes all of the opposing blockers and the opposing jammer on a point-scoring pass scoring 5 points; multiple grand slams may occur in one jam

INFIELD – the out-of-play area in the middle of the track

JAM – a period of game play lasting 60 seconds (banked track) or 120 seconds (flat track) during which teams compete to score points

JAMMER– identified by a helmet cover with a star, the player who scores points by passing players on the opposite team; she does not score points until her second pass through the pack

LEAD JAMMER – on the banked track it is simply the jammer that is in the lead once she has cleared the pack once; on the flat track it is the first jammer through the pack without penalties and she maintains lead jammer status until the end of the jam; the lead jammer can call off the jam at any time during the jam

MAJOR PENALTY – an illegal action causing potential harm to another skater or adversely affecting game play; on the flat track, a minute is spent in the penalty box for a major penalty and on the banked track, the player spends the following jam in the penalty box; a skater may be ejected from a bout by acquiring too many penalties; examples include tripping, hitting in illegal zones that cause the opposing skater to lose her position in the pack, and hitting a player that is out of play

MINOR PENALTY – an illegal action that does not potentially cause harm to another skater nor adversely affect game play; a skater may be ejected from a bout by acquiring too many penalties; examples include hitting in illegal zones that do NOT cause the opposing skater to lose her position in the pack and skating out of bounds to avoid a block

NONSCORING PASS – the jammer’s first pass through the pack wherein no points are scored

OUTFIELD – the out-of-play area on the outside of the track

PACK – the group of blockers and pivots from both teams in any given jam; blockers and pivots must stay within 10 feet (banked track) or 20 feet (flat track) of the pack in order to legally make contact with another player

PIVOT – a special type of blocker that controls the speed of the pack and is often in charge of calling plays on the track during jams

POWER JAM – a jam (or portion of a jam on the flat track) in which one team’s jammer is in the penalty box leaving the opposing team’s jammer the only point scorer on the track

RECYCLING or WATERFALLING – when 2 or more blockers rotate within the pack to cover a portion of
the track or continually hit an opposing player

STAR PASS – a special play in which the jammer can pass her helmet cover to the pivot which then allows the pivot to be the jammer and therefore score points for her team