OUR STATE.. OUR DERBY!!

Just like with any sport, we have our own language which you may see in my articles as well as other articles on roller derby.  To help you out, here’s a list of terminology that is used in derby as well as those that are specific to Arizona derby.

Afterparty - A celebration after the bout where the winners can claim their bragging rights and the losers can drown their sorrows.  Those who did not skate, they just drown.  It is possible for a team to lose the bout but win the afterparty.

AZDD - acronym for the league Arizona Derby Dames

AZRD - acronym for the league Arizona Roller Derby

Backstretch - The straightaway portion of the track that is opposite of the area where the skaters start.

Banked Track - A specially designed track built with embankments in each of the turns which helps increase the speed.  There is currently no banked track roller derby in Arizona.

Bout - A bout is the entire single competition between two teams. A bout can consist of 2 or 3 periods and preset amount of time per period.  In OSDA, a bout is called a “game”.

Brat - (1) A skater who is under the age of 18 who skates roller derby in a junior league.  (2) A fan under a specific age who is eligible for free or discounted admission.

Brawlie (or Brawla) - Refers to the AZRD home team, the Brawlarinas.

Break (the pack) - When a jammer passes all of the pack skaters the first time, they broke the pack.  This means they now have to skate back around to the back of the pack.  Then, for every skater they pass, they will score a point.  In Renegade rules, each time the jammer passes all of the opposing team’s skaters after the first pass would score 3 points.

BW - Acronym used to identify Bladeworld, the primary roller derby venue in Tucson.

Call Off (the jam) - A jammer who has been designated as the lead jammer can “call off” the jam by putting her/his hands on their hips.  Calling off a jam is a strategic move to prevent an opposing team from scoring.

Casey’s - Casey At The Bat in Phoenix.  AZRD’s former bouting venue.  Now only used for practices and scrimmages.

Castle (The Castle) - The venue Castle Sports Club in Phoenix.

Chandler - Skateland in Chandler.

Church, The - The Family Life Center at North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix.  A small intimate rink used by some derby skaters.

Crash Zone - This is a buffer zone outside the outer perimeter of the track.  This area is kept clear to assure the safety of fans from skaters falling out of bounds as well as an area that may be used by outside referees.

Derby Brats - A league that is solely of junior skaters under 18 years old.  A Brat league exists in Tucson.

DLT - Acronym for Michi-chan Derby Love Tour.

Dues - An amount, usually monthly, paid by the skaters to the league for the privilege to skate for the league.  Dues help offset the costs of practice venues as well as other expenses.

Dues Nazi - Those brave people in leagues who are responsible for collecting the dues from their fellow skaters.

Extended Take Down - Term coined by Michi-chan to indicate an altercation where one skater wrestles another skater to the ground and attempts to hold them down.  This may include other aggressive activity such as hitting.  Extended take downs (or fights) are not tolerated in derby played under the rules of WFTDA or OSDA.

FKA - An acronym for French Kiss Army, a team that was originally on AZRD and then split to Renegade Rollergirls.

Flat Track - Roller derby played on an even track surface with no modifications to change the angle of the turns.  At this time, all roller derby in Arizona is played flat track.

Fresh Meat - Term used by Arizona Derby Dames to identify skaters who are new and are in training and have not been drafted to a team.  This is also a term used for the same reason by roller derby in general.  AZRD calls their new skaters “Smash Squad”.  TRD calls theirs “newbies”.

Frontstretch - The straightaway portion of the track where the skaters start from.  This is the area closest to the team benches.

FTW - acronym for Furious Truckstop Waitresses, a team on Tucson Roller Derby.

Game - What a “bout” is referred to in OSDA.  (See “Bout”).

HCRG - Acronym for Hell City Roller Girls.

IC - acronym for Iron Curtain, a team on Tucson Roller Derby.

Infield - The area in the middle of the track oval.  This area is considered to be out of bounds.  Referees use this section to keep score for the jammers and watch for penalties.  Many leagues also put their scorekeepers, penalty trackers and other statisticians in this area.

Jam - an individual race during a period where the skaters in the pack as well as the jammers are started.  A period can have an unlimited period of jams.  The jam will last for a certain amount of time (varies by league) and can be called off early by the skater designated as lead jammer.

Jam Timer - A person holding a stop watch who is responsible for timing the length of an individual jam.  If the designated time of the jam expires and the jam has not called off, they will blow a whistle 4 times to indicate the end of a jam.

Jammer - skater who is responsible for scoring points during a jam.  The jammer will be identified with a helmet cover with a star on it.

Jammer Line - A place on the front stretch of the track where the two jammers line up at the beginning of the jam.  The jammer may not cross the jammer line until the second whistle is blown at the start of a jam.

Jammerless Jam - A situation where both jammers have received penalties that sent them to the penalty box and therefore there is are no jammers for either team on the track.  In this case, the jam is stopped and other skaters will become the jammers for the next jam.  (The jammerless jam as we know it will be going away in WFTDA rules version 4.0)

JRDA - Junior Roller Derby Association (formerly the  Junior Flat Track Derby Association/JFTDA)  Organization formed to foster support in junior (under 18) roller derby.  JRDA has their own rule set. 

Lead Jammer - A strategic designation placed on a jammer.  In WFTDA and AZDD rules, the lead jammer is the first skater to “break” through the pack entirely in bounds and did not commit any penalties along the way.  In OSDA and Renegade rules, the lead jammer is always the jammer who is physically ahead of the other jammer.  Being lead jammer means that the jammer can stop a jam in progress if it is strategic to do so.

Madison - The 5th & Madison Event Center, 441 W. Madison in Phoenix.  Bouting venue for the Renegade Rollergirls.

MCRD - Acronym for Michi-chan’s REAL Derby.

Mesa - Skateland in Mesa.

Minimum Skills - A specific skill requirement established by WFTDA and OSDA.  These are the minimum skating, game play and rule knowledge skills a skater must posess before they can play competetively.

Newbie - see “fresh meat”.

OSDA - Old School Derby Association.  An upstart national association based back east that is attempting to bring back a style of roller derby similar to that of derby’s roots.  In Arizona, Valley Fever Roller Demons is an OSDA member.

Pack - A group of skaters, 4 from each team.  This includes 3 blockers and 1 pivot.  The pack skates together (most leagues require they stay within 20 feet of each other) and their goal is to assure that their team’s jammer is helped through the pack while preventing the opposing team’s jammer from getting through.

Panty - Slang for the helmet covers used by jammers (jammer panty) and pivots (pivot panty).

Passing the Star - A strategic move done in WFTDA and AZDD where the jammer can take off their helmet cover (with the star on it) and pass it to their pivot (the skater with the striped helmet cover).  This will give the pivot the jammer position and the pivot will be able to score points.  The jammer would become a blocker and can’t score points.   The star can not be passed back to the original jammer.   OSDA has different rules for passing the jammer status from the jammer to the pivot.

Penalty box - When a skater has to leave the track for a major penalty, they will spend their prescribed time in the penalty box.  Depending on the league, the penalty box will either be a real box or just a group of chairs.  In WFTDA, there are also penalty timers for each league who keep track of the time served on a penalty and will release the skaters when their penalty time expires.

Pink Cheek Alley - A fun event that takes place during a roller derby bout, usually at halftime where the skater with the most penalties is wheeled around the track by a referee or an opposing team’s skater.  Fans and other skaters would line up around the infield and give the skater a tap in the butt (hence to make their cheeks pink).

Pivot - A skater who is a member of the pack who is responsible for setting the pace for the speed of the pack.  The Pivot is can also be declared the jammer by having the star being passed to them by the jammer (WFTDA and AZDD rules, see also “passing the star”) or in the case of OSDA, if the pivot passes more than 20 feet ahead of a jammer stuck in the pack.  The pivot is identified by a helmet cover with a stripe on it.

Pivot Line - A specific line on the frontstretch where the two pivots line up.  The remaining blockers of the pack line up directly behind the pivots and the jammers line up a prescribed distance behind the pivot line at the jammer line.

Queen of the Rink - A game played during practices and sometimes performed in public.  The object is for skaters to knock the other skaters out of bounds.  Once a skater is knocked out of bounds, they are out.  The last remaining skater on the track is declared Queen of the Rink.

Radio Flyer - see “wagon race”.

Raised Track - A rope material placed on the track to define the actual boundaries (both inside and outside) of the track.  They are used by referees to determine if a skater is in or out.  Sometimes, these are ropes of lights which enhance the presentation of the game.   The use of raised track ropes has been banned in OSDA for safety issues.

Reverse Jam - Skating a jam in the clockwise direction.  Done in practices for training purposes.  Also done at times in public during exposition bouts.

Rollercon - The annual roller derby convention usually held the last week of July in Las Vegas.

RRG - acronym for the league Renegade Rollergirls

Sanctioned Bout - Term used within WFTDA to identify a bout that involves two member league’s travel teams.  The outcome of the bout will be used to determine regional rankings of leagues.

Scrimmage - An informal game used for training or for other purposes and does not count towards any statistics.  Many scrimmages are closed to the public.

Sin Bin - see “penalty box”.

Smash Squad/Smasher - See “fresh meat”.

Star Pass - See “passing the star”.

Stats Geek - General term used to identify a person who is involved in gathering or maintaining statistics.

TCT - acronym for Tent City Terrors, a team on Arizona Roller Derby

Tournament - A series of bouts that use a process of elimination to determine a champion of the tournament.   The major tournaments include the 4 WFTDA regional tournaments and the WFTDA national tournament.

TRD - acronym for the league Tucson Roller Derby

Turn 1, 2, 3, 4 - Identification of each turn on the track.  Turn 1 is the left turn just after the pivot line.

USARS - USA Roller Sports.  A national federation of different roller sports (primarily roller hockey and roller speed skating).  This is the organization that represents rolller sports for the United States at the international federation (Olympic) level.   USARS also provides liability insurance to venues, leagues and skaters.

VFRD - acronym for Valley Fever Roller Demons

Wagon Race (also known as “Radio Flyer”) - a side event, mainly done at halftime where two red toy wagons are put on the track.  Each team would place a fan or other person in the wagon and the object is to make two laps around the track.  In some informal bouts, the winner of the race would receive extra points.

Wench, The - Surly Wench Pub in Tucson.  Favorite afterparty and hangout for Tucson Roller Derby.

WFTDA - Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.  The leading national body of roller derby leagues with about 70 members nationwide.

Zebra - another term for a referee.

Zebra Convention - gameplay stopped so the referees can confer with each other.