Roller derby
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Roller derby is an American professional team sports entertainment based on formation roller skating around a track. It is a contact sport played by both men and women.
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The Game
A game play summary: two teams of five skaters face off on the track. Each team consists of either four blockers and a jammer or three blockers and two jammers, each position possibly identified by a helmet design and all skating counter-clockwise. Jammers score points by passing members of the opposing team. Blockers try to stop the opposing jammer from passing them, while also pushing around the opposing team's blockers to help their own jammer score.
Some of the athletes who compete in roller derby adopt stage names and gimmicks. Elbowing and body blocking is allowed, but participants are not allowed to trip or punch other players. Violence can appear to leave the track and may include striking opponents with available objects; however, a certain degree of showmanship ensures that most fights are staged. Most professional roller derby type games use a banked track, while new leagues generally use use a standard flat skating rink.
History
In 1935, during the worst times of the Depression-era, a sports promoter named Leo Seltzer invented a spectacle he called Roller Derby. Originally intended to compete with then-popular dance marathons, the derby was a simulation of a cross-country roller skating race in which participants circled a track thousands of times to simulate the distance between Los Angeles, California and New York, New York. Occasionally, massive collisions and crashes occurred as skaters tried to lap those who were ahead of them. Seltzer realized this was the most exciting part and tweaked his game to maximize the carnage.
First Wave
Roller derby achieved its first wave of televised popularity in the 1950s. In 1958 it split into two organizations, Roller Derby and Roller Games, each of which maintained regional strength through the early 1970s. The most fabled team in roller derby throughout these years was the Bay City Bombers.
In 1973, Roller Games bought out Roller Derby, but high overhead costs and other factors led to its demise two years later. Several attempts were made in the late 1970s and 1980s to revive roller derby, including an effort with ESPN, without much effect.
RollerGames Revival
In 1989, television producer David Sams teamed with Roller Derby owner Bill Griffiths Sr. to create a modern version of the sport called [[RollerGames]]. Instead of a banked oval track, a figure eight track was used where one side heavily banked, and included obstacles such as the "Wall of Death" (which was located on the heavily banked side) and the "Jet Jump". As a tiebreaker, two skaters would skate around a pit full of alligators. The first skater to skate around the pit five times or to throw his opponent into the alligator pit was declared the winner. The show also included "halftime entertainment" by musical performers and commentary by Wally George. Main commentators for the show were former college basketball announcer Chuck Underwood and producer David Sams. Former Phoenix, Arizona news reporter Shelley Jamison served as sideline reporter. RollerGames premiered in 95% of the country, and, though generally panned by critics, was well-received among teenagers.
The world famous Los Angeles T-Birds were one of the teams used for the show (the other teams were The Rockers, Hot Flash, The Violators, Bad Attitude, and The Maniacs). Many of the athletes that skated for Griffiths in the past were used for RollerGames. The show only lasted half a season before getting cancelled due to lack of interest, poor production values, and the main production company going bankrupt. To this day, Griffiths regrets the decision of doing RollerGames.
RollerJam Revival
Between 1998 and 2000, Knoxville, Tennessee television impresarios Ross K. Bagwell Sr. and Stephen Land staged another revival of Roller Derby known as RollerJam. Bagwell and Land recruited numerous stars from the Roller Derby of yesteryear, as well as newer stars from various athletic backgrounds, to skate in the six-team World Skating League (WSL). Jerry Seltzer, the nephew of the game's creator Leo Seltzer, was named RollerJame "commissioner:. Games were televised out of "RollerJam Arena," situated on the grounds of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Despite strong funding and a television deal with The Nashville Network (TNN, now known as Spike TV), this venture failed as well, possibly due to a lack of consistency with respect to how to present the product.
Today's Roller Derby
After two decades of losing popularity, the sport is experiencing a 21st century revival, particularly among women, with amateur all-volunteer leagues popping up in in urban centers across the country. Locally-focused leagues with punk rock promote-it-yourself/DIY sensibilities are presently gaining in number and strength, with 30 successful flat-track and banked-track leagues around the country. The U.S. Rollergirls Association was formed in 2005 to facilitate inter-league play.
Films
Two movies named Rollerball have been produced, loosely based on the roller derby concept. The first film was released in 1975, while the second film came out in 2002. Both are set in dystopian futures, although the second was much more action-based than the first one, which spent more time discussing social and political issues.
See also
External link
- US Rollergirls Association (http://www.usrollergirls.com/)