Roller derby is a contact sport. Imagine rugby, on roller skates, where a person is the ball. We take all necessary safety precautions: helmets, pads, and mouthguards are required, we have medical staff on standby trackside, and every official on the track is trained in concussion awareness.

YES!!!! While some rough plays are made and big hits are delivered on the track, the South Texas Skaters are dedicated to maintaining an environment safe for all ages.

Each game (bout) is made up of two 30 minute halves and a halftime break. Between timeouts and intermission, each bout will last around 90 minutes

There are 3 player positions:

Jammer- this is the point collector. You’ll be able to see them because of the star on their helmet.

Blocker- these three players take on offensive and defensive duty simultaneously. Blockers block the other team’s jammer from passing through, while also making space for their team’s jammer to get through the pack and score.

Pivot- the pivot is the wildcard. Their job is to set the pace for the pack of blockers on the track, and also be a lifeline for the jammer. The pivot wears a stripe on their helmet and acts as a blocker unless the star is passed to them to take over for a stuck jammer.

5 players from each team line up on the track, with the packs of blockers in front and the jammers 10 ft behind. The jammer’s job is to push through the opposing team’s pack to score and the blocker’s job is to not let their opponents pass through. Each pass after the initial breakthrough is worth up to 4 points, one for each opponent in the blocker pack. Each play lasts for two minutes or until the lead jammer (the first jammer through on the initial pass) calls it off.

More detailed rules and more can be found here.