Thunder Bay Roller Derby League
#LSN_Sports
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO May 8, 2018 (LSN) The Thunder Bay Roller Derby League is hosting an event on May 12th, the second annual Mahem-Mixer.
This is our Pre-pride Event which includes a Junior Roller Derby Bout where our junior league gets to show off their skills in an official Roller Derby bout. This is followed by a Mahem-Mixer Adult Bout, where two teams are randomly selected from our adult league to battle it out on the track.
As well it’s our Mother’s Day Event where we are honouring our local Moms by providing free admission to our bout with the purchase of one adult ticket.
We encourage Thunder Bay citizens to check out Thunder Bay Roller Derby League's May-Hem Mixer, Saturday Night at Delaney Arena.
Doors Open at 6:30.
Tickets at, Hey Sailor, Thunder Games and Gifts, Superior Self storage, Lowerys, Bean Fiend and Fat Guys Auto Parts.
The Thunder Bay Roller Derby League (TBRDL) is a not for profit organization that has been active for about 10 years locally and is also proud to be a full member into the internationally known, Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
In early 2017, the TBRDL moved into a space which will enable our skaters to have safe practices with monthly scrimmages.
Currently, the Thunder Bay Roller Derby League (TBRDL) has a large following of over 2,600 people on Facebook, over 1,400 on Twitter, and almost 200 on Instagram. The league hosts 5 bouts/games annually, with up to 400 people in attendance. The league is also involved in the community; participating in parades, events such as the FatGuys Motorola Extravaganza, and charity fundraisers all over the city, with our current beneficiaries being The Thunder Bay Humane Society and The Thunde Bay Junior Roller Derby League (TBJRDL), which is a league that encourages children and youth, ranging from 5 – 17 years of age to participate in a co-ed multi-levelled sport of Roller Derby from beginner skate to game-ready levels.
The TBRDL has been active for about 10 years locally. They practice Woman’s Flat Track Roller Derby, unlike the Short Track Roller Derby from the sixties, Flat Track Roller Derby is a strategy sport where teams field a point-scoring “jammer” who attempts to break through the “pack” consisting of “blockers” from both teams. The blockers job is to block the opposing jammer and assist their team’s jammer through the pack. The first jammer to break through is the “lead jammer” who scores one point for each opponent he passes on the second time around the track.
Flat Track Roller Derby is a fast-paced, high-energy sport which is as much fun to watch as it is to play! A typical game or “bout” is made up of two thirty-minute periods which consists of subsequent two-minute jams which only the jammer can call off earlier to prevent the opposing jammer from scoring points.
Our All-Star Team—The Babes of Thunder—has the opportunity to compete in the Woman’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA) against the other 355 teams worldwide to advance our ranking on the international level.
How the game is played:
· A roller derby bout is played in two 30 minute periods broken into jams.
· A jam may last up to 2 minutes.
· In each jam the two teams each put 5 players on the track: 1 Jammer, 3 Blockers, and 1 Pivot.
· At the beginning of the jam the Blockers and Pivots line up together and form what is known as the pack.
· The Jammers start from a position behind the pack.
· At the whistle signaling the start of the jam, everyone begins skating.
· The goal of the Blockers is to prevent the opposing team’s Jammer from navigating through the pack while assisting their own Jammer.
· The goal of the Jammer is to break through the pack in order to score points for their team.
· After a Jammer has successfully broken through the pack the first time (on their initial pass), they skate around the track to catch up with the pack and break through again. All passes after the first are scoring passes.
· The first Jammer to pass through the pack cleanly is awarded "Lead Jammer" status, which allows them to call off the jam at any point before 2 minutes are up, for strategic reasons. Lead Jammer status is retained for the entirety of the jam and cannot be transferred or lost, unless the Lead Jammer then accrues a penalty, in which case neither Jammer may then obtain (or re-gain) Lead Jammer status for that jam.
· If neither Jammer is able to pass through cleanly, there is no Lead Jammer and the jam will be played for a full 2 minutes.
· Points are scored for each opposing player the Jammer passes after the initial pass. A Jammer only receives one point per opponent in any given scoring pass no matter how many times they might pass that opponent during the scoring pass. Points accumulate in this fashion for the duration of the jam.
· Players are allowed to check members of the opposing team using their shoulders and hips into the front and side of their target. Pushing, tripping, blocking from behind, and hitting with any part of the arm from the elbow down are all illegal and may result in penalties.
· If a penalty is assessed on a given player, that player will be sent off the track for 30 seconds. Penalties carry over between jams/periods. Players can be removed immediately for major offenses such as fighting or gross misconduct or other actions which have a major effect on the game.
· Any player who serves seven penalties is ejected from the game.
· At the end of the second period, the team with the most points is declared the winner.
· The final jam does not end when the game clock runs out. It must come to its natural conclusion, either when it is called off or when the jam clock runs out.
