"Roller Derby" in Hawaii? "They're Back" .. If you grew up like me, in the 50's and 60's, you probably remember Honolulu Civic Auditorium and Rainbow Rollerland. In fact, from 1937-1959 during the golden age of roller skating, more than 3,000 roller rinks shot across America including Hawaii.Today, I was invited to attend a Roller Derby event in Hawaii Kai at 5:00pm. The teams participating in "Bout-2", are the Villians "vs" Crazy 808s. I spoke to Sylvia Flores, media relations (photo above), whose skate name is "Tadbit Nasty" and her team is the "Mischievils", and she gave me some inside information about Pacific Roller Derby (PRD).
Pacific Roller Derby is a flat track derby league started in 2008. It is owned and operated by the skaters, for the skaters. All of the members have an opportunity to vote in the decisions of the organizations while developing their athletic abilities. Their members are strong, diverse, and competitive women that promote and practice good sportsmanship.
The game itself is a series of races between two teams of five players. Each team's jammer is the only player to score points. Four blockers try to stop the other team's jammer while propelling their own jammer forward. Each team has one blocker who is the pivot, she controls the speed of the pack and calls her team's play. Jammers wear stars and pivots wear stripes on their helmets.
The jammers try to catch up to the pack, work their way through and come out the other side. No one scores any points during the first lap, but the first jammer to pass the opposing blockers legally becomes the lead jammer. A referee points out the lead jammer and follows her progress around the track. The lead jammer can "call the jam" before the end of the two-minute period by putting her hands on her hip. Jammers score one point for each opposing player she passes. Skaters cannot engage the jammer 20 feet from the pack. Skaters can receive minor or major penalties. Four minor penalty will send the skater to the box. There is no fighting, no punching, no kneeing, no kicking, no hitting to the backs, no cutting the track and no talkin' smack to the refs! "Congratulations" to the "Villains" on todays event. Special thanks to head referee Mike Crinella, whose skate name is "Handsome and Katie Stevens, whose skate name is "Collideascope" of the "Crazy 808s" ." Click here more more information. Photos of today's event, "Click here". Interested in joining. Go to recruiting @pacificrollerderby.com.
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