L.A. Derby Dolls: The Rules of the Game

L.A. Derby Dolls

L.A. Derby Dolls Official Rules

THE BASICS
The L.A. Derby Dolls play on a banked oval track. In each game, two teams face off against each other.
The game consists of two halves and each half lasts for a period of fifteen minutes. Each period is made up of Jams.

HOW IT WORKS
During each Jam, four girls from each team skate on the track. At the beginning of the Jam, the skaters come together to form the Pack. The Pack consists of six defensive Blockers (three from each team) with two Jammers (one from each team) directly behind them. Jammers are the only skaters able to score points.

Play begins when one of the refs blows a long whistle blast signaling the Pack to begin moving. Once the last Pack member travels 20 feet from the starting line, another long whistle blast will signal the Jammers to begin skating. This is when the official Jam begins. The Jam is a period of up to 60 seconds in which Jammers can score. Once the Jam whistle is blown, the Jammers must make their way through the Pack and around the track to the back of the Pack again. The Blockers from the opposing team will try to prevent them from doing so. From this point, each time the Jammer passes a member of the opposing team, they receive one point for their team.

A Jam is OVER when one of the following occurs:
- The 60 second time limit elapses.
- The Lead Jammer places both hands on her hips, calling off the Jam. (Lead Jammer is the Jammer in foremost position of the two Jammers. This position can change as the Jammers pass each other.)
- When an official calls for a timeout due to an emergency or skater injury.

SCORING
- A Jammer earns one point for every skater on the opposing team lapped.
- If a Blocker commits a foul, the Jammer may be awarded the points she may have been attempting to score. If a foul is committed during a critical game-deciding Jam, the referee may award up to five points. However, they cannot award enough points to make that team's score greater than the opposing team's score.
- Fouled skaters may not be scored upon unless they have had sufficient time to recover.
- Skaters with skate trouble cannot be passed for points.

BLOCKING
A player may block an opponent with most parts of the body. However, the following is not allowed and may result in penalties:
- A skater may not use any part of the arm below the elbow.
- A skater may not block with her feet or trip another skater.
- Arms must be bent and no elbows used.
- Blocking above the shoulders is not permitted.
- It is illegal to block or charge from behind.
- No defensive player may drop back or lead the Pack by more than 20 feet.
- Unsportsmanlike conduct may result in a major penalty.

PENALTIES
Minor penalties are one minute in duration and involve loss of skater who was given penalty. Minor penalties can be called for: holding, stalling, tripping, illegal use of hands or arms and other minor fouls.
Major penalties are one minute in duration and involve loss of Jammer for that period. Major penalties can be called for: fighting, intentional roughness; deliberate/excessive insubordination; and gross unsportsmanlike conduct.
No more than one Jammer per team may serve a penalty at one time. Time will be served consecutively. If a skater accumulates more than five minutes of penalties in a period, they will be ejected from the game.

OTHER STUFF YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW
If a skater winds up in the infield, she must not better her position. She must enter the track from the position she landed in the infield. If a skater winds up in the outfield, she must get back onto the track unless she is injured or her skate is not functioning properly.

If a skater goes down and cannot quickly recover or has problems with her skate, a skater from her team on the infield can replace her, but must do so within the period of time it takes the pack to skate one entire lap.