What is Roller derby?
{{for|other uses|Derby (disambiguation)}} '''Roller derby''' is a [[sport]] played on [[roller skates]]. It used to be played by both men and women, but it was restarted by women. There are now a growing number of men's and mixed (or co-ed) teams around the world who are playing roller derby. [[Image:Attacker (2222615188).jpg|right|thumb|Windy City Rollers (Chicago, Illinois).]] For a long time, many people did not believe roller derby was a real sport. They thought it was like [[professional wrestling]], because it had fake fighting and other things for TV. But in 2002, a group of women in [[Austin, Texas]] started playing it as a real game, with nothing fake. A TV show called ''Rollergirls'' was made about some of these women. By 2006, women in every big city in the USA and Canada were starting their own roller derby clubs. There were even clubs starting up in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. ==How roller derby is played== Two teams of roller derby players skate around an [[oval]] track. The track can be flat or banked (raised around the outer edges). There are 5 players on each team: * 1 ''jammer'', who races around the track faster than the rest of the team * 1 ''pivot'', who usually stays in front of the blockers and make them go faster or slower * ''3 blockers'', who try to keep the other team's jammer from passing them The jammer is the only player that can score points. The jammer's team gets a point every time the jammer passes one of the other team's players. To score a point, the jammer has to play fair and stay on the track when they pass someone. Jammers get a 2-minute time period, called a ''jam'', when they can score points. Before a jam starts the blockers of both teams line up side-by-side, with both jammers farther back behind their own starting line. The jam starts when a whistle blows. Then, everyone, including the jammers get to leave their designated areas. The jammers and blockers alike are fighting to get their guy/girl through the pack. The first jammer to get through the pack