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INTRODUCTION R
oller derby has been present in various forms throughout the 20th century, but in the last 10 years it has experienced a revival, taking its popularity to highs never achieved before. Now dubbed as ‘the world’s fastest growing sport’, there are new leagues starting up all over the world, from its original homeland in the US to nations far and wide throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and Latin America. Roller derby has become a truly global phenomenon and it is not uncommon for crowds at games to reach up to 6,000 spectators. Flat track roller derby is a game played on an oval track by two teams of five players. In each team, four of the players are ‘blockers’ and one is the ‘jammer’. The blockers from both teams skate around the track together, forming a ‘pack’, with the two jammers starting behind them. The jammer is a racing skater whose job it is to race through the pack and lap the players on the opposing team, scoring points for every opposing player passed. The blockers in the pack try to stop the opposing jammer from getting through the pack while also trying to help their jammer through by blocking the opposing players.
revival began in Austin, Texas in 2000 with a group of women with one foot in the alternative music scene. There are now many men playing roller derby, but in 2000 it started with just the women. These pioneers decided to form the first DIY, grassroots-operated flat track roller derby league for women, and many others followed suit. It soon became apparent that many women were looking for an opportunity to express themselves, form communities, be competitive and athletic, and play a tough, full-contact sport as men do. The roller derby revival presented an opportunity for them to do all of these things without men, such that flat track roller derby became a contact sport that women could call their own. Historically, women have always been part of roller derby. Many of the 20th century’s star players were women, with the likes of Gerry Murray, Ann Calvello and Joan Weston becoming public heroes and household names. In the original Transcontinental Roller Derby of the 1930s, and throughout the 20th century, it was played by both men and women. It was one of the first sports where women took centre stage and were paid as professional athletes.
At this point you may be asking why this sport has become so popular right now, at this point in the 21st century. Well, the recent roller derby
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