Roller derby

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short match ups (jams) in which both teams designate a jammer who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own jammer—in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the United States.

While the sport has its origins in the banked-track roller skating marathons of the 1930s, Leo Seltzer and Damon Runyon are credited with the basic evolution of the sport to its initial competitive form. Professional roller derby quickly became popular; in 1940, more than five million spectators watched in about 50 American cities. In the ensuing decades, however, it predominantly became a form of sports entertainment where the theatrical elements overshadowed the athleticism. This gratuitous showmanship largely ended with the sport's contemporary grassroots revival in the first decade of the 21st century. Although some sports entertainment qualities such as player pseudonyms and colorful uniforms were retained, scripted bouts with predetermined winners were abandoned.

Roller Derby (brand)

Roller Derby Skate Corp is an American manufacturer and distributor of sporting goods, specializing in quad skates, inline skates, ice hockey skates, skateboards, skating accessories, and recently, through its acquisition of 360 Inc., sporting goods for water sports including body boards, surfboards and swim products. Roller Derby sells products under the brands Roller Derby, California Advanced Sports, Pacer, Labeda and 360 Inc. It is the second-largest supplier of inline skates to the U.S. market. They have just introduced a Labeda skate that is designed for roller derby.

History

Roller Derby was founded in 1936 by Oscar Seltzer, the brother of Roller Derby pioneer Leo Seltzer, as a manufacturer of boots for roller and ice skates.

Initially, the company had a single plant in Litchfield, Illinois. The company opened an additional assembly plant in California in 1953, followed by offices, warehouses, and a distribution center in Atglen, Pennsylvania in 1971. The company eventually moved manufacturing operations overseas, first to Taiwan, then to mainland China. Its U.S. manufacturing facilities were converted to offices, warehouses and distribution centers. The company is still based in Litchfield, Illinois.

Derby (1971 film)

Derby is a 1971 American documentary film directed by Robert Kaylor about the world of professional roller derby in the 1970s. The film is also known as Roller Derby in the United Kingdom.

Cast

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External links

List of sports rivalries

A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the other that, in one case (the Football War), was suggested to have led to military conflicts. Owners typically encourage rivalries as they tend to improve game attendance and television ratings for rivalry matches, but a rivalry that gets out of control can lead to fighting, hooliganism, rioting and some, with career-ending or even fatal consequences. Often the topic of sports rivalries is as heated and controversial as politics and religion.

Derby (disambiguation)

Derby is the county town of Derbyshire, England.

Derby may also refer to:

Places

Sports