Derby Spotting: Calling It Off

So I've noticed recently how a lot of people turn up to watch a bout with a good grasp of the basic rules, but spot things happening on the track that just seem to make no sense at all. The fact is that roller derby strategy sometimes uses the rules in surprising ways and it can be hard to work out exactly what's going on, but in my opinion it's exactly this that makes the game so crazy and exciting!

If you've ever found yourself having to ask the person next to you why they're screaming at the pack to slow down or why the star jammer got through the pack once and then the jam just ended, then worry not, I am here to help you out!

This week I'm going to look into calling the jam off and power jams.

Roller derby is all about the points. If you can get points while the other team get a big fat zero then happy days right? One way to stop the other team getting points is to catch the other team's jammer in the pack and stop her from passing people while your jammer whizzes round and round. It's a good strategy but you can't always rely on it - one good hit from the other team or one very nippy jammer and she's passed you. So how else are you going to stop them from scoring? Well I'll tell you how - you're going to call it off!

If you get lead jammer (i.e. get through the pack first without committing any fouls) then you’re allowed call the jam off at any time. Basically, you want to call off the jam (by touching your hips with your hands) at that magic moment when you have points and the other team doesn't.

Here's an example from our game against The Imposters in January.  Behold the dextrous G Whizz as she takes the jam by storm.



G Whizz comes out of the pack first and gets lead jammer. You can see her get through the pack for the second time (picking up 4 juicy points) 0:49, and note that she is already calling it off because the Imposters jammer is just inches away from scoring as well. Whoever’s not the lead jammer will be single-mindedly chasing the other jammer down to try and reach the pack before she does. If the lead jammer is overtaken she’ll have to call off the jam early to avoid the opposing team getting any points.

No one wants to do more work than is strictly necessary so if the other jammer gets through the pack, the lead jammer will have to go round *again* until there's a gap in the scores, all the time getting more and more tired (it's not easy out there you know!) Ending a jam with equal numbers of points scored is not a good situation – you might as well have both got zero, except now you’re both knackered and you’ve wasted valuable time.

This tactic is the bread and butter of roller derby. You could almost say derby is more about stopping them from getting points than getting points yourself! So if you ever find yourself at a bout wondering why someone's calling it off - look at where the other jammer is and there's your answer.

There is one other situation that relates to calling it off and this is during a power jam. Power jams occur when one jammer is in the box and the other jammer has free reign to just snap up all the points she can handle. In this situation the jammer pretty much never calls it off because it's free points ain't it!

You can find more info about Manchester Roller Derby at our website www.manchesterrollerderby.co.uk