About

Race City Rebels

The Race City Rebels men’s roller derby team is Indianapolis’ and Indiana’s first and only men’s flat track derby team. Founded by the organization that brought you the Circle City Socialites, our awesome flat track derby sisters, the Race City Rebels strive to promote roller derby in all its forms.

We hold co-ed practices with the Socialites and welcome skaters (and non-skaters) of all skill levels to come join our team!

Circle City Socialites

Learn more about our awesome sister league, the Circle City Socialites, at their site, circlecitysocialites.com.

What is Roller Derby?

Despite the cheesy ‘70s portrayal of roller derby on TV, it isn’t just fighting on wheels. There are tons of falls and blows, but there are also rules. And the competition is very real.

During a bout, two teams of five skaters each face off on the track (in our case, a flat track). Each team consists of a pivot, three blockers and a jammer.

The pivot sets the pace for her team and leads the group of skaters in the pack. The jammers are the scoring skaters and start from behind the pack.

During each “jam,” the jammers fight their way through the pack. A jammer must break through the pack once, then sprint around and make it through the pack again, as many times as possible, to score points by passing members of the opposite team.

The rest of the team – the pivot and blockers – tries to stop the opposing jammer from passing them and scoring. At the same time, they knock around the opposing team’s blockers to clear the path for their own jammer to skate through and score.

A jam lasts a maximum of two minutes, but the lead jammer (the one who made it through the pack first) can call off the jam by putting her hands on her waist.

Derby is an extremely aggressive sport, and slams and spills are all part of the game. Knocking over an opponent by using your shoulders or hips is legal, but you can’t throw elbows or fists. No obvious stuff like tripping, grabbing, etc.

You have to skate hard, skate fast, and skate smart.