Here are some FAQs about the new JCRD

December 6, 2017

With the recent changes of our league name, and the change of our four home teams blending into two new league teams, we found ourselves being asking so many questions! So we complied the most common ones, and shared them.

Why did you change your name? Inclusive, Women not Girls, Athletes

  • We wanted a name that encompasses everyone involved in our league, skaters, volunteers, Fans and officials
  • We are women not girls and wanted something that highlights our league as athletes rather than girls

Why are you getting rid of Home teams? To be more competitive

  • When the sport first started we had to skate against each other.  Now there are so many leagues in this region, there really isn’t a reason to compete against each other within the league
  • Our new structure allows the Bombers, our international travel team, to focus together all season long
  • Allows for us to play all over the region

Why should I go to a Jet City bout? Affordable, Competitive, Intimate

  • It’s is the best $15 you’re going to spend (it’s affordable)
  • It’s a serious team sport with a high level of competition.
  • Jet City’s venue provides an intimate environment to participate in the action! You’ll hear the hits, see the skaters sweat, and might end up with a rollergirl in your lap.
  • Other?

Who are Jet City Roller derby? We are athletes

  • Based in Everett, Washington, Jet City Roller Derby is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sportsmanship and athleticism by providing training, instruction, and competition in the sport of roller derby.
  • We are proud members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the governing body of women’s flat track derby.
  • We started up at the end of 2006 and are in the midst of our 11th season.
  • In 2006, a group of like-minded mothers and Roller Derby Girls who were skating with another league decided to venture out on their own and start their own flat track derby league.
  • They started Snohomish County’s first and only amateur flat track roller derby league, the Jet City Rollergirls. After months of planning, recruiting, networking, and more planning, the Jet City Rollergirls were born and started rolling around the track in August 2006.

What is Roller Derby? Fast-paced full contact team sport

  • Flat track roller derby is a fast-paced contact team sport that requires speed, strategy, and athleticism.
  • The flat track version of the sport evolved in 2001, and has quickly grown to encompass more than 400 leagues worldwide.
  • This is in large part due to the ease of setting up a flat track–it can be done on any flat surface that is suitable for skating, such as skating rinks, basketball courts, parking lots, and even airplane hangars. This greatly reduces the capital needed to start up a roller derby league, and allows small groups of people to get a league off the ground.
  • The DIY spirit that drives the sport allows roller derby leagues to create their own unique identities and adapt their structures to reflect their local communities.

Is it Real? Yes!

  • The roller derby you may have watched in the 70s and early 80s was often scripted and rehearsed.
  • The roller derby of today is real and is thought of as more of a sport than a spectacle. The skaters involved are athletes and take the sport very seriously.
  • One reason there are so many referees rolling around is to enforce the rules, which are in place to protect athletes’ safety and preserve fairness. Among other things, skaters are not allowed to elbow, punch, grab, head butt, trip, or shove the opposing team.
  • There are still plenty of hard hits, hard falls, and fast action.

So you’re Rat City, right? Are you better than Rat City? Do you play Rat City? Everett, Sister league, Rivals, WFTDA

  • We’re Jet City Roller Derby based in Everett, Washington.
  • Rat City is a sister league in our region. We’re both members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association – the governing body of women’s flat track derby.
  • We are in the same region and play competitively against each other. Our relationship is like that of competitive rivals – we love to beat each other up.
  • Rat City is based in Seattle; we’re based in Everett, Washington.
  • Rat City has been around about 3 years longer than Jet City.
  • Rat City is organized as an LLC and Jet City is a nonprofit.

What’s the point of roller derby? To win!

  • Like any team sport, we’re competing to ultimately score the most points and win.
  • Instead of a ball, we have a jammer, who is the skater with the star on her helmet. After making it through the pack of blockers once, the jammer begins scoring points for each opposing blocker she passes legally and in bounds. She can also score points on opponents who are in the penalty box and can get a fifth point if she laps the opposing jammer.
  • Blockers are trying to stop the opposing team’s jammer while helping their own jammer get through.

Why don’t you play on a banked track?

  • The flat track version of the sport evolved in 2001, and has quickly grown to encompass more than 400 leagues worldwide.
  • This is in large part due to the ease of setting up a flat track–it can be done on any flat surface that is suitable for skating, such as skating rinks, basketball courts, parking lots, and even airplane hangars. This greatly reduces the money needed to start up a roller derby league, and allows small groups of people to get a fledgling league off the ground.