RUMBLE IN THE ROCK
5 p.m., Skate World. $8.
“Like reverse football without the ball” is how one local roller
derbier explains her sport. Beyond that Zen koan of a description, the
derbier told me that there are people called blockers and there are
people called jammers, and they all skate in a circle around a rink.
(They’re all, in this league at least, women, too). There are spatial
restrictions and subtle rules, but the heart of the game involves
jammers trying to penetrate the rolling wall of blockers. Jammers that
break through a wall of blockers and lap them get a point. I think.
Regardless, who needs a full grasp of the subtleties of roller derby
when you’ve got a rink full of women trying to tear each other apart?
On Sunday, Central Arkansas will get its first official taste of an
actual roller derby bout as the Rock-n-Renegades of the Central
Arkansas Roller Derby League take on the River Valley Roller Girls of
Ft. Smith. Punkabillies Josh the Devil and the Sinners will provide
halftime entertainment.