Minimum Skills Required To Play Roller Derby

Below are the minimum demonstrative skating skills that were required by Aloha City Rollers league. In addition to the demonstrative skating skills a written rules test was also a requirement to pass before being allowed to play in games. Other roller derby leagues may have additional requirements or different standards but mastering the below skills will get you physically ready to try out for most roller derby leagues. We will link to videos from YouTube explaining how to do each skill when possible. Visit the Aloha City Rollers YouTube Channel for a full list of videos from league training and events.

The demonstrative minimum skills test will test:

27 laps in less than 5 minutes

Complete 27 laps in less than 5 minutes in bound of a regulation roller derby track using proper skating posture, strides, and crossovers into and out of turns.

Stops:

Tstops both legs, plow stop, Mohawk stop

Skating:

one foot glide on straightaway, sticky skate, quick cuts from one side of track to other

Falls:

Single knee both legs, double knee, baseball slide, 180 turn, four point fall, Monkey Roll,

Agility:

Stepping from standstill, squat laps, hops 6” object, hop laps, weaving 10 cones, toe stop walking

Whips & Pushes Give And Receive:

Outside whips, inside whips, hip whips, pushes

Checks Give And Receive:

hip checks both sides, shoulder checks both sides

Focus And Blocking:

Focus, positional blocking, stall blocking, leaning  

Pack And Line Drills:

pacing, pace line weaving, unexpected obstacles, bumping

Off Skate Workouts To Strengthen Muscles Needed For Roller Derby

An excellent way to strengthen every part of the body used in roller derby is to do the 41 Day Apocalyptic Workout Challenge created by Handsome who was Aloha City Rollers founder, Coach, and Head Referee. Below are some additional strength training videos from Aloha City Rollers boot camps.

Learning The Rules of Roller Derby

There are several different rules that roller derby can be played under. Below are links to some of the most popular rules and resources to help learn them. Check with the roller derby league you want to join which rules they use.

WFTDA Rules

MRDA Rules

International Rules of Roller Derby

Roller Derby Rule of the Day

Roller Derby Rules Clarifications and Tough Questions

WFTDA Training And Educational Resources for Skaters and Leagues