# Remember Female Rollar Derby? Was it scripted like Pro Wrestling? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 16, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328 "2024-07-16T15:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/21 "2024-07-16T18:30:00Z")
There’s also one with Raquel Welch. Rollerball has motorcycles but Kansas City Bomber has [Raquel Welch](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068795/) in the Roller Derby. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/22 "2024-07-16T18:42:37Z")
I’d be interested in what she says. I had a couple of co-workers in local Roller Derby in Boston, and I met someone who does in it here in RI but didn’t know at the time. The game has grown rapidly. They seem to usually be playing on a flat track so it’s not that hard to find a venue. I guess there could be men’s leagues but haven’t heard of any. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/23 "2024-07-16T18:45:35Z")
Did anyone else look at that image, and think it looked like something Slug Signorino would draw? I know nothing about roller derby, so can’t offer an opinion, beyond being amused by some of the names the players used. In an episode of Bones, Angela revealed that she used to play - and her name was Smackie Kennedy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/24 "2024-07-16T20:07:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There’s also one with Raquel Welch. Rollerball has motorcycles but Kansas City Bomber has [Raquel Welch](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068795/) in the Roller Derby. It’s worth watching. Raquel Welch is quite good in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/25 "2024-07-16T20:16:12Z")
A friend of mine is on a roller derby team. From what I gather, it’s definitely not scripted, and it is a competition, but there’s more emphasis on having fun than on winning. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/26 "2024-07-16T20:21:21Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > _An acquaintance of mine does roller derby. They ham it up, but both teams play to win._ This. I knew a woman who played semi-pro roller derby on weekends. She never indicated any of it was fake. They would roughhouse a little to put on a show, but they honestly played to win. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/27 "2024-07-16T21:28:58Z")
I wasn’t implying it was fake, not scripts, choreography, or predetermined outcomes. Just showomanship. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/28 "2024-07-16T21:29:09Z")
How does the game work? What do you do to win? Race around faster than the other guys? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/29 "2024-07-16T21:39:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > From what I gather, it’s definitely not scripted, and it is a competition, but there’s more emphasis on having fun than on winning. Yeah, at least with the teams around here, every player has a nickname they go by (almost always a pun of some kind) and some kind of personality. Imagine if you took professional wrestling, and had the costumes and posing and characters with crazy names and everything, and then they _wrestled for real_. And it was all women. That seems to be modern female roller derby. I have not had a chance to actually attend a live match but if the opportunity came up I’d check it out. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/30 "2024-07-16T21:48:02Z")
There is a more recent roller derby movie called [“Whip It”](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/) with some recognizable names such as Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and Elliot Page ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/31 "2024-07-16T21:48:37Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > How does the game work? What do you do to win? Race around faster than the other guys? Each team has a set of blockers (not sure how many, maybe 4) and a jammer. It’s the jammer’s job to get around the track, then start passing the other team’s skaters. For each of the other team’s skaters that the jammer passes, the team gets a point. Of course, the other team’s blockers want to prevent that. So, two teams on the track; two sets of blockers, two jammers, and plenty of mayhem. But there are definite rules to the game. They’re nicely explained, even with diagrams, in this movie: > **[Whip It (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_It_(film))** > > Whip It is a 2009 American sports comedy drama film co-produced and directed by Drew Barrymore from a screenplay by Shauna Cross, based on her 2007 novel Derby Girl. It stars Elliot Page\[a\] as a teenage girl from the fictional town of Bodeen, Texas, who joins a roller derby team. The film also stars Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Stern. > Whip It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2009 and was theatrically rel... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/32 "2024-07-16T21:50:58Z")
Here’s some video from '72. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/y6H4BI7NnjE/hqdefault.jpg "NY Chiefs Vs Northern Hawks Interleague Game in 1972") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6H4BI7NnjE) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/33 "2024-07-16T21:52:08Z")
Here’s an event from the Fifties: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FkV2ZAgs7FY/maxresdefault.jpg "VINTAGE ROLLER DERBY 2ND GAME BETWEEN WESTERNERS VS. JOLTERS ON TV 1951-52 #tv #rollerskating") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkV2ZAgs7FY) ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/34 "2024-07-16T22:01:21Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Each team has a set of blockers (not sure how many, maybe 4) and a jammer. … Thanks. My knowledge of roller derby is limited to what I’ve learned from watching Sanford and Son. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/35 "2024-07-17T02:59:17Z")
It’s still a thing in Seattle with the [Rat City Roller Derby](https://ratcityrollerderby.com/). 10 years ago Rat City was a federation with sub-leagues like the Socket Wenches. They would “tour” a team for the federation with whoever wanted to go. Seemed like a lot of sleeping on the opponents couch kinda thing. My niece was “Imahandful” and her girlfriend was “Kamikaze Kim” 10-ish years ago. They claimed it wasn’t staged/scripted. They all sorta knew how to play the game, but they wanted to win. imahandful “toured” all over including places in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/36 "2024-07-17T03:50:56Z")
There’s also an episode of Murdoch Mysteries called [Hot Wheels of Thunder](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6413628/?ref_=ttep_ep17). In the “Murdochiverse”, Doctor Ogden and the Inspector create the sport of Roller Derby while investigating a death. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/37 "2024-07-17T08:28:17Z")
I don’t think it’s at all like pro wrestling. I’ve been involved with pro wrestling, and it is indeed scripted. It’s a soap opera, basically. I always knew the outcomes before the show even started. “Will the All-American defeat Bulldog McBain for the heavyweight championship? Come back next month and find out!” But really, even though pro wrestling has so-called rules, they’re written in pencil, and can be erased when it’s convenient. Knock out the referee (who’s faking the knockout), and go to town on your opponent. With whom you’ve practiced, so neither of you gets hurt. Returning to roller derby, and looking into it further, I don’t think that it is scripted. It is a team sport, with documented rules (I was able to find [this set of rules from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, or WFTDA](https://rules.wftda.com/summary.html)). And it seems to me that getting all members of a team to take a dive (when a team is at least 5 people) is a lot harder than getting one fighter to take a dive, as in pro wrestling, where there are only two fighters. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/38 "2024-07-17T09:01:51Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Returning to roller derby, and looking into it further, I don’t think that it is scripted. It isn’t scripted now, but it was several decades ago. Sort of the opposite of what happened with wrestling, if you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/39 "2024-07-17T09:41:17Z")
Hasn’t pro wrestling been fake for more than a century? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328/40 "2024-07-17T09:47:48Z")
More or less, but that’s beside the point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-female-rollar-derby-was-it-scripted-like-pro-wrestling/1004328.md?page=3)