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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What is GRR: the Gainesville Roller Rebels?
Who can join GRR?
What is flat track roller derby?
Is roller derby fake?
Does roller derby have rules?
Where can I find out more about roller derby?

What is GRR: the Gainesville Roller Rebels?

Gainesville Roller Rebels (GRR) is Alachua County and Gainesville’s first and only competitive women’s flat track roller derby league. AS of January 2013, GRR is a full member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the governing sanctioning body of women’s flat track derby. GRR is an FL non-profit association and is run for skaters by skaters.

GRR has two teams: the Gainesville Roller Rebels, GRR’s Allstar Travel Team (sporting the black and blue), and the Swamp City Sirens (sporting green and gold) Home B-Team.

Find out more about the league — including our history, community involvement, and goals — in our About GRR section.

Who can join GRR?

  • SKATER: Anyone 18-and-up who self-identifies as a woman. An individual who identifies as a trans woman, intersex woman, and/or gender-expansive may skate with us if women’s flat track roller derby is the version and composition of roller derby with which they most closely identify. Click here for more details about WFTDA’s Gender Statement.
  • REFEREES AND OFFICIALS: Anyone 18-and-up

Visit our Join GRR page for more information on becoming part of one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation!

What is flat track roller derby?


Video produced and edited by Paul D. Piche

In its current incarnation, flat track roller derby is a genuine athletic competition complete with a governing body: the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The WFTDA maintains the official WFTDA flat track roller derby rule set, holds annual tournaments and membership meetings, sanctions teams and bouts, ranks all member leagues, conducts referee training and certification, establishes standards for skater safety and training, and molds the future of roller derby.

A roller derby game is called a bout and is comprised of two 30-minute periods. Each period is made up of an unlimited number of plays or “jams,” which each last two minutes or less.

A jam consists of two teams of five players each: four blockers and one point-scoring player, the jammer. Blockers from both teams skate together in a pack and are continuously lapped by the jammers. Jammers (starred helmet cover) are sprint skaters; after their first pass through the pack they score one point each time they legally pass an opponent. The blockers at the front of the pack are pivots (striped helmet cover) and control the pace of the pack. All blockers skate to prevent the other team’s jammer from getting through the pack and scoring while helping their own jammer to move through legally and score.

Is roller derby fake?

No, and again no! Playing the game is fun and exciting, but every skater is also very competitive and playing to win. None of the action during a bout is scripted.

Does roller derby have rules?

The current rules of flat track roller derby were created by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). These rules are very extensive and cover everything from the setup of the track to what is and isn’t legal in the sport.

Visit WFTDA’s Official Rules page for more information.

Where can I find out more about roller derby?

Cruise through our site, check out the other roller derby sites in our Links section or visit WFTDA.com.

By the skaters. For the skaters. Always.