The East Texas Bombers, a flat-track women’s roller derby team, will play their first bout as a Lufkin team at the Nacogdoches Civic Center on Saturday Aug. 1, 2015.
The Bombers will play the Assassination City Roller Derby from Dallas, Texas. The doors open at 6p.m. and the first whistle is at 7p.m.
Roller derby is one of the fastest growing women’s sport, according to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, a professional organization for the sport. And the demand in Lufkin seems to support their statement. The team moved to Lufkin, starting out as a recreation league to fuel the team’s roster while it was still based in Jackonsville. The demand grew with ‘fresh meat’ (new skaters) showing up regularly. Soon, there was a large enough demand to move the team to Lufkin permanently.
So, if you’re like most of us who know of the banked track action from the 70’s and 80’s, here’s a quick look into flat track derby to get you ready for Saturday’s game:
The players:
Jammer – wears the star and scores the points
Pivot – wears the stripe, can take over the jammer if needed
Blockers – think of a fullback from football
The game:
Two thirty minute halves with two-minute jams
The jam (or play) starts when a whistle blows and each team’s jammer is trying to break through the pack (the rest of the skaters) at the same time, while the rest of the pack plays a powerful mix of offense and defense.
Scoring Points:
The jammer to break through the pack first is the lead jammer. Once she breaks the pack, she skates around the track and tries to break through again, scoring points for each opposing player she passes. The other jammer can score points on her second pass as well.
It becomes a race to see who can score the most points in the 2 minutes or before the lead jammer calls off the jam.
Now that you know what you’re in for, you can pick up tickets for general or suicide seating before the game, $8 or $10 respectively, at brownpapertickets.com or at Total Nutrition in Lufkin, CrossFit in Tyler, or at East Texas Timber Rattlers. Tickets will be available at the door for $10 for suicide seating or $12 for general seating.
