Officials' Review: The Perpetually Full Penalty Box

One of the most dramatic changes from the 2013 to the 2014 Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby was reducing Penalty Time from 1 minute to 30 seconds. Skaters rejoiced, fans cheered, NSOs kibitzed… nervously. The basics of Penalty Enforcement and Standard Practices for timing penalties did not change, but the prospect of juggling a watch and paper work for up to 3 blockers, and maybe even a jammer, in 30 seconds got officials thinking that we may need to practice timing penalties beyond scrimmages. To do this, we at Pair O' Dice City Rollers created a drill that could be done anytime we had 3 or more people:

The Perpetually Full Penalty Box

Objective: Training NSOs on the procedure for timing penalties and preparing them for the various, hectic, possibilities they could encounter while working in the Penalty Box.

Length of drill: Can vary depending on the number of NSOs training.

Participants: 3 or more.

Materials needed: 1-2 stopwatch(s), a clipboard, a pen/pencil, a copy of the Penalty Box tracking sheet (from the Stats Workbook), 2-3 chairs or a bench. 

Optional: more stopwatches, whiteboard and marker (for the Next Step scenarios below).

Skill level: The skill level can be varied for beginners and seasoned officials, at least 1 person should be familiar with the paperwork and procedures of the Penalty Box.

How it works:

• 1 person takes position as the Penalty Box Timer (PBT), with a stopwatch and paperwork.
• The other 2 participants take turns as skaters entering the box and serving penalties.
• If they are not wearing shirts with numbers, assign (single digit) numbers
• The PBT times the skaters penalties and releases according the Rules and Practices.
• This continues for a full Jam, 2 minutes, or until a point at which the PBT feels they need to reset.
• The timing and frequency of skaters can be adjusted to increase the intensity of the drill.

The penalty box area at a Gotham Girls Roller Derby bout
in New York City on May 6, 2006.

A sample (progressively increasing in intensity):

Jam 1

1. Skater 1 enters the box
2. Serves a full 30 seconds
3. The box is empty

Jam 2

1. Skater 1 enters the box
2. (a few seconds later) Skater 2 enters the box
3. They serve their respective 30 seconds
4. The box is empty.

Jam 3

1. Skater 1 enters the box
2. (a few seconds later) Skater 2 enters the box
3. Skater 1 is released at the end of her/his 30 seconds
4. (before skater 2 is released) Skater 1 enters the box again
5. Skater 2 is released at the end of her/his 30 seconds
6. Skater 1 is released at end of her/his 30 seconds
7. The box is empty.

  Jam 4

1. Skater 1 enters the box
2. (a few seconds later) Skater 2 enters the box
3. Skater 1 is released at the end of her/his 30 seconds
4. (before skater 2 is released) Skater 1 enters the box again
5. Skater 2 is released at the end of her/his 30 seconds
6. (before skater 1 is released) Skater 2 enters the box again
7. Repeat the rotation until the end of the Jam.

Next Steps:

• End Jams early and/or have skaters enter Between Jams.
• With 3 people: have the NSO take the position of Penalty Box Manager (PBM) and the skaters serve as Jammers to practice Jammer-in-Jammer-out-(Jammer back in) scenarios.
• With 4 people: add an additional skater into the rotation to practice the 1 skater standing with 2 skaters seated.
• With 4 people: add a PBM to practice the procedures for when a skater leaves the box prematurely.
• With 5 or more people: add a PBM and an additional skater to act as a Jammer to practice full (for one team) scenarios.

If you can think of any other variations or scenarios share them in the Comments section below.

Happy Timing!

-Ducky

Duck N. Shover - POD’s Head of Officials & Interleague Liaison

-Nikki Tesla #134