Question:

Does touching an opposing skater’s back for an extended period of time result in a penalty?

Answer:

Yes. Extended touching* with an ILLEGAL blocking zone of an opponent’s legal and/or illegal target zone gives an illegal advantage of tracking this opponent, and an ability to sense which direction that opponent may or may not move. This should be penalized as an Illegal Blocking minor penalty.

*Extended touching is considered three seconds or more.

Question:

Can Jammer status be transferred during through an illegal star pass?

Answer:

No. In an illegal star pass, the Jammer status is not transferred, even if the Pivot then has possession of the helmet cover. Both skaters retain their original status and the initiator of the pass is penalized accordingly.

Question:

Does a Jammer jumping or stepping from a standstill over the Jammer line, but not touching the floor beyond this line, qualify as “accelerating” for the purposes of determining false start?

Answer:

No. To be accelerating, a skater needs to be running or skating. Stepping or jumping from a standstill is not accelerating, and is not to be penalized.

Question:

Can a Referee downgrade an expulsion to an ejection? Is there anytime/reason other than fouling out that a Referee may eject a player?

Answer:

No, Referees cannot downgrade an expulsion to an ejection. Ejection is a consequence specifically of the accumulation of minors and/or majors totaling five turns in the penalty box. Any behavior not warranting expulsion shall be penalized according to guidelines set forth in section 6: Penalties.

Question:

Can anyone other than the Head Referee expel a skater?

Answer:

No, only the Head Referee may expel a skater, coach or manager. Other Referees and officials should make recommendations if they observe actions which warrant expulsion. The Head Referee should gather as much information about these incidents from any Referee or official who observed the incident in question.  The Head Referee’s decision is binding.

Question:

If a penalized Jammer returns to the track illegally (leaving the penalty box before her penalty time is up, or entering in front of pack skaters), is she still entitled to points from opponents who entered the box after her as rule 8.4.6 directs? If so, how?

8.4.6 Points for opponents who have not yet been scored upon in an incomplete scoring pass by a penalized Jammer, who themselves are penalized while the Jammer is serving penalty time, will be awarded to the penalized Jammer upon her legal in bounds re-entry onto the track in the same jam.  If the jam ends before the Jammer legally re-enters the track in bounds, points for those opponents will not be awarded.

Answer:

The Jammer only has one opportunity to earn such opponents’ points automatically. She does not earn these points if she re-enters illegally. If the Jammer is on the same scoring pass when such an opponent re-enters play, then she can still score this point by physically passing the opponent.

Question:

Rule 7.4.6 states that a jam will be whistled dead when a Jammer “has decided to quit” and the opposing Jammer is in the penalty box. What is meant by use of the word “quit?”

Answer:

Quit in 7.4.6 means the Jammer has quit the game. A Jammer who ends a jam by quitting is to be considered as having quit the game–she is not permitted to return to the bout.

On April 27 2009 the WFTDA member leagues voted to ratify a new rule set.  The WFTDA Rules Committee is overjoyed to publish the Womens Flat Track Derby Association’s Official Rules Version 4.0.  See the Official Rules page to download.

Question:

What is the definition of “Relative Position”?

Answer:

Relative Position: The position a skater holds in relation to other skaters on the track.
Loss of Relative Position: When a skater’s position in relation to other skaters on the track is lost for a sustained period of time due to the actions of an opponent, such as a legal block or an illegal block.  Being forced out of bounds is always to be considered a loss of relative position.

Question:

Based on the Blocking Diagram in Section 5.3, it is unclear whether the inner thigh is a legal target zone.  Is the inner thigh a legal target zone?

Answer:

Yes, the inner thigh above mid thigh is a legal target zone and a legal blocking zone.