WFTDA 3.0 Ruleset Is Released

By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Thu Jun 19 2008 8:08pm

WFTDA released their yearly update to their standardized ruleset today. This version is known as 3.0, following up on May 2007's 2.1, and January 2006's 1.0 (2007's ruleset had a minor update in August's 2.1.1).

You can download a PDF of the new ruleset here.

In general, 3.0 focuses mostly on clarifying the concepts laid out in 2.1.1, and has far fewer brand new ideas than appeared in 2.1 / 2.1.1 -- the meat of the new ruleset is greatly expanded guidance on what kind of game impact elevates a minor penalty to a major penalty.

That being said, there are still a few elements in 3.0 that seem likely to have a significant effect on 2008 gameplay.

Penalty Box Cap

Probably the biggest single change is the restructuring of the penalty box cap -- in previous versions of the ruleset, a team could never have more than two players in the box at the same team, causing players who were sent off the track while the box was full to have to return to play until space in the box opened for them.

This had a tendency to play havoc with scoring and penalty time if the jammer was that third player -- and 3.0 addresses that issue by changing the box cap to two blockers and one jammer per team, which means that there will always be "space" in the box for a penalized jammer.

Out of Bounds Blocking / Track Cutting

Another change with meaningful ramifications is the definition of blocking out of bounds -- in previous rulesets, starting a block was considered illegal if either player was even slightly over the boundary line, but under 3.0 players that are entirely in-bounds may legally block opponents who are partially in-bounds (that is, with one skate in bounds and one skate out.)

Along the same lines, the progression towards stricter penalties for cutting the track continues in 3.0. In the days of 1.0, cutting the track was always considered to be a minor penalty, but with 2.1's introduction of "game impact" allowing referees to upgrade minors to majors, bouts in 2007 saw more cutting-track majors being called. In August 2007's Eastern Regionals and September's Nationals tournaments, clarifications called for jammers to be given cutting-track majors for cutting to get out of the pack.

Now in 3.0, that logic has been extended to all players -- cutting track past the frontmost opponent will be a major for both blockers and jammers. Additionally, cutting track past more than one skater -- teammate or opponent -- will also be grounds for a major penalty.

Readiness for Jams

One of the most controversial calls in derby has always been refs refusing to allow a late jammer to participate in the jam -- essentially creating a 2-minute penalty that can often be a massive boost for the opposing team. Under 2.1.1, jammers had to be at the start line, stationary and wearing or actively putting on their helmet covers before the first whistle to be considered ready. 3.0 slightly loosens those restrictions -- now, a jammer who is on the track but not in position at the first whistle simply receives an illegal procedure minor, and may put on her helmet cover after the jam has begun. (Jammers who are not on the track at all at the first whistle are still barred from participating in the jam.)

Fouling Out / Ejections

3.0 also introduces the concept of "fouling out" of a period on minor penalties. A skater can actually foul out in one of two different ways -- by hitting the period minor limit (12 minors in a 3 period game, or 16 minors in a 2 half game) or by hitting the trips-to-the-penalty box limit (4 trips in a 3 period game, or 5 trips in a 2 half game.)

In other words, assuming a two-half game, a skater with three majors and 8 minors in the same period would have fouled out by going to the box 5 times, even though she didn't hit the minor limit. Alternatively, a skater with 16 minors would have fouled out by hitting the minor limit, even though she didn't hit the box-trips limit.

A skater who fouls out of a period may return in the subsequent period (assuming there is one!)

Finally, in a change that underlines roller derby's progression from spectacle to sport, 3.0 dramatically cracks down on fighting in derby -- whereas in previous WFTDA rulesets fighting was categorized as a major penalty, it is an automatic game ejection under the new ruleset, and referees must immediately call off a jam if a fight breaks out (previously, refs had the discretion to allow a jam to continue if the fight was not a hindrance to continued gameplay.)

UPDATE: Hambone mentions another important one in comments ... "Another big change deserving notice — although unlikely to dramatically change game play — is the scoring change whereby points for skaters who are missing from the pack (usually because they are in the penalty box) are now the EASIEST points for the opposing jammer to pick up. In other words, if a pack has only 3 blockers, the trailing blocker is worth 2 points. Formerly, a jammer had to get out of the pack to pick up the extra point for any missing blockers. This makes it much harder to defend with only two blockers — thus penalizing teams who don’t skate clean."

Photo: Maryland1RN