How does a roller derby bout work?

Roller derby matches are somewhat like a roller skating race combined with strategy and blocking, co-founders of the Forx Roller Derby league said.

Kelly Gray described a bout, a two-team match on a circuit track, as "a race to see how many times you can get around and pass people."

But it's a little more complicated than it sounds. "There's strategy to it," Cheryl Lawson added.

A bout has two 30-minute halves split by an intermission, and each half is made up of two-minute jams that restart within 30 seconds after the previous jam is done.

Each team has five players on the track: a jammer who can score points, three blockers and a pivot, who acts as the pacesetter for their team.

The pivot and blockers form a pack that needs to play both defense and offense. The four skaters in the pack want to open up a path to let their jammer get by while also stopping the opposing team's jammer when they try to pass.

Jammers score points by passing and lapping around the pack as many times as they can during each two-minute jam.

It's hard to get the hang of doing everything at once, especially for the players who had never skated before joining the league.

"You've got to be able to skate forward while you're looking backward and beside you and maybe hip-checking somebody or taking a hip check and trying to stand up," Lawson said.

Referees make sure skaters follow the rules, issuing minor and major penalties that could result in spending a minute in the penalty box.

It will take two years before Forx Roller Derby can become a member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, which sets strict guidelines for its skaters to follow.

Each player must be at least 21 and needs to wear quad "speed-style" roller skates, a helmet, mouth guard, wrist guards, elbow pads and knee pads, more than $200 worth of gear.

Skaters are also required to carry an insurance policy and attend at least half of the practices to avoid injuries.

Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .