OUTSIDE WHITEBOARD MANUAL ROC CITY ROLLER DERBY v. 3.0 SEPTEMBER 2011 GRAVITY KILLS Questions? Comments? Email me at GravityKills322@gmail.com Manuals can also be found at http://crazyraven.org Disclaimer: This is not a WFTDA-approved document. It is a guide to how Roc City Roller Derby does this job.
OUTSIDE WHITEBOARD MANUAL (Relaying for the Outside Pack Refs) You will be given: a whiteboard (3' x 2') with a list of penalty abbreviations on the back of it a whiteboard marker an eraser/rag You will be positioned at either turn 2 or 4 (in RCRD; other leagues may vary), outside the ref safety zone, near the suicide seats. Your job: Listen to the outside pack referees as they skate up to you and give you their penalties. They will tell you the team color, player number, and penalty given. Write the number and penalty clearly in the appropriate team section, using the flat of the whiteboard marker, in large print. The penalty abbreviations can be found on the back of the whiteboard you will be using, and later in this document. If the penalty is a major, circle the number and penalty. Hold up the whiteboard so that the penalty trackers in the center can see it. The penalty tracker or wrangler will give you a clear thumbs-up once they have written your penalty down. DO NOT ERASE until you get that thumbs-up! Sometimes, penalty trackers get multiple penalties called to them at once, which can slow them down in writing down the penalty you have. Once you have received the thumbs-up, you can erase the penalty. If you have a penalty on your board at the end of a jam, run it in to the penalty trackers just don t get trapped in the middle, and be careful you don t get run over. If a referee has a penalty at the end of a jam, have them skate it in to the wrangler themselves; it s important to get penalties in as quickly as possible. If you are not actively writing on or erasing the board, keep it down at your side. Otherwise, it looks like you ARE writing and distracts the wrangler from more urgent matters. EXAMPLE: An outside referee skates up to you and says Blue 187 Elbows, Black B52 BackBlock, 867 Out of Bounds Block Major Write BIG! Flat of marker! ^ Circle majors
Sample Penalty List: A High Block/Block to the Head B Back Blocking E Elbows F Forearms/Hands O Out of Bounds Blocking L Tripping/Low Block C Direction of Gameplay Penalty (formerly Skating Clockwise to Block ) M Multiple Player Block I Illegal Procedure S Skating Out of Bounds X Cutting the Track P Out of Play Penalties H Blocking With the Head G (Gross) Misconduct N Insubordination VERBAL CUES WFTDA has set up specific verbal cues for referees to call for each penalty, to be found in Appendix F of the rules. They are as follows: Verbal Cue Penalty Abbreviation Back Block Blocking to the back B High Block Blocking to the head/high block A Low Block Low block/tripping L Elbows Use of elbows E Forearms Use of forearms or hands F Blocking with the Head Blocking with the head H Multiple Player Block Multiple player block M Out of Bounds Block Out of bounds blocking O Cutting Cutting the track X Skating Out of Bounds Skating out of bounds S Insubordination Insubordination N Misconduct Misconduct G Gross Misconduct Gross Misconduct G
Some penalties have multiple verbal cues. If you have learned the hand signals for these three, it ll be easy for you to figure out what letter to write down the hand signal is the same for all of them. Direction of Gameplay Penalties (C) Clockwise Block Stopped Block Clockwise Assist Stopped Assist Out of Play Penalties (P) Failure to Re-Enter Failure to Reform Out of Play Block Illegal Return Out of Play Assist Destroying the pack Illegal Procedure (I) False Start Too Many Skaters Too Many Pivots Illegal Call-Off Illegal Engaging Penalty Box Violation Improper Uniform Star Pass Violation Bench Staff Violation Equipment Violation And always remember...
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS The Captain of the team will have a C written on her arms under her numbers. Sometimes, this gets merged into the number being called. 187 may be called as 187C. If you know this, write down 187. If you're not sure, write 187C and the penalty trackers will figure it out. Some leagues provide copies of the rosters that you can check to be sure. (The whiteboard sheet printed from StatsBook has both rosters and the penalty codes on it. I recommend using it.) Sometimes, both teams will have a girl with the same number. Be extra-special-certain to get the COLOR, number, and penalty. The refs should be aware of the conflict and will hopefully be mindful of it. Talk to your head NSO or penalty trackers before the bout begins to doublecheck that the refs DO know. Sometimes two girls on the same team or on opposing teams will have similar numbers or similar sounding numbers. ( 87 and 187, or 80 and 18 ) Be sure to ask for clarifications from the refs if you need them. If you can't get it from the ref, see who is actually out on the track. If 18 is and 80 is not, chances are good the penalty was on 18. (If they both are, make a note on the whiteboard and notify the head referee that you need a call clarification IMMEDIATELY after the jam completes. Do not dally... time and the ref's memories are finite.) Be aware of your surroundings. Girls get blocked to the outside, and referees are focused on looking at the skaters, not you. Don't get clobbered! If you need a call clarified, ask as soon as possible. If it s not possible by jam s end, notify the nearest referee IMMEDIATELY after the jam completes. Memories are finite, especially during bouts. The ref can call a time out or help snag the ref who made the call.