WFTDA Releases January 1, 2025 Update to The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby
The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) has released an update to The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby,. The WFTDA has developed and published The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby under the leadership of the WFTDA Rules Committee, and with review by WFTDA Member Leagues.
Leagues may immediately begin adopting the new rules and all WFTDA-sanctioned play will be required to implement these changes by March 1, 2025. This update of The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby incorporates the following changes, also outlined in the changes document (though everyone is encouraged to read the new rules in their entirety as no summary can capture every change).
- Added subheadings within the rules (includes minor reorganization of some sections) and some editing for clarity.
- Created Section 4.1.5 Unsporting Contact (to better organize current misconduct penalties into a contact penalty category).
- 4.5 Fouling Out & Expulsions: added instruction for removing Skaters from play mid-Jam who would be in queue upon reporting to the Penalty Box.
- 5.1 Staffing: added the Head Referee’s discretion to remove a Skater who has repeatedly proven to be a significant safety concern, without the necessity of an expulsion.
- Additional Casebook entries:
- Clearer examples of when contact with an official is or is not an expulsion.
- Briefly taking a knee to recover a dropped cover is not a penalty.
- Adding illegal hold (aka pinning) casebook entries to the rules.
- New glossary entries for: Ceding, Lineup Time, Out of Bounds (Fully), Role, and Yielding.
A Line-by-Line Changes Document is also available to illustrate all changes to the document.
All Rules related documents can be found on the WFTDA Resources website under Competition > Rules.