So your jammer's in the box...now what?

There are few things in roller derby that are as frustrating as having your jammer sent to the penalty box. When this happens, your team must focus solely on playing defense to stop the opposing jammer from running up the score.

Here are some basic tips if your team suddenly finds itself without a jammer for 60 seconds:

1) Communicate. Make sure all your teammates on the track know that your jammer is out so you can start putting your defense together.

2) Speed up the pack. Increasing pack speed will force the jammer to work harder to catch up with the pack and can limit the number of points she scores. However, if your team pulls away more than 10 feet from the other team, you will be penalized for destroying the pack, so moderate your speed accordingly. Additionally, it will be difficult to speed up the pack if one of your blockers has been picked off and is slowed down by the opposing team ("trapping the goat").

3) Stay together. Whether you're trying to speed up the pack or engage the jammer, it will benefit you to stay together. Solid walls will almost always provide a stronger defense than scattered individuals.

Rules about defining the pack fall under Section 4.1 PACK DEFINITION. Rules about the engagement zone and out of play penalties (including destroying the pack) fall under Section 6.10 OUT OF PLAY PENALTIES.