I wanted to post here after some calls I made at Clover Cup 2026 this past weekend. For context, the game in question was a JRDA game but I don’t feel this alters the scenario.
During the first period of the game both myself (RIPR/HR) and another SO (OPR) observed several instances of a move which I would describe as a modified version of a ‘catch/pin’.
Mechanics:
White team blocker places their upper arm ahead/around torso of black team skater, and their thigh (of the same side of their body) behind the upper leg of the white team skater - a traditional ‘catch’
Rather than clamping down in the usual sense (which would become a Misconduct, pinning, if the black team skater was unable to free themselves) the white team blocker instead drove their upper arm backwards (against the chest) and their leg forwards (against the back of the black team skaters leg), resulting in the black team skater falling completely to the ground.
This move, if applied with significant force, can result in the flipping of the receiving skater.
It is important to note that this isn’t the same as a pinning penalty because in this situation the action is fast and the receiving skater has no time to react to try to free themselves from the hold.
After observing this in the first period I spoke to the rest of the crew and we agreed that this move was significantly dangerous, unsporting and against the spirit of the game and was an obvious progression of the rule clarification around Misconduct pinning. In the half I spoke to both team benches (together) and explained what we observed and made it clear that if this move was performed with impact it would be called as a Misconduct and if it resulted in flipping there would be discussion around expulsion. There was extended discussion with the coaches related to the fact that this move was legal contact zone/legal target zone (although the back of the leg above the knee is not a legal target zone) etc. and did not fall under the specific pinning or jabbing clarifications for Misconduct.
In the second period I called two Misconduct penalties for this action.
I wanted to post here for several reasons:
After this game there was discussion around officials using their discretion to call penalties on moves like this which are not explicitly covered in the rules/clarifications/casebook. I want to do my due diligence as an official and ensure that there is an opportunity to discuss calls like this, in order to maintain equitable officiating of games
I think this move is significantly dangerous that it deserves its own entry or clarification
I wanted to share the move because it happens rapidly and can be easily overlooked
I wanted other peoples input as to how to handle these situations
There is footage from the game which I have not linked here as it is a JRDA game, not WFTDA and I don’t think that the specific team/skater/event is really even relevant, this isn’t about calling people out. The skaters were operating within the confines of what the rules currently explicitly state and these type of moves don’t get identified until a team tries them. I want this discussion to be around the broader concept of the move and of penalizing this type of action. However, if my description of the action is not clear I can record a video of me performing the move on a willing participant.
TL;DR
I think we need a rules clarification or a casebook entry for a move which is a modification of catching/pinning/flipping/takedown.
Thank you for your time!
-Tinytanium
Edit: This is being discussed on Facebook and I am not posting this here for drama, but for clarity.
The whole point of changing the rules from a monolithic document to the current rules and casebook format was an acknowledgement of the fact that the rules can’t possibly cover every conceivable scenario, and to give officials a template (the casebook) to base discretionary calls on.
Based on the description of the action, I hard agree that it warrants a Misconduct penalty at least, and possibly expulsion. Especially if the impacted skater is flipped. That’s judo, not roller derby.
I agree. The action described does not fit into the ‘playing roller derby’ bucket and is incredibly unsafe. The Rules give us a framework to deal with such scenarios without needing to cover every single potential action and outcome
Firstly, agreed with Bacon - the Rules now lay out what is generally legal and the way the game is to be played, penalize accordingly, this is what Discretion is for. End of the day, even if Rules as a committee decided “this is too cool to outlaw”, you should rest easy as you 1) discussed with the crew and made a cohesive decision about whether this was allowable or not and 2) erred on the side of Safety and then 3) communicated to the teams so there would be understanding before penalization. I.E. You did your job as referees.
But, I do not think this needs a casebook clarification. I think the starting point of it being a pin is throwing you off. You note that the back of the leg is not a legal target zone. Nor is swinging of the elbow in the course of blocking legal. This action starts as a legal pin. If they either swing their elbow or back block, it becomes the illegal move you’re describing, for all the reasons you list.
After having a teammate set this up on me (on my request) during practice, I (and everybody else in attendance) agree with the assessment that this is dangerous and judo, not roller derby. (We left it at the setup and did not follow through because it felt too unsafe to do even in a controlled environment on an experienced skater who was expecting the move.)
In addition to the obvious danger to the blocked skater there is a chance that their feet with skates flail at a height where they pose a danger to others.
Some contact is considered unsporting, either because it falls outside the boundaries of expected normal gameplay or is inherently unsafe
Only penalizing this based on contact to the back of the leg or a flailing elbow brings the risk that skaters may find a way to avoid these technicalities and perform an equally unsafe move that can not be penalized this way.
I don’t disagree that 4.1.5 is applicable. But I would use it as additional rather than primary. The block is only as dangerous as it is specifically because of the low back block element, which is exactly why that area is an illegal target zone, there’s nothing new in that. And, if as predicted someone finds a way to do this without either swinging the elbow or making that low back contact, you can use 4.1.5 to say “look, it’s essentially you doing this, which is explicitly illegal, so we’re extending that”.
That said, this isn’t the first time this exact move has appeared in game play, it happened years ago, and has not evolved since because most everyone was appalled at it’s use, and it went away. I’m not surprised to see it naturally come up again, with the same defenses for its use, but I do think if we all recognize it for the inherently dangerous and outside-the-scope-of-roller-derby action that it is, it’s unlikely to spread.
As Speedy and Revriot eluded to it is very easy to have a variation of this move where the contact is side-side rather than front-back. Especially if there is a significant size difference between then two skaters.