@michaelgemar there are both flat and banked track modern varieties, though the latter is rare due to the time and cost of setting up a banked track.

They're ... similar? in that the goal is ostensibly the same and modern play vaguely resembles the defunct version, but again, the old "sport" was more like pro wrestling than an actual honest competition.

Why am I posting all of this? Because it illustrates how two impact sports which are both played as much for spectacle as for competition can evolve in completely different ways when one has rules instituted by the owners and the other is run entirely by the players and officials.

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To be fair, football also forbids pushing a teammate in the back in some situations, which is something roller derby should probably also outlaw.

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2023: High block*

* only blocks with the helmet; other hits are still legal

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2016: Low block*

* only from behind, and when the player is already engaged

2017: Back block

2018: Blocking with the head

2019: Direction of play

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2005: Out of play block

2010: Penalties after the first half whistle are served in the second half

2010: Plays are blown dead when a helmet comes off

2013: Knee pads are required

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Following is a list of times football discovered and implemented a common-sense safety rule that was already present in roller derby. Earlier partial implementations are not listed.

Items with a * only implement partial protection compared to the rules of roller derby, even under current rules.

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Football also received some early rules upgrades for safety, but only after significant fatalities and the President of the United States threatening to ban it. Excepting equipment improvements, the vast majority of rules changes for player safety have happened in the last 2+ decades - or about as long as roller derby has been around.

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Modern roller derby has evolved *significantly* in the 25 years it has existed, with most of the rule changes aimed at player safety and consistent rules enforcement. For example, a rule which inadvertently rewarded players for crawling on the ground after illegally re-entering the track was eliminated in the 2010s.

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Both roller derby and football are notable for being violent sports where all participants wear impact-absorbing pads and helmets, and where players may hit each other at almost any time and for any reason (as opposed to hocky, soccer, rugby, basketball, and other contact sports in which one must be going for the ball or puck to make legal contact).

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RE: https://mastodon.social/@tess/115752305880262207

American football vs. Roller Derby player safety rules (a thread)

First, a little background. American football was invented in 1869, and evolved from the existing sports of soccer and rugby.

The sport of roller derby originated in 2001, inspired by early 20th century endurance races and then by the sports entertainment franchise of the same name that peaked in popularity in the 1950s.

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@oblomov that was sports entertainment like pro wrestling, with no real rules; the sport of roller derby was inspired by it, but started in 2001 in Austin, TX, USA.

At some point today I'm gonna do a thread on when American Football (a sport that is more than 150 years old) instituted some of the same safety rules that exist in modern roller derby (a sport that is only 25 years old).

Partly because I find it fascinating, and partly because holy shit what is wrong with dudes

As someone who became a mom at 39, yeah, this tracks.

Bon Cop Bad Cop should be required viewing for anyone who moves to Canada.

(With the caveat that it is extremely A Movie From 2006.)

On old Twitter, there used to be a pretty vocal and thriving community of academics in various disciplines, as well as people who were learning from them and current grad students when it comes to applying for grad school & prep programs.

Things seem more silent here (with the exception of EECS and physics, perhaps).

Unscientific poll: How many of y'all grad school seekers are here?

#AcademicChatter #GradSchool

@joshin4colours like everything else, it's mostly just insultingly unserious

I can't believe there's an entire party in a developed country whose proposal for universal health care is "let people buy health insurance at McDonald's"

I keep thinking about this but then I never find it when I go looking for it.

@eniko @0xabad1dea @governa least we forget, there was a whole era where state of the art presentation crafting involved the same color scheme.

You know - putting your important bullet points against a color the eye can't focus well, for something designed to be viewed in a dark room 🙃