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A contact sport that uses a helmet, pads, and a mouth guard is back--and we aren’t talking about football. Add a pair of roller skates to the mix and you have the uniform of a roller derby player.

Roller derby is a revived sport from the 70s that melds the contact of football, the speed from track and field, and the strategy of race car driving.

Players roller skate around a track bumping into each other all along the way. A pack of eight blockers skate in front of two players called jammers. The object of the sport is for the jammers to make it through the pack. Each time the jammers pass a player of the opposite team after the first time, they receive a point. The team with the most points at the end of two thirty-minute halves wins.

Like football, there are penalties for illegal blocks. Players can’t trip their opponent, use their elbows or back block.

This isn’t the roller derby you may have watched years ago. The new roller derby is played on a flat track and is a real contact sport. Back in the 70s roller derby was staged for entertainment.

Check out a rink near you, and you’ll notice the names of the derby players have alter egos that are made up to be tough or funny. Some examples include names like “Babe Ruthless” or “Terror Swift.”

This rough and tough sport is great entertainment for your weekend night. Think you have what it takes to be a player? Chances are there is a local team nearby who would love to let you try.