Roller derby has long been known as one of the most raucous, fast-paced contact sports. It may, however, be a surprise (or not) to learn that the biggest team on track is made up of the referees.
Matt Smith, known in the derby world as Slaine, is a proud member of the Zebra (referee) team and acts as one of the on-skate officials; meaning he skates right alongside the players during each bout.
Not only are the Zebra team the only ones to not get hit during roller derby, they are the only team in the Adelaide league to include men.
On game day, referee teams can be made up of 17 skating and non-skating officials, while competing teams have only 15 skaters.
“We've got some [referees] who are outside skating around and some on the inside trying to work out where the pack is,” Matt says, “and some who are following around the jammers and trying to work out who has got lead in the jam.”
The duties of the non-skating officials include recording the points and penalties as well as timing the jam. To communicate, referees have to learn dozens of calls and hand signals; there are roughly ten different classes of penalty, all of which have two to half a dozen different calls within them.
In fact, according to Matt, the roller derby rule book is almost as complicated as AFL rules, but for Matt, this has become one of the highlights.
“These days it's not as much the physical workout but the mental workout as well. Yeah, I think it's all of that. It's the thinking, it's the skating, it's the friendships. I think that's what keeps me coming back year after year after year,” he says.
Referee training includes weekly skating workouts as well as sessions learning the extensive rules. Once a week the Zebra team work in a scrimmage or mock-bout, which is their main source of training.
2018 is Matt's sixth season of refereeing; previously, he was just a regular fan. He was thrown into refereeing at the suggestion of a friend and hasn't looked back since. “[My favourite part] is the camaraderie; we're a pretty close team and some of these friendships I know are going to stick.
“It's not just locally, it's around the country and internationally as well. I went and did a scrimmage in Japan when the league went across and I met refs from America and Europe, and I'm still really good friends with them.
“So it's the friendships you build and just hanging together and having fun,” Matt adds.
To anyone with an interest in skating – but who maybe doesn't want to get hit – Matt says to “just come join us”.
For those who want to lend a hand without the workout, there is always the option of becoming a non-skating official. “Our non-skating officials are just as much a part of it as skating officials. We love having people come along and help us do that as well.
“For anyone who is interested in skating but doesn't want to get hit, refereeing is a really good place to start.”
The Adelaide Roller Derby Grand Final will be staged at Adelaide Showground 4 August.
– written by Holly Payne
