Our officials are called the Stray Hellcats! If you are curious about roller derby but feel like playing or skating isn't for you, then we would recommend trying out officiating. It's a great way to be part of this wonderful sport, meet other people and work together as a team. It's super fun!
SO/Referee
Skating Officials (SO), or referees, are refs on skates who make sure everyone on the track is playing safely and according to the rules. They hand out penalties, count the score, and a bunch of other things. There are seven skating officials in a regulation game who have different roles. A referee has to be comfortable on skates and very familiar with the rules. We'll of course teach you both if you decide to become a Stray Hellcat!
NSO
Non-Skating Officials (NSO) are super important people, who a derby game wouldn't run nearly as smoothly without! There are usually about ten NSOs who track and time different things during the game. You could for example time penalties in the penalty box, control the scoreboard, track penalties or points or who is playing in each jam.
This is a role which lets you be there in the middle of the action without having to be on skates if that's not your thing. For some of the positions it's good to be pretty familiar with the rules, but for other positions it's not required at all.
I want to learn more about this!
Yay, great! The first step would usually be to come to one of our practices and get an introduction to roller derby, the rules and all the different positions officials can have. You could also participate in our beginner's course. We especially recommend this if you are interested in become a skating official.
You can email us at contact@helltownhellcats.com and we will take it from there!