Referees and Non-Skating Officials

Roller derby offers two officiating positions: Referee and Non-Skating Official (NSO)

Skating Officials: Referees

Referees - the skating officials, are essential for ensuring safety and fair play during a game. Skating Officials wear roller skates during practice and at games.

Join us as a referee
We welcome anyone aged 18+ who is interested in becoming a referee. This is a great way to become involved in the sport and increase your fitness on skates. Once trainee referees complete their basic skating skills they begin to shadow our referees and start learning referee skills and the rules of roller derby. Email [email protected] to sign up now or find out more information.

Photo credit: Alan Wilson

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Non-Skating Officials: NSOs

Photo credit: Siobhan Redmond

Non-Skating Officials officiates the game off skates by documenting penalties, managing the game clock and keeping track of general game administration. Below are some of the positions that NSOs run during a game:

Head NSO: Is responsible for all the NSOs during a game. They print and distribute the official paperwork, help the other NSOs during the game, and gather the paperwork at the end of the game.

Jam Timer: Is responsible for starting each jam, stopping jams if they run the full two minutes, maintaining the period clock, making sure the scoreboard clock is in sync with their clock, and signalling and timing official reviews and team timeouts.

Penalty Trackers: Is responsible for recording the penalties reported by referees and keeps track of the official penalty tally.

Penalty Box Timers: Is responsible for timing skater penalties and assisting referees.

Scorekeepers: Is responsible for writing down the points reported by the jammer referee and informing the scoreboard operator of the points earned at the end of each jam.

Scoreboard Operator: Starts and stops the publicly visible period and jam clocks, and adds points to each team’s score as reported by the scorekeepers. This official also displays which jammer is skating for each team, lead jammer status, and timeout information.

Lineup Trackers: Is responsible for recording which skaters are participating in each jam, and which position each skater is playing.

Join us as a NSO
Becoming a NSO only requires practice and a love for learning about roller derby, there is no need for skating skills or extensive game knowledge. ARRG will train you in everything you need to know and even help you work towards WFTDA Certification if this is a path you wish to take. Email [email protected] to sign up now or find out more information.

Whether you’re a skater or a devoted fan, there’s no better way to learn the game and the rules of roller derby than being a part of our officials crew.