The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby

6.2 - Penalty Enforcement

6.2.1 - Substitutions: No substitutions are allowed if a penalty carries over to the next jam. The offending skater must continue to serve their penalty time. The penalized team skates short until the penalty time expires and the penalized skater returns to the track.

6.2.1.1 - Penalized skaters must be substituted in the case of a skater who has been injured, fouled out, or expelled (see Section 9.3 - Injured Skaters, Section 6.4.1, and Section 6.4.2 respectively). These substitutions may only take place between jams. A skater who has fouled out or has been expelled is not permitted to return to play and that skater’s team must skate a skater short for the remainder of the jam.

6.2.2 - Skaters who commit a penalty prior to the start of a jam will serve in a position they were playing when the illegal action was committed.

6.2.2.1 - Skaters who commit illegal actions that warrant penalties in between jams will serve in the position they played in the prior jam; if they did not participate in the prior jam, they will serve as Blockers.

6.2.2.2 - A Captain who is assessed a penalty due to their role as Captain (for example, due to an illegal action committed by a bench manager) will serve the penalty in the position they are playing if the penalty is assessed mid-jam, or as a Blocker if the penalty is assessed in between jams.

6.2.3 - Penalty Box Procedures, Rights, and Restrictions: When a skater is sent to the Penalty Box, the skater must immediately exit the track to the appropriate direction (outfield or infield, corresponding to the location of the Penalty Box; see Section 5.14.2). The skater must then skate to the Penalty Box in the counter-clockwise direction without returning to the track. The Penalty Box boundary is considered to be part of the Penalty Box (see also Section 1.2.7).

6.2.3.1 - Penalty timing will not begin until the penalized skater legally enters the Penalty Box from the appropriate counter-clockwise direction and is seated.

6.2.3.1.1 - If, after being sent to the Penalty Box, all parts of a penalized skater have passed beyond Point of No Return (see Section 10 - Glossary), the skater must skate all the way around the track in order to enter the box from the appropriate counter-clockwise direction.

6.2.3.2 - No team may have more than two Blockers and one Jammer seated in the Penalty Box at a time. If a team has more than two penalized Blockers, the penalties will be served consecutively (i.e., the third Blocker will sit out once the first Blocker has served their penalty). This may require the third Blocker to serve their penalty in the next jam, in which case the third penalized Blocker will be asked to return to the jam (see Section 6.2.3.3).

6.2.3.2.1 - If the skater fails to remain on the track in the next jam while in the Penalty Box queue, the skater will be penalized according to Section 5.15.4.

6.2.3.2.2 - The moment the penalized skater is directed off the track, the skater is considered “in the box” for scoring, Lead Jammer, Passing the Star, and Cutting the Track rule purposes, and is no longer considered part of the pack for purposes of pack definition. However, penalty time will not start until the skater is seated in the box.

6.2.3.2.3 - In order to form a pack, a team must have at least one Blocker on the track at all times. If there is only one Blocker from a given team, that skater will not be sent to the Penalty Box, even if the Penalty Box cap has not been reached, until another Blocker returns to the track and has joined the pack.

6.2.3.2.3.1 - The penalized skater will be sent to the Penalty Box as soon as there is room in the box, provided another Blocker from the skater’s team is on the track and has joined the pack.

6.2.3.3 - If there are already two Blockers seated in the box from the penalized Blocker’s team, the third Blocker will be waved off by the Penalty Timer. If there is an empty seat (e.g., because there are fewer than 10 seconds left on penalties currently being served, resulting in a Blocker vacating a seat), the third Blocker may be seated as normal. If a Blocker is waved off, they must return to the track as described in Section 6.2.8. A Jammer can never be waved off from the Penalty Box.

6.2.4 - The penalty clock starts when the skater is seated in the Penalty Box (with exceptions noted in Section 6.2.3.3). The penalty clock only runs when the jam clock is running. If a penalty spans multiple jams, the penalty clock will stop between jams. If a skater is seated between jams, the penalty clock starts when the next jam begins.

6.2.4.1 - When there are 10 seconds remaining on the penalty clock of a penalized skater, that skater will be instructed by the Penalty Timer to stand. The skater must stand upright.

6.2.4.1.1 - If a skater has 10 or fewer seconds remaining on their penalty when they are seated (for example, per Section 6.3 - Both Jammers Penalized/Both Jammers Off the Track or because they were incorrectly instructed to leave the box early by an Official per Section 5.13.2), they will be immediately instructed to stand.

6.2.4.1.2 - If a skater does not stand when instructed, the Penalty Timer will stop the penalty clock until the skater stands.

6.2.4.2 - If a skater stands before there are 10 seconds remaining on the penalty clock, the Penalty Timer will stop the penalty clock until the skater is seated.

6.2.5 - Penalized skaters may not leave the designated Penalty Box Area during either a team or Official Timeout (see Section 5.13.11).

6.2.5.1 - A penalized skater’s teammates, managers, and coaches may not physically enter the designated Penalty Box Area to communicate with the penalized skater at any time (see Section 5.13.12 and Section 5.13.13).

6.2.6 - Penalized Captains and penalized Designated Alternates may not call a timeout from the Penalty Box. A request for a timeout or Official Review signaled to the referees from a penalized Captain or a penalized Designated Alternates shall not be granted.

6.2.7 - Penalized skaters may remove only their mouth guard once they are seated in the Penalty Box. No other equipment may be removed while a skater is in the designated Penalty Box Area (see Section 5.13.14).

6.2.8 - After being released from the Penalty Box, a penalized skater may return to the track. A skater may skate clockwise in the clearance around the outside of the track when exiting the Penalty Box (see Section 5.13.20). When returning to play, the skater must return behind the rearmost pack skater.

6.2.8.1 - A Jammer returning to play from the Penalty Box during the same jam may score immediately upon returning if the Jammer was pulled from the jam after having completed their first pass through the pack.

6.2.8.2 - If a Jammer is partially through a scoring pass when sent to the Penalty Box, the Jammer retains all of the points scored in the partial pass. Upon returning to the track, the Jammer has the opportunity to complete the pass, only earning points for opponents that the Jammer had not yet passed.

6.2.8.3 - A skater may return to the track in front of opponents who are out of play. If a Jammer is eligible to score (having completed their initial pass prior to being sent to the Penalty Box), the Jammer will immediately earn points for passing Blockers who are outside of the Engagement Zone, behind the Jammer, upon re-entry (see Section 7.2.6.2).