Rolling into Action: How Tape Jungle Supports Roller Derby with Essential Tape Solutions

Roller derby has been around, in one form or another, since the 1930s. After a lull in popularity, it's returned to the zeitgeist with a vengeance during the past quarter century. But despite its rising mainstream popularity, this sport maintains its celebrated DIY spirit, including the pop-up events and unorthodox venues that have contributed so much to its punk-rock persona. To set up a proper track in these impromptu spaces, you'll need quite a bit of insider knowledge. And a LOT of tape.

Fortunately, Tape Jungle's got more than enough to go around. With vinyl, reflective, gaffer, and duct tapes available in a range of widths, colors, and styles, creating a custom roller derby track that's clear, stable, and ready to roll has never been simpler. Read on to learn how to choose the right tape for your next bout, get bonus tips on protecting your roller derby gear with tape, and more.

The Rise of Roller Derby Leagues and Pop-Up Tracks

Since its beginnings during the Great Depression, roller derby has gone through multiple revivals and revisions, including several track design changes. The modern flat-track version of the game was popularized by the Texas Rollergirls in the early 2000s, earning them a reputation as the progenitors of the modern roller derby movement. Today, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association lists around 450 leagues globally. The sport even has a recognized international governing body, and in 2017, the World Skate organization added roller derby to the roster of the World Roller Games.

Despite the increased recognition, informal pop-up tracks continue to be the norm for many roller derby competitions. The requirements for a pop-up roller derby track are simple:

• A flat, hard, even surface like concrete or wood
• A minimum space of 108' by 75', plus room for spectators

So long as a location meets these requirements, all it takes is some time and tape to transform the floor into a bona fide derby track. It's this roll-and-go flexibility that has helped the sport grow so quickly. Leagues can host competitions and events anywhere in their community, turning countless heads and drumming up interest along the way.

Benefits of Using Tape Jungle's Floor Marking Tapes for Roller Derby Tracks

To create your own temporary roller derby track, using the right tape is crucial. Top quality tapes for roller derby applications should be:

• Durable: The tape must be able to withstand foot traffic, roller skate traffic, scrapes, and heavy impacts.
• Versatile: Roller derby tapes must be able to stick fast to a variety of surfaces including concrete, wood, and asphalt.
• Visible: Players and officials need to clearly see the track lines against the floor and in prevailing light conditions.
• Easy-to-Use: The tape should be easy to handle and apply, keeping set-up time manageable.
• Removable: The tape must be easy to remove, ideally without leaving any sticky residues behind.

Fortunately, Tape Jungle produces a number of products that offer all of the benefits listed above, depending on the conditions of your bout. To help you decide which product is right for your situation, we've broken down the most popular roller derby tape choices below, explaining their key qualities and which surfaces they're best suited for.

Vinyl Floor Marking Tape

Vinyl floor tape has several features that are highly desirable for roller derby tracks. It comes in many colors, so you can get an optimal contrast between the track boundaries and the floor. Using multiple colors also makes it easier for participants and spectators to distinguish between track boundaries, official zones, and penalty areas.

Vinyl tape is also extremely durable. It has excellent resistance to abrasion, impacts, tearing, sun, and moisture. This durability makes it well-suited for both indoor and outdoor use, ensuring stable and clear track lines. However, this tape may not perform as well on rough surfaces, such as asphalt.

Reflective Tape

Reflective tape can be a smart choice if your pop-up venue is dimly lit or your event is being held outdoors at night. It's generally a highly durable, weather-resistant product, best suited for application on relatively smooth surfaces. However, it's important to note that most reflective tapes are designed with aggressive adhesives, which can make the tape removal process challenging. As such, reflective tapes are best suited when establishing a new permanent track.

Gaffer Tape

Gaffer tape (and its psychedelic cousin fluorescent gaffer tape) is often the top choice for creating temporary indoor roller derby tracks. It's designed for use underfoot, making it ideally suited for the trampling that takes place in roller derby. With many color varieties and light reflective properties, it's a good product for ensuring every mark is easy to make out, no matter how intense a bout gets.

Gaffer tape is also a very easy tape to apply and remove. Its construction prevents it from twisting and curling during application, and it can be torn by hand for quick, efficient application. Then, when it's time to peel it back off, its adhesive formula releases cleanly from most surface types.

Duct Tape

Another popular choice for roller derby tracks is duct tape, particularly colored duct tape. It's a famously sturdy solution, resistant to abrasion, tearing, and all manner of inclement weather. Similar to gaffer tape, it's designed to be easy to tear by hand and apply, without twisting or curling. It also comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns, providing plenty of options for distinguishing between different track markings.

The main drawback of duct tape is its tendency to leave residue behind. Its powerful adhesive is hard to remove cleanly and can create more cleanup work, particularly after indoor events. However, its stronger adhesive works in its favor on rougher surfaces, like asphalt or unpolished concrete. For outdoor tracks in particular, duct tape is often the best option.

Glow-in-the-Dark Tape for Cosmic Roller Derby

Cosmic roller derby and blacklight bouts throw some jovial chaos into the roller derby equation, with darkened tracks, glowing lines, and luminescent equipment. To ensure the track stays safely illuminated during this derby variation, glow-in-the-dark tape is essential. It can also be an excellent way to add glowing accents to gear.

Fortunately, applying Tape Jungle's glow-in-the-dark tape requires only a little more effort than your basic gaffer or duct tape. It's a three-step process:

1. Position the tape where you need it
2. Peel off the backing paper
3. Press the tape into place to adhere

This tape is weather-resistant, making it suitable for creating both indoor and outdoor tracks. Its strong adhesive formulation helps it stick just about anywhere but also means it is best suited for permanent or long-term tracks. After just 30 minutes of exposure to either natural or artificial light, its photoluminescent pigments are fully charged. Then, depending on the variety you've used, it can continue to glow visibly for up to 24 hours.

Tape for Roller Derby Gear and Accessories

Of course, tracks aren't the only things that benefit from some tape in roller derby. Tape is an affordable way to keep skates in good shape. Gaffers tape is particularly popular for this, thanks to its flexibility and good adhesion onto leather and fabric.

Gaffer tape or duct tape can also help keep knee and elbow pads in service once the Velcro has started to wear out. It can be used to help hold the pads in place, and also to prevent the Velcro from curling up and scratching others. Some training spaces will even require knee and elbow pads to be taped over, in order to reduce scuffing on the floors.

As for aesthetics, while stickers are perhaps the most iconic method for gear decoration, tape is also a fantastic way to add team colors and custom designs to your gear. You can even opt for custom-printed team-branded tape to create a powerfully cohesive look out on the track.

Tips for Setting up Roller Derby Tracks With Tape Jungle Products

Choosing the right tape for your location is critical for keeping your track stable throughout the bout. The most important factors to consider are:

• Location - Will it be held indoors or outdoors?
• Floor Surface - Will the surface be rough or smooth? How critical is it to leave no residue behind?
• Visibility - Will the lighting be low? Will there be fog effects or flashing lights?

For example, say your bout will be held outdoors, in the afternoon, in an asphalt parking lot. The property owner doesn't care about a little residue, just so long as all the tape is gone at the end. In this example, duct tape would be an excellent choice, due to its ease of application, strength, durability, excellent adhesion to rough surfaces, and because residue is a non-issue. Use this example as a model for thinking through conditions for your event, and you'll have no problem determining the right tape for your bout.

Once you've got your tape in hand, all that's left is marking your roller derby track. Here are a few tips to keep in mind while taping to ensure smooth and efficient application:

1. Double-check the official regulations for roller derby track layout to ensure you're creating a correctly sized track.
2. Decide which tape you'll use for each marking including the Jammer Line, Pivot Line, Infield, Track, and Outside Official Lane.
3. Once you've measured your track, evenly apply your tape in sections that are as long as you find manageable. Steady, smooth pressure from one end to the other helps ensure a clean edge and professional-looking results.

Finally, while some wear is inevitable during an intense bout, choosing the right tape in the first place will go a long way toward minimizing in-game repairs. When you're conducting repairs, removing damaged sections when possible and replacing them with fresh tape prevents bulky layers that can snag and peel up more easily. It also helps to keep clean-up fast and efficient at the end of the bout.

Tape Jungle Salutes Roller Derby

It takes true punk-rock spirit to brave a bout of roller derby. At Tape Jungle, we salute the ferocious athletes who make this sport infinitely exciting to experience. We're ready to assist, making your tracks brighter, bolder, and more durable, no matter where your next pop-up takes you. And we're also here to help protect the gear that protects you, so you can keep on playing the sport you love.

To browse for floor marking tapes, reflective tape, gaffer tape, duct tape, glow-in-the-dark tape, and more, you can visit our roller derby collection or dive into our entire catalog.

Questions? Concerns? Just want to talk shop with a Tape Jungle expert about roller derby track taping? Whatever you have to say, we'd love to hear from you. Thanks for choosing Tape Jungle, and good luck in your next bout!