Any Roller Derby Fans Lurking Here?

I recently watched the movie Whip It! (you can read my review in Gateway's Movies & TV sub-forum) and it reminded me of watching roller derby matches on UHF channels back in the 1970s. With a little bit of searching I discovered that there's a roller derby league here in my hometown of Manchester, NH Roller Derby.

Unfortunately, they're a flat track roller derby. Having watched a few YouTube videos of flat track derby it just doesn't seem to have the same excitement level of the old-school banked track roller derby of my youth. Apparently, the banked tracks are expensive to maintain, so aren't used very much anymore.

While the banks do seem to allow for greater speed, I think it's really the absence of the rail that diminishes the modern sport. Back in the good old days when a blocker hip-checked a jammer into the rail it was their own athleticism that determined the recovery speed. Under flat track rules the jammer just needs to find their way to the back of the pack and start their run again.

I'd love to hear what other roller derby fans think about banked versus flat tracks. Perhaps you think flat track is better? If so, please tell me what it is I'm missing.