Medics & Injuries

Please take a minute to appreciate our Medics. They have a very difficult job! Before you come to RollerCon, you should know a little about how seriously we take your safety. Skaters get injured! Now multiply any skating event you’ve ever attended by the biggest integer you can. RollerCon is 5 days from 8am to midnight on multiple tracks, plus several rooms off skates and classroom seminars and a whole lot of social events where you can drunkenly injure yourself.  With that many opportunities and that many people, and all the drinking and sun and dry weather – its not unusual for us to field several very serious injuries PER MEDIC, PER SHIFT.

QUALIFICATIONS
Our Medic staff is carefully vetted in advance. Their manager checks every certification and qualification before accepting them, and they take an online test to determine if they’re ready for our specific types of injuries, including heat exhaustion, track injuries, hangover dehydration and more. Their credentials are then sent to the Southern Nevada Health Department, who review our Safety Plan and staff credentials, and issue approval for our event as part of a larger city licensing requirement.

WHERE THEY ARE
Medics are staffed trackside for all roller derby games, and have multiple stations in the MVP area and in the skatepark. They are happy to help you at any time, however, please do not interrupt the trackside Medics unless your problem is worthy of a game delay.

EMTs may not typically be on duty for skating outside the Expo Hall or non-skating social events, so please call the SkateSafe hotline (774-993-4257 or from the RollerCon app) if you need help during RollerCon events where you don’t see their distinctive green shirts.

WHAT THEY DO
On site, they take the responsibility for hundreds of people over the course of each shift. If someone is hurt, they have to make assessments that sometimes make them unpopular. For example, you knock your head and feel fine – but they think you might have a concussion. Or they think you have ANY serious injury that needs to be assessed further – they will ask your permission to call EMS. You can refuse; that’s your prerogative. However, until you do see  a doctor, they have to take your skating pass. You will be issued a non-skating pass until you come back with a doctor’s clearance. Based on the number of angry emails we field about that, I can only imagine how horrible people are to their faces when they have to make that call.

INJURY PROTOCOLS
They are required to err on the side of caution, and if they take you off skates, it’s not because they want to. They only make that difficult call if they’re concerned for your safety and want you to get *more* than their quick assessment before you return to play. You will not get any apologies from us about this. No amount of arguing, threatening, or calling in of friends or other staff will change the assessment they’ve made (ask anyone who has been in that position). Instead they’ll just bring more bosses over to explain to you why it has to be the way it is. We may all feel awful about it, but we trust that they know when you need a more serious assessment, and management will never override their decision.

THEN WHAT HAPPENS?
If your skating pass is taken, you can get it back with a doctor’s clearance. There is a list of nearby hospitals and urgent cares on our RollerCon map (and housecall docs are usually listed in your hotel room, too).

If we can’t give your pass back, you’ll be issued a non-skating pass and depending on when your pass is pulled, we may issue a deferral good for the same type of pass you had. You can use that pass the next year.

IMPORTANT!
We keep careful records of all injuries and submit them to our insurers, but WFTDA and USARS derby insurance requires that YOU submit your injury report within 10 days of the injury. Please don’t forget!
WFTDA Medical Claim
USARS Medical Claim

GEAR CHECK
Officials no longer do safety checks. However, it is crucial that YOU check your gear!

See that it fits and is in good repair, including:

  • Helmet: fits snug and sits low on the head. Strap is snug and secure.
  • Elbow, knee and wristguards: fit snug with secure Velcro. Caps and inserts aren’t cracked or broken, and are secured to the pads (not falling out / off)
  • Mouthguard: fits snug and covers your teeth

Officials do, however, still check your game requirements:

  • Your jersey will also be checked to see that it has a 6” or larger number permanently on your back. See “Players” information and photos for specifics.
  • You must also have matching numbers on your arm or armbands
  • Any other numbers on your uniform or body must match or be covered
  • Officials can request that you remove or cover any apparel or jewelry that could be hazardous to players
  • Skaters that seem drunk, smell of alcohol or seem compromised by heat stroke, dehydration or any other common RollerCon condition will be referred to Medics for assessment. Their judgment is final and not negotiable.