The Evolution of Rules

A brief conversation with a skater the other day got me thinking about how much the rules for WFTDA roller derby have changed since the inception of the modern incarnation of the sport, and how much they may or may not change in the future.

So I decided to compare a handful of professional sports for clues about how long it typically takes a sport to mature into a relatively fixed rule set. I looked at the NFL, NHL, and NBA, and here's what I found:

FOOTBALL
http://www.sportsattic2.com/araig/NflRulesHistory.htm
American   Football was first played similar to the way it is today in 1876. From   this page it looks like it enjoyed very infrequent changes until the 1940's, but I'd bet that it just seems that way because we have better   records of changes that have happened more recently. If you look at the   recent past (last 20 years or so) there have been major changes almost  every year.

BASKETBALL
http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html
Basketball's   initial rules were written in the 1940's. With the exception of the  late 50's & early 60's, it too has undergone major updates nearly  every year right up to the present day.

HOCKEY
http://www.tmlfever.com/thegame.html#anchor_80359
This   page lists major changes nearly every year from 1910 to the early  80's.  After that, some of the game parameters have been adjusted every  year  right up to 2004. There have also been changes after 2004 that  aren't  listed here, for example here's a summary of major changes in  2008: http://devilsdaily.com/node/102

So   if history is any guide, we can definitely expect the roller derby rules to continue to evolve for many years to come. The level of   athleticism will continue to rise, there will be turnovers in   leadership, and the fanbase will grow & change. The rules of the game will have to keep up, so start getting comfortable with change!