Could Minors Become a Thing of the Past

The WFTDA has recently launched a series of beta test bouts that will be using a different set of rules.  Under the new rules outlined in Section 6 minor penalties will no longer effect game play.  That means elbowing, illegal use of forearms, or back blocking that does not force a player out of bounds, down, or out of position will be considered 'no impact'.  The other change is cutting the track in front of any player from the opposite team will result in a trip to the penalty box for one minute.

I have been giving a lot of thought to this 'no minors' change and are on the fence about the whole matter.  As a skater that has benched for a entire period for having three minors I like the idea of minor penalties being irrelevant.  My team also has a tendency to play dirty so a move to no minors might help our game.  On the other hand I worry that derby might get more dirty.  I know a lot of players out there who freak out when people elbow them or touch them with their forearms and I wonder how they would react to all this. 

In any case it will be interesting to see what kind of information the WFTDA discovers from these beta test bouts.  I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the matter so don't hesitate to speak up.