Big Easy Roller Derby (est. 2005) is a women's, flat-track

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

league in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana. Big Easy is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

History

Big Easy Roller Derby was founded as Big Easy Rollergirls in the spring of 2005 and had planned their first bout during Mardi Gras 2006. Unfortunately, the league was disrupted by and had to regroup following the events surrounding

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, beginning competitive play on September 16, 2006. After a citywide tryout, BERD had two teams and more than 30 active members its first season. The debut bout was won by the Hor-Nots (v the 'Aints) 128–123 in overtime before a sellout crowd. In their second season, Big Easy Roller Derby doubled their membership with new recruits and was able to field four local teams: Confederacy of Punches, Crescent Wenches, Marigny Antoinettes, and StoryVillains, as well as a travel team, the Big Easy Roller Derby Allstars. By the fourth season, Big Easy Roller Derby switched to a two-team structure: The Big Easy Allstars (A team) and the Crescent Wenches (B team). The Marigny Antoinettes are now the incoming year's "Fresh Meat", and the StoryVillains are the recreational team composed of retired Big Easy Roller Derby skaters. The Big Easy Roller Derby organization has continued to grow and evolve,Rollergirls want some aggressive skaters- NOLA.com
/ref> maintaining a rigorous athletic training regimen (both on skates and off) while regularly contributing to community-service–oriented efforts around New Orleans. Charities and organizations BERD has worked with include the Slaughter, Louisiana Volunteer Fire Department, Arabi Wrecking Krewe, New Orleans City Park, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, NO AIDS Task Force, Common Ground Collective, KaBOOM!, KIDsmART and the Louisiana SPCA. Big Easy Roller Derby are a diverse group of female athletes, ranging in age from the twenty-one to over fifty. By day, they are dental hygienists, community college students, teachers, lawyers, stay-at-home-mothers, and waitresses. For their first two seasons, home bouts were held at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in

Algiers, New Orleans Algiers () is a historic neighborhood of New Orleans and is the only Orleans Parish community located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Algiers is known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. It was once home to many j ...

. The league currently holds their home bouts before large crowds (400 - 600 attendees) at the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

Human Performance Center. Voted “Best Local Sports Team" by local magazine
Where Y’at
' in their first season, the league's mission continues to be to encourage and empower women through the sport of flat-track roller derby. In doing so they provide alternative athletic entertainment while supporting charitable organizations that benefit the community at large. In 2011, BERD converted from an LLC to a non-profit corporation, but does not have

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

status. The league changed their name from Big Easy Rollergirls to Big Easy Roller Derby in 2019. BERD has a partnership with Crescent City Crushers, the local junior roller derby league, to promote the sport locally.

WFTDA competition

In October 2011, Big Easy were ranked number one by the Derby South organization, which represents leagues from five southern states.October 2011 Rankings
, Derby South After the 2013 season, they were ranked 93 in the world by the WFTDA. In 2014, Big Easy made their first appearance at WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs, coming into the Duluth tournament as the third seed, and ultimately finishing in fourth place.

Rankings

References

Bibliography

April 2008 - W Magazine - Bruce Weber spread on New Orleans features the Big Easy Rollergirls

November 2007 - NOLA.com launches Flat Track Fever

March 2007 - USA Rollersports Magazine "Frivolity in a Forgotten City"

March 2007 - New Orleans Magazine "Easy Rollin'"

Feb. 2007 - Times Picayune "Back to Basics"

Dec. 2006 - Health & Fitness "Rolling Thunder"

Nov. 2006 - UNO Driftwood "Roller Derby Action"

Oct. 2006 - Times Picayune "Rocking and Rolling"

Oct. 2006 - Times Picayune "Rollergirls Make Algiers Their Rink"

Oct. 2006 - The Gambit "A Sport for the Well-Wheeled"

Sept. 2006 - The Gambit "Hot Picks"

Sept. 2006 - Tulane New Wave "Big Easy Rollergirls Ready for Prime Time"

July 2006 - WTUL Community Gumbo "Through Hell and High Water""

June 2006 - Where Y'at Magazine "Big Easy Rollergirls named 'Best local sports team'"

External links

Big Easy Rollergirls web site

Big Easy Rollergirls Myspace page

Official website for San Fermin in Nueva Orleans

Women's Flat Track Derby Association web site
{{Louisiana Sports Roller derby leagues established in 2005 Roller derby leagues in Louisiana Sports clubs and teams in New Orleans Women's Flat Track Derby Association 2005 establishments in Louisiana