Big Easy Roller Derby

Big Easy Roller Derby (est. 2005)[1] is a women's, flat-track roller derby league in New Orleans, Louisiana. Big Easy is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[2]

Big Easy Roller Derby
League logo
Metro areaNew Orleans
CountryUnited States
Founded2005
TeamsAllStars (A team)
Second Line (B team)
Track type(s)Flat
VenueHuman Performance Center
AffiliationsWFTDA
Org. typeLLC
Websitehttps://www.bigeasyrollerderby.com/

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.[3] Unfortunately, the league was disrupted by and had to regroup following the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, 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,[4] maintaining a rigorous athletic training regimen (both on skates and off) while regularly contributing to community-service–oriented efforts around New Orleans.[5] 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.[4] 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.[6] The league currently holds their home bouts before large crowds (400 - 600 attendees) at the University of New Orleans Human Performance Center.

Voted “Best Local Sports Team" by local magazine Where Y’at in their first season,[7] 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) status. The league changed their name from Big Easy Rollergirls to Big Easy Roller Derby in 2019.[8]

BERD has a partnership with Crescent City Crushers, the local junior roller derby league, to promote the sport locally.[9]

WFTDA competition

In October 2011, Big Easy were ranked number one by the Derby South organization, which represents leagues from five southern states.[10]

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.[11]

Rankings
Season Final ranking[12] Playoffs Championship
2006 28 WFTDA[13] — N/A
2007 30 WFTDA[14] DNQ DNQ
2008 9 SC[15] DNQ DNQ
2009 17 SC[16] DNQ DNQ
2010 17 SC[17] DNQ DNQ
2011 18 SC[18] DNQ DNQ
2012 24 SC[19] DNQ DNQ
2013 97 WFTDA[20] DNQ DNQ
2014 67 WFTDA[21] 4 D2[11] DNQ
2015 79 WFTDA[22] DNQ DNQ
2016 142 WFTDA[23] DNQ DNQ
2017 162 WFTDA[24] DNQ DNQ

References
  1. Tulane University Magazine – News Archived 2007-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Joulwan, Melissa (6 April 2007). Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track. Simon and Schuster. p. 267. ISBN 9781416538554. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  3. Bynum, Chris (December 16, 2005), "Spin Sisters", Times Picayune
  4. Rollergirls want some aggressive skaters- NOLA.com
  5. Barkoff, Eva Jacob (May 2006), "On a Roll", Times Picayune
  6. "The Big Easy Roller Girls: Through Hell and High Water, pt. 1 : NOLA Indymedia". neworleans.indymedia.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  7. Archived October 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Big Easy Rollergirls Announce Rebranding to Big Easy Roller Derby, to Host First Official Game Since 2019". Big Easy Roller Derby. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  9. "Crescent City Crushers". Big Easy Roller Derby. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  10. "October 2011 Rankings", Derby South
  11. "August 15-17, 2014: Duluth, Minnesota, USA - Women's Flat Track Derby Association". wftda.org. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  12. "Current Rankings Archived 2012-01-25 at the Wayback Machine", WFTDA
  13. "12/8/2006 WFTDA National Rankings". WFTDA. 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
  14. "Current WFTDA Rankings", Derby News Network, October 2007
  15. "Rankings – WFTDA". www.wftda.com. WFTDA. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  16. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  17. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  18. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  19. "Current Rankings". WFTDA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  20. "Rankings: December 31, 2013". WFTDA. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  21. "Rankings: December 31, 2014 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  22. "Rankings: December 31, 2015 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  23. "Rankings: December 31, 2016 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  24. "Rankings: December 31, 2017 – WFTDA". wftda.com. WFTDA. Retrieved 8 January 2018.

Bibliography

Further reading
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