For more a more detailed look at the early years, check out the Big Easy Blog!

(2004) – Big Easy Roller Derby (originally Big Easy Roller Girls) was founded by a group of tough New Orleans ladies who saw the rebirth of roller derby happening in Austin, Texas, and felt that New Orleans was a perfect fit for such an empowering, competitive sport for women. Kate Parker (Cherri Pi), Laura Mogg (little maSCARa), and Jeannie Detweiler (Galaxy Girl) were among the founding members who organized the league and affiliated it with a just-beginning national roller derby association called the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). To this day, Big Easy is one of the proud original 20 WFTDA charter leagues.

(2005) – Big Easy began holding practices in mid-2005, and had a dedicated and growing membership when, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina rolled into town. In the aftermath of that storm, the founding members of the team were scattered, with many relocating around the country. When the floods receded and New Orleans began the long rebuilding process, Big Easy had to do the same. Having lost most of the original membership, the team began recruiting new members in early 2006 and began practicing again in early spring of that year. By late that summer, with over 30 members and its first referee crew, Big Easy held its first bout amidst the brightly lit floats at Mardi Gras World on September 17, 2006. For many in the league and throughout New Orleans, the team became a touchstone of the Katrina recovery process, and a great respite from what was still a difficult and painful time in our city’s history. When we say we “Skate Through Hell and High Water,” we really mean it.

(2006-2007) – Season 1 consisted mostly of themed bouts played at Mardi Gras World between two Big Easy intra-league teams – the Black team and the White team – who took on various personas and costumes to fit the theme of the bout. The league held practices four times a week at Airline Skate Center in Metairie and in Audubon Park. In early 2007, the Big Easy travel team, composed of the best players from both intra-league teams, played their first away games against WFTDA opponents, taking on The Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls in Las Vegas and the Philly Liberty Belles at the first East Coast Extravaganza tournament held in Philadelphia.

(2007-2008) – Season 2 brought growth to nearly 60 members and the team was able to divide into four separate home teams that developed fierce rivalries: the Marigny Antoinettes, the Crescent Wenches, the Confederacy of Punches, and the StoryVillains. Practices moved to Skate Country WestBank. The travel team took on the name “Big Easy Rollergirls AllStars” and continued to play WFTDA opponents both at home and away.

(2008-2009) – Season 3 had the home team competition getting fierce, and with changing membership the teams consolidated, with the Marigny Antoinettes choosing to self-dissolve and retire undefeated, distributing their members across the remaining three home teams.

(2009-2010) – Season 4 saw the league settling in at around 40 members, and it was time to do away with the home team system altogether in favor of a sleeker, more competitive arrangement with an ‘A’ team, the AllStars, who would compete on higher level against national WFTDA opponents – and a ‘B’ team, the Crescent Wenches, who would play opponents on a more regional level.

(2010-2011) – Season 5 brought an exciting change when the team found its own home, a cozy warehouse facility in an appropriately tough, industrial area of town. For the first time, Big Easy could practice as often and for as long as they wanted.

(2012) – Season 6 was a great year for the Crescent Wenches, who went undefeated, but a difficult one for the AllStars, which lost several members to retirement and struggled in competitive play that season.

(2013) – Season 7 was rebirth for the AllStars, who set a new winning record with 8 victories in a row, undefeated at home until the season closer against a Gotham Girls home team. The Crescent Wenches were a rookie-heavy team that season whose schedule didn’t allow much playtime; their season ended with 3 wins to 4 losses.

(2014) – Season 8 brought improvements for both teams as they received a boost of transfer skaters and continued to increase their experience. The Crescent Wenches were a top regional force, while the AllStars had their sights set on top national competition.

(2015) – Season 9 resulted in 3 wins for the Big Easy AllStars and 3 wins for the Crescent Wenches.

(2016) – Season 10 brought a name change for the beloved B-team, and “Crescent Wenches” became “Big Easy Second Line”. This transition came with new branding and jerseys, as well as hosting their first tournament, Sweatfest, where 3 top WFTDA teams (Rose City Wheels of Justice, Texas Rollergirls, and Atlanta Rollergirls) came to New Orleans in the heat of July and faced-off at the UNO Lakefront Arena.

(2017) – Season 11 saw improvements for the Second Line team, as transfer skaters nestled into the Big Easy family and became a strong and cohesive team. The AllStars also caught their stride with new faces and fought hard for their 6 season wins. Sweatfest grew into an amazing 2-day event.

(2018) – Season 12 saw a push for more inclusivity, and the first all-gender intake was held. Home teams resumed, retired skaters came back as trainers, and Big Easy played 10 sanctioned games, bringing home wins for half of them.

(2019) – Season 13 was a banner year for Big Easy, which brought home wins from 5 out of 7 sanctioned games!

(2020) – Season 14 was, of course, the season that never was, as the COVID-19 pandemic put the world on pause, and Big Easy with it, with the world shutting down the night before a scheduled “Battle of the Ages” mashup. New team jerseys were debuted on TikTok, and team spirit was kept up through zoom practices, workouts, dance parties, & social hours.

(2021) – Season 15 was a slow slog towards “reopening” just like everywhere else. In the summer, Big Easy started working on getting comfortable on skates again, practicing in masks, safely at a distance and without contact. August paused progress as the team took a break when COVID numbers spiked again and Hurricane Ida rolled through, but regular practices resumed in September. October saw the beginnings of full-contact practice, and in November, more scrimmage-like practice.

(2022) – Season 16 finally felt something like a proper derby season! In January and May, Big Easy hosted its first New Skater Intakes since before the pandemic, and began the process of rebuilding the team yet again. Big Easy also hosted an Expo game in May, as well its first official game since before the pandemic, against Jackson Roller Derby, and a couple of mash-ups later in the year. Additionally, a few of the league members made it on to Team Louisiana!

In May, Big Easy also announced a major rebranding, changing from Big Easy Roller Girls to Big Easy Roller Derby in an effort to better reflect its values of inclusiveness and those of the sport of roller derby. Big Easy’s mission is to empower people of all genders through the sport of flat-track roller derby and offer a place for individuals to express themselves, achieve their goals and to feel a sense of inclusion in a community where they are celebrated and recognized as equals.