Big Easy Rollergirls - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Big Easy Rollergirls or BERG (est. 2005) is an all-female, flat-track roller derby

Roller derby

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...

league in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. In 2011, BERG converted from an LLC to a non-profit corporation, but does not have 501(c)(3) status. It is also a member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

Women's Flat Track Derby Association

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...

(WFTDA).

The Big Easy Rollergirls league was founded in the spring of 2005, and had planned their first bout during Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...

2006. Unfortunately, the league was disrupted by and had to regroup following the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

, beginning competitive play on September 16, 2006. After a citywide tryout, BERG 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, the Big Easy Rollergirls 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 Rollergirls Allstars. By the fourth season, the Big Easy Rollergirls 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 now the recreational team composed of retired Big Easy Rollergirls skaters.

Now beginning their sixth season, the Big Easy Rollergirls organization has continued to grow and evolve, 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 BERG has worked with include the Slaughter, Louisiana

Slaughter, Louisiana

Slaughter is a town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,011 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.Slaughter was designated a town in 2002.-History:...

Volunteer Fire Department, Arabi Wrecking Krewe, New Orleans City Park, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, NO AIDS Task Force, Common Ground

Common Ground

Common Ground may refer to:* Common ground * Grounding in communication * The commons, publicly owned areas, especially those for meeting* Common land, ground where the public have traditional rights, such as grazing...

, KaBOOM!

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is an American non-profit organization that helps communities build playgrounds for children.-History:Darell Hammond and Dawn Hutchison founded KaBOOM! in 1996. They were inspired to start KaBOOM! after reading a story in The Washington Post about two local children who suffocated while...

, KIDsmART, and the Louisiana SPCA.

The Big Easy Rollergirls are a diverse group of female athletes, ranging in age from the twenty-one to over fifty. . By day, they are dental hygenists, 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.
The league currently holds their home bouts in near capacity crowds (800+ attendees)at the University of New Orleans

University of New Orleans

The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...

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 all-female flat-track roller derby. In doing so they provide alternative athletic entertainment while supporting charitable organizations that benefit the community at large.

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

Rankings

Season	Q4 ranking	Regionals	Championship WFTDA Championships The WFTDA Championships are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.The Championships are organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association . They originated in 2006 as the National WFTDA Championship...
2008	9	N/A	N/A
2009	17	N/A	N/A
2010	17	N/A	N/A
2011	TBA	N/A	N/A

External links

Sources and bibliography

Additional sources

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