Big Easy Roller Derby unveils 2026 schedule with Pride mashup and home bouts

Big Easy Roller Derby’s 2026 calendar reads like a statement of purpose as much as a schedule. The New Orleans league packed in a season opener against River City Roller Derby, a Pride Mashup, a rookie mashup, and multiple home dates at its warehouse base on 3632 Desire Pkwy, all in a format built to keep derby and New Orleans-style event culture moving together.

The season opened May 2 against River City Roller Derby and then pushed into a June 20 home bout against Acadiana Roller Derby, the same night as the Pride Mashup. Big Easy also set a July 12 Running of the Bulls Mashup, a July 25 matchup with Montgomery Roller Derby, an August 15 rookie mashup plus a doubleheader, a September 12 road game at West Florida Roller Derby, and an October 3 home bout against Mobile Bay Roller Derby. Home-game entry carries a $10 suggested donation.

That mix is the story. Big Easy is not treating the 2026 slate as a plain run of bouts. It is building nights with different entry points for hard-core fans, new skaters, and people who may come for the Pride Mashup or the doubleheader atmosphere and stay for the hits, speed and chaos that make flat track derby work. The June 20 Pride event stands out because it puts inclusion on the same stage as competition, and the rookie mashup shows the league is still creating space for development, not just results.

The league’s identity gives that calendar extra weight. Big Easy describes itself as an all-gender flat track roller derby league based in New Orleans that supports charitable organizations benefiting the wider community. It was founded in 2004 by skaters including Kate Parker, known as Cherri Pi, Laura Mogg, known as little maSCARa, and Jeannie Detweiler, known as Galaxy Girl. The league says it is one of the original 20 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association charter leagues.

The wider history is part of the pitch too. WFTDA, the international governing body for women’s flat track roller derby, lists Big Easy as a New Orleans league and counts 408 member leagues on six continents. Its materials note the league was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and resumed competitive play in September 2006. Big Easy changed its name from Big Easy Rollergirls to Big Easy Roller Derby in 2022, a move that matched the league’s all-gender identity. WFTDA stats say its highest regional ranking came in June 2023, when it reached 17th.

The 2026 schedule continues the pattern that showed up in 2024, when Big Easy also leaned on a home doubleheader format and a West Florida matchup. The league is selling more than dates here. It is selling continuity, access and a very New Orleans way to stage a season.