Cajun Roller Girls not slowed by setbacks

They are said to have the strength of a football player, the balance of a gymnast and the discipline of a martial artist. But last week the area’s only roller derby team, Cajun Roller Girls, discovered they would be lacking a home.

The group of 15 girls learned that the rink they have called home since their league formed last year – Wheels-R-Rollin, located at 256 Horseshoe Road in Schriever – has been sold and will be shut down July 23, after being on the market for some time.

The women practiced at the facility Saturday in what could be their last indoor practice.

A year ago, Cajun Roller Girls’ founder/president Traci Nelton (a.k.a. Olive Torture) had organized the team’s first bout, an exhibition contest at Wheels-R-Rollin against the Big Easy Roller Girls from New Orleans, to introduce the sport to the Tri-parish area.

Nelton worked countless hours handing out fliers in the Southland Mall to draw up interest to start the area’s only roller derby league.

“I’ve always liked skating ever since I was a kid,” the pink-haired Nelton said. “Then I broke my wrist and stopped for a while. Then myself and (friend and team member) ‘Speedy Gunz Alice’ started skating just for fun and there was this old lady one day who asked us, ‘Are y’all professional skaters?’ Then we realized how fun it would be and started talking about this thing called roller derby.”

The 20-member team performed in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Schriever rink Aug. 18 and appeared ready to begin holding regular Women’s Flat Track Derby Association bouts at the location.

Then came hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which diminished the team from 20 members down to three, forcing Nelton and vice president Katrina Whitecotton (a.k.a. Houmacidal Kat) to start all over from square one.

Eight months later, Nelton reassembled the team, this time 15 strong, and returned to the rink practicing the basics three times a week.

All systems seemed go. The league declared Wheels-R-Rollin the team’s home rink for now until the sport drew enough interest for them to move to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.

The team scheduled a benefit in July and were in talks with the Red Stick Roller Girls from Baton Rouge about competing against them.

Then the curve ball was thrown their way. The rink was being sold, leaving them out of contests and out of a home for the time being.

“When they say the rink is closing in a month, it shoves a knife in us because we were just going to start our season in September,” Whitecotton said with tears filling her eyes. “We were finally going to show the area that all of our hard work and dedication weren’t for nothing.”

Whitecotton said she talked with the current owners of the facility who said they were uncertain about what plans the new owners had in store for Wheels-R-Rollin and whether the building would remain a skating rink.

According to Nelton, every girl on the team had to sacrifice time from her family and schedule to practice.

Nelton is unable to find a job due to her appearance. She said the pink hair and piercings in her cheeks aren’t appealing to employers but vowed not to change her look, saying they are her trademark.

“I can’t change it now because this is how people recognize me,” she explained. “It’s staying pink until it falls out or I die.”

To Nelton, roller derby is her job and she can tell by being around that people want the sport to stay.

“The community wants it,” she said. “We mention roller derby and everybody asks us when is the next match. We’re almost there. We can feel it. We just need a place to skate.”

“We’ve all worked too hard to let it end like this,” she added.

So what’s next?

Nelton said the team would not let the lack of a home rink affect their practice. They would just practice outdoors in parking lots if needed.

“We’re just going to skate outside on the cement which tears up our pads and that’s expensive in itself,” she said. “We really can’t afford to keep shopping for pads, but if it’s all we have, then so be it.”

They still use the Bayou Black Recreation Center basketball courts on weekdays as well.

Another option they are going to explore is traveling to either New Orleans or Baton Rouge to practice with leagues in those cities three times a week.

“Most of the girls have jobs, so asking them to drive there after working all day will be rough,” Nelton admitted. “But we’re determined to do whatever we can to keep this team together and get this league going in Houma.”

The next scheduled event for the Cajun Roller Girls is the third annual Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, which pays homage to the world famous Enciero of Pamplona, Spain or “Running of the Bulls.”

In the New Orleans version, however, the “bulls” are members of the Big Easy Roller Girls who dress in red and wear horns they design. The “bulls” chase participants and hit them with wiffle ball bats.

Nelton, Whitecotton and the rest of the Cajun Roller Girls are going to be bulls at the event, which is scheduled for July 11 at 8 a.m.

“I’m trying to get the biggest group to represent Cajun Country at the running of the bulls,” Nelton said. “It’s free to be a runner. Just wear a white shirt, red bandanna and a red belt.”

After that, however, it’s back to the drawing board to find a way to bring roller derby matches to the Tri-parish area.

“We really focus on the children,” Nelton said. “We want to do it for them. This is an adult sport, an adult league, but the children are our biggest fans. They pump us up. It’s focused on children and mentoring children.”

“If we can change one girl’s mind and make her realize that girls can do anything they want, we’ve done our job,” she added. “But if we don’t have a place to skate, we can’t accomplish what we set out to do.”

The team asks that anyone knowing a place where they can skate or any females interested in joining to contact Nelton at (985) 860-6562 or by email at olivetorture@cajunrollergirls.com.

For more information about roller derby or the Cajun Roller Girls, visit cajunrollergirls.com.

Members of the Cajun Roller Girls practice Saturday at Wheels-R-Rollin skating rink in Schriever. After holding a scrimmage and practices there for over a year, the team may be without a home because the rink was sold to a new owner. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER