Canada's entry into the Junior Roller Derby World Cup will include contributions from a player and coach from Stratford.
Makayla Soper is the national team's jammer - a vital, strategic position on the team.
Jammers wear stars on their helmets, which is appropriate, according to one of her mentors.
"She is literally and figuratively a star," said Jennifer Zammit, Team Canada's chef de mission.
Zammit, also head coach of Tri-City Roller Derby, has known Soper, 16, for more than a decade and the Stratford resident coaches the St. Mike's student on the Kitchener-based team.
Tryouts were held in Kitchener and Red Deer, Alta. for Team Canada and 35 athletes made the cut. They will compete against the host country, along with Australia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States when the tournament runs in Valence, in the south of France, from July 28-30.
Zammit's involvement with the sport also includes her role as president of the national governing body - the Junior Roller Derby Association of Canada. The world championships have been around for a number of years but until recently was hosted and financed each year by the U.S.
"The sport keeps evolving and the (world championships) have evolved," Zammit told StratfordToday. " The event was run by the American federation, they looked after everyone in junior roller derby. A couple of years ago, federations were set-up, and we decided to work together."
Roller derby is a contact sport played on traditional quad-style roller skates. Players, coaches and referees are known for “derby names” that embrace the rough and tumble nature of the sport. Soper's nickname is “Ma-Kill-Ya” while Zammit's nickname is “Raspoutine”.
Zammit said it is no easy task to organize a world championship in a sport that lags behind in popularity and funding at home and abroad.
"This is the big show. In Canada, our athletes will probably never have a tournament like this. Because we are so spaced out (geographically), we have not been able to have a national championship."
There is certainly no lack of talent, Zammit said.
"The team is reflective of Canada and what the country can offer. In Canada, we are fortunate in that as coaches we don't always have to teach them how to skate. We tend to catch the kids who did not fall into a sport that spoke to them. It's a very inclusive sport. It has the ability of being an individual sport but also a team sport, and it's just really cool to play."
Soper's older sister, Maddie, and cousin, Samantha Noordhof, both competed in roller derby. It's a family affair for the Tri-City team - parents have committed to long road trips to Buffalo and Pittsburgh to get exhbition games in.
"Our closest team is Niagara," Zammit said. "There is no parent like a roller derby parent. We went as far as Philadelphia for essentially one game."
Soper, who can also play the pivot position, said she enjoyed the national team tryouts, which consisted of drills to assess agility and teamwork, and some scrimmages to see what positions suited the players. Many of them had never played together before, she said.
"I am excited to play with my new team and get to experience new things," she said. "And put all of the things I have worked towards into one."
Zammit said all eyes are typically on the jammer, a leader on the team.
"Our Makayla definitely fits the bill. She is a bit of a showboat, and entertaining on the track."
The sport is known for its physicality and the junior teams use the same rules as adults. Zammit said Soper could be up against some bigger opponents but that is part of the game.
It is hard to predict how Canada will fair at the world championships, the chef de mission said. They do have a coach who is scouting video so the players know who is who when they arrive. The U.S. and Australia are traditionally strong.
“Roller derby may not be as well-known in conventional sports circles, but the people who play it are every bit as fierce and impressive as any other athlete,” said Team Canada head coach Caroline “Meow” Reimer. “Our coaches were blown away by the skill and abilities we saw in these athletes from across Canada, and we can’t wait to bring this team to the world stage.”
The team is also fundraising, seeking financial help to offset cost of travel, accomodation, equipment and other expenses.
"We don't have any national sponsors," said Zammit. "Roller derby is in and of itself very grass roots. We always have this DIY mentality."
However Canada makes out in France, Zammit said she will continue to help grow the sport she loves.
"It's another full-time job for me. I don't even have a kid on the (Kitchener) team. I have watched Makayla grow up and seen what roller derby has done for kids, watched them develop into adults. To see how secure they are. They always come back to me and say junior roller derby was the best thing that could have happened to me as a teenager."
A GoFundMe link can be found here: https://gofund.me/ea2244ca
