Lethbridge roller derby players skate to world cup and represent Canada

Six Lethbridge players will be representing Canada as they skate onto the world stage in the upcoming 2020 Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) World Cup.

“To have six skaters from our league on national rosters is an amazing accomplishment,” said Caroline Reimer, head coach of the Lethbridge Roller Derby Guild.

“The kids have worked hard leading to this moment. We couldn’t be prouder.”

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Those junior skaters were practicing with the national team in Lethbridge on Saturday during the annual Skate Hard invitational.

Fifteen-year-old Madison Moore, better known on the track by her roller derby nickname M-dawg, tried out for the national team in September.

Moore is no stranger wheels.

She said she’s been skating for more than eight years now and was pleased to be welcomed onto the national team after acing the trials.

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But now, what was once a weekly hobby has been turned into a vigorous routine. Moore said over the next few months she will attend several training sessions a week with her local league as well as online training with the national team.

“Training will be more intense,” Moore said.

“It will be at a higher level because we’ll be trying to get to the point where we can play against 18-year-old boys that are pretty big.”

Moore is a member of the open division team along with fellow Lethbridge residents, Auron Emard, 15, Jasper Davis, 14, Shane Kress, 13, and Abigail Reimer, 13.

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Thirteen-year-old Lethbridge native Kyira Franklin has also been chosen to represent Canada. She will be playing in the female division in the upcoming JRDA World Cup.

Franklin, who is relatively new to the sport of Roller Derby, said she was surprised to learn she had made the squad.

But now she said she’s working harder than ever to make her country proud.

“I never expected I would represent Canada when I started roller derby six years ago.”

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“I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity.”

The JRDA World Cup takes place every two years and began in 2015, where just three nations participated in the competition.

Now, the event has grown to encompass even more countries including Canada, Australia, Great Britan, and the United States.

In the 2020 JRDA World Cup, the Canadian teams will have a home track advantage as the competition is set to be hosted in Regina, Sask., next August.