World Cup Interview: Team Canada

Team Canada are aiming to strike gold after reaching the final of the 2011 World Cup - with a determined team of derby heroes desperate to take Texas by storm.

They surfed their way to silver in 2011 - beaten only by an invincible Team USA - but Canada kept the Americans to their lowest points tally of the whole tournament and managed to score 33 of their own.

The hardcore Canucks have been knuckling down at training and scrims over the past months and are ready to put it all on show in Dallas. Team Canada will definitely be a team to watch - combining skills, strength and stamina.

Scottish Roller Derby caught up with skater Dyna Hurtcha (Kathleen Goldman) to talk derby does Dallas.

canada

Logo courtesy of Team Canada

 

How are preparations going for the World Cup?

Preparations are going well! We have already had quite a few opportunities to play games and practice together, against great opponents so far - including Team England, Team France, Team USA, Windy City and Gotham. These "practice" games are really giving us the chance to get to know each other and learn how to skate together as a team.

How often are you training?

Canada is such a geographically huge country, that it is quite difficult logistically to have regular practices. So these sporadic games have been our chance to train together. It has been approximately one game every two or three months.

In terms of the team - from which leagues have your players been drawn?

Our skaters come from all across Canada, as well as some players from the United States. Leagues include: Montreal Roller Derby, Toronto Roller Derby, Terminal City (Vancouver),Rideau Valley (Ottawa), Red Deer Roller Derby Association, Calgary Roller Derby, Texas, Windy City, Philly, Detroit, and Atlanta.

Fundraising and sponsorship?

We have started a fundraising campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/send-team-canada-to-the-roller-derby-world-cup), which we hope will help us get to Texas in December. In addition, we have lots of great merch to sell, which can be purchased from our Teamcanadarollerderby.com website.

What's the mood of the team at the moment?

We are all very excited to be playing for Team Canada! Speaking for myself, I am definitely extremely proud to be skating with a lot of the skaters that I have been playing against for years. It is nice to finally get to be on the same side and work towards a common goal. I think that when World Cup arrives we are going to enjoy the experience and have fun, but our attitudes will reflect the determination and focus that got us there.

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 Team photo courtesy of Bob Ayers

Team Canada roster:

Alyssa Kwasny a.k.a Georgia W. Tush

Bala-Reina

Chasing Amy

Demanda Lashing

Dusty

Dyna Hurtcha

Evada Peron

Eve Hallows

Greta Bobo

Heavy Flo

Jess “Bandit” Paternostro

Karlene Harvey

Kim Janna

KonichiWOW

Kriss Myass

Lil’ Mama

Luludemon

MacKenzie

Maya Mangleyou

Mel-e-Juana

Murphy

Nasher the Smasher

Nattie Long Legs

Rainbow Fight

Sarah Hipel

Smack Daddy

Soul Rekker

Surgical Strike

TAZ

U.S.S. DentHerPrize

Head Coach – Ewan Wotarmy – Montreal Roller Derby

Assistant Coach – Mack the Mouth – Terminal City Rollergirls

Manager – Flyin' Bryan Killman – Toronto Roller Derby