Amy “Gunpowder Gertie” Thompson is looking forward to being part of roller derby history and, of course, “kicking butt.”
The 28-year-old Belladonnas captain is one of two players from Red Deer selected to represent Canada at the inaugural Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto, which starts on Thursday and concludes on Sunday.
Teammate Stephanie “Taz” Hansen also secured a spot on the Team Canada roster.
“I’m honoured,” Thompson said. “I’ve taken to the sport and really tried to push it towards the athleticism side of things, where I would like to see it go. I would like to see it become more legitimized.”
The two women headed to Calgary in July to try out for the national team but both doubted they would make the cut. About 200 tried out for 20 spots.
“I actually just put myself through it to see where I stood and what the standards were,” said Thompson, who has been participating in roller derby for about two-and-a-half years.
Hansen was motivated to try out for the same reason and was happily shocked to learn she made the team.
“It’s always been one of my dreams to represent Canada in a sport and I just feel honoured to actually get to do it,” said the 23-year-old, who has been involved in roller derby for over a year.
Twelve other countries are competing in the Roller Derby World Cup: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and the U.S., where the sport originated in the 1930s.
Thompson and Hansen believe the tournament will further increase global interest in the aggressive contact sport dominated by woman.
Hansen also hopes having two players from Red Deer playing on the world stage will help boost local participation in the game.
The Red Deer Roller Derby Association would like to start a junior league for players under the age of 18.
The Belladonnas, Nightshades and Dreadnaughts are part of the association and competitors must be at least 18 to play on these teams.
Hansen said anyone interested in the junior league can visit www.rdrda.ca or email externalcom@rdrda.ca for more information.
Blood and Thunder magazine is hosting the Roller Derby World Cup, which will be streamed live at derbynewsnetwork.com.
ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com