Team Canada Roller Derby – Following two well-attended open tryouts, Team Canada Women’s Roller Derby is proud to announce a 28-person team plus six development players, representing 17 roller derby leagues. They move directly into training for the third Roller Derby World Cup, expected to be scheduled for late 2017. 

Emphasis on team play
Team Canada Head Coach Jessica Paternostro and Assistant Coach Bryan Mcwilliam made the selection, guided by one of the program’s primary goals of building a cohesive team. Coach Paternostro states, “Team Canada is made up of athletes who are TEAM PLAYERS! Yes, these athletes have great individual skills, but they know how to take these skills to complement and adapt to their teammates. The Team Canada that is being built is all about competing as a unit.”

Strong performances across Canada
More than 150 athletes traveled from across Canada and beyond to attend the tryouts in Rockland, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta in October 2016. The coaches were impressed with the overall performance of the candidates vying for spots on this third edition of Team Canada. Says Paternostro, “Many athletes across Canada demonstrated high game play skills, athleticism, and a never-quit attitude. More importantly, at both tryouts I witnessed a team-first frame of mind instead of individuals trying to look their best.” 

Introducing Team Canada Development Program
In order to promote development of the sport across the country, Team Canada is introducing a Development Program. In addition to the team of 28, six development athletes will train with the team and have full access to Team Canada coaching and training. The development athletes represent six leagues, five of which are not otherwise represented on the team, providing these leagues with access to Team Canada’s training resources. 

Team Canada 2017
The 28 Team Canada athletes represent 12 roller derby leagues in Canada, the USA and Finland. Testament to the fast development and changing landscape of roller derby in Canada, only eight of these athletes have previous experience on the national team.

• Azure Benesh — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Alicia Biggley — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Serenity Caldwell — Providence Roller Derby, Providence, RI, USA
• Lorianne Dicaire — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Sara Ekholm— Helskinki Roller Derby, Helsinki, Finland
• Alexandra Evans — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Bethany Fisher — Toronto Roller Derby, Toronto, ON
• Abigail Garratt — Calgary Roller Derby Association, Calgary, AB
• Yana Guivarc’h — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Karlene Harvey — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Sarah Hipel — Detroit Derby Girls, Detroit, MI, USA
• Erin Hudson — Tri-City Roller Derby, Kitchener, ON 
• Allison Hughes — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Jocelyn Ingram  — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Renée Labrosse — Capital City Derby Dolls, Ottawa, ON
• Marilyne Lamontagne — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Abby Lever — Calgary Roller Derby Association, Calgary, AB
• Kristine McGillivary — Calgary Roller Derby Association, Calgary, AB
• Claudia Maréchal — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Tracey Mattinson — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Midori Ohtake — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Brittany Palmer — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Paige Parsons — E-Ville Roller Derby, Edmonton, AB
• Melissa Perreault — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Sophie Royer — Montreal Roller Derby, Montreal, QC
• Taran Spies — Chinook City Roller Derby, Calgary, AB
• Carla Smith — Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, BC
• Kassandra Sundt — Boston Roller Derby, Boston, MA, USA 

Team Canada Development Program players

• Allie Artuso — Royal City Roller Girls, Guelph, ON
• Kylie Morin — Dam City Rollers, Castlegar, BC
• Mai Nguyen — Roller Derby Québec, Quebec City, QC
• Ashley Ronson — Capital City Derby Dolls, Ottawa, ON
• Kelsey Sanders — Mainland Misfits, Cloverdale, BC
• Natt Young — Winnipeg Roller Derby League, Winnipeg, MB

Team Canada training plans

The team will move directly into practices, with a training camp scheduled for early December. Between training sessions to be scheduled across Canada, the athletes will be following physical- and strategy training plans. 
Some future training camps will be combined with bootcamps open to local roller derby players. Players interested in attending these Team Canada bootcamps should follow the team on the social media channels listed below.   

TEAM CANADA INFORMATION
Web:          http://teamcanadarollerderby.com
Facebook:      TeamCanadaRollerDerby
Twitter:     @TeamCanadaRD
Instagram:     @teamcanadarollerderby

Roller Derby World Cup: http://www.rollerderbyworldcup.com