When they're back at school this September, W.H. Croxford High School students Rylee Stillborn and Meira McEllistrum will have a pretty easy answer when asked what the highlight of their summer was.
The two friends from Airdrie just finished competing at the 2023 Junior Roller Derby World Championships in Valence, France, where they helped Canada compete to a third-place finish in the open gender division.
Canada lost to Australia in the bronze-medal match on July 30, but for Stillborn and McEllistrum, the opportunity to take on some of the top U19 roller derby athletes from other countries around the world was nevertheless a dream come true.
“It went really well for me,” said McEllistrum, 14, who goes by the roller derby nickname of Tank. “I took away some good knowledge and learned some things around the world about how other people play. I think it was overall a good experience and a fun time.”
The two friends play for the same Rocky View Junior Roller Derby team in Airdrie. Last October, they successfully tried out for the junior national team, earning them a spot on the plane to France this summer.
April Willie, an athlete from Calgary who also plays for Rocky View Junior Roller Derby, was also competing for Canada.
Once they were in Valence, Stillborn – whose roller derby nickname is She-Hulk – said the team played eight matches in total. Those included five shorter half-matches, followed by two seeding matches and the bronze-medal bout against Australia.
“It was so cool seeing all the different countries and how they play, and how they think and feel about the sport,” the W.H. Croxford student-athlete said.
“I found it really fun. Some of the teams were made up of mostly older girls and also guys. It was a lot of fun to play with those older kids and I feel we fit in pretty well.”
As the two Airdronians are 14 and 15, respectively, McEllistrum and Stillborn were among the youngest athletes competing at the tournament, which was predominantly a U19 event.
Despite being younger, smaller, and less experienced than most of their counterparts, they agreed it was mostly a non-issue and they performed admirably.
“I found you didn’t really notice,” McEllistrum said. “Obviously I was smaller than most other kids because they were older and there were quite a few fully grown adults – especially when we played against Great Britain. They were a fully male team for the most part. You felt small, especially because most of them were over six feet.”
After the games were wrapped up, both McEllistrum and Stillborn enjoyed the opportunity to travel around Europe and do some sightseeing. Stillborn and her family visited London, Paris, and Amsterdam, and also visited cities in Germany and Belgium.
McEllistrum and her family went to Geneva, Switzerland, Prague, and Dresden, before wrapping up their European adventure in Warsaw, Poland.
“We’ve seen a lot of things,” Stillborn said. “I’m not sure [the highlight] but the Eiffel Tower was actually really cool to see in person.”
