BԪַ

Skip to content

BԪַI just started yellingBԪַ: Victoria teen makes national roller derby team

Naomi Morrell BԪַ a.k.a Scream Soda BԪַ will compete in the world cup in France this summer
31477311_web1_230103-VNE-RollerDerby-NationalTeam-pics_6
Greater VictoriaBԪַs Naomi Morrell BԪַ a.k.a Scream Soda BԪַ has earned a spot on team Canada for the Junior Roller Derby World Cup in France this July after just five years playing for VictoriaBԪַs Rotten Apples. (Justin Samanski-Langille/BԪַ Staff)

A Greater Victoria teen has achieved a sporting dream just five years after she strapped on a pair of roller skates for the first time.

Naomi Morrell, 16, has been named to team Canada for the Junior Roller Derby World Cup, and is set to head to Valance, France for the competition in July.

BԪַI was checking my email for a message my friend told me about, but there was nothing there, so I thought I didnBԪַt make it. Then I checked my junk mail and there it was,BԪַ said Morrell of how she found out she had been selected.

BԪַThe first few lines were thanking me for participating, so I thought I didnBԪַt make it, but I kept reading and it said, BԪַIt is our pleasure to welcome you to the team,BԪַ and I couldnBԪַt read past that for 20 minutes because I just started yelling.BԪַ

Morrell said she and the friend had travelled to Alberta for the team tryouts, and she left feeling confident in her performance there, but even that wasnBԪַt enough to temper her reaction to the news. She said that ever since she first dipped her toes into the sport at age 11, she has dreamed of making the national team as it is the highest one can reach in a sport with next-to-no professional leagues.

READ MORE:

It also allowed her to follow through on an earlier promise to herself to tryout for the team when she was 13, but ended up being cancelled as the pandemic brought all sporting events to a sudden halt.

BԪַI read about derby in a comic book and really wanted to try it out, so I asked my mom if there were any teams here in Greater Victoria, and there were, so she took me to a practice,BԪַ said Morrell. BԪַI went and there were these terrifying women just demolishing each other, and I just knew I had to join. I was in the rink the next week.BԪַ

Morrell, who plays for VictoriaBԪַs Rotten Apples under the name Scream Soda, said roller derby was an easy sport for her to fall in love with, given its special position as a sport which has always been built up and run for and by women and the queer community. Compared to soccer and the other sports she had played before, derby felt like it was owned by women, rather than borrowed from men.

Now that she has been named to the junior national team, along with two other B.C. athletes, Morrell hopes to use this new claim to fame to help grow the sport in her community. Since news broke she had made the team, many people in her life have already started asking about derby more enthusiastically.

But for now, she is focusing on being ready for the world cup. She has already started her personal training and come April, will head to Toronto for the first official team practice and for a friendly tournament against teams from the U.S. and France, which are expected to be the teams to beat in the world cup.

Morrell has started a crowd funding campaign to help cover the costs of the trip and competition. Those interested in supporting her can .

READ MORE:



justin.samanski-langille@goldstreamgazette.com

Like us on and follow us on .



Justin Samanski-Langille

About the Author: Justin Samanski-Langille

I moved coast-to-coast to discover and share the stories of the West Shore, joining Black Press in 2021 after four years as a reporter in New Brunswick.
Read more



(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }