In an effort to expand the sport of roller derby in the Windsor area, the Border City Brawlers are searching for girls aged 12-17 to join their Junior Derby program.
Border City, Windsor’s only women’s flat-track roller derby organization, is divided into two 18 and older teams: the ‘A’ team BCB All-Stars and the ‘B’ team Canadian Clubbers. Now, once enough girls sign up, there will be a youth team to add into the mix.
Lauren Larocque, 21, plays for the Clubbers under the nickname “Drop Dead Alice”. She began training at Border City when she was 16 and views the group of women as an excellent support system and a second family.
Photo courtesy Karlene Nielsen ('Trackula'), Sponsorship Director for Border City Brawlers
“When I was a teenager it was hard to relate to my mom and dad,” Larocque says, “I didn’t want to talk to them about stuff, so I came here and it was a group of women who went through similar stuff that I did when they were teenagers so it was easy to relate to them.”
Frankee Fernandes, a member of the All-Stars, believes that girls who join Junior Derby will be able to develop both on the track as players and off the track as young women.
“I think sport is a really healthy way for them to make connections in their life,” Fernandes says, “where they’re learning leadership, teamwork and all of these skills they can take with them.
