Airdrie teen Rylee Stilborn is a two-time World Cup athlete in a sport many people know little about.
The 16 year-old has been playing roller derby for an astounding 11 years and has been selected to skate in the Junior Roller Derby World Cup in Brisbane, Australia, this July.
“Not many people know very much about derby and the rules can be complicated, but I like to describe it as a little like rugby on skates — with a person acting as the ball,” says Stilborn (a.k.a. She-Hulk).
Five other fellow skaters from the Junior Rocky View Roller Derby league will join Stillborn at the international competition. The league has been in operation in its current form for four years and includes 26 players ranging in age from seven to 18.
Stilborn will be joined by colleagues from the Rocky View Rebels, the team she plays in within the league: Stevie Gerein (a.k.a. Stevie Whips), April Willie (a.k.a. April Sours), Malika Juarez Hansen (a.k.a. Mexicutioner), Tallulah Nance-Armstrong (a.k.a. Tenacious T) and Moira Damburger (a.k.a. Mo Sker Raid).
Mike Willie, head coach of the Rocky View Rebels, says he is incredibly proud of every skater who will be going to Brisbane.
“Each skater who made it through the two stages of selection faced a very close examination,” he says.
“They are spectacular athletes and people, I’m proud that I and my coaching team could be part of helping them get onto the roster.” He says each athlete possesses class, sportsmanship, skill and determination.
Roller derby is a roller-skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. A 60-minute roller derby game, or bout, is a series of two-minute timed jams. Each team, typically with a roster of 15, fields five skaters during each jam: one jammer, designated with a star on their helmet, and four blockers. During each jam, players skate counterclockwise on a circuit track. The jammer scores a point for each opposing blocker they lap. The blockers simultaneously defend by hindering the opposing jammer, while also playing offense by manoeuvring to aid their own jammer.
Stilborn also represented Canada at the World Cup in Valence, France, in 2023 and says she is looking forward to once again competing with athletes from around the world at a “whole different level.
“In a World Cup game, everything moves so quickly and everyone knows exactly what they are doing,” she says.
“It is a lot more calculated and refined than a regular game. When everyone knows exactly what to do, you can just concentrate on your own moves and really get into the game.”
When the final whistles blew in Valence, Canada took home the bronze in the female division and was fourth place in the open division.
Stilborn adds she loves the comradery of international competition and says she has kept in touch with many of the skaters she met in France in 2023.
Stilborn’s mom, Sarah, says the players are a family that helps skaters build self-confidence and feel like they belong.
“Roller derby is very inclusive; you can be you and be accepted,” Sarah says.
“The biggest skill skaters learn is teamwork. They also learn communication skills; communicating on the track is very important.”
Stilborn says her favourite aspect of being part of the Rocky View Rebels is acting as a leader to the younger players.
“I like to stay positive and give younger players pointers and compliment them so they will continue to love what they are doing and stick with it as long as I have,” she says with pride.
For more information on the Rocky View Roller Derby league, visit rvrollerderby.com.
