In 2016, my roller derby journey began. As a 17 year old, I had never skated in my life. Learning alongside my mum, dad and brother, we became known as Team YorkForce. The family that played together.
Living in a remote location such as Darwin, it was hard to find competition to push us to our limits, but having my family there to encourage me really helped; there was no way I was going to let any of them beat me! With healthy competition between us all, especially between my brother and I we established a name in Roller Derby and were invited to join a Southern Team for the Australian Men’s Nationals.
In 2017 my mum and aunty were selected to play Roller Derby for the first World Roller Games in Nanjing. Watching them play roller derby under World Skate rules was addictive! Sitting in the grandstands, my brother and I prayed that men would be included in the next instalment of the World Roller Games, and we made it our mission to make sure we would be on that team if they were.
In 2018 a move to Queensland opened up the world of Roller Derby to us. We were getting invited to join teams all over Queensland. All of a sudden, the boys from the bush were playing alongside some of Australia’s greatest players.
It has been a massive journey since our first roll around the skate rink in Katherine. To now be standing side by side with my dad and brother, about to embark on an opportunity of a lifetime. There are very few full contact sports where a father and son can compete side by side at an International level. That is the beauty of Roller Derby.
Roller Derby is the fastest growing sport in the world. Unfortunately, it’s not part of the Australian Olympic program (yet), and all athletes are completely self funded. What I, we, have achieved has been done without any funding or support from any national sporting body, government agency, or private company. What makes it a bigger challenge is that the cost is not only for one person, but a whole family of elite roller derby players.
I am hoping that by sharing my story with you, you will find our commitment and passion for a sport as a family inspiriting and you will want to be a part of this journey with us. Please help us to achieve this dream of sending Australia’s first roller derby father/sons combo to Barcelona to compete at the World Roller Games in July 2019.
Thank you for taking the time to read this bio, if you would like to get in touch please feel free to contact me via email, yorkforce2019@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support.