Mission’s Elizabeth “Bloody L” Pedersen may not have been on the floor when her Team Canada mates defeated Australia to win bronze at the Junior Roller Derby World Cup, but she was definitely on their minds.
Pedersen and Team Canada travelled to Pennsylvania earlier this summer to compete against teams from Great Britain, Europe, the United States and Australia.
Canada opened the tournament on July 23 with losses to Team USA East (232-15) and Team USA West (189-37), but ended day one with a 149-81 win over Australia.
The girls continued the momentum the next morning with a 396-117 win over Great Britain, but then fell 399-104 in the semifinal to USA East. It was in that game that Pedersen suffered a concussion and was unable to suit up for the bronze-medal game.
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Her injury rallied the team together, with all her teammates writing her name and number on their shoulders and wrists and dedicating the bronze game to her. Canada defeated Australia 319-87 on July 24 to earn that bronze medal and honour Pedersen.
It’s expected that Pedersen will return to her club team, the NWO Junior roller derby team based out of Chilliwack in the coming months.
For more information on the event, visit juniorrollerderby.org.