Young roller skaters break away from the pack.
– Okotoks Living, Summer 2014
STABBEY BREWSER skates behind a pack of bumping bodies, She slows, picks her moment, then bursts through the chaos, emerging from the other side with a triumphant grin on her face.
Stabbey Brewser is not, as the name suggests, some violent maniac. The girl behind the name is the captain of Udder Annihilation, Abbey Brewis, a friendly 12 year old with streaks of green and blue in her hair. She fell in love with roller derby after seeing the movie Whip It! when she was seven years old, but it wasn’t easy to find a league for her.
Abbey’s father, Corey Brewis, explains the initial struggle.
“Often you’ll find an adult league without junior teams, or junior teams without a league. These organizations are typically volunteer based with little to no funding or support. Our goal became to get that support and build a community.”
To do that, he teamed up with Michele Serpanchy to build the Southern Alberta Junior Roller Derby Association (SAJRD). The league accepts players between the ages of 8 and 17, introducing them to the sport under the guidance of adult derby players. They play from September to June, and practice once a week at the Indus Recreation Centre, with recruitment running year round.
Read the full article here.