Team Canada Women's team staff
- Canada Roller Derby
- Nov 4, 2019
- 2 min read
Canada Roller Derby is pleased to announce the coaching and management staff that will lead Team Canada Women's team towards the next Roller Derby World Cup.
Head Coach Skimo comes from a background of speed skating in northern British Columbia. Skating competitively for 10 years, he won two consecutive provincial championships and then began coaching skating and other sports. He has coached roller derby since 2013. He is a member of the coaching staff for Rated PG Roller Derby’s WFTDA charter team the Northstars, and he has helped his home league the North Coast Nightmares, in the small town of Terrace, grow to become a WFTDA apprentice league. By day, he is an IT Manager.
Assistant Coach Andrew “D Ray” de Souza has skated for Team Canada Men’s Roller Derby since 2017. He began playing derby with the Glenmore Reservoir Dogs in 2012, and has played with Toronto Men’s Roller Derby since 2014. He has been a coach for both Montreal’s New Skids on the Block and Toronto Roller Derby’s charter teams since 2017. Roller derby inspired him to return to school to study Athletic Therapy.
Assistant Coach Harassin’ Ford is a two-time member of Team Canada Men’s Roller Derby. He co-founded Toronto Men’s Roller Derby and currently skates with the Vancouver Murder, most recently captaining and coaching them to fourth place at the 2019 MRDA Championships. He has also bench-coached Terminal City Roller Derby’s All-Stars. As a youth he was a national springboard diving champion, and he now works as a storyboard artist on movies and TV production, most recently on projects for Marvel Studios.
Team Manager Melissa Bura (aka Slam Wow) has skated with Toronto Roller Derby, coached and skated for the South Simcoe Rebel Rollers, coached the Barrie Junior Roller Derby program, and in 2018-19 skated with Orangeville Roller Girls and was a member of the bench staff for their WFTDA charter team Misfit Militia. She also skated for Team Greece in the 2014 World Cup. She is a certified tennis instructor with the Ontario Tennis Association. Professionally, Melissa has a long history in administrative work, and in 2019 returned to school full time to pursue a career in the field of Opticianry.
At the same time, we are pleased to introduce Canada Roller Derby's Sponsorship & Marketing Manager. JoAnna Black (aka Luna Shovegood) joined roller derby in 2018, completing Toronto Roller Derby’s fresh meat program and now playing with their home team Gore-Gore Rollergirls. She has ample professional experience in the field, having studied Fundraising Management and currently working as a Giving Manager at an international disaster relief charity.
Great looking crew.