Just call her Captain Canada.
Kaci 鈥淩uthless鈥� Reed wore the red and white with pride at the Roller Derby World Cup in Kent, Wash. in July and came home with both a bronze medal and much more experience on the track.
The junior roller derby star was a key member of the bronze medal-winning Team Canada squad that played six games in 24 hours against top competition from around the world.
Reed said she was happy with how she and her teammates played.
鈥淲e were over the moon with how well we worked together and were very happy with third,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he American teams are more advanced and have been playing together as a team for a lot longer than us. It was a good experience for us as a team and a lot of fun.鈥�
One of the bigger honours she received was being named the Canadian team captain. She said it was a complete surprise.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he day before our first game my coach asked me to come out side 鈥� and I thought, 鈥榃hat did I do wrong?鈥� 鈥� and I was told I was the captain. I was so surprised and speechless.鈥�
Reed explained that the captain鈥檚 role is to communicate with teammates, ensure the coach鈥檚 message is clear and discuss any issues with the officials. She said she enjoyed the role.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty vocal on the track and in the locker room,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big communication person in general and it鈥檚 just so important in roller derby.鈥�
She said the fact that she attended both Team Canada practices in Calgary and Toronto before the World Cup and that she gets along with everyone on the team were likely big factors in her captaincy appointment.
Team Canada battled squads from Australia, USA East and USA West at the tournament.
Reed said having her entire family in the stands was a thrill.
鈥淗aving them in the crowd cheering me on was so great,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so happy to have so much support from my family and the community of Squamish.鈥�
She noted that a garage sale fundraiser in the spring helped fund her trip to the World Cup.
Roller derby takes a break for the rest of summer, but Reed said she is set to return to her Vancouver junior derby team and is also trying out for the Candy Crushers junior team based in Nanaimo.
The 15-year-old also pointed out that she is still young enough to participate as a junior in the next Roller Derby World Cup in 2018, when she鈥檒l be even more ready to show the world how ruthless she can be.
