Ever since the days when the citizens of Sparta would gather round to watch their man humiliate Athens at the chariot races, sports has been a keystone of local culture. Is there a modern city state that doesn’t make rooting for the home team somewhat mandatory? But the role of sports in forming local culture goes beyond professional or even semi-professional sports. Soccer fields, hockey arenas and baseball diamond are places where friendships (or rivalries) are formed that play out in other spheres of our communal life. Newer sports like roller derby expand our definition of jocks and add new a new flavour to sporting life in the city.
In this edition of Apt613 Talks, our seasonal panel series, we talk to three people who are involved in community building through sports in Ottawa:
Dan Dubeau – Founder and Manager of the Community Cup, a year-round series of activities and initiatives based around sports and volunteerism as a way towards integration. Started in Ottawa in 2005 as a small soccer tournament for new immigrants, the Cup has developed into a full blown community festival with over 2000 visitors.
Sister Disaster (aka Lauren Hart) – Lauren is a member of the Rideau Valley Roller Girls, a competitive level, non-profit, women’s flat-track roller derby league with four teams in Ottawa. Ms Disaster plays for the Vixens, the Roller Girl’s Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s chartered travel team.
Nicki Bridgland – Founder of the Ottawa Sports and Social Club, known as OSSC. As Ottawa’s largest organizers of co-ed sports, OSSC serves an important role in connecting people through sports.
The talk will take place on August 29 from 8pm at 8 Locks’ Flat Canal Bistro, situated near the Somerset Bridge on the East bank of the Canal. 8 Locks’ Flat is offering panel participants a few deals: $4 off regular pitchers of beer, $10 for all flatbreads and 10% off all salads.
A different Apt613 Editor will sit down with each panelists for a 15-20 minute one-on-one interview, followed by a group Q&A session. We will explore how sports helps to build local culture, the relationships between professional and non-professional sports in Ottawa and how to go about selecting an intimidating roller derby name.
Tickets are free and can be found on Eventbrite. If you can’t make it down on the 29th, you can sign up below to follow the discussion on Apt613.ca.
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