She left Chile for a fresh start in Saskatoon. Now, her life is on a roll
Barbara Elliott-Gomez joined roller derby just to have fun, but found lifelong friends and acceptance
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Barbara Elliott-Gomez's first time trying a Caesar was shocking. After taking her first sip of the quintessential Canadian cocktail, the 30-year-old grimaced and started coughing, covering her mouth.
"Do you really drink this here?" Elliott-Gomez said, as she coughed. "Yuck, I can't believe this!"
Luckily, most of the other new experiences Elliott-Gomez has had since moving to Canada have been a lot more palatable. She's found her people, found love and is finding her way in a new country.
Elliott-Gomez is originally from Santiago, Chile, a city of nearly 7 million people.
After struggling with depression and anxiety during the pandemic, she decided she needed a fresh start. So in April of 2022, she packed her things and moved to Saskatoon.
Her brother Felipe was already in the Bridge City, so moving there made sense. He's a filmmaker and documented his sister as she completed her goal of joining the Saskatoon Roller Derby League over the winter.
Before arriving in Canada, Elliott-Gomez did a lot of research about what Saskatoon was all about.
She looked on social media and followed hashtags for things she was interested in, such as Dungeons and Dragons and anime.
As an immigrant, she said it can be tough to navigate new surroundings. Finding friends wasn't easy, so she volunteered at the Saskatoon Entertainment Expo and met a few people.
The recent transplant walked around the city and browsed in art shops, chatting with staff and customers to find connections. She also decided to give roller derby a try.
Elliott-Gomez hadn't been on skates since she was about 12 years old.
She remembers feeling really self-conscious back in Chile about her body, and felt judged during artistic skating performances because she was bigger and taller than the rest of the kids.
But here, she said, the Saskatoon Roller Derby League embraces people of all ages, genders, races, body types and abilities. Everyone is important and fills a certain niche on the team.
There are also 'non-skating officials' who volunteer as scorekeepers and timers, for those who want to be a part of the league without competing
"Through roller derby I feel 18 again," she said.
Bobbie "Bust Yer Bubbles" Duns and Kimber "Terror-Dactyl" Bernhard are both members of the league, which requires new members to pass a skating safety test to join.
They helped Elliott-Gomez train for the test over a few weeks.
After lots of practice, Elliott-Gomez was able to pass and be added to the team roster.
And as per tradition, she got to choose her Derby name.
"My sister calls me 'gansa,' which is goose in Spanish. And my favourite anime character in the whole world has a power that is D'oro, which is gold in Italian," she said.
"So my name is going to be L'Gansa D'oro [the Golden Goose]."
Being a part of the inclusive league has given Elliott-Gomez a family in her new home. She said she feels accepted for who she is, and supported by her teammates.
"The team goes to Pride on skates. It's for anyone, not just people who are queer. It's diverse in gender, sexuality. It's a big brotherhood and sisterhood," she said.
She also found love about a year after coming to Saskatoon. Elliott-Gomez was recently married to Bryanne Elliott, who works for an insurance company and is also a volunteer medic for the roller derby team.
In Chile, same-sex marriage only became legal in March 2022. Because of that, Elliott-Gomez said she never really felt free to be herself when she lived there.
The newlyweds are now living near Prince Albert on an acreage. Elliott-Gomez, who also works for a merchandising company, said she's excited to learn more about farm life, start horseback riding, and grow fruit and vegetables.
She also plans to continue with roller derby and hopes to progress to the next level of competition, which includes full contact matches and out-of-town tournaments.
"The most important thing is to find your community as an immigrant," she said. "I took a big chance, the biggest jump into roller derby, and landed on my feet … on my wheels."
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