About two years ago Essi Ronkko had this crazy pipe dream.
Ronkko never thought in a million years there was even a slim chance she’d make the roster for Team Finland’s World Cup roller derby team, but she figured why not give it a shot. Dream big or go home is what we always like to say.
“I just got this idea that I wanted to try out,” Ronkko said. “I knew it was ridiculous.”
Ronkko had just recently picked up the sport and was impressed with how well Finland competed in the inaugural World Cup in 2011. She sent some tape of her competing for Granite State Roller Derby (based in Concord) to the powers that be in Finland and began training. She landed on the initial 60-woman roster, but with the final team consisting of just 20 rollers, Ronkko was just happy to be invited to tryouts.
And yes, in case you were wondering, Ronkko does have one of those cool roller derby names and it’s Rita Hateworthy. We greatly anticipated the story behind the name because let’s be honest, we greatly enjoy stories, but unfortunately it was just something she came up with one day.
“It was a pun I happened to like,” Ronkko said.
Last September, she made the long plane ride to Finland for a weekend of derby and what she expected to be the equivalent of a pink slip. But much to her surprise, Ronkko not only made it through the first round of cuts, but also round two. At this point she was part of the final 30 – quite an accomplishment for a person who was relatively new to the sport.
“I was really impressed with the level of derby in Finland,” Ronkko said.
Then in May, Ronkko got a bit of news that she had not been expecting at all. She made the final roster and would be heading to Dallas in December as a member of Team Finland for the second-ever World Cup, appropriately named Blood & Thunder. Now Ronkko isn’t one of those athletes who used some odd link to Finland in order to land on their team roster, she’s actually from there and still has family there. So while her multiple trips to her homeland for all things derby weren’t what we’d call cheap, Ronkko also used them as a way to see family and friends. We were unable to confirm if her family appreciated all the pop in visits, but we’re pretty sure they did. She seemed like a good person from our phone interview.
“I probably went to Finland four or five times for the team,” Ronkko said. “Pretty much you’re paying your own way.”
It was hard, though, being part of a team and not having the ability to attend all the practices. So Ronkko trained on her own and with her N.H. team, the GSRD All-Stars. There was a team weekend once a month as the World Cup approached, but August was the last time she had skated with her Finland teammates before they convened in Dallas earlier this month to take on the best competition on eight wheels. But after a two-hour practice the day before the tournament began, Ronkko was ready for the challenge of world domination.
“It’s like an alternate culture you enter into that’s really hard to explain,” Ronkko said.
Beginning on Dec. 4, Finland played five games in three days and finished the World Cup with a 4-1 record and fifth place on the planet. Not too bad if you ask us, although we’re not too familiar with the competition or really even Ronkko’s teammates, so maybe you shouldn’t ask us. Anyway, Ronkko appeared in three games for the Herrings (Finland’s catchy nickname), playing both the role of jammer and blocker – just not at the same time because that’s not how the game works. As the jammer, Ronkko’s sole purpose is to break through the opponent’s defense and score as many points as possible. As a blocker, as you can probably assume, she wants to prevent an opposing jammer from doing anything. Her ability to play both positions was actually a big reason why she made the squad.
“My role was to do what needed to be done,” Ronkko said.
And when she did make it on the track, Ronkko had plenty of support. A contingent of Granite State rollers decided to take a trip down to Dallas for a few days to support their teammate and friend. Decked out in Finland blue and signs containing all the fish puns they could think of, Rita Hateworthy may have had the biggest cheering section in the world – unfortunately no one in Dallas did an official count for us.
“The way roller derby is growing as a sport and having a teammate competing at such a high level made going down to Dallas a no-brainer,” said teammate Jen Nickulas. “We were her personal cheering section.”
Her teammates used the plane ride to make posters and made sure to get front row seats for her games.
“As soon as I knew she made the team we decided we had to go,” said Joanna Trottier, who planned the trip.
At the World Cup, Team Finland reached its goal of a fifth place finish. It’s not because they really like the No. 5 or they didn’t want to keep playing, but rather because the top four countries in the world – USA, England, Canada and Australia – are just that much better than everyone else. Ronkko and her teammates saw that first hand when they took their 4-0 record, which included wins over Colombia, Scotland, Mexico and Belgium, into a game with Canada for a spot in the semifinals. After a tough first half, the Herrings rallied to win the second half, but lost 290-145.
“We were expecting to play for fifth place,” Ronkko said. “Those top four teams are pretty high up there.”
It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of experiences for Ronkko, kind of like making it into the Insider. Now she’s turned her attention to the upcoming GSRD season and spreading the good word of roller derby. So FYI, she wants to see all of you at a match sometime soon.
“We have a lot of exciting things in the works,” Ronkko said.
