"Team London" Fundraising Trip to World Junior Championships

Stuart Mactaggart, Kayla Roloson, Nicholas Ridley 

By: Erik Hjorleifson

The media is starting to take notice of the Junior pool talent in London, Ontario. This week Kayla Roloson was featured along with her sister on CTV London for their athletic accomplishments, and yes they did call pool a sport. She will be competing in the World Junior Championships in Shanghai,China from the 14th to the 18th this November. Joining her will be Nicholas Ridley and Stuart Mactaggart, both also London residents.

These three players earned the right to participate in the World Junior Championships based on their results in the Canadian Junior Championships this June in Saint John, New Brunswick. They have all been in close competition for the past few years. Stuart Mactaggart came out on top this year with Nicholas finishing second and Kayla finishing third. Roloson is a two time VNEA Junior girls champion and Mactaggart won the boys title this year as well; very prestigious considering they beat all the best Junior players in North America. All three have won titles in the Canadian Junior 8 Ball Championships. 

For Stuart and Nicholas, this will be their first time representing Canada at the World Championships. Kayla will be back for her third appearance in the girls division, she has  had 9th place and 7th place finishes in the past and will come in to this year as one of the more experienced players.

Mactaggart lists his sponsors as customclothing4u.com, Strokers Billiards and OB Cues. Ridley is a player representative for Meucci Cues but the expenses of travelling overseas are very high. The three players from London have formed a Facebook group called "TeamLondon Nine Ball", and have started a fundraising campaign to help offset the cost of competing at this years tournament. I have met all of these Juniors personally and I can tell you that they are all really nice kids who love to play pool. They all have a lot of potential and we look forward to following their progress in the future and at this years World Junior Championships. If you are interested in making a donation you can do so at gofundme.com. Thanks everyone for your generosity.