A former Morden resident is making waves on the international stage for dodgeball.

Julie McLaren competed on Team Canada at the 2019 Dodgeball World Championships November 26 to December in Cancun, Mexico.

"I never in a million years thought I'd be here," McLaren says. "I don't know if anyone grows up thinking, "I'm going to be a professional dodgeball player," I honestly just joined to make some friends and I'm painfully competitive."

While Canada finished fourth, McLaren says it was an incredible experience. "It's definitely next-level dodgeball... the talent is unbelievable and I'm just so honoured to have been one of the people on that stage."

McLaren made a splash after a hard-fought five-on-one comeback that was captured on video and shared on social media.

The road to becoming part of the fourth-best dodgeball team in the world began simply as a way to make friends and stay active. After being asked to join more competitive teams, McLaren eventually found herself at the tryouts for Team Manitoba and later Team Canada.

"I started jumping up and down after I got the call," McLaren says. "I was very excited. It's such a great and unique opportunity to be one of the top players in Canada."

McLaren was the only Manitoba player to make the active roster and compete against the world in Cancun earlier this month. Teams included USA, Australia, Italy, Argentina, Hong Kong. "There were lots of teams there, it was surreal. It was very interesting to meet all those girls, they have that passion for dodgeball as well and actually became friends with a lot of them."

She notes many don't really understand the full scope of playing at that level, adding the training was intense, "I'm probably in the best shape of my life," McLaren says, which included a personal trainer and a lot of interval training.

And while it isn't a mainstream sport yet, McLaren encourages everyone to give it a try, "you will be very surprised by how much fun and inclusive it is and the people you'll meet. It's amazing."

McLaren was the only Manitoba player to make the active roster and compete against the world in Cancun earlier this month. Supplied photo