Passion for the Game

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My passion for Roller Hockey began at age 4, and it grows still. It all came out of the blue. In 1999 the 2000 Sidney Olympic Games ads were on tv all the time. The music and Olympic ring logo were very much stuck in my memory. Incidentally, in the façade of AD Sanjoanense Club Hall there’s the very same Olympic rings. So, one day when my dad drove by, I asked innocently if the Olympics were to be held there. So, my dad took me inside to see the hall, where at the time a practice for the very young was taking place - and the coach then was Prof. José Caravlho – said I had a player’s style about me and invited to try it out. My hockey story began that very day.

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Ever since I put the skates on for the first time, that hockey’s been  - besides the passion it really is  - one of the greatest loves in my life, given how it makes me feel, for all the friendship it’s given me and still does, for all it has taught me about life, for making me smile every day. What really excites me about the game is the magic. In order to become a Roller Hockey player one must master several skills: skating properly, coordinating stick technique with skating, quick thinking. The game’s unpredictability is fascinating to me.

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It will never just like a sport to me. I solely believe hockey as given me the best teachings that translate into growing as a person: team spirit, dedication, importance about setting goals, drawing out plans, practicing, decision making, never giving up in the face of adversity, wanting be to become better every day. Getting in the ring and do what I love the most, really makes happy like a kid.

The Stick

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“[The stick] makes me feel I am somehow contributing for equal gender to become a reality”

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Anna Casarramona and I had the opportunity of being the face for the sport on Azemad’s behalf, and I must confess to be twice as happy. We were the first women in the world to have a Roller Hockey custom stick, which makes me feel I am somehow contributing for equal gender to become a reality, but also for representing one the best Roller Hockey brands in the world, which is from Oliveira de Azeméis, my home town, and that makes me really proud of my roots.

This partnership gave me the opportunity to develop the whole concept involving my stick, hence how the Magic came about, because I think Roller Hockey is a unique sport given its beauty and the match’s unpredictability. On top of that many hockey lovers dub me as “Magic”. The coloured stars besides adding a touch of magic, on one side, stand for the Olympics’rings which tell the story about when I first got in touch with the sport, and the others on the opposite side, are my national flag which I’m so proud of.

It’s a thin lightweight shaft, ideal for very technical players who just love to dribble and make magic on wheels! Worked out with all necessary details to magic just happen. In my experience – and I’m a bit suspect here – all you need is a Magic in your hand to be happy and there’s nothing better than happiness.