DUNNVILLE — Two Dunnville youth are set to represent Canada on the world stage this fall.
Siblings Sophie and Rowan Hedley will compete at the 2025 Jiu-Jitsu International Federation (JJIF) World Championship in Thailand next month.
Sophie, 14, and Rowan, 12, both train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and were selected to join Team Canada after winning gold at the national tournament in June. Their mom, Tori Hedley, said the achievement came after years of hard work and dedication to the sport.
“They started training in 2019,” she said. “A friend of my husband’s was training with their professor, Kevin Mans, and said he’d started a kids’ program. We brought them out to try it, and they got hooked.”
The siblings train primarily at Niagara BJJ in Welland, but also help coach locally.
“In March of last year, we were fortunate enough to open a location right here in Dunnville,” said Hedley. “They coach and do a little bit of training there too. It’s basically coaching, but they do the classes with the older ones – it’s kind of like a one-on-one coaching style.”
When their team decided to enter Nationals earlier this year, the Hedleys thought it would be a good experience regardless of any final scores.
“There was a potential that the first and second place winners would be offered to compete at Worlds as part of Team Canada,” said Hedley. “We were like, well, it’s a Saturday away – let’s give it a try. And yeah, they both got gold medals.”
Now, the family is preparing for the trip to Thailand, which will run from November 4-16, 2025. The event brings together top Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes from around the world under the JJIF.
“We’re hoping to get away to a few of the temples and the floating market,” said Hedley on the family’s plans for the trip. “We’ll have to see what the schedule looks like for the team.”
Since the trip is self-funded, the family has launched a GoFundMe page to help with travel, accommodations, and registration fees.
The campaign states, “Help us represent Team Canada at the World Championships in Thailand! As Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes, we’ve trained and put tons of effort to obtain the opportunity to compete on the global stage. This opportunity means so much to us, but we need your support to cover travel and competition costs. Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to this dream. Let’s make it happen together!”
The response so far has been encouraging, said Hedley.
“People have really taken an interest in this and been wonderful with their support,” she said. “I think we probably made (it) a little bigger now that I’m crunching the numbers on how much this is costing, but it’s okay – we could have set the goal a little higher, but that’s okay.”
The siblings will continue training through the fall at Niagara BJJ to prepare for the international competition, while balancing school and their roles as junior coaches. Supporters can follow their journey on Niagara BJJ’s social media or on Sophie’s Instagram page.
Hedley said the community’s encouragement means a lot to the family.
“They’ve worked so hard for this – it’s just amazing to see them get this kind of recognition and support,” she said. “They love this sport, and they’re so excited to represent Canada.”
She added that the family wants to thank their coaches and teammates for helping the kids reach this point, particularly Kevin Mans, Scott Futris, James Chandler, and the Niagara BJJ team.
“They’ve been amazing with Sophie and Rowan,” Hedley said.
The GoFundMe page can be found at: gofundme.com/f/help-sophie-rowan-represent-canada-at-jjif-worlds-thailand.
