Linda Ly discovered her passion for while in university, but it had nothing to do with the classroom.
Instead, she found it at a foosball table.
“I started playing foosball in the arcade in university,” she said.
“It was something to do between classes and have fun with.”
Along with having fun, Ly also discovered how good she was and the friendly competitions soon came with an incentive.
“The other players would make me cover a point spread but I’d still win drinks at the juice bar or things like that,” she said.
“It was always fun but competitive too so it kept me (interested).”
Ly now competes internationally and has won five world championship titles between singles and doubles play.
She was hoping to make it six at the world championships in Spain earlier this month, but things didn't go according to plan and her highest finish in all the categories she competed in was fifth.
“It’s not what I hoped,” she said.
“But it was still great. I used to go on these trips by myself or just hang out with people from Calgary. But now I have friends from all over the world that I see at these events. We call ourselves a big foosball family.”
Ly says the world’s best foosball players can cash in when they win, but it’s far less than most sports.
She says top players may win enough money to cover their travel costs, along with a little extra pocket cash.
“Even if you go and compete in 20 events and don’t win them, you still come home with a great time and great memories,” said Ly.
