When Second Lieutenant Roxanne Ibrahim suffered an injury in 2020 and was forced to work from home during the COVID 19 pandemic, she turned to her love of the Call of Duty video game to fill her free time.
Ibrahim has always been into video games ever since she was a young girl. In fact, it was the Call of Duty franchise that lead to her to joining the military in the first place.
“My shooting was really good; my tactics were really good. I thought, where can I do this and also travel? I thought I’d go into a job like Call of Duty... which ended up being the military. It was perfect,” says Ibrahim who plays online under the handle MizzWhisky.
Little did Ibrahim realize that all that game time would eventually pay off with her making the RCAF Call of Duty team – yes, there is such a thing – last summer.
Ibrahim entered a DND tournament on a whim and ended up finishing in second place along with her playing partner, Cpl. Jules Deslaurier.
The result earned the pair a spot on the national RCAF team which was invited to take part in the COD Endowment Bowl in Los Angeles in October.
In the past, the Endowment Bowl, which benefits military veterans, has always been a bilateral affair between the various branches of the United States and the United Kingdom militaries. 2023 was the first year that a team from Canada was invited to take part, and Ibrahim was the only female qualifier.
When the competition started there were 10 teams in total with each team augmented by professional gamers and influencers.
The Canadian RCAF team was made up of Ibrahim and Deslauriers along professional gamer, Smixie, from Toronto, and Cpl. Brendan Jatsura and Ryan Mezei, who is a military firefighter, they were teamed up with Canadian gamer and influencer Natarsha.
The rest of the team included alternate Alex Clark and Nancy Coelho, founder and chairwoman of Game Force, who handled all the administrative duties.
For Call of Duty: Warzone aficionados, the tournament was played in a mini battle royale format that forces players to compete to be the last ones standing in a continuously shrinking map over four rounds.
Each team was divided into two duos who played with an influencer/professional gamer. Some of the best COD professionals in the U.S. were on the American teams.
Canada ended up winning the tournament using superior strategy.
“We put one squad inside the landing zone and one squad outside and worked together..No one else had any real strategy. We were very surprised,” says Ibrahim. “It made our job a lot easier.”
THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents the all ages play "The House Rules" in the Richcraft Theatre at The Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27 and Friday, Nov 28, and 1:30 p.n. on Staurday, Nov. 29 and Sunday, Nov. 30. Tickets $22 for adults, $12:50 for audience members 25 and under. For more information and advance tickets visit 
CAPITAL TEASE BURLESQUE PRESENTS STRUT at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. Tickets $20 available at 
SANTA’S PARADE OF LIGHTS beginning at 6 p.m. at the corner of St. Joseph Blvd. and Youville Dr. The parade will follow it’s traditional route down St. Joseph Blvd. to the Orléans Town Centre.
HOLIDAY VARIETY SHOW at 7 p.m. at Good Shepherd Parish Church, 3092 Innes Rd. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Sing-along at 6:45 p.m. This is a fundraiser event for Food for Families. Coats for Kids, and local food banks. Monetary donations gratefully accepted: by cheque to “Good Shepherd Parish” or by e-transfer to finsec9005@gmail.com.
TRIVIA NIGHT from 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans. Free to play. Prizes for the winning team! The Royal Oak Pub is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near Jeanne d'Arc. For more info visit 
OYSTER NIGHT every Wednesday from 6-9 pm at the Orléans Brewing Co. Two types of oysters served with lemon, Tobasco, horseradish, salt and mignonette. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds.
