Calgary’s Riley Banadyga becomes a Ninja world champion in North Carolina competition

Nine-year-old Riley Banadyga flies through the air with the greatest of ease—a world champion ninja athlete here in Calgary, all about making it big in the spor

Calgary’s Riley Banadyga might be small, but she stood tall at the recent 2025 World Ninja League (WNL) world championship finals in North Carolina.

Banadyga, who’s nine years old and weighs around 60 pounds, competed in the kid’s female division, where she beat out 130 competitors to claim the title.

“It felt really good,” Banadyga said, “because last year I got second, but it was a different worlds (this year).

“There’s two -- UNAA (Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association) and WNL (World Ninja League) -- and I went to UNAA last year.”

The World Ninja League is a globally-recognized governing body for ninja obstacle competitions whose world championships draws elite athletes from around the world, challenging them to compete in three rigorous stages.

It was Banadyga’s commanding performance in the upper body testing stage three course that set her apart from the rest of the field.

“I tried to keep a fast pace and you had a 20-second shakeout on each box,” she said, “and I tried to take just under 10 seconds -- I tried to keep the pace and go flowy.”

First Albertan

Banadyga is the first Alberta ninja athlete to win a world championship at the WNL worlds.

Her dad Jarrod said he’s proud but not that surprised to see his daughter do well, because ninja is her passion.

“She sees it as her fun time,” said Jarrod. “I think she enjoys all the challenges and the fact the courses change, the obstacles in the gym, it fits that change all the time.

“So it’s one of those sports that keeps her guessing and keeps challenging herself and I think that’s what really appeals to her -- she never sees it as work.

“It’s always play time!”

While Riley was a cool competitor, the same couldn’t be said about her coach, Lucas Artinian.

“(I was nervous) on all stages, but especially Stage 3,” Artinian said. “She looked so calm and just collected and I was like shaking and sweating.

“I was like, OK, let’s do it! And she’s like, ‘Yeah! Let’s go!’ She’s way more calm than I was, that’s for sure.”

That calm demeanor will probably take Riley farther in the sport -- she has hopes to turn pro one day, but for now, is looking forward to defending her world title.

“I need to be older to be a pro,” she said, “And I think I can really well, but I’m really excited for next year.”

With files from CTV’s Glenn Campbell