top of page

Sports
work

Rattlers Rundown CEBL
Host of weekly Rattlers Rundown featuring game highlights, player & coach interviews plus analysis of the Saskatchewan Rattlers and Canadian Elite Basketball League on AccessNow Sports.

Daniella became the host of Rattlers Rundown in May 2022, working alongside Joel Hunter to deliver 12 one-hour episodes through the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League season. No teleprompter used.

Rattlers Rundown

Daniella is continuing to carve a space for herself in the sports scene. Taking an unconventional path, she started as a volunteer play-by-play announcer for roller derby, which took her across Canada and the US. From there, Daniella has worked as a game-day host, sideline reporter and play-by-play announcer for sports broadcasts including Saskatchewan Roughriders, USPORTS football and women's hockey, WHL games, SJHL games, Canada West football and the National Lacrosse League. She's also worked as a camera operator for WHL hockey and CFL football, working up to assistant director of the Mosaic Stadium MaxTron crew in 2019. 

Saskatchewan Rush
On-floor reporter

After working the 2018-19 National Lacrosse League Season with the Saskatchewan Rush (see below), Daniella became the on-floor reporter for B/R Live at SaskTel Centre for the 2019-20 season. After five home games, the season was ultimately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rush TV Host, Producer, Videographer, Editor

In the fall of 2018, Daniella took on an exciting new role as the full-time, seasonal, host/producer of Rush TV and in-game co-host for the Saskatchewan Rush Lacrosse Club. The role was incredibly dynamic, with Daniella responsible for completely packaging (filming, editing, hosting, producing, even closed captioning) nine 30-minute television episodes (aired on Global Regina and Saskatoon) featuring highlights, player profiles, sponsored segments and more. 

Meet the Riders  |  Given the friendly relationship between the Saskatchewan Rush and the Roughriders, Daniella had a chance to interview Darian Durant in the 2019-20 season, and franchise QB Cody Fajardo.

Please note: Daniella *still* can't believe she flubbed "Saskatchewan", a word she says everyday. But a chat with Cody Fajardo is too good not to post.

 
In-game host  |  While taking on the Rush TV role, which also doubled as a team ambassador with Daniella promoting game and fan events on local morning television, the multi-faceted producer was also the in-game host for all home games in the 2019-20 season.
 

Daniella also scripted and produced in-game content for the Saskatchewan Rush, including a Saturday Night Lacrosse parody, which she turned around in 48 hours including sourcing a voice for the video. Additionally, Daniella came up with original ideas for sponsored and social video shared by the team as per advertising contracts. 

Saskatchewan Rush Lacrosse
Double duty in Denver  | Daniella had the opportunity to provide colour commentary for a radio broadcast on CJWW 600, alongside Dave Thomas, of the Saskatchewan Rush game at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado.
Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame
Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame

As the community reporter for Global Regina in 2019-20, Daniella produced monthly features for the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. She covered inductees, memorable sporting events and other facets of the SSHF. The hall of fame then asked Daniella to host an online Women in Sport discussion with Catriona Le May Doan.

Roller Derby PxP
Roller Derby PxP & Announcing

Daniella aka Death KNELLa is a certified member of the Association of Flat Track Derby Announcers (AFTDA). She has been a roller derby announcer since 2016, and a dedicated play-by-play broadcaster for the sport internationally since January 2018.

Roller Derby PxP DemoDaniella Ponticelli
00:00 / 05:32
International caller | While Daniella learned and played the sport in Saskatchewan, it was international announcing that honed her skills behind the mic. 

Highlights include Battle of the All-Stars: voice of Team Saskatchewan in Philadelphia Jan. 2018 & 2020, JRDA World Cup also in Philadelphia summer 2018, WFTDA Continental World Cup 2018 in Omaha, WFTDA playoffs 2019 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, WFTDA International Championships 2018 (New Orleans, Louisiana) & 2019 (Montreal, Canada).
bottom of page