Here is some information which was provied by Tamara McKernan who is the Women's Coordinator for the National In-Line Hockey Association.
Ringette is a sport in which primarily girls and women of all ages compete at all levels of physical activity using their strength, intellect and spirit to obtain measurble results. The game provides numerous opportunities for players to develop their skills on and off the ice, to compete competitively and make new friends.
The sport was invented in 1963 in Ontario by the late Sam Jacks. It was to be a winter team sport layed on ice with skates for girls as an alternative, somewhere between figure skating and ice hockey. Today it has been adapted to gym ringette and in-line ringette. This summer there are clinics happening throughout Alberta where communities are learning the new variations!
Players use straight sticks to pass, carry and shoot a rubber ring. For the gym and in-line version, a larger, harder ring is used which slides on any surfact. The objective is to control the ring while moving it down the ice to score goals in opposing team's net.
There are over 35,000 people playing ringette across Canada. Since it's inception, registration has increased each year. Ringette is played in all provinces and the NWT. Over the course of the average season there are more than 125 sanctioned tournaments from coast to coast.
The game is played by 2 teams of 9 to 18 players with 6 on the ice at one time - (5 skaters plus a goalie). Ringette consists of two 15 or 20 minute stop time periods. At this time there are nine official ages classifications ranging from 7 & under to 30 & over. The rules of ringette promote team play, development of strong motor, coordination and control skills.
Ringette is growing in all skill levels, from recreational grassroots to international competition. The sport is played in Canada, the US, Europe, Japan and Russia. Players in Canada can aspire to participate in the Canada Winter Games, National Championships and World Cup Championships. This past season saw ringette teams go for gold in both the 1995 Grande Prairie Canada Winter Games and the 17th annual National Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In April 1996, the elite will battle for the 4th World Ringette Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.
For more information, visit the Ringette Canada Web Page. They can also be contacted as follows:
e-mail: ringette.canada@rtm.cdnsport.ca
s-mail: Ringette Canada
1600 James Naismith Dr.
Gloucester, ON
K1B 5N4
phone: (613) 748-5655
FAX: (613) 748-5860
Or contact the International Ringette Federation at:
s-mail: Betty Shields, President
Box 117, R.R. 3
Wakefield, Québec
J0X 3G0
phone: (819) 827-5143
FAX: (819) 827-5144
And here is a link to a more informal description of Ringette. Here is a news release for Ringette in the USA.
Ringette is a fast paced game similar to hockey, but with some basic differences. The ringette stick has no blade, and a 6 1/2 inch rubber ring with a 4 inch 'hole' is used instead of a puck. Receiving a pass requires that the player 'trap' the ring with the stick. This is no easy feat when the ring is coming fast towards the skating player, and requires good judgment and coordination. In addition to skills involved with ring handling, the game emphasizes skating skills as well as teamwork and positional play.
In Ringette, a player cannot carry the ring over the blue lines. The ring must be passed to a teammate, or shot in. The player who passes or shoots the ring over the blue line cannot touch it again until it has been touched by another player. This encourages teamwork, since a player essentially cannot carry the ring from one end of the rink to the other.
Body checking is prohibited. Stick checking however is very much part of the game, and players learn different techniques to check the oponent's stick and gain control of the ring. This does lead at times to body contact (where two players might be pushing 'shoulder to shoulder', similar to soccer when two opposing players go after the ball). Referees strictly control these situations, especially in the younger leagues.
The World Ringette Championship is held every two years by the International Ringette Federation.
The 1998 Canadian National Ringette Championship will be held in Edmonton, Alberta from April 5-11 1998.
The St. Albert Ringette Association hosted the 1996 World Ringette Championship Qualifier in St. Albert, Alberta.
Because there does not yet exist a national team for ringette in Canada, this tournament will determine the Canadian representative for the 1996 World Ringette Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. Each province sent a representative team made up of elite players, 16 and over.
Many of these players recently competed in both the Canada Winter Games as well as the spring time Canadian Ringette Championships.
Here are the final round robin standings, followed by game by game results:
Final Round Robin Standings, Sept 10, 1995 Team W L GF GA Pts Alberta 4 1 26 16 8 Ontario 4 1 26 16 8 Québec 3 2 19 15 6 B.C. 2 3 15 25 4 Saskatchewan 1 4 14 21 2 Manitoba 1 4 13 22 2 Results for Thursday, September 7 Ontario 5 Québec 4 (ot) Alberta 7 Sask. 0 Manitob 3 BC 2 Québec 4 Sask 3 Ontario 5 Manitob 3 BC 7 Alberta 6 Results for Friday, September 8 AB 4 QC 2 ON 8 BC 2 SK 4 MN 3 (ot) BC 1 QC 5 AB 6 MN 3 ON 5 SK 4 (ot) Results for Saturday, September 9 BC 3 SK 2 QC 4 MN 2 AB 4 ON 3 (ot) SEMI-FINAL Results ON 2 QC 1 FINAL Results - Sunday, September 10 AB 3 ON 2 (ot)
The final game was probably the best ringette game I have seen in long, long time. It was fast and exciting, this level of ringette packed the rink all weekend. Congrat's to Alberta!! -- Tamara
The information in this section was provided by Sandra Barota from Sweden. Thanks Sandra!
All games in the 1996 World Championship tournament were played in the "Johannes Hov" arena (next to the Globe Arena) in Stockholm, Sweden between April 14th and 20th, 1996. You can use this link to visit the 1996 Ringette World Championship page.
Bronze-medal game: USA 11 -vs- Sweden 3 Gold-medal game: Canada 6 -vs- Finland 5
MVP: Tamara Anderson ,Team Canada goaltender
(couldn't agree with the jury more :-) She was outstanding !)
Team Canada only lost one game, against Finland (Finland only lost against Canada, in the finals !) . The finals went into over-time !
Goal-scorers for Canada in the finals : Willan (2), Brown (2), Reynolds, Gregg .
Team GP W L GF GA PTS Canada 6 5 1 88 7 10 Finland 6 5 1 88 12 10 USA 6 2 4 24 86 4 Sweden 6 0 6 13 106 0
Here are some pictures from the 1996 Ringette World Championship in Stockholm. These pictures were provided by Sandra Barota from Sweden.
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