About Ringette
In fact, the sport has become one of Canada’s favorite activities for females, with over 50,000 participants, including players, coaches, officials and volunteers across Canada - a remarkable growth rate for such a young sport. More than 7,000 certified ringette coaches are registered in the National Coaching Certification Program, and 1,724 registered referees trained under Ringette Canada’s National Officiating Program. In addition, there are thousands of volunteers who administer clubs, leagues, and tournaments across Canada.
There are various skill levels of play across the nation eginning with Bunnies (a
learn to skate program) and then formal teams in categories C, B, A, AA and in some
cases even Regional AAA teams.
Across the country many tournaments are held throughout the season, with Regional
and/or League championships being the highlight for the B and C teams, while the
Provincials are the finale for the A and AA teams. Some provinces have provincial
championships even at the B level. Each year provinces select teams at the Junior,
Belle, and Open AA divisions to play in the Canadian Championships.
There are World
Championships and Canada picks a National Team to represent us at those championships
every three years. Across Canada, ringette is played by all the provinces and the
Northwest Territories. The growth of ringette has continued internationally with
the formation of associations in the United States, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and
France. In addition, Ringette Canada has been instrumental in demonstrating the game
in the Netherlands.
Ringette is an exciting, unique winter ice sport, played mainly by females but open to all. Ringette is a non-contact sport where players use a straight stick with a specially designed tip and a rubber, blue ring. Ringette playing rules require players to pass the ring over each blue line in order to advance the play, creating excellent team participation.
Ringette is a Canadian game that was first introduced in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario.
Developed originally for girls, ringette is a fast-paced team sport on ice in which
players use a straight stick to pass, carry, and shoot a rubber ring to score goals.
For ten years, play centered in Ontario and Quebec, however, the sport quickly spread
across Canada and is now played in all ten provinces and the Northwest Territories.
