Ringette is a non-contact winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities. Although ringette looks ice hockey-like and is played on ice hockey rinks, the sport has its own lines and markings, and its offensive and defensive play bear a closer resemblance to lacrosse or basketball.
The National Ringette League (NRL) (French: Ligue Nationale de Ringuette, LNR) is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's league or sport like professional women's ice hockey or bandy; one of ringette's distinctive features is that all of its players are girls and women. As such, the NRL is the continent's first and only winter team sports league whose entire athlete roster is made up of women.
The World Ringette Championships (WRC) is the premier international competition in ringette and is governed by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Unlike most international competitions, all of the WRC's elite athletes are female rather than male, one of the sport's distinctive features. Competing nations include: Canada, Finland, United States, Sweden, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with Team Canada and Team Finland having emerged as the sport's top two competing nations. The 2023 World Ringette Championships will be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and will be the sport's 60th anniversary.
The 2010 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 9th (IX) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Tampere, Finland, between November 1 and November 6, 2010. The main competition took place at the Tampere Ice Stadium. The previous year the 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships took place in Prague, becoming the inaugural event for elite junior ringette athletes, but was organized as a separate event from the World Ringette Championships program.
The Canada national ringette team is the ringette team representing Canada internationally. Canada has both a senior national team, Team Canada Senior, and a junior national team, Team Canada Junior. Both national teams compete in the World Ringette Championships (WRC) and are overseen by Ringette Canada which is a member of the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Some team members are selected from the National Ringette League. Team Canada and Team Finland have emerged as ringette's major international rivals at both the senior and junior level. Some of Canada's national teams have been inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame.
The 2019 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 13th (XIII) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, from November 25 - December 1, 2019. The main competition took place at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
The 2022 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 14th (XIV) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Espoo, Finland, from October 31 – November 6, 2022. The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, acted as a patron of the event. The previous world championships, the 2021 WRC, had been planned to be hosted by Finland in Helsinki, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2007 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 8th (VIII) of the World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Ottawa, Canada, between October 30 and November 3, 2007. The competition took place at the Ottawa Civic Centre which has since been renamed, "TD Place Arena" and was broadcast in Canada by Rogers TV.
The 2004 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 7th (XII) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Stockholm, Sweden, between November 23 and 27, 2004. The game for the world title final between Canada and Finland took place at the Visättra SportCenter in Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
The 2002 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 6th (XI) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between November 25 and November 30, 2002, at the Northlands AgriCom Arena, now called the Edmonton Expo Centre. The final match was broadcast in Canada and followed by over 140,000 televiewers.
The 1996 World Ringette Championship was an international ringette tournament and the 4th (IX) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Stockholm, Sweden, from April 15 to 20, 1996. WRC 1996 was the first time all competing teams represented individual nations with Canada creating its first, singular, all-Canadian team.
The 1994 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 3rd (III) World Ringette Championships, and was the first tournament organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) which had previously been called the "World Ringette Council". The tournament was contested in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States, between March 19 and 27, 1994, at the Rosemount Community Center/Arena in South St. Paul.
The 1992 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament, the 2nd (II) World Ringette Championships, and was organized by the World Ringette Council, the precursor to the International Ringette Federation (IRF). The tournament was contested in Helsinki, Finland, from March 4 to 8, 1992.
The Finland national ringette team,, more commonly known as "Team Finland", is the ringette team representing Finland internationally. Finland has both a senior national team, Team Finland Senior, and a junior national team, Team Finland Junior. Both national teams compete in the World Ringette Championships (WRC) and are overseen by Ringette Finland, which is a member of the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Finland's first appearance in international ringette took place at the first World Ringette Championships in 1990.
Ringette in Canada began in 1963 when it was first conceptualized by Sam Jacks of North Bay, Ontario, in West Ferris. The sport of ringette is played in all 10 Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territories and involves an average of over 31,000 registered players every year. Canada is the location of ringette's origin where it is also recognized as a national heritage sport. The sport is governed nationally by Ringette Canada. Canadian provinces and territories have their own individual governing bodies in their respective jurisdictions.
Ringette Canada is the national governing body for the sport of ringette in Canada. It was established in 1974 with June Tiessen as its first President and has its current headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. It is responsible for the organization and promotion of ringette on a nationwide basis and organizes Canada's semi-professional ringette league, the National Ringette League (NRL) which was established in 2004, with the league functioning as a committee under Ringette Canada.
The 2000 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 5th (X) official World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Espoo and Lahti in Finland, between November 15–18, 2000.
Below are the rosters for the national ringette teams which competed in the 2022 World Ringette Championships.
Lyndsay Wheelans is a former Canadian national level ringette athlete and coach who was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised in Edmonton. She played successfully for the Canadian national ringette team and coached both Team Canada and Team Finland in the World Ringette Championships (WRC). She was Head Coach of Team Canada from 2006 - 2011. For over 25 years, Wheelans has been playing ringette and coaching at both national and international levels, starting in 1988.
The 2023 World Ringette Championships is an international ringette tournament, the 15th (XV) World Ringette Championships, and will be contested in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, from October 29 to November 4, 2023. The host venue for the event will be the Canada Olympic Park (COP), WinSport Event Centre, and the Greater Calgary Arena. It will mark the 60th anniversary of the sport of ringette which was invented in 1963. The tournament is organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF).
Canada 
Alberta 
Ontario 
Quebec 
