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.
Judy Diduck is a retired Canadian ringette and ice hockey player. Diduck was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta. She competed in the first World Ringette Championships in 1990 for Team Alberta who became the first world champions in the sport. In 2005, she was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame. Diduck is also a former member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team.
The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum was eventually taken over by Sport Alberta in 1973 when the AAAU ceased operations. It has been maintained by the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Society since 1997. The first permanent display for the Hall of Fame was established in Edmonton in 1962. The museum relocated between Edmonton and Calgary on numerous occasions until settling in Red Deer in 1999.
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 2016 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 11th (XI) World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Helsinki, Finland between December 27, 2015, and January 3, 2016. The main competition took place at the Helsinki Ice Hall. It was the first time the Team Slovakia and the Team Czech appeared at the international tournament. This was also the first year Sweden formed the Sweden national junior ringette team (U19).
Shelly Hruska is a Canadian Metis, a former ringette and bandy player, coach, and teacher from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hruska helped lead Team Canada twice to victory in the World Ringette Championships.
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 2017 World Ringette Championships was an international ringette tournament and the 12th (XII) of the World Ringette Championships. The tournament was organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF) and was contested in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, from November 27 – December 3, 2017, at the Hershey Centre Arena, now renamed the Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Eight of the games were live-streamed online and made available for public viewing.
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 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 1990 World Ringette Championship was an international ringette tournament and the first World Ringette Championship in history. Three countries took part: Canada, Finland, and the United States. The tournament was organized by the World Ringette Council, the precursor to the International Ringette Federation (IRF). The event was held in the Canadian city of Gloucester, Ontario from January 29 to February 3, 1990, with eight competing teams at Earl Armstrong Arena.
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.
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.
Keely Brown is a former Canadian national level athlete who played ringette, roller in-line hockey, and ice hockey as a goaltender. She played for the Canadian Senior National Ringette Team and was also a goalie on the Canadian Women's National Inline Hockey team. Brown also played semi-professional ringette in Canada's National Ringette League and in semi-pro women's ice hockey. Brown currently works for the National Hockey League's, Edmonton Oilers as a Senior Legal Counsel, and works for the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG).
The Ringette Canada Hall of Fame (RCHoF) was established in 1988 by Ringette Canada, Canada's governing body for ringette, to honor notable individuals and groups associated with the sport.
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 Edmonton WAM! is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is one of two NRL teams based in Edmonton, Alberta, with the other being the Edmonton Black Gold Rush. Their other provincial rival is the Calgary RATH.
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