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.
Juhani Jorma Kalervo Wahlsten was a Finnish professional ice hockey player and ice hockey coach who worked as an exercise and gymnastics teacher in Finland. He was also known by the nickname "Juuso". He also established and helped guide the early development of ringette in Finland, the first European country to do so.
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 and non-binary athletes.
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.
Julie Blanchette is an elite level Canadian ringette player who has also worked as a trainer and coach and served as the captain of several ringette teams including Team Canada. Blanchette plays for the Montreal Mission of the National Ringette League and has also been a member of the Canadian national ringette team as both player and coach.
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 were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was 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 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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
