Ringette 50 Years Strong

Ringette Canada today officially launched its plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sport during the opening ceremony of the 2012 U19 World Ringette Championship taking place in London, Ontario.

In 2013 Ringette turns 50 (years old) and was first introduced in 1963 by the late Sam Jacks in North Bay, and has close to 30,000 registered players in Canada.

It is also played in a number of other countries around the world, including Finland, Sweden, the United States, France, Slovakia, Russia and the Czech Republic.

“Our 50th anniversary is a very exciting milestone for our sport and we are pleased to unveil an exciting line up of activities that will allow the entire Ringette community to come together and celebrate the fastest game on ice,” said Frances Losier, sport development director, Ringette Canada. “Our goal is to make the 2013-2014 season our best yet.”

During the launch, Ringette Canada officially announced the dates, locations and details for its all-star weekend and national all-star skills contest, its 30-day 15 city road show tour and announced a contest that will begin on January 1st for a trip to the 2013 World Ringette Championship in North Bay, Ontario next December.

A 50th anniversary website (www.ringette50.ca) was also launched and Samantha Bell and Junior Jacks, the 50th anniversary mascots, came to life.
A second launch event will occur in conjunction with the 2013 Canadian Ringette Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

This event will feature the announcement of local and provincial 50th anniversary celebration events, which will become part of the national celebration festivities.

The 50th anniversary celebrations will run through till June 2014.

Over the years, Ringette has noted many achievements and accomplishments which include the following:

Establishment of a Hall of Fame
Introduction of a Learn to Skate Program four to six year olds
A successful National Team Program
The introduction of a U19 program
The development of programs NCCP and the NOCP
Develop and implement Long Term Athlete Development model
A Come Try Ringette recruitment system
And a expanding National Ringette League.