Ringette: Canada's Fast Game With a Ring

Ringette is a team sport from Canada. It is played on ice with skates, sticks and a rubber ring. It can look a little like ice hockey, but the rules and equipment are different. [1]

The sport began in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario. Sam Jacks helped create it as a winter team sport for girls. The first game was played in the town of Espanola during the winter of 1963–64. [3]

Players use a straight stick to control and pass the ring. They try to put the ring into the other team's goal. A team has only 30 seconds to take a shot, so the game moves quickly. [1][2]

Passing is very important. A player cannot carry the ring over a blue line alone. The ring must be passed across the line to a teammate. This rule makes players work together. [1][2]

Ringette does not allow intentional body contact. Players still wear helmets and other safety equipment because they skate fast and use sticks on the ice. [2]

Today, ringette is played from beginner to elite levels and has also spread outside Canada. It has something familiar—ice, skates and goals—but the ring gives the game its own Canadian personality.