History
History
The St. Albert Ringette Association is one of the oldest and largest Ringette Associations in Alberta. Formed in 1979, the Association has grown to a 315+ player community, with teams in all Divisions. The success of the Association is due to the efforts of the parent volunteers, the coaches, and most of all the players for the time and effort they have put in season after season. The efforts of our volunteers have been recognized by Ringette Alberta.
Below is a short history of Ringette in Canada as well as our local history.
| 2016 | The 2016 World Ringette Championship will be held in Helsinki, Finland from December 28, 2015 to January 4, 2016. |
| 2015 | The 2015 Tim Hortons Canadian Ringette Championships, which include the National Ringette League championship tournament, are held in Wood Buffalo, AB from March 29 to April 4. |
| 2015 | Ringette is part of the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, British Columbia from February 14-20. |
| 2013 | The 50th anniversary of ringette is celebrated across the country. Activities include Ringette Day in Wonderland, ringette featured prominently at Canada Day in Ottawa, a Legends ringette game featuring three-time Olympic medalist Catriona LeMay Doan, a 30-day, 15-city cross-country roadshow sponsored by Volkswagen, an all-star skills contest, an all-star weekend, Ringette Night with the Ottawa Senators, and many more local and provincial activities. |
| 2009 | Canada Post issued a set of four stamps celebrating Canada’s sporting inventions, including ringette, basketball, five-pin bowling and lacrosse. |
| 2008 | The St. Albert Ringette Association hosts the Canadian Ringette Championships March 31 - April 5. |
| 2006 | The National Ringette League enters its third season with 16 teams participating in three divisions across the country (Western - seven teams, Ontario - five teams and Quebec - four teams). The NRL championship game is held Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 10, 2007, with Edmonton WAM! claiming the league title. |
| 2005 | DAYTONA HOMES became a major partner of the Association, helping to support ongoing operations. |
| 2005 | The St. Albert Ringette Association was awarded hosting of the 2008 Canadian Ringette Championships - the venue where the country's best Ringette Players in the Junior, Belle, and Open Divisions get together to claim national bragging rights! |
| 2002 | Agnes Jacks is inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada on October 26, 2002 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. |
| 2002 | Canada hosts the sixth World Ringette Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. Canada reclaims the world title after posting a 3-1 win over Finland. A sell-out crowd of 3850 attends the final game, which was also televised live on CBC Sports to 144,000 viewers. |
| 1999 | The St. Albert Ringette Association organized the Petite B and AA Provincial Championships. This was the first time that the AA Provincials have been held outside of Edmonton or Calgary. |
| 1998 | TSN broadcasts a one-hour special on the Canadian Ringette Championships in Edmonton. |
| 1990 | CTV televises the Canadian Ringette Championships from Calgary.. |
| 1986 | International Ringette Federation is formed. Canada, Finland, France, Sweden and the United States are the founding countries. |
| 1985 | Ringette Canada breaks reaches 20,000 player mark with registrations. |
| 1983 | With the enrollment at 90 girls, the St. Albert Ringette Association decided to form a Zone 5 League with Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove, Morinville and Bon Accord. For the first time the St. Albert Ringette Association had girls enrolled from the ages of 6 - 17. The Black Gold League as it is now called is the basis for Ringette competition in Northern Alberta (Red Deer and north) - Zones 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 - with over 135 teams in all Divisions. Check out the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation map to see just how big an area the League encompasses! |
| 1979-1982 | The St. Albert Breakfast Lions Club lent their support. The St. Albert Ringette Association was struggling to maintain its financial existence. The Lions started a fund raising drive, later known as the honey drive. They offered each and all sports clubs an opportunity to participate by selling honey door to door in St. Albert. All monies then earned by that club over and above the cost of the honey was released to the club. The Ringette Association eventually took over all sales of honey and thus was able to build a foundation for the sound Association that exists today. |
| 1979 | Near the conclusion of the St. Albert Soccer season, several families in general discussion felt it would be nice if many of the girls would have a winter sport to participate in. An off-hand remark from an unknown source suggested they try Ringette. The seed was sown - the beginnings of Ringette in St. Albert. In October the St. Albert Ringette Association came to life tointroduce this new game for girls. In the first winter of operation they had 12 girls of mixed ages who played the odd exhibition game with surrounding centers. The next couple of years saw the growth of Ringette begin even though practices, most games, and even some tournaments were outdoors |
| 1976 | The provincial association known as Ringette Alberta was formed under the direction of Nelson Ball. By midwinter, it was estimated that approximately 800 girls were involved in Ringette. |
| 1975 | In the fall, the Alberta Department of Recreation, Parks and Wildlife was approached for assistance in organizing the sport. The Department was aware of the need for a girls winter ice sport and agreed to assist by sponsoring an introductory clinic and helping organize a provincial association. |
| 1974 | Ringette is introduced in Alberta. |
| 1965 | A number of Northern Ontario recreation directors under the co-ordination of Mr. Sam Jacks of North Bay, experimented with a game for girls on ice that would provide the excitement of a team sport without the body contact and high cost emphasis. |
| 1964 | First complete set of rules for ringette is composed. |
| 1963 | Sam Jacks invents what we know today as “ringette.” Jacks, the late director of parks and recreation for North Bay, introduced the game to the Society of Directors of Municipal Recreation of Ontario. |
With information from Ringette Canada
