Ringette, a Canadian invention that has become one of the fastest team sports on ice, involves approximately 50,000 thousand girls and women, and hundreds of boys, all across Canada. Internationally, it is played in half a dozen other countries around the world.

Created by Sam Jacks a North Bay, Ontario sports enthusiast in the early 1960s, ringette has come of age in Canada with almost 50,000 organized players, coaches, and officials at every level from preschool beginners to National Women's Team that participates in the World Championships.

Ringette, like hockey, is played on ice with skates and sticks by six players - two defenders, three forwards, and a goalie - on each of two teams. And the players' mission is to score goals by shooting the object of play into nets at either end of the rink during the stop-time periods of play.

But there the comparisons really end. The stick is straight. The object being pursued by players is a rubber ring, not a puck. There is no intentional body contact. There are two 20-minute periods. And the rules of ringette make it a wide-open and dynamic sport.

The emphasis is on play-making and skating skills. Players cannot carry the ring across the blue lines on the ice. Only three players from each team, plus the defending goalie, are allowed in the end zones at the same time, which keeps the play open, puts a premium on sharp offensive moves, and requires defending players to skate close to their opponents. These features of the game demand the development of keen skating skills that give ringette players fantastic skating speed and agility.

Age Groups are as follows:

U9: 7 years and under,
U10: 9 years and under,
U12: 11 years and under,
U14: 13 years and under,
U16: 15 years and under,
U19: 18 years and under,
18+ : 18 years and older
*All ages are of January 1st of the current playing season.