Ringette

Ringette

Women playing ringette in Canada's National Ringette League (NRL)
Highest governing body	International Ringette Federation (IRF)
First played	1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Characteristics
Contact	No contact, incidental only
Team members	2 Forwards 2 Defenders 1 Centre 1 Goaltender
Type	Female winter team sport
Equipment	Ringette ring, ringette stick, ice hockey skates, ringette girdle with pelvic protector and other protective gear
Venue	Standard Canadian ice hockey rink with ringette markings
Presence
Olympic	No[1][2]
Paralympic	No
World Games	No

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.^[3] While the sport was originally created exclusively for female competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities.^[4] 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.^[5]

The sport was created in Canada in 1963 by Sam Jacks from North Bay, Ontario, and Red McCarthy from Espanola, Ontario. Since then, it has gained popularity to the point where, in 2018, more than 50,000 individuals, including coaches, officials, volunteers, and over 30,000 players, registered to take part in the sport in Canada alone.^[6][7] The sport has continued to grow and has spread to other countries including the United Arab Emirates.^[8] Two different floor variants of ringette are also played: in-line ringette, and gym ringette.^[9][10][11]

Ringette is especially popular in Canada and Finland, having come to prominence as national pastimes in both countries. The premier international competition for ringette is the World Ringette Championships (WRC) which is organized by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). On the international stage, Canadian teams and Finnish teams have proved to be the most successful and are regularly at the top of the rankings. Several other countries currently organize and compete in the sport including Sweden, the United States, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, all of whom have national ringette teams though Slovakia has not competed since the 2016 World Ringette Championships. National organizations for the sport include Ringette Canada, Ringette Finland, the Sweden Ringette Association, USA Ringette, the Czech Ringette Association, and the Slovakia Ringette Association.

The sport is also played at the semi-professional level in Canada (National Ringette League), in Finland (SM–Ringette), and in Sweden (Ringette Dam-SM), as well as the university and college level. In Canada, the sport is a part of the Canada Winter Games programme and the annual Canadian Ringette Championships serve as the country's premiere competition for the sport's elite amateur athletes. The sport's first international tournament was hosted in Finland in 1986.^[12][13]