Ringette - History

History

The game of ringette was brought to life by the Northern Ontario Recreation Directors Association (NORDA) in 1963 and led by the two founders and co-inventors of Ringette- Sam Jacks, from West Ferris,Ontario and director of Parks and Recreation for the city of North Bay,Ontario and Mirl "Red" McCarthy, recreation director for the town of Espanola, Ontario.

NORDA was a regional organization composed of members from a vast area which included Deep River, Elliott Lake, Espanola, Huntsville, North Bay, Onaping, Sturgeon Falls, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Phelps in Ontario, and Temiscaming in Quebec. The body recognized the problem of limited girls' winter recreational programmes, and decided to find a solution.

The first time the name "ringette" is mentioned was at the NORDA meetings held on January 20 and 21, 1963 in Sudbury, Ontario. Sam Jacks advised the group that "he had been working on a new girls court game". Evidently he first considered an inside floor game for females, relying no doubt on his previous success with floor hockey.

At their September 15 and 16, 1963 meeting at North Bay's RCAF base, Mr.Sam Jacks informed the group that he would "like to have NORDA receive credit as a body for the birth of this game." Each one of the sports directors left this meeting agreeing to develop the game in their own community and report their findings at the next NORDA meeting in early 1964.

Finally,the historic moment arrived. The birth and invention of a new sport at the Espanola Arena in the fall of 1963. This is where it all began. Under the guidance of Mirl "Red" McCarthy, the very first game was held between Espanola high school girls. He wrote up a set of rules and created a ring for this occasion.This original ring can be found on display inside the Espanola arena.

In 1963-1964,McCarthy's original ringette rules become experimental in several Northern Ontario and Quebec communities:

Espanola, Ontario arena

Onaping, Ontario playground

Sudbury, Ontario Kingsway Playground

Sudbury Grace Playground

Sudbury Adamsdale Playground

Sudbury Barrydowne Playground

Sault Ste. Marie,Ontario

Temiscaming, Quebec arena

Mirl "Red" McCarthy presents a written list of rules which he had developed, combined with comments and observations, to NORDA at their meeting at Moose Lake Lodge in Onaping, Ontario, on January 19 and 20, 1964.

Ringette is introduced to the province of Quebec (Town of Temiscaming) by Bob Reid, director of recreation for Temiscaming, secretary and chairman of NORDA.

In 1964-1965, Sudbury, Ontario forms the first ever ringette league, comprising four teams. Diana Heit, assistant program director of Sudbury Parks and Recreation department, helps the teams with schedules, rules and coaching.

Ringette is introduced in North Bay,Ontario on January 21, 1965 at the Kiwanis Playground with teams from Kiwanis and Police zones participating. The game ended in a 5-5 overtime tie. Attempts are being made to form a four team league. Ironically, growth in ringette came slowly to North Bay as ice time was never available.It was not until 1971-72 that West Ferris,Ontario, today part of North Bay, had a four-team league operating.

The West Ferris Arena (West Ferris Centennial Community Centre) was built in 1967, four years after the birth and invention of the sport in 1963 in Espanola,Ontario. This arena,along with the surrounding ballfields and tennis courts,is today called the Sam Jacks Recreational Complex.

On March 5, 1966, the first invitational tournament, called the "Northern Ontario and Quebec championships", is held in Temiscaming, Quebec. The tournament took place with five teams participating: North Bay Police playground, Sudbury Rose Marie Playground, Sudbury East End playground, Temiscaming Reds, and Temiscaming Whites. The tournament is won by the Temiscaming Reds team. This historic tournament created many firsts for the game of ringette:

1. The first ever ringette tournament.

2. The first interprovincial tournament.

3. The first tournament in Quebec.

4. The first tournament for the Canadian and World Championship.

5. The first indoor tournament.

6. The first tournament on artificial ice.

7. The first crests ever created and awarded for the sport.

By 1965-66, NORDA decided that they had carried the game about as far as it could go. The Society of Directors of Municipal Recreation of Ontario (SDMRO) was chosen to develop and organize it further on a larger scale.

By 1973, an agreement was worked out between SDMRO and the Ontario Ringette Association (ORA) where the copyright to the Official Ringette Rules would be held by the ORA. Finally, in 1983 in agreement with the ORA, these rights were acquired by Ringette Canada.

Since Sam Jack's passing away in May 1975,his wife Agnes has promoted the game over the years until her passing in April 2005. She has justly earned the title of "Ringette Ambassador". Her work has earned her many awards including the Order of Canada. Her work has also earned her wide recognition not only in Canada but Europe,the United States, or wherever the game is played.

Now ringette is played in countries such as Finland, Sweden, United States, Czech Republic and Russia, with the largest community in Canada, with over 50,000 participants.