Canada national ringette team

The Canada national ringette team (popularly known as Team Canada; French: Équipe Canada) is the ringette team representing Canada internationally. Canada has both a senior national team, Team Canada Senior, and a junior national team, Team Canada Junior. Both national teams compete in the World Ringette Championships (WRC) and are overseen by Ringette Canada[4] which is a member of the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Some team members are selected from the National Ringette League. Team Canada and Team Finland have emerged as ringette's major international rivals at both the senior and junior level. Some of Canada's national teams have been inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame.

Canada
Shirt badge/Association crest
The Maple Leaf has always appeared on the uniform since 1990.[1]
Nickname(s)Team Canada[2][3]
(Équipe Canada)
AssociationRingette Canada[4]
Head coach
  • Team Canada Sr.

Julie Blanchette (2023)

  • Team Canada Jr.

Andrea Ferguson (2023)

Assistants
  • Team Canada Jr. U21 (2023)
  • Keely Brown
  • Colleen Hagan
  • Donnell Schoenhofen
Captain
  • Team Canada Sr.
  • (2023)
  • Team Canada Jr. U21
  • Erin Ung (2023)
Team colorsWhite, red, black
     
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Third colours
First international
Senior:

Canada Canada 19–0 Sweden Sweden
(Stockholm, Sweden; April 14, 1996)[5]

Junior:

Canada Canada 14–8 United States USA
(North Bay, Ontario, Canada; January 1, 2014)
World Ringette Championships
AppearancesJunior: 6
(first in 2009)

Senior: 14 including 1998 Summit Series (first in 1990)
Best result
Medal record
World Ringette Championships
Seniors
Gold medal – first place 1990 Gloucester Team
(Alberta)
Silver medal – second place 1990 Gloucester Team
(Ontario)
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Gloucester Team
(Quebec)
Gold medal – first place 1992 Helsinki Team
(Canada West)
Silver medal – second place 1992 Helsinki Team
(Canada East)
Silver medal – second place 1994 Saint Paul Team
(Canada East)
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Saint Paul Team
(Canada West)
Gold medal – first place 1996 Stockholm Team
Silver medal – second place 1998 Summit Series
Turku, Gothenburg, Osnabruck, Colmar
Team
Silver medal – second place 2000 Espoo and Lahti Team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Edmonton Team
Silver medal – second place 2004 Stockholm Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Ottawa Team
Silver medal – second place 2010 Tampere Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 North Bay Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Helsinki Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Mississauga Team
Silver medal – second place 2019 Burnaby Team
2021 Helsinki Cancelled
Silver medal – second place 2022 Espoo Team
2023 Calgary Team
World Junior Ringette Championships
Juniors
Silver medal – second place 2009 Prague Team
(Canada East)
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team
(Canada East)
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
(Canada West)
World Ringette Championships
Juniors
Silver medal – second place 2013 North Bay Team
Gold medal – first place 2016 Tampere Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Mississauga Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Burnaby Team
2021 Helsinki Cancelled
Silver medal – second place 2022 Espoo Team
2023 Calgary Team

Canada's first appearance in international ringette began at the inaugural World Ringette Championships which was the 1990 World Ringette Championships, when Canada sent six different regional teams from across the country to represent the nation. At that time, Canada had not yet established a national team, and rather, regional teams competed for the championship instead. Team Alberta, which was composed of members of the province's Calgary Debs who were all-star players from across Alberta, emerged victorious from the tournament.[6]

Canada achieved its first unified national ringette team in the 1996 World Ringette Championships. This was a significant milestone for the sport, as it marked the first time that only one team represented the nation in international ringette competitions. Previously, regional teams, like Team Alberta, represented Canada in international tournaments. The formation of this national team paved the way for greater standardization in the sport and allowed Canada to bring its best players together to compete on the world stage. The Canadian national ringette team has since become a dominant force in international ringette competitions, winning several gold medals in the World Ringette Championships.

The next time Canada competed was at the 1998 Summit Series where both Team Canada Senior and Team Finland Senior competed exclusively in a European tour.

The 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships was the first-ever international tournament exclusively for junior ringette players and took place in Prague, Czech Republic. Two different teams represented the country: Canada East, and Canada West. This marked another important moment in the history of the sport, as it was the first time that nations specifically competed against each other with their best young players, all of whom were U19 (Under-19). Later, the junior tournament merged with the senior tournament at the 2013 World Ringette Championships during the 50th anniversary of the sport. That same year, Canada established its first-ever all-junior national ringette team, taking the opportunity to send upcoming players to the merged junior-senior tournament. The creation of the all-junior team allowed Canada to continue its tradition of success in the international scene and also provided a pathway for young players to represent their country on a global stage.

Early history

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Canada was initially represented by six different amateur ringette teams at the inaugural World Ringette Championships in 1990 which took place in Gloucester, Ontario, Canada.[7] In 1996, Canada's national ringette team became the first single representative Canadian team for ringette internationally, forming roughly 15 years after the death of Sam Jacks in 1975, the Canadian identified as the sport's inventor.[8]

Until 2009, Canada only had world representation in ringette at the senior level due to the fact that it was the only level available for elite international ringette competition. Canada created two teams which formed in 2009 for the inaugural World Junior Ringette Championships in the Czech Republic, but Canada wouldn't form its first, single representative all-junior national team until 2013.

World Championship record

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Summit Series

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The 1998 World Ringette Championships were replaced by a Summit Series between Team Canada and Team Finland, both of which were senior teams. Team Canada finished in second place while Team Finland finished in first.

Senior Canada

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(Seniors) World Ringette Championships
Year Location Result Notes
1990   Gloucester Gold
1992   Helsinki Gold
1994   Saint Paul Silver
1996   Stockholm Gold
1998
"Summit Series"
  Turku
  Gothenburg
  Osnabrück
  Colmar
Silver
2000   Espoo and Lahti Silver
2002   Edmonton Gold
2004   Stockholm Silver
2007   Ottawa Silver
2010   Tampere Silver
2013   North Bay Silver
2016   Helsinki Silver
2017   Mississauga Silver
2019   Burnaby Silver
2021   Helsinki cancelled
2022   Espoo Silver

Junior Canada

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(Juniors) World Ringette Championships
Year Location Result Notes
2009   Prague Silver [9]
2012   London Gold
2013   Saint Paul Silver
2016   Stockholm Gold
2017   Mississauga Gold
2019   Burnaby Gold
2021   Helsinki cancelled
2022   Espoo Silver

Team Canada Senior

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Canada's first appearance in international ringette took place at the first World Ringette Championships in 1990 with six different Canadian senior amateur ringette teams representing the country: Team Alberta (Calgary Debs), Team Ontario, Team Quebec, Team Manitoba, Team Saskatchewan, and Team Gloucester (host). The winners of the 1989 Western Canadian Ringette Championships, the Calgary Debs advanced to the first World Ringette Championships in 1990 as Team Alberta.[10][7] The team went on to become the first to win the World Ringette Championship and the Sam Jacks Trophy.[11][10][12] Clémence Duchesneau was named the tournament's top goalie, an award she also claimed at the next tournament.[13]

Canada was represented by two separate teams, Team Canada East and Team Canada West, during the 1992 World Ringette Championships and the 1994 World Ringette Championships. Since the 1996 World Ringette Championships only one national Canadian team has served as the Canadian senior representative; it has won the competition twice, in 1996 and in 2002.[14][15]

Team Canada Junior

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Team Canada Junior first competed in the World Junior Ringette Championships. The 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships marked the first time an international competition took place specifically for junior players between ringette playing nations. The tournament was created separately from the major competition between senior national teams (the World Ringette Championships) and was established by the International Ringette Federation.

In 2009, Canada was represented by two different Canadian junior amateur ringette teams, Team Canada East and Team Canada West. At the 2012 World Junior Ringette Championships, Canada was represented by two separate teams: Team Canada East Under-19, and Team Canada West Under-19.

The first single representative national junior ringette team in Canada was formed in 2013 after the World Junior Ringette Championships tournament merged with the larger World Ringette Championships and a Junior division was created.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 World Ringette Championships were cancelled and therefore there was no Team Canada Junior for that year.

Medal record

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Senior medal record

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In conjunction with a gold medal, the winning senior national ringette team is awarded the Sam Jacks Trophy which was first introduced at the world inaugural World Ringette Championships (WRC) in 1990 in Gloucester, Ontario, Canada. A new redesign of the Sam Jacks Trophy was introduced during the 1996 World Ringette Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. 1996 was the year Canada sent the first all–Canadian national ringette team to the WRC whereas before Canada had sent regional teams.

Senior Team Canada WRC Medals (1990–1994)
Year Gold   2
(Sam Jacks Trophy)
Silver   3 Bronze   2
1990
Details
   Team Alberta
(Calgary Debs)
   Team Ontario   Team Quebec
1992
Details
   Team Canada West
(Team Alberta "AAA")
  Team Canada East
1994
Details
  Team Canada East   Team Canada West
Senior Team Canada WRC Medals (1996–2022)
Year Gold   2
(Sam Jacks Trophy)
Silver   10 Bronze   0
1996
Details
  1996 Team Canada
1998
Details
  1998 Team Canada
2000
Details
  2000 Team Canada
2002
Details
  2002 Team Canada
2004
Details
  2004 Team Canada
2007
Details
  2007 Team Canada
2010
Details
  2010 Team Canada
2013
Details
  2013 Team Canada Senior
2016
Details
  2016 Team Canada Senior
2017
Details
  2017 Team Canada Senior
2019
Details
  2019 Team Canada
2021
Details
cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022
Details
  2022 Team Canada
2023
Details

Junior medal record

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In conjunction with a gold medal, the winning junior national ringette team is awarded the Juuso Wahlsten Trophy which was first introduced during the 2019 World Ringette Championships (WRC) in Burnaby, Canada. 2013 was the year Canada sent the first all–Canadian junior national ringette team to the WRC whereas before Canada had sent regional teams to the World Junior Ringette Championships (WJRC) in 2009 and 2012, after which the tournament merged with the WRC.

Junior Team Canada WJRC Medals (2009–2012)
Year Gold   4
(World Junior Championship Trophy)
Silver   2 Bronze   1
2009
Details
  U19 Team Canada East
2012
Details
  U19 Team Canada East   U19 Team Canada West
Junior Team Canada WRC Medals (2013–present)
Year Gold   3
(Juuso Wahlsten Trophy)
Silver   2 Bronze   0
2013
Details
  Team Canada U19
2016
Details
  Team Canada U19
2017
Details
  Team Canada U19
2019
Details
  Team Canada U19
2021
Details
cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022
Details
  Team Canada U21
2023
Details

Notable people

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Players

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Samuel Perry Jacks

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Samuel Perry Jacks, commonly known as Sam Jacks, is the Canadian who created the sport of ringette. Ringette's preeminent international award for ringette athletes, the World Ringette Championships, Sam Jacks Trophy, is awarded to the winning team in the Senior Pool and is named in his honour.

Mirl Arthur McCarthy

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Mirl Arthur McCarthy, commonly known as "Red", was the Canadian responsible for designing ringette's first set of official rules.

Team Canada goalies

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Below is a list of ringette goalies who have been members of Canada's national ringette team or a have been goalies for one of the regional Canadian ringette teams at the World Ringette Championships.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The 1990 world ringette championship team". ringette.ca. 28 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Senior National Team Program". ringette.ca/athletes/team-canada/senior-national-team-program/. Ringette Canada. 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Junior National Team Program". ringette.ca/athletes/team-canada/junior-national-team-program/. Ringette Canada. 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Ringette Canada". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  5. ^ "International Ringette Federation (IRF) 1996". www.ringette.cc. International Ringette Federation. 1996. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Canada West Ringette Teams 1990 & 1992 | Ringette Team - Inducted 1994". albertasportshallmembers.ca. Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b "1990 World Ringette Championship (Gloucester, Ontario, Canada)". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  8. ^ Lawlor, Allison (19 April 2005). "Obituaries, AGNES JACKS, RINGETTE PROMOTER 1923-2005". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Team Finland White Stars win gold at first IRF U-19 Ringette Championship". Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  10. ^ a b "1989–1990 – Ringette Calgary History". ringettecalgary.ca. Ringette Calgary. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Player Roster - Team Canada 1990, World Ringette Championships, Gloucester Ontario Canada". web.archive.com. Ringette Canada. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  12. ^ "The 1990 world ringette championship team". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Clémence Duchesneau - Ringette Canada Hall of Fame". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  14. ^ "1996 World Ringette Championship Team". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  15. ^ "2002 World Ringette Championship Team". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Ringuette Performance | Your Instructors | Claudia Jetté". ringuetteperformance.com. 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  17. ^ "2023 SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM COACHING STAFF ANNOUNCED". Ringette Canada. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
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