Ringette is a unique winter team sport developed in 1963, by the late Mr. Sam Jacks, Director of Parks & Recreation of North Bay, Ontario.
Originally designed to be a unique winter team sport for girls and an alternative to hockey, Ringette has evolved into a fast paced, exciting sport that combines the speed of hockey with the strategy of basketball or lacrosse. The first game played in Espanola, Ontario, was nothing like the sport of today.
First introduced in Alberta in 1974 the sport has never looked back. Ringette is now considered an international sport with associations from Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA, Russia, and France. In addition, Ringette Canada has been instrumental in demonstrating the game in the Netherlands, Switzerland, West Germany, along with New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Sherwood Park was the pioneer for Ringette in Alberta in 1975, brought here by Nelson Ball and Fred Rusnak, who put together the very first team. The Association has grown from 40 players to nearly 450 (2022/23 registration) and has always been a leader in the sport throughout Alberta and Canada.
SPRA teams and/or players have participated in every National Championship held in Canada; and has been the host to numerous Provincial tournaments as well as having players being part of the Worlds Team and the Canada Winter Games teams.
SPRA and its members were part of the force behind starting Ringette in other parts of Alberta as well as the formation of Ringette Alberta and the Zone 5 Association.Perhaps, more importantly, the sport and the SPRA have provided an opportunity for girls to develop and experience team cooperation, good sportsmanship, fun, and friendships.
First logo created in 1997 by Cheryl Brooks
Second logo created in 2006 by Cheryl Brooks
Current logo created in 2015 by Brenden Koepke and Stratomer IT
Wikipedia information on Ringette.
