For local teens Morgan Randolph and Amy Pearson, ringette has been a big part of their lives. Both currently in grade 11 at Chestermere High School, they have been a part of the sport since very young girls. All that practice and training has paid off as the girls recently brought home the gold.
Our very own Chestermere athletes, Amy Pearson #38 and Morgan Randolph #9, along with their Ringette team, U19A Calgary NW Crew, went undefeated and brought home the Gold Medal at the Esso Golden Ring Tournament (EGRT) on January 17th. They fought hard to come from behind in the final game to win 4-3 over Saskatoon in a 5 minute sudden victory overtime period.
The EGRT is one of the largest ringette tournaments with over 3000 players and more than 200 teams representing five different provinces and just celebrated its 30th year of supporting the sport of ringette.
Now, although I had heard of ringette before, I was embarrassed to realize that I didn’t actually know that much about the sport. It’s defined as “a game resembling ice hockey, played (especially by women and girls) with a straight stick and a rubber ring, and in which no intentional body contact is allowed” in which the objective is to outscore the opposing team.
Created in Canada, the sport is played on an ice surface, primarily by women and girls, and requires the use of ice skates. The sport uses a blue rubber pneumatic ring and all players, with the exception of goaltenders, use a straight stick. One of the sport’s most recognizable and defining features is the fact that it does not involve the use of intentional body contact as a strategic component. Despite its primary popularity among female participants, the sport is officially mixed.
Quin Randolph, Morgan’s mom said, “It is an awesome feeling to see a win in this tournament with the amount of talent all these players have, it is not an easy tournament to win, hard work determination and most of all team work is critical”.
Amy’s parents, Rob & Deb Pearson, added “As parents, nothing warms your heart more than watching your child succeed in anything they love to do. Watching these talented athletes game after game push themselves to the limit and then come out victorious in this competitive tournament is a proud moment for all!”
If you want to come watch some high end ringette, come out and watch Amy, Morgan and their team compete to be the Alberta Champions in the U19A Division at the Alberta Ringette Provincial Championships which will be held at the Don Hartman NE Sportsplex Arena in Calgary on March 4 – 6 2016.
