Ringette in Arnprior
The year was 1983. A special lady had a dream, a dream to bring the game of ringette to the girls of Arnprior and area. Joyce Potter, under the guidance of Glenn Arthur - Recreation Director of Arnprior - officially gave birth to the game of ringette in Arnprior during the winter of ’83.
The first team consisted of six skaters and one goalie, playing exhibition games throughout the valley. The teams’ very first game was played against a peewee hockey team coached by Joyce’s husband, Keith. Keith remembers it well. The boys thought it was going to be a breeze playing against the girls. But when they found out they had to play with sticks without blades, it became a different story. “There were lots of laughs” said Keith.
In the years that followed Joyce worked hard at attracting more players. She contacted the local schools, put up posters all over town, talked to the local papers; anything she could do to get the word out there. By the second year she had enough for two complete teams. They began traveling out of town to gain experience. If a team was short, the younger girls played up a level. Age did not matter then, just playing the game did.
The popularity of the sport blossomed and by the third year a complete league executive was formed. This gave Joyce more time to do what she loved most, coaching the girls. With her own two daughters playing, Barb and Beverly, she spent a lot of time at the rink. One of her most memorable accomplishments was when she organized a team to travel to the Quebec Winter Carnival. There they played on an outdoor rink. “The girls had the time of their lives,” recalls Keith.
Joyce was truly dedicated to the girls and to the game of ringette. There was the year she coached the girls, while she was nine months’ pregnant. The weekend was spent at a Beachburg tournament. Upon returning home it soon became evident that her fifth child, Ryan, was soon to be born. Now that’s dedication!
In the winter of 1994 a new executive was formed, and it was then that Joyce started to gradually retire from the game. She continued to offer her help whenever needed. It was time for other things.
In the summer months Joyce volunteered her time coaching minor softball. But it is the organizing of ringette that she will be most remembered for.
Born Joyce Loretta Delahunt in Kinburn, Ontario, Joyce passed away March 7, 1996 at the young age of 51. It is because of people like Joyce Potter that our children can enjoy their favourite sport while competing in a tournament like this weekend. We owe her a depth of gratitude.
Thank You Joyce Potter.
The Arnprior McNab Ringette Association
Ringette History
Ringette is a sport in which primarily girls and women of all ages compete at
all levels of physical activity using their strength, intellect and spirit to
obtain measurble results. The game provides numerous opportunities for players
to develop their skills on and off the ice, to compete competitively and make
new friends.
The sport was invented in 1963 in Ontario by the late Sam Jacks. It was to be a winter team sport layed on ice with skates for girls as an alternative, somewhere between figure skating and ice hockey. Today it has been adapted to gym ringette and in-line ringette.
Players use straight sticks to pass, carry and shoot a rubber ring. For the gym and in-line version, a larger, harder ring is used which slides on any surfact. The objective is to control the ring while moving it down the ice to score goals in opposing team's net.
There are over 35,000 people playing ringette across Canada. Since it's inception, registration has increased each year. Ringette is played in all provinces and the NWT. Over the course of the average season there are more than 125 sanctioned tournaments from coast to coast.
The game is played by 2 teams of 9 to 18 players with 6 on the ice at one time - (5 skaters plus a goalie). Ringette consists of two 15 or 20 minute stop time periods. At this time there are nine official ages classifications ranging from 7 & under to 30 & over. The rules of ringette promote team play, development of strong motor, coordination and control skills. For more information, visit the Ringette Canada Web Page.