What’s up, everybody? Reader here, and since winter is pretty much here to stay, it’s really feeling like winter sports season.
A few weeks ago, I was able to watch my nephew Hadley and his team, the Prairie Storm U15 Lightning play an exhibition game here in Yorkton at Kinsmen Arena, which was a lot of fun, despite the fact that Had’s team came out on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
And this season, though I haven’t been able to get to any of her games in person, I’ve been able to watch most of my niece Sofie’s ringette games, with the Buffalo Plains U19 Blitz.
Fortunately, her team manager livestreams their games on YouTube, so I’m able to watch from wherever I’m at. It’s doubly nice, because my parents get to watch their granddaughter play, as well.
In fact, with technology being what it is, and the existence of Livebarn, a fair number of rinks have cameras and you can actually log in and watch the activity, so you can cheer on the kids from afar.
So I’ve been watching a lot of ringette over the past few years, as Sof, and now her youngest sister Drew play the game.
It’s a bit of a hybrid sport. Like hockey in many ways, it also has a shot clock like in basketball.
But there are some quirky rules that take some getting used to, if you’re unfamiliar with the sport.
Like if you have the ring and you’re in alone behind the defense, you can’t just fly in alone on a breakaway. You have to wait for a teammate, in order to pass the ring across the blue line, to continue the attack.
Also, if you have possession in the offensive zone, you can only have three attacking players in below the top of the faceoff circles.
And if the ring goes in the crease, you can’t crash the net and jam it in the net like you would in hockey with a loose puck. The goalie immediately gets possession for a throw.
Oh, and if you have a power play, you don’t get to put an extra player deep in the offensive zone. That one still kind of confuses me, as it seems to negate the purpose of a power play, but I’m learning and understanding as I go along.
But it’s fun learning the rules of a new game, and it’s exciting to see the ladies develop their skill set and grow as a team.
In fact, I don’t think Sofie’s team has lost a game yet this year, including going undefeated on their way to a gold medal at a recent tournament in Lethbridge, Alberta.
She’s had the great opportunity to travel with her teammates, travelling as far as Europe last spring, for a tour that saw them play games in Sweden, Finland and Czechia, as well as a spring tournament in Michigan.
If you get a chance to check our a ringette game in person, do it! It’s a great sport to get into, and an awesome opportunity for kids to try something new, get active, and make lifelong friends!
