St. Marys Ringette Association is about to embark on hosting its first-ever tournament at the Pyramid Recreation Centre.
The four-day event will feature 39 teams. It starts Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. and runs until Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m.
Some of the teams participating include: Ottawa, Nepean, Whitby, Jordan, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Elora-Fergus, Waterloo, Chatham, Exeter, Mitchell, Forest, London, Dorchester, Guelph, St. Thomas and Cambridge, and six teams from St. Marys ringette.
“We’ve held Prelims in St. Marys, but it’s the first time our association has actually held a tournament in town,” says tournament chairman Peter Westelaken, who is also president of St. Marys ringette.
Players will range from three to 18 years of age (Bunnies to Belle).
“We anticipate having 750 parents, 500 ringette players, and over 150 bench staff as well as siblings and relatives of the team members spend time at the arena and in our downtown that weekend,” Westelaken says.
“Due to space constraints, we had to turn away an additional 25 teams from Hamilton, Burlington, Goderich, St. Clements, Stratford, Mississauga, Sudbury, Paris, three more teams for Ottawa, and one team from Winnipeg.”
Six St. Marys teams taking part
The six St. Marys teams taking part include two Bunny teams (ages 3 to 7), a Novice team (ages 8-9), a Tween team (ages 12-13), a Junior team (ages 14-15) and a Belle team (ages 16 to 18).
The Buck or Two Bunnies are coached by Lisa Boyer, Greg Hanlon, Krystal Forrester and Shirley Patterson.
The Hubbard Pharmacy Bunnies are coached by Roxanne Simpson, Erica Kiestra, and John and Janie Gras.
The Jackson Pharmacy Novices are coached by Candy McEwan, Lynn McDougall and Derek Galloway.
The Independent Grocer Tween ‘A’ squad is coached by Donna O’Hara, Kelly Livingstone, Nancy Armstrong and Peter Westelaken.
The PB Smith Woodworks Junior ‘A’ team is coached by Paul Smith, Jim Wheal, Dan Miller and Marilyn Wheal.
The Kinsmen Belle ‘B’ squad is coached by Laurie Smith, Paul Smith, Jim Wheal, Marty Thomson and Michele Salari.
NRL game on the Saturday night
On the Saturday night (Dec. 13), Cambridge Turbos and the Waterloo Wildfire from the National Ringette League will square off at the Pyramid Centre, starting at 7 p.m.
Graduates of St. Marys ringette play on each team. Cathy Van Oosterhout is a member of the Waterloo team, while Adryon Thompson and Ashley Miller play for Cambridge.
“It will be our showcase event and it will give everyone an opportunity to see the highest calibre of ringette the country has to offer,” chairman Westelaken says.
“All-in-all, we expect to have approximately 1,200 new faces in our community that weekend.”
Championship games in all divisions will be held on the Sunday.