Ringette Finland, () is the national governing body for the sport of

ringette Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female c ...

in Finland and was founded in 1983. It is responsible for the organization and promotion ringette on a nationwide basis and organizes Finland's semi-professional ringette league, SM Ringette, formerly known as . In 1986 the organization became a member of the

International Ringette Federation The International Ringette Federation (IRF) is a non-profit amateur sports organization and the highest governing body for the sport of ringette. Today the member countries of the IRF Board includes four member nations: Canada, Finland, Sweden, ...

which at the time was known as the "World Ringette Council". Ringette Finland is also responsible for scouting ringette talent in the country to create the Finland national ringette teams for both Team Finland Senior and Team Finland Junior who then compete at the

World Ringette Championships The World Ringette Championships (WRC) is the premier international competition in ringette and is governed by the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Unlike most international competitions, all of the WRC's elite athletes are female rather ...

. Ringette was brought to Finland in 1979 by Juhani Wahlsten and the first ringette clubs in Finland were established in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. Players now participate in 31 ringette clubs, with important clubs in

Naantali Naantali (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, town in Southwest Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important centre of tourism in the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located west of Turku. The town h ...

Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki (; , ) is a list of towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region, northwest of Turku and south of Pori. The municipality has a pop ...

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

, and

Greater Helsinki Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...

. The first international ringette tournament was hosted in Finland in 1986 and was sponsored by

Finnair Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...

. Today, the Finnish Ringette Coaches Association () is the sports association for Finnish ringette coaches.

History

In Finland the three founding fathers of ringette are Juhani Wahlsten (a.k.a. "Juuso" Wahlsten) who introduced the sport to Finland, , the Finnish ringette association's first chairman, and Alpo Lindström, a ringette organizer from

. A book on Ringette Finland was published on September 1, 2014, called "30 vuotta Ringeten historiaa Suomessa" (30 years of Ringette history in Finland) celebrating the organization's 30th anniversary. The book is a comprehensive account of the growth and development of Ringette in Finland, its culture, and its impact on the country's sports landscape. It features interviews with coaches, players, and other key figures associated with the sport and provides a deep dive into the history of ringette in the country. The first recorded ringette game in Finland took place on January 23, 1979, and became the first ringette game to be played anywhere in Europe. Finland's first ringette club was Ringetteläisiä Turun Siniset, and the country's first ringette tournament took place in December of 1980. In 1979, the invaluable assistance of Barry Mattern, who was the President of

Ringette Canada Ringette Canada is the national governing body for the sport of ringette in Canada. It was established in 1974 with June Tiessen as its first President and has its current headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. It is responsible for the organizatio ...

at the time, allowed him to lead a team from

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

's, North End and introduce ringette to Finland.

Juhani Wahlsten

In 1979, Juhani "Juuso" Wahlsten introduced ringette in Finland and is considered the "Father of Ringette" in the country. In 1979 he invited two coaches, Wendy King and Evelyn Watson, from

Dollard-des-Ormeaux Dollard-des-Ormeaux (; commonly referred to as D.D.O. or simply Dollard) is a city and a predominantly English-speaking suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the most populous suburb on the Island of Montreal. The town was na ...

(a suburb of Montreal Quebec, Canada) to teach girls of various ages how to play ringette. Wahlsten first introduced the new sport to a group of players in

during ice hockey practice, then created some ringette teams in the area.

Alpo and Jan Lindström

Alpo Lindström (b. 23 January 1936,

, Tevaluodo, d. 12 July 2021) and his son Jan Lindström introduced ringette to the city of

towards the end of 1979, the same year Juhani Wahlsten introduced the sport to Finland for the first time. The previous year in 1978, Jan had been an exchange student in the United States where he saw girls playing ringette. Upon returning to Finland he created the VG-62 ringette club. Alpo served as chairman of the local ringette association, served as the VG-62 team coach, and sometimes as a team manager. Alpo played an important role in helping establish Finland's national ringette association in 1983 and later served as a member of the board of the

Antti Simola

Antti Juhani Simola (b. 20 August 1942,

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

– d. 16 August 2022,

Tuusula Tuusula (; ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Tuusula is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region. The population of Tuusula is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, ...

) more commonly known as , was one of the individuals responsible for the creation of the "Finland Ringette Association" in 1983, now known as "Ringette Finland". Simola served as its first chairman and was its first and longest, continuously serving, honorary chairman. Simloa served as the first Vice-President of the World Ringette Council, which is now known as the

(IRF), and was one of its founding members when it was established in 1986.

Ringette Association of Turku

The Ringette Association of Turku was established in 1981 with several Canadian coaches going to

to help teach, establish and design the training, and administration for its formation. The ski national week then organized an annual tournament to bring together all the ringette teams. Its 1985 tournament included several hundred girls making it impossible to combine into a single event all the age groups and categories of players. A number of different Canadian ringette teams from

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada, visited in the winter of 1986 with the help of former

President, Barry Mattern, and helped increase the popularity of the sport in Finland.

Development

National teams

The Finnish national ringette team includes two separate teams: Team Finland Senior and Team Finland Junior. Both teams compete in the

Semi-professional league

SM Ringette, formerly "", is Finland's elite, semi-professional league for the sport of

and its highest division. It's generally known as the "Finnish National Ringette League" by english speakers and is run by Ringette Finland. Finland's best ringette players compete in this league and many have gone on to compete for the Finland national ringette team.

Sources

* *

Notes

References

External links

*
Ringette Finland History (archived)
*
Turku Ringette History
*
Walapais Archives
Sports governing bodies in Finland Ringette Women's team sports History of women's sports Semi-professional sports leagues * {{Portal-inline, Sports