The 2016/17 Ringette season is coming to an end with the last team off to provincials this weekend.
All four of Fort McMurrays black-Gold teams qualified for provincials.
For Dale Noble, it’s a time he is quite familiar with.
Noble has three daughters that play the on-ice, competitive sport.
He is the coach for his oldest daughters U16B Team, Fort McMurray Fusion.
They competed in Strathmore at provincials alongside her teammates, forwards Hannah Walowski and Taylor Coffey.
Walowski and Coffey have been playing ringette for more than six years.
“It was a different experience, defiantly different than tournaments because there is so much more competition and the atmosphere is different, everyone is there for a medal not just for a win,” said Walowski.
Coffey was really proud of her team for winning all three play down games to make it to provincials.
“Going this year and knowing we had a chance, we were really confident and had a good opportunity,” said Coffey.
Coach noble said the team had a pretty competitive weekend.
They lost their first game against Calgary’s Bowview Ambush by two goals with a final score of 7-5.
Their second game had them against the home-ice Strathmore Fusion that saw Fort McMurray dominate with a score of 9-2.
The third game had them facing their arch rivals, the Beaumont Black-Gold team. Fort McMurray jumped out to a 5-1 lead until multiple penalties allowed Beaumont to tie it up 5-5.
They played the eventual provincial champions Lacombe and lost 8-5
Their final game saw them playing Indus which resulted in a 9-5 victory for Fort McMurray.
Out of 12 teams Fort McMurray ended up placing seventh.
Despite not bringing home a medal, Walowski and Coffey said they had a really good time.
“We’re such a family, we all bond together and everyone has a place on the team,” said Walowski.
Noble notes that playing a competitive sport in such a remote community comes with some challenges.
Although the city has some world-class facilities, many teams do not want to make the trip up to Fort McMurray to play in tournaments.
Despite the fact, there are also numerous advantages.
Most of the players have been teammates for a long-time and gel really well together.
The teams usually have to take a bus to attend tournaments and see more competition, even though this is a rather costly option, the road trips give them a chance to bond as a team.
This past weekend, Noble made the familiar road trip once again seeking some more thrilling ringette action.
Both the U12 Fort McMurray Phoenix and U14 Fort McMurray Attack played in provincials.
The U12 Phoenix came out as provincial champs bringing home the gold medal.
An unfortunate goal scored in the last 55 seconds of the game had the U14 Attack place second in provincials and the team was able to bring home the silver medal.
With all the success from provincials, the Fort McMurray Ringette Association (FMRA) hopes that more teams travel up to face the Fusion, Phoenix and Attack.
From March 24 to 26 the U19 Fort McMurray Fusion has their shot at bringing home more provincial hardware and putting Fort McMurray ringette on the map.
The FMRA is already making preparations for the 2017/18 season.
“As soon as it stops I can’t wait for it to start again,” said Coffey.
Registration is open now for the FMRA Summer Camp.
It runs for five days from August 28 to September 1. Each day consists of two on-ice sessions, two dryland sessions and two classroom sessions with experienced athletes and coaching staff.
Participates will see an increase skills in the rules of ringette, skating, circuit training, coordination, shooting, healthy eating and team building in a fun environment.
If you register for the camp online before April 30th you get $50 off of your $300 registration and will be entered into a draw to win free registration for the 2017/18 regular season.
