by Stephen Dafoe
Saturday mornings at 9:30 will find skates laced and kids on the ice at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre. While hockey continues to dominate ice time in Morinville, this particular Saturday morning slot will be reserved for ringette, soon to start its second full season in the community.
Coorganizer Andre Houle told Morinville News ringette will start Oct. 3 this year and that he and other coaches are looking forward to building on last year’s success.
“Most of the kids are returning from last year,” he said. “The goal is just learning different skills, cameraderie and having fun with different friends.”
Houle said though the focus will be on skill deveoment again this year, they will be playing more games with other ringette teams. Last season saw Westlock coming to Morinville for a couple exhibition games. This year’s game play will see Morinville also travelling to Westlock.
“We’re not emphasising on it, but we want to make sure there is a little bit more exposure to the actual game itself,” Houle said. “We’ll have a little bit of travel experience, and I think the kids will enjoy that. It’ll get them out of their comfort zone rather than just on home ice.”
Ringette runs from Oct. 3rd until the middle of March. Cost for the season is $240 per player and includes 20 ice session. Full hockey equipment is required, including a helmet with a ringette cage and a ringette stick.
Those interested in playing ringette can contact Andre Houle at 780-8887-6847 or andre@houlemortgages.com.
