The Airdrie Ringette Association’s U12A Sting ladies' ringette team, comprised of 13 young athletes, celebrated a big win last month following the final game of their 2021-22 season.
The team took home the title of Zone 2 banner champions after competing against Strathmore in Airdrie, and later placed gold in a regional competition hosted by their opponents.
Alanna Berger, the Sting's team manager, said the squad enjoyed their first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic began, after two winters of many regularly scheduled competitions and tournaments being cancelled or postponed.
She noted the season did not start out quite as they had hoped, adding the team lost their first tournament of the season in 2021, and their second tournament scheduled for January was cancelled due to public health restrictions at the time.
“As COVID was ramping up again, they were unable to go to their competition,” Berger said. “Regionals came up and our girls were excited to go and compete with their very last competition of the season.”
According to Berger, the team lost the first game of the three-day regional competition, won the second, and ended up placing in fourth place of their group. Afterward, they went on to compete in the semi-finals against the second-place team.
Tthe team won the semifinal game on March 27, and went on to compete for gold that same afternoon against the Bow View Battalion – a ringette team based in southeast Calgary.
“We have played Bow View Battalion five or six times throughout our regular season play and they were undefeated,” she said. “We ended up winning the gold medal 4-3 in a regular game time.”
Berger said the players demonstrated good sportsmanship following their win.
“I’ve never seen such grace in 11-year-old girls,” she said. “They were kind and thoughtful as Battalion got their silver medals. They were applauding – they were so proud of them.”
She added when the team went up to receive their gold medals, they made sure to congratulate each member of the opposing team.
“They were so gracious, and they really held their emotions in check to be respectful to those girls who just worked really hard and came up a bit short,” she said.
Head coach Greg Poile and assistant coaches Jack Lumley, Sarah Thompson, and Laura Poile congratulated the team for their graceful win.
“We were so proud to watch them be so respectful to the other team,” Berger said. “Such beautiful moments of fair play.”
Berger said the Sting U12A team has been playing together since they were approximately six or seven years old, and have developed a special bond with one another that is demonstrated in every game.
“These girls are not just friends – they’re like siblings and they have grown so much,” she said. “In a year when they were unable to compete at all, for them to be able to come out and win a regional competition was really powerful for them.
“Our girls were in tears. They were screaming. They were so happy. They were so proud of each other, and they offered such beautiful memories to each other. It was really lovely.”
She said it was beautiful to watch the players encourage each other and grow together as a group throughout the season, adding the players came together to win.
“They don’t have many opportunities to compete in a team full of young women,” she said. “So, it was beautiful to watch them come together and grow and establish new friendships.”
The winning banners, including the Zone 2 banner and Regional Championship banner, will be held, and hung up at Genesis Place Recreation Centre, according to Berger.
“We ended our season with a beautiful banquet to celebrate these little girls,” she said.
