The West Ferris Under-10 and Adult Open divisions sailed to victory on Sunday as the Northeastern Regional Tournament wrapped up three days of competition, with each team winning their game in the finals.
Timmins claimed gold in the other U-10 pool, with Iroquois Falls going to gold in the U-12 division and Walden claiming the top medal in the Under-14s.
Both North Bay arenas were buzzing with excited players and fans throughout the three-day event. After two years of cancelled tournaments and even a shortened house league season in 2021 due to COVID-19, there was a special feel to the North Bay event, held March 11 to 13 at Pete Palangio and West Ferris arenas.
Long time ringette officials were on hand on Sunday, taking part in the presentation of medals and sharing some of the sport’s history and heritage at a display set up in the lobby of the Pete Palangio area.
Bruce Jacks, son of ringette founder Sam Jacks and long-time ringette ambassador Agnes Jacks, was one of the familiar faces. Bruce has travelled to many national and international ringette events over the years and is a welcome feature of local tournaments in North Bay. Sam Jacks is credited with being the inventor of the game of ringette in 1963 while working as Parks and Recreation Director in the City of North Bay, and worked with others in the region to develop and finalize the game and the rules. Ringette has been designated a Heritage Sport by Sport Canada.
“We want to extend a warm thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors who made this event happen”, said Darren Pace, President of the West Ferris Ringette Association.
“The support from the City of North Bay and Tourism North Bay was invaluable, as was the support of our local sponsors. It’s always encouraging to see the community come together for these large events, and this year’s tournament was a pleasure to be part of. In no large part it’s the great sport that makes the event so rewarding, but the success also comes from all the good work and good will invested by so many.”
Tournament sponsors included the City of North Bay, Skaters North Source for Sports, Waggs Petroleum, Caisse Populaire, Cementation, Central Welding and Ironworks, Tourism North Bay, Ontario Northland, IG Wealth Management, East Ferris Bus Lines, Arugula, Syl’s Neighbourhood Kitchen, North Bay Property Shop, Marceau’s Martial Arts and Antony Rota M.P. for Nipissing-Temiskaming
Sports Tourism North Bay estimated the economic impact for the City of North Bay of the 2019 Provincial Ringette Championships to in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million. On a pro-rated basis the economic benefits of the regional ringette tournament could be estimated at over $.5 million
