Ringette is a non-contact 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 competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities. Although ringette looks ice hockey-like and is played on ice hockey rinks, the sport has its own lines and markings, and its offensive and defensive play bear a closer resemblance to lacrosse or basketball.
Women playing ringette in Canada's National Ringette League (NRL)
Ringette goalie using a ringette goalie trapper a.k.a. "Keely glove"
Ice hockey goaltender skate with guard
Bourassa Royal playing against the Montréal Mission during the 2011–2012 NRL season
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ice skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of ice rinks in numerous areas of the world.
Interior of the Glaciarium in 1876
Ice rink in Amsterdam c. 1900, from the Amsterdam City Archives
1894–1895: North Avenue Ice Palace skating rink in Baltimore, Maryland
1901: St. Nicholas Rink, New York City