Fierce.  Focused.  Fun.  Friendship.

The 2019 Credit Union Canadian Ringette Championships (CRC) is Ringette Canada's premiere annual national ringette event.  For over forty years, the CRC has represented the culmination of the sport's regular season and brings together some of the best U16 and U19 teams from almost every province to play head-to-head to determine which teams will be crowned this year's national champions.  It also brought together the top eight teams from the sport's professional National Ringette League to battle it out to determine who will be the year's League Champion.

As written by this year's Organizing Committee in one of their Team Information Bulletins:

First held in 1979 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the CRC, along with the Canada Winter Games, showcases the very best that the sport has to offer. The tournament provides athletes with the opportunity to compete at the elite level, encourages sportsmanship and interprovincial goodwill, and increases the visibility of ringette across the country.    

An East Coast Event

The hosting responsibilities for CRC 2019 involved a collaboration between the Prince Edward Island's provincial ringette organization Ringette PEI and five local ringette associations including Charlottetown Ringette, Montague Ringette, Rustico Ringette, Souris Ringette and Summerside Ringette.  Representatives from all of these organizations sat on the event's Organizing Committee and together delivered and exceptional experience for all of the almost 1000 players and team staff that came to compete.  Games were played in four different communities and included the Bell Aliant Centre in Charlottetown, the Credit Union Place in Summerside, the APM Centre in Cornwall, and the Pownal Sports Centre in Alexandra.  

Head to our Quick Go To Guide to the CRC 2019 to find the lowdown on teams, schedules and more.

CRC 2019 Opening Ceremonies

The event's Opening Ceremonies were held at the Credit Union Place and gave all players, team staff and their accompanying family members and friends a wonderfully warm Eastern Canadian welcome complete with Scottish pipers, local folk musicians and a significant collection of new and gently used books to give to local libraries and communities. 

Check out more CRC coverage from SWSCD:

Photo Blog : Excitement and action from the 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships

Photo Blog #2: Even MORE excitement and action - The 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships

The extraordinary team ambassadors of the 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships. Learning why giving is better than receiving.

Mother and Daughter - Experiencing the 2018 Canadian Ringette Championships together

Canadian Ringette Championships 2018: Must-have quick links and facts

Super Skills on Display

Following the official Opening Ceremonies, five players from each team participated in a Skills Competition and determined winners for five specific categories including Fastest Skater; Most Agile Skater; Top Passer; Top Goalie; Most Accurate Shooter.  It was a great way to get everyone excited for the level of ringette play that was surely to come throughout the next six days of the tournament.

True Sport - A respect for others

With Ringette PEI and Ringette Canada both strong supporters of the True Sport movement, the CRC 2019 was designated as a True Sport event.  All tournament participants and supporters were strongly encouraged to exemply the True Sport Principles and, in particular, to focus on the principle of "Respect Others" which is the 2019 Principle of the Year. 

Let the games begin

For U16 and U19 teams, round-robin games began in earnest Monday morning and each team had a full plate of play with two games scheduled daily.  Preliminary play to determine playoff positioning covered the first full three days and half of the fourth day of scheduled games.  Mini games (10 minutes in length) were played prior to the start of playoff games in the event teams were tied in their category rankings.  Playoffs included a main and a consolation round.  Final playoff games recognized the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners as well as Consolation Final winners.

For the National Ringette League (NRL), round robin play also structured their game schedule but, final standing in this round-robin play, determined which teams played in the gold medal League Championship game and which team took home the bronze medal.

After a week-long amount of absolutely thrilling and nail-biting round-robin and playoff play, medal winners for all three categories were determined.  Congratulations to these winners and to every team that earned a spot at this year's CRC.  Truly exceptional elite-level ringette was on display all week long.

Final Results

U16

Bronze game:
Team New Brunswick 5 West Ottawa 2

Gold game:
Calgary Core 5 Team PEI (Wave) 1

Gold: Calgary Core
Silver: Team PEI (Wave)
Bronze: Team New Brunswick

4. West Ottawa
5. Zone 2 (AB)
6. Team Ontario (Waterloo)
7. Team Alberta (Calgary Impulse)
8. Cyclones de Quebec
9. GCRA (ON)
10. Team Quebec (Rive-Sud)
11. Team Manitoba (Magic)
12. Spruce Grove Rage
13. Calgary Crew
14. Team BC (LMRL Thunder)
15. Central Alberta Sting
16. Team Nova Scotia
17. Team Saskatchewan (Regina Stingers)
18. BVRA Angels (MB)
19. Saskatoon Selects

U19

Bronze game:
Calgary Rush 5 Nepean Ravens 4

Gold game:
Team Ontario (Guelph Predators) 5 Laurentides (QC) 3

Gold: Team Ontario (Guelph Predators)
Silver: Laurentides (QC)
Bronze: Calgary Rush

4. Nepean Ravens
5. Team Alberta (Calgary Rogue)
6. Team Quebec (Lac Saint-Louis)
7. Team New Brunswick
8. Edmonton Elite
9. Team Saskatchewan (Regina Bandits)
10. Team PEI (Wave)
11. Team Manitoba (Magic)
12. BVRA Angels (MB)
13. Team BC (LMRL Thunder)
14. CORA (ON)
15. Saskatoon Blazers
16. Team Nova Scotia
17. Zone 5 GRIT (AB)
18. TORL Force (BC)

National Ringette League:

Gold game:
Calgary RATH 5 Atlantic Attack 3

Gold: Calgary RATH
Silver: Atlantic Attack
Bronze: Cambridge Turbos

4. Waterloo WIldfire
5. Edmonton WAM!
6. Montreal Mission
7. Manitoba Intact
8. Ottawa Ice

A salute to family, friends and fans

Although the success of any team will ultimately be determined by the play that happens on the ice, the support and commitment of those individuals who surround every team is so often a critical part of a team reaching its full potential.  Whether it is parents, siblings, supporters and local ringette association officials and volunteers, it is important that the impact all of these people have on the success of the players individually and the team as a whole does not go unrecognized.

A final salute to Coaches and Officials

The success of any sport definitely relies on the efforts of many, and, the 'sum of the parts' approach was certainly on display at the 2019 Canadian Ringette Championships. Team success relied on the collective efforts of coaches and team staff; on-ice game success relied on the effective collaboration of referees and game officials; and event success relied on the efforts of the many coordinators, co-chairs, and volunteers who gave their time leading up to and during the actual event.  The success of this year's CRC is a testament to the commitment and time given by everyone involved.  Here's to a job well done.

#CRC2020

It's not too early to think about CRC 2020 for next year's hosts - City of Ottawa Ringette Association (CORA) - as it will likely feel that it's just around the corner.  CRC 2020 Co-Chairs Phyllis Bergmans and Dorrie Stass were on hand at this year's CRC to learn as much as they could from the 2019 CRC Co-Chairs and Committee members as well as absorb as much as they could by enjoying a full, first-hand experience. 

CRC 2019 Photo Gallery

SeeWhatSheCanDo

Find Ringette PEI, Ringette Canada, Charlottetown Ringette, Montague Ringette, Rustico Ringette, Souris Ringette, Summerside Ringette, and the City of Ottawa Ringette Association (CORA) in our Athlete Advisor, your online athletic business directory. Find, rate and review ringette programs, local community offerings and businesses that will help you do your thing.  

Need a place to coordinate and connect with your ringette team? Start a ringette group on our SWSCD Hub.

Look for advice, stories, news and more on our Ringette activity page.  

Have your own great memory or moment from CRC 2019?  Share your highlights directly on our Discover blog or by using #seewhatshecando on social media and inspire others to play and watch ringette.