National Ringette League

February 12, 2012: Montreal Mission player taking a free pass

Ringette is a Canadian sport that was first introduced in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario.[3] For ten years, play was confined to Ontario and Quebec, however the sport spread quickly and is now played by over 30,000 players and involves over 50,000 participants[4] across Canada. It wasn't until the success of the 2002 World Ringette Championships in Edmonton, Alberta when Canada won the gold medal that the desire to create, establish and organize the National Ringette League emerged. The first NRL season began in November 2004 with seventeen teams. There wasn't a championship match after the first NRL season.

In 2021, Terry McAdam from Saskatchewan who was instrumental in helping begin the development of the National Ringette League as well as one of its first teams, the Saskatoon Wild,[5] was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame.[6][7] During its time in the NRL, the Wild team had also acquired Erin Cumpstone,[8][9] Cumpston was a member of Canada's National Ringette Team during the World Ringette Championships in 2010, and had played ringette at the 1999 Canada Winter Games. Cumpston was also a highly accomplished softball player as well and was part of the Canadian Softball team who finished 5th at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

The 2021-2022 season saw the league begin playing in a hub-format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the league previously played 15 teams, it was reduced to 12 for the season. 5 teams had withdrawn, including: BC Thunder, Bourassa Royal, Richmond Hill Lightning, Lac-Saint-Louis Adrenaline, and the Ottawa Ice. However, two new teams joined: the Nepean Ravens and the Saskatchewan Heat. The Manitoba Intact were renamed the Manitoba Herd.

National Ringette League teams 2021–2022

Team	City/Area	Founded	Cups
Eastern Conference Red
Gatineau Fusion	Gatineau, Quebec		0
Cambridge Turbos	Cambridge, Ontario	2003	6
Waterloo Wildfire	Waterloo, Ontario		0
Nepean Ravens	Nepean, Ontario	2021	0
Eastern Conference White
Atlantic Attack	Moncton, New Brunswick	2011	1
Montreal Mission	Montréal, Quebec	2004	0
Rive Sud Revolution[12]	South Shore, Quebec	2004	0
Western Conference
Edmonton Black Gold Rush[13]	Edmonton, Alberta	2015	0
Calgary RATH[14]	Calgary, Alberta	2007	2
Edmonton WAM!	Edmonton, Alberta		3
Manitoba Herd	Winnipeg, Manitoba	2021	0
Saskatchewan Heat[1]	Saskatchewan	2021	0
DEFUNCT
LMRL Thunder[11] (Lower Mainland Thunder)	British Columbia		1

The final competition for the National Ringette League is held annually at the Canadian Ringette Championships. The Jeanne Sauvé Memorial Cup[18] is the championship trophy awarded annually to the winning team in the National Ringette League. The trophy is named after the late Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé (née Benoît), commonly known as Jeanne Sauvé, a former Governor General of Canada who became the first female Governor General in the nation's history.

Initially coined the "Jeanne Sauvé Cup", and initiated in December 1984, it was first presented at the 1985 Canadian Ringette Championships in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Québec. It is now called the Jeanne Sauvé Memorial Cup in memory of the late Governor General of Canada.

At the end of March, during the week break before the National Ringette League Championships, the League names its annuals Award Nominees. The awards program recognizes the performance of NRL athletes during regular season play with trophies for Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Top Forward, Top Centre, Top Defense, and Top Goalkeeper. These awards, along with awards for Coaching Staff of the Year, NRL Top Scorer and NRL Scoring Champion. Award winners are announced at the closing banquet of the Canadian Ringette Championships.

As of the 2018–2019 season, the NRL consisted of fifteen teams in two conferences - a western conference and an eastern conference. The western conference consists of five teams. The eastern conference consists of ten teams where the eastern conference is divided separately into the Red and White divisions. The NRL played in a hub format for the 2021–2022 season.

Characteristic of North American sports, the NRL is a closed league with no relegation. There is an annual draft in between seasons, which is the main entry for new players in the league. The NRL runs four regional drafts; in 2011, there was one for the region of Ottawa and Gatineau,[19] another one for Manitoba,[20] another for Southern Ontario,[21] and another for the Montreal region.[22] Trading among teams is also common.[23]

The 2010–11 season saw the introduction of a new NRL Championship Tournament which replaced the Championship qualifying rounds. The tournament takes place in just one city. The format is intended to allow the league to create a media event and to hold attention. The top ten teams in the regular season of the league participate in the tournament which crowns the team champion of the league.

National Ringette League playoffs

Starting in 2011–12, eight teams played a full round robin to determine the champion which is also called Elite Eight.

In 2005–2006, the National Ringette League, for its second season, competed with 19 teams (two new teams joined the league). These teams were distributed in four conferences: the West Conference - five teams, Central Conference – five teams, Ontario Conference - five teams and Quebec Conference - four teams. The dominant teams were the Cambridge Turbos in the Ontario Conference, Montreal Mission in the Quebec Conference, in the Western Division the Edmonton WAM! and the champions of the Central Division, the APFG Sixers (Assiniboine Park/Fort Garry, an AA provincial team from Manitoba). At the end of the regular season were the qualifying rounds: eight teams participated in the National Ringette League playoffs which crown the team champion of the league. The championship match of the NRL/LNR took place in the Centre Étienne Desmarteau in Montreal, on April 1, 2006, and was won by the Cambridge Turbos. During the off-season three teams folded, citing low attendance revenue.

2005-2006 NRL results

	Team
	Cambridge Turbos
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

In its third season (2006–2007), the NRL consisted of 16 teams distributed in three conferences: the West Conference – seven teams, Ontario Conference – five teams, all in Ontario, and Quebec Conference – four teams. The Championship finale match took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on April 10, 2007, won by the Edmonton WAM!.

2006-2007 NRL results

	Team
	Edmonton WAM!
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

In 2007–2008, seventeen teams competed in two conferences, the Western Conference which included seven teams and the Eastern Conference which included ten teams. The Cambridge Turbos won the NRL Championship by beating the Montreal Mission 2–1 in overtime.[29][30]

2007-2008 NRL results

	Team
	Cambridge Turbos
	Montreal Mission
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

In 2008–2009, the NRL consisted of eighteen teams[31] grouped in a Western Conference with six teams and an Eastern Conference with twelve teams. The NRL Championship Game took place in Charlottetown, PEI, and the Cambridge Turbos won again.[32][33][34]

Also in 2008, the first Ringette World Club Championship was held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Four NRL teams faced two teams from the elite Ringette League of Finland, the Ringeten SM-sarja.[35] The Cambridge Turbos won the world title having overcome in the Finnish champion team, LuKi-82 Luvia, in the final.[36][37]

2008-2009 NRL results

	Team
	Cambridge Turbos
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

In the 2009–10 season, the National Ringette League for its sixth season comprised eight teams grouped together in a Western Conference with six teams, and an Eastern Conference with twelve teams. The competition remained very intense and marked the return of the ascendancy of different western Canadian teams:[38] The Edmonton WAM! became the NRL champions again after being eclipsed for two years by the Cambridge Turbos. Edmonton beat Cambridge 2–0 in the National Finals.[39]

2009-2010 NRL results

	Team
	Edmonton WAM!
	Cambridge Turbos
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

The 2010-11 NRL Championship Tournament took place in Cambridge, Ontario from March 27, 2011 to April 2, 2011. In the Final game, the Edmonton WAM! triumphed over the Cambridge Turbos.[40]

2010-2011 NRL results

	Team
	Edmonton WAM!
	Cambridge Turbos
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

In the 2011–12 season, the NRL entered its eighth season with nineteen teams playing in two conferences. The NRL experienced a new expansion, with the creation of two new teams:[41] Atlantic Attack (of Moncton in New Brunswick)[42] and Lower Mainland Ringette League (LMRL Thunder of British Columbia). The 2011-12 regular season began on October 15, 2011, and concluded on March 18, 2012. All in all, thirty matches were contested by each of the teams during the regular season. Each of the teams only faced teams within their own conference. This structure allowed teams to reduce the costs of transport given the size of the Canadian territory covered by the league. At the end of the regular season, there is a break of a week when the various individual distinctions are awarded, then a National Ringette League Championship Tournament. This is the year the Elite Eight began.

2011-12 NRL results

	Team
	LMRL Thunder (Lower Mainland Ringette League)
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

The 2017-2018 NRL season began on September 30, 2017 and ended on April 14, 2018.

2017-18 NRL results

	Team
	Atlantic Attack
	Edmonton WAM!
	Cambridge Turbos
4th	Calgary RATH
5th	Richmond Hill Lightning
6th	Montreal Mission
7th	Gatineau Fusion
8th	Manitoba Intact

The 2019–2020 National Ringette League season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020–2021 National Ringette League season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.