Betty has been involved with ringette at every possible level. She is a former Vice-President, President and Past-President of Ringette Canada as well as the founding director of the International Ringette Federation and its first President.
She coordinated the 1982-83 revision of the Ringette Canada Community Policy Manual and wrote the Community Starter’s Handbook. Betty also played a very key role in Ringette’s entry to the Canada Winter Games and was also responsible for establishing the Jeanne Sauvé Cup which is presented to the winning Deb team at the Canadian Ringette Championships.
But her efforts at the grassroots level of the game is equally, if not more, impactful. In the late 1970s, Shield served as the President of Alta Vista ringette, attracting more athletes to the sport which eventually led to the creation of the City of Ottawa Ringette Association in the mid-80s. Betty was the original mind behind Ringette Ontario’s Outreach Program, which has expanded into the national program we know and love today as Come Try Ringette.
During her tenure as President of the IRF, she oversaw the development and execution of the first World Ringette Championship, hosted by Gloucester, Ont., Canada, in 1990.
Betty has continued to volunteer in ringette, and began serving as the treasurer of the Gloucester and Area Adult Ringette Association in 2022. She has been awarded the Canadian Sports Federation Volunteer Administrator of the year in 1990, Agnes Jacks Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Ringette in 1994, inducted to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame as a Builder in 2018, and was named Honourary President of the IRF in 2024.