Ringette Canada inducts new members into Hall of Fame

Ottawa, Ontario – December 20, 2016 – Ringette Canada today announced that it has inducted new members into its Hall of Fame. The new inductees include the late Dave Wood (Sherwood Park, Alberta) in the coach category, Sarah (Miller) Ianni (Toronto, ON) in the player category and the 2016 junior National Team in the team category. The Ringette Canada Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of the sport of ringette and the outstanding achievements of ringette athletes, coaches, officials and administrators across Canada.

“Our sport is successful because of the hard work and dedication of many individuals across the country and this year’s Hall of Fame inductees are no exception,” said Daniel Dussault, Ringette Canada president. “From the 2016 junior National Team to Dave in the coach category, to Sarah in the athlete category, it gives me great pleasure to be able to recognize these well-deserving individuals with an induction into our Hall of Fame.”

Dave Wood was an incredible asset to the sport of ringette. He started his coaching career at the beginner level and did his due diligence by researching the game, taking the technical coaches courses offered and by becoming an ardent student of the game. His coaching career progressed quickly and as a result he was soon coaching at the rep level where his teams always successful at the district and provincial levels. The greatest impact Dave had on the sport of ringette was not the championship and decorated hardware that his teams achieved, it was his pure love of coaching and commitment to the sport. Dave treated every player on his team with kindness and respect and while his intensity for competition was always prevalent, he made every single athlete feel like he was their biggest fan. Athletes were never coached with fear or consequence, only ever with inspiration in their ability to succeed. He always modeled commitment, integrity, grace and passion for the sport he loved. Sadly, Dave passed away in January 2016, but the lasting impact he had on his athletes and the sport of ringette will always be remembered. Dave’s two daughters, Kathy and Jenny, will be on hand at the 2017 Canadian Ringette Championships taking place at the end of March in Leduc, AB to receive the induction award on his behalf.

Sarah (Miller) Ianni started playing ringette in 1981 and over the years has won numerous medals and championship titles, including: 13 Ontario provincial championships, three BC provincial championships, four national championships, five national silver medals, two national bronze medals, a silver medal at the Canada Winter Games, and a gold and silver medal as a member of Team Canada. Sarah has also shared her knowledge and love for the game as a coach. Sarah has always been a leader on the ice, someone who is calm under pressure, someone who knows all the ins and outs of the game to effectively navigate the best (and most sportsmanlike) way to win time after time, and someone the opposition had great respect for. Sarah will be receiving her induction award at the Richmond Hill ringette tournament happening February 3-5, 2017.

The 2016 junior National Team beat Finland 10-9 in overtime to win gold at the 2016 World Ringette Championships in Helsinki. The Canadian squad were undefeated in round-robin play and beat the Finns in two games of a best of three final series. The following athletes and team staff were part of the 2016 junior National Team: Kelsie Caine (Red Deer AB), Annie Debaji (Edmonton AB), Justine Exner (Calgary AB), Robyn Gillespie (Sherwood Park AB), Lauren Henderson (St. Albert AB), Ellen Hoban (Calgary AB), Ryann Bannerman (Winnipeg MB), Talia Gallant (Winnipeg MB), Samantha Renooy (Oakbank MB), Keyona Tomiuk (Oakbank MB), Sarah-Lynne Begin (Ottawa ON), Chantal Gauthier (Pickering ON), Molly Lewis (Nepean ON), Sydney Nosal (St. Clements ON), Shae-Lynn Reaman (Mount Forest ON), Abby Richardson (Guelph ON), Erica Voss (Etobicoke ON), Justine Lapointe (Saint-Basile-Le-Grand QC), Catherine Ruel (Mascouche QC), Laurie St-Pierre (Boucherville QC), Britney Snowdon (Moncton NB), Jenny Snowdon (Moncton NB), Lorrie Horne – Head coach (Sherwood Park AB), Chris Belan – Assistant coach (Calgary AB), Jackie Deschenes – Team leader (Ajax ON), Kathryn Pringle – Team leader (Fredericton NB), Danielle (Hobday) Hildebrand – Legacy coach (Oakbank MB), Andrea Ferguson – Legacy coach (Winnipeg MB), Sarah (Miller) Ianni – Legacy coach (Toronto ON), Claudia Jetté – Goalie consultant (Montréal QC), Melinda Watson – Athletic therapist (Red Deer AB), Frances Losier – Director of High Performance (Mirabel QC), and Alayne Martell – Media and PR consultant (St. Peter’s NS).

About Ringette
Ringette is a Canadian sport that was invented in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario by the late Sam Jacks. There are currently over 30,000 players on nearly 2,000 teams across Canada, with over 1,500 officials and nearly 8000 coaches. Internationally, it is played in more than a half a dozen other countries around the world. Ringette has been designated a Heritage Sport by Sport Canada and as part of the Sport for Life movement, ringette is well advanced at adapting Sport Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development model. As a proud member of True Sport, Ringette Canada is committed to sport that is values-based and principle-driven. For more information, please refer to the Ringette Canada Web site at www.ringette.ca.

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For more information, please contact:

Alayne Martell
Media and Public Relations | Relations de presse et publiques
Ringette Canada | Ringuette Canada
National Ringette League | Ligue Nationale de Ringuette
Phone | Téléphone : (613) 748-5655, ext. 226
Cell : (902) 308-1067
alayne@ringette.ca
@: www.ringette.ca
@: www.nationalringetteleague.ca
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