"Fun and Friendships Happen on Ice," exclaims Ringette Canada and you can hear that same sentiment echoed here in Cochrane where the sport continues to thrive.

This Saturday, Mar. 30, the Cochrane Ringette Association is holding a free Come Try Ringette session at the Cochrane Arena. There's a demo game involving local U16 and U19 players from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by a chance to play and learn with qualified Ringette Alberta instructors from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.

Children four and over are welcome, no skating experience is required and ringette sticks and rings are provided. Helmets and gloves are mandatory for participants.

The event is held annually by the Cochrane Ringette Association in conjunction with Ringette Alberta to introduce youth to the sport, explains Alyssa Bates, of the local association. There's really no barriers to giving it a try.

"In the past, some players have brought a friend. Sometimes there are kids who are completely new to skating or can skate but don't really understand the game," she explains.

"The instructors will give them the basics of ringette in the clinic to show them what kind of things they would be learning in a practice-type scenario if they wanted to sign up for next season."

Bates, who continues to play with the Cochrane Chaos women's ringette team, speaks about the many qualities of the sport.

Because ringette begins at age 4, it is a popular way to develop skating skills at a young age, even for those interested in pursuing hockey later on. Their active start program is open to both girls and boys.

"There's a lot of boys who start in ringette because they can play ringette earlier than they can play hockey so they do at least a year of ringette," she explains."They're finding that boys who get that year of skating development in ringette do better in the hockey world."

At it's higher levels it's a fast skating game requiring finesse. Some find that surprising.

"We hear that quite often," she says. "Those who haven't been exposed the sport at the higher levels don't realize how fast the game is."

Teamwork is a must in the sport.

"You have to pass over the blueline so there's no such thing as an all-star kid who can constantly have the ring to go end-to-end and do it on their own. You absolutely need to work with your teammates."

There's little contact in the game and entering the goalie's crease is an absolute no-no, reducing the risk of injury to players.

It also fosters fun and friendship, something that has been at the root of the sport since it was created in Canada in 1963.

"Ringette really focuses on fun," explains Bates. "Obviously, it's a lot of competition but there's a lot of fun elements brought into it especially for the girls at the younger ages where they do cheers for their fans in the middle of periods and they go sing songs for the other team in the dressing room after the game. They try to bring in some things that focus on being a good sport and promoting friendship even between opponents."

Ringette is not only thriving in Cochrane but it also continues to grow in popularity across the province, 

Last season, Cochrane had 14 teams of about 12 players each, plus two adult teams which play in Calgary leagues. Cochrane added a U19A team in conjunction with Airdrie, to complement their U19B team.

Provincially, Ringette Alberta added a U14C division.

"Overall in the province ringette is growing and they were finding they needed to add an extra division at that level because more kids in that age group are continuing on with the sport," Bates explains.

After U19, players can also consider joining an adult team. The Chaos and the Luna-Chix women's teams compete in two different leagues in Calgary; one is more recreational, the other competitive in nature. Recently the Cochrane Chaos played an exhibition game against the U19 Cochrane Rockies to help these graduating players figure out where they fit at the adult level.

Preregistration for the free tryout is required. You can register at https://www.cometryringette.ca/ and find the Cochrane ice time under "Events."