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Page 12 â€" Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, April 9, 1980 SportWaterloo There‘s no better time than now to wish a \warm welcome to the 350 athletes, officials and fans vergâ€" ing on Waterloo for this weekend‘s Canadian Naâ€" tional â€" Ringette â€" chamâ€" pionships. Starting tomorrow teams from seven provinces will get down to the business at hand â€" trying to prove they are the best there is in the Junior Belle, Belle and Deb divisions, but the crowning will not take place until Sunâ€" day morning when the championship games are deâ€" cided at Waterloo Arena. Enough cannot be said about the tremendous effort put forth already by the peoâ€" ple of this city to hopefully bring about a showcase for all to remember. From naâ€" tional chairperson June Tiessen to the busy bees in the various subâ€"committees to families tidying up their spare rooms in anticipation of a weekend of fun and friendship, all of Waterloo has thrown its weight behind the sport and its national championship in a manner that deserves high praise. And while the bouquets are being handed out, how ‘bout one for Waterloo Belles, Ontario champions who will carry this provinâ€" ce‘s colors into the Belle Diâ€" vision competition. Just being here (I know, they‘d be here even if they weren‘t competing) is a reâ€" ward Waterloo has waited three years for. In 1978, Belles lost out to Sudbury in the provincial finals, and Waterloo welcomes ringette nationals with open arms By Rick Campbell It is safe to say, and even the organizers would be the first to admit it, that there will be people attendâ€" ing the national ringette championships this weekend at Waterloo Arena who don‘t have a clue how the game is played. It isn‘t that difficult. With over 50,000 girls and young women now playâ€" ing, it can certainly be said that Ringette has come a long way from its early days in North Bay where it was invented in 1963 by Sam Jacks, then a parks and recreation director. With its emphasis on strong skating, precision passâ€" ing and clever playâ€"making, the sport has evolved into one where keen and robust competition can exist withâ€" out rough play. Body contact is strictly forbidden and offenders are quickly banished to the penalty box. Basically, ringette can be played on any outdoor or indoor rink on which hockey is played. It is a team sport consisting of 11 to 18 players on a team with six players on the ice at one time. Similar to hockey, those positions are two forwards, one centre, two deâ€" fence and a goalie. But unlike hockey, in order to keep the game fastâ€" moving and wide open, ringette rules stipulate that forwards cannot enter their own defensive zone and the defence are not allowed in the offensive zone. The centre is allowed freedom to go anywhere. A straight stick is used to pass, carry and shoot the ring (made of round rubber) with the object of the game being to score goals. Defence sticks are colored red, forward sticks are colored blue, and centre sticks are colored white. The goalie uses a regulation hockey Just what IS Ringette? ‘‘I don‘t know what it was with Sudbury, we lost five out of six to them this year,"‘ said Derbecker, a longâ€"time coach of the sport and the local association‘s president in 1976â€"77 before he returned to handle the coaching reins the following Waterioo Belles, Ontario representatives in the upcoming Canadian National Ringette championships, proudly display their trophy won at the provincials in North Bay two weeks ago. (Bob Truman photo). last year, prior to the first: year. But other teams had Waâ€" we went out and beat them ever ringette nationals in â€" â€" ‘‘We were in six tourneys â€" terloo pegged as the team to 7â€"3 and the girls werejust Winnipeg, Belles dropped a this year, won three of beat and that book proved flying. And we took the moâ€" heartbreaker to Ajax in the them, lost two in the finals correct when Belles swept mentum right into the final last 12 seconds of the provinâ€" and the other in the semiâ€" to a 4â€"1 record in preliminâ€" game against Sudbury and cial finals. final â€" and all three of those _ ary play to put them in the earned full marks for the But 10 days ago in North losses were to Sudbury. final against Sudbury â€" the â€" win â€" but no team is going Bay Ron Derbecker‘s crew . They have always been a team that inflicted Waâ€" to dominate a club as good made no mistake as they large organization with eXxâ€" â€" terloo‘s only loss. as Sudbu{y." 28 â€" But 10 days ago in North Bay Ron Derbecker‘s crew made no mistake as they edged Sudbury, their yearâ€" long nemesis, 5â€"4 in an acâ€" tionâ€"packed nailbiter to win the top honors. â€" **We were in six tourneys this year, won three of them, lost two in the finals and the other in the semiâ€" final â€" and all three of those losses were to Sudbury. They have always been a large organization with exâ€" cellent coaching and sound skating teams, they‘re solid all the way up and we just couldn‘t seem to get the edge on them."‘ Because of their tourney finishes, Derbecker figured his Belle club was ranked No. 2 heading into the proâ€" vincials despite its impresâ€" sive firstâ€"place 14â€"1â€"1 record in Central Ontario Ringette League play. goalie stick. The girls wear skates, must wear a helmet and mouth guard, must wear some form of glove, tight fitâ€" ting slacks and a warm sweater. No other protective equipment is necessary, however goal pads may be worn if desired. Violations due to body contact result in twoâ€"minute penalties. 3 _ The offside rules stipulate that a player cannot skate across either blue line while in possession of the FORWARD "A" "It‘s really. funny trying to rate teams, we seemed to have Cambridge psyched out all year and yet they did better against Sudbury than we did,"‘ said Derbecker. ‘‘*But in North Bay there was an unbelievable tenâ€" seness on our team. We just got all the girls together beâ€" fore playing Cambridge and decided it (tension) wasn‘t worth all the hassles. Then DEFENCE "A" In the final, Belles took a 3â€"1 lead only to be tied by the Nickel City club: Then Waâ€" terloo went ahead 5â€"3 but a goal in the final two minutes by Sudbury kept the action at an unbelievable high for the final moments as Waâ€" terloo goalie Jerry Lynn Such was forced to make seâ€" veral excellent stops to preâ€" serve the 54 victory. Chronicle Sports Line â€" 886â€"2830 ENTRE "A" Despite the closeness of ring. She must pass the ring to a teammate across each blue line and may not touch the ring until it has been touched by another player. Rules require.each player to participate in each of the two 20â€"minute periods, allowing all participants ite time. Ringette uses two officials to control the game play. The contest is started by a "free pass‘" which may occur in any of the five circles on a regular ice surface. the final game, Derbecker denied his club felt any extra pressure : with thoughts in the back of their minds of representing their hometown when it staged the nationals two weeks later. ‘‘I‘d have to say there would have been more presâ€" sure on my club if a trip to the nationals was involved, it likely would have given them more incentive. Acâ€" tually there is probably less pressure on us to win the naâ€" tionals, I‘m not as much worried about winning them as showing the.people here the excellent skill level of ringette ." Derbecker profiles his club as small (‘‘smallest in Ontario‘‘) but hardskating, excellent defensively, and with strong balance to comâ€" pensate for size deficienâ€" cies. Many of his squad are also excellent athletes in other sports, which gives them experience and a deâ€" finite competitive edge. Rating the Belle Division, the Waterloo coach sees Manitoba as the main stumâ€" bling block between his club and national honors, and fans will find out tomorrow night how accurate Derâ€" becker might be when Waâ€" terloo faces Manitoba in preliminary action. ‘‘The winner of the game will have the psychological advantage and when you are competing at the top level in a sport, there is not much to chose from talentâ€"wise, the psychological edge is abdut the on(liy edge you can get," he said. â€" Best of luck to all GOALIE