At the arena

I've spent the past decade ferrying kids to various sports venues all around my city, area and province - and sometimes, outside of that, too. My kids have variously been divers, soccer players, karate devotees, badminton players, wrestlers and ringette players - the latter being the sport that draws the most "??" reactions from people unfamiliar with this most Canadian of sports.

The easiest way to explain ringette is that it's just like hockey, yet completely different. It's played on an ice surface, with 5 players and a goalie on each team; but that's about where the similarities end.

Ringette is a fast, non-contact game that requires a player not simply to push a puck with a curved stick. Instead, the girls (only girls can play this sport) have to spear a rubber ring with the flat end of a stick, and pass it over 2 blue lines to their teammates. It requires lightning- quick reflexes, excellent skating skills and precise hand-eye coordination.

My daughter's been playing ringette for half her life. This afternoon, we traveled to a rink in the northern part of the island to watch her team's last regular-season game. When we arrived, a group of pre-novice (5 and 6-year-old) girls were just finishing up a practice.

I remember how, years ago, I loved seeing these tiny girls looking so fierce and determined in their full regalia, and how these adorable munchkins turned into the ferocious competitors that would step on the ice half an hour later.

Of course, when you are 6 years old, sometimes practice just goes on a little too long...