New BrunswickBeth Leroux and Louise Wilkins were on the ice in 1975 when the first ringette league began in Fredericton. Now, 50 years later, generations of their families have coached and played the game they love.This week’s early bird tournament celebrates 50 years since ringette began in FrederictonOliver Pearson · CBC News · Posted: Nov 18, 2025 2:40 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Fredericton Stars faced off against the Codiac Cyclones in the Under-14 tier one division during last year’s Ed Benoit early bird tournament. (Submitted by Fredericton Youth Ringette Association)Beth Leroux can remember when ringette first came to town.It was 1975, and the City of Fredericton had started a women’s league largely made up of softball players trying something new and women who liked to skate but weren’t allowed to play hockey.“We were kind of a ragamuffin group in that we were all involved in sports and excited to play, but we didn’t have equipment,” said Leroux, who was 32 when she started playing. “So the first sticks we got, hockey sticks, were broken. [We] cut off the blades.”The sport has come a long way since then, including gear upgrades and the introduction of a shot clock.The game is played on a rink between two teams of five players each plus a goalie, with players trying to shoot a six-inch rubber ring into the opposing net. Though comparisons are made to hockey, ringette features passing rules to move up the ice, and most leagues have a shot clock.”You have the shot clock for 30 seconds and you have to have a shot on net and it’s so you can’t rag the puck,” Wilkins said. “And it makes it a real team sport, much faster. It’s very different from hockeyAnd now, the first 50 years of the sport in Fredericton will be marked by the Ed Benoit early bird ringette tournament, which starts this week.More than 90 teams took part in the tournament last year, with players from under 10 to 18 years old. (Submitted by Fredericton Youth Ringette Association)The tournament features 93 teams on seven ice surfaces between Fredericton and Oromocto. Teams are coming from around the province, Nova Scotia and, for the first time, Ontario.Leroux said it gives her goosebumps when she thinks about how the game has grown in the city and province.“In the beginning, in order for us to get any competition, we had to travel somewhere. But it is really developed and it is amazing what’s happening, how it’s developed.”Leroux has been a driver of this growth since she started playing. She said the age of players is a significant change to the game.The tournament now has players younger than 10 years old, and most divisions are players under 19.Leroux was 36 when she went to ringette nationals.These players took part in one of Beth Leroux’s ringette camps. (Submitted by Beth Leroux)After playing, she continued to help build the game as a referee, coach and teacher.“When I had a chance to help referee, help with coaches certification, doing a summer camp, it was all important to me,” Leroux said. “It was getting young girls involved.”She also thanks the parents who get their kids involved with a team.“I just can’t state how important it is for them to make that kind of memory and plus the growth that it gives to be part of a team.”Today, Leroux is a fan of the new generation of ringette players. She is still around the rinks looking on as her granddaughter plays, including in this weekend’s competition.Louise Wilkins will also be in the stands this week to watch her daughter coach while her granddaughter and great-granddaughters play. Louise Wilkins has four generations of ringette players in her family. Shown here, back row from left, are her daughter and U9 coach Stacey Scott, Wilkins, and granddaughter and U16/U19 player Reghan Scott, and in front row, Everly Scott-MacDonald and Salem Scott-MacDonald, both great-granddaughters and U9 players. (Submitted by Louise Wilkins)Wilkins was also there when ringette began in the city years ago.She remembers when Sue Martin came to Fredericton from Quebec to work for the city recreation department and start the women’s league.LISTEN | Two ringette players from 1975 reflect on the game’s growth:Information Morning – Fredericton15:4950 years of Ringette in FrederictonThis year marks 50 years of ringette in Fredericton, a big milestone for a sport that is hosting its biggest tournament of the season this week. Colleen Kitts-Goguen spoke to Beth Leroux and Louise Wilkins, who both played in 1975 when the city started a women’s league.“[Sue] contacted the competitive softball teams from that summer and their coaches and that’s where she got players to play and to start the game,” Wilkins said.Beth Leroux’s granddaughters, Ana and Nathalie, played together when they first started ringette about 10 years ago. (Submitted by Beth Leroux)The tournament is now Fredericton’s largest annual winter sporting event with an economic impact of nearly $850,000, according to the city.Louise has been a coach and a player.She coached the first Canada Games ringette team, which her daughter Stacey Scott played on.“We’ve done lots of ringette things together,” Scott said. “I’m so happy that they started ringette in Fredericton. It’s been a big part of my life growing up, and we’ve had so much fun doing it.”ABOUT THE AUTHOROliver Pearson is a reporter at CBC New Brunswick. He can be reached at oliver.pearson@cbc.caWith files from Information Morning Fredericton
‘It is amazing what’s happening’: Fredericton ringette pioneers reflect on 50 years of play
