SPORTS FLASHBACK 1989: Ringette players set for Asian junket
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A group of nine southeastern Manitoba ringette players are about to embark on a trip of a lifetime, as they take their ringette skills on a tour of Hong Kong and Japan during Christmas break.
The girls are part of a group of 30 ringette players from across the province, taking part in the Far East Ringette Tour. The girls range in age from 11-16 years old.
Coach of the team is long-time ringette coach Barry Mattern of Winnipeg, who will be conducting his tenth goodwill exhibition tour. This will be the second time he has taken a team to Japan, receiving an invitation to return following a similar tour four years ago.
The team will leave Winnipeg, December 26, and return on January 10.
The team will spend four days in Hawaii, which will include sightseeing, suntanning, and an exhibition game in Honolulu.
They will play a total of five exhibition games in Hong Kong and Japan. The girls will play exhibition games against each other in order to demonstrate the sport.
Each participant on the tour is responsible for their own expenses, which will amount to about $3,400 each, plus spending money. The girls have been fundraising for the past year on an individual basis, and have raised varying amounts to help defray the costs of the trip.
The president of the Manitoba Ringette Association, Leon Morrissette of St Pierre, whose daughter will be part of the tour, says the exhibition will enable countries in other parts of the world to become more familiar with ringette.
Currently, ringette is played in seven countries, including France, Finland, Sweden, West Germany, the Soviet Union, United States, Canada, and in the beginning stages in Australia.
The first world ringette championship will be played in the Ottawa area in the spring of 1990. Ringette is also scheduled to be a demonstration sport in the next four Canada Winter Games, beginning in 1991.
It is hoped that with the exposure ringette is receiving through tours such as the Far East tour, it will, in the future, be included as a demonstration sport at the Winter Olympics.