Ringette is a team sport similar to hockey, where players use wooden sticks and skates to advance a rubber ring up a sheet of ice with the intention of putting it in the opposing team's goal.

Created by a physical education instructor in Canada, ringette is a primarily female sport played on a smooth ice surface. Gameplay consists of two teams of six players using sticks to advance a small ring towards the opposition's goal. The team with the most goals at the end of the game is the winner. Ringette differs from hockey in its female-only makeup and its lack of physical contact between players.

Score more goals than the opposing team.

Six players from each team are allowed on the ice at one time. Teams consist of one center, two forwards, two defenders and a goaltender. Teams must play short-handed when a player is removed from the ice as result of a penalty. Penalties are similar to those in hockey, with the exception that body contact is forbidden. This is punished with two-minute and four-minute stays in the penalty box, depending on the severity of the infraction. Substitutions can occur at any place during the game. Players can not carry the ring over the blue line. It can only cross the line by being passed. The ring can not be passed over both blue lines. Only goaltenders are allowed in the crease. Possession changes if another player enters the crease or touches the ring within five seconds of passing through the crease. The goaltender can touch the ring while in the crease, but must use a stick while outside. The team in possession of the ring has 30 seconds to shoot on the goal. The team with the most goals at the end of the game is the winner.

Ringette was created in 1963 in Ontario, Canada, as a skating game for women. In 1969 the Ontario Ringette Association was formed to serve as the sport's first governing body. The first ringette tournament was held in 1971, with the first international tournament occurring in 1990. Today ringette is played in nearly a dozen countries around the world, including Canada and the United States.

Gloves
Helmet
Padding
Skates
Stick

Ringette is a moderately safe sport due to a no-contact rule. Injuries are rare but can occur. These usually range from mild bruises to ligament sprains and tears.

Ringette players must be, above all, excellent skaters. This is a skill best-learned by practicing outside the constructs of formalized gameplay. Dexterity with a stick is not as important in ringette as it is in hockey. Still, stick-handling drills should be practiced regularly.

Blue Lines - midway lines between the center of rink and each goal

Crease - area around the goal that attacking players may not enter

Penalty Box - an enclosure alongside the rink where players who have been assessed penalties must remain while they serve out their penalties

http://www.ringette.ca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringette