Hockey's not the only sport that's on the ice right now in Prince George.
Ringette is too.
The Prince George Ringette Association is holding a free Come Try Ringette event this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Coliseum.
"Our numbers are higher than they've ever been," said PGRA president Janine Gervais. "We want kids and players to come out Sunday to try the game, and experience the game. They'll learn how to receive and pass the ring as well as work on their shooting. They'll even get to scrimmage."
After the first hour on the ice, participants can watch PGRA veterans from a variety of teams play for an hour and check out the sport from the stands.
So far, 20 new players have registered to play this season, boosting the numbers from 130 in 2013-14 to 150 for 2014-15.
More players are welcome and those who do register will receive a free stick.
Gervais credits the sport's popularity to ringette being an official sport in the 2015 Canada Winter Games that Prince George is hosting in February.
Sydney Irving, a product of the PGRA, is on Team B.C. and will have a chance to play in her hometown Canada Winter Games.
The PGRA also earned several accolades of its own at the B.C. Ringette annual general meeting in June at Sun Peaks.
The PGRA was named association of the year for 2013-14, while Dave Cake, who coaches the under-10 community team, won coach of the year.
Cake coached the under-9 squad for four years prior to moving up to the U10 division last season.
"Dave is great, he's a parent and he makes ice times fun for the players and he's really good at skill development," said Gervais. "Our volunteer and player numbers are up and we hosted the A and B provincial championships this year. I'm thrilled that our association was recognized and I'm super proud of the coaches in our association."
In only her fifth year involved in the PGRA, including the last three as the association's president, Gervais was named volunteer of the year at the provincial AGM.
She served as chair of the provincial championships and also sits on the sport operating committee for ringette for the 2015 Games.
"I'm very humbled to be selected by members from across the province," said Gervais. "We're doing a lot to promote and support the game of ringette. The feedback from provincials that we received was amazing too."
The ringette season starts Sept. 15 with two weeks of power skating prior to the regular season on Sept. 29.
Due to the 2015 Games, the season will be shortened because of ice time not being available two weeks before and after the event.
Gervais said the U14 and older teams will be encouraged to travel to neighbourhood associations in Quesnel and Houston to get enough ice time to prepare for provincials in March.
For information on Come Try Ringette and to register, visit www.pgringette.ca
