Souris wins 3 P.E.I. ringette championships before games even begin

All six Souris teams made it to the finals in the three top divisions at the P.E.I. Ringette Championships last weekend.

Manager credits parents, volunteers for making town a ringette powerhouse

Shane Ross · CBC News · Posted: Apr 03, 2019 1:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 3, 2019

The Souris Snipers, in purple, defeated their friends on the Souris Shutdown for the provincial Under-12 ringette title. (Submitted by Julie Chaisson)

Nobody knew which teams would take gold at the P.E.I. Ringette Championships last weekend in Montague. But they knew where the winning teams would be from — Souris.

That's because all six Souris teams made it to the finals in the three top divisions.

"So U12 was Souris versus Souris, U14 was Souris versus Souris, and U16/19 was Souris versus Souris," said Julie Chaisson, team manager for the Under-12 Souris Snipers.

"We weren't surprised that we made the championships, but for all six teams to be there was pretty awesome for a small town, a small community."

Canada's top ringette players to compete on P.E.I. in April

It made cheering easier for the fans — Go Souris Go!

"Most of our community is there, so aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, teachers — they filled the rink to support all the girls," Chaisson said.

"Everybody's friends, so of course, you're cheering for your own family or friend's team. But in the end, you're just really happy everybody gets to take home a medal."

Many parents who now have kids playing ringette are former players themselves, Chaisson says, so they know what commitment goes into it and 'bring that to their own kids.' (Submitted by Julie Chaisson)

Chaisson said people sometimes ask why Souris is so good at ringette. She thinks a lot has to do with "committed, hard-working" parents and volunteers. She said a lot of the parents of ringette players played ringette themselves when they were younger.

"They know what commitment goes into it and they remember the days from when they played it, so they bring that to their own kids," she said.

Of course, you're cheering for your own family or friend's team. But in the end, you're just really happy everybody gets to take home a medal.— Julie Chaisson

"It's just like, you know, we teach them how to treat their bodies like athletes, and how to act. And we all take it seriously and we all love it."

Teams from Charlottetown, Montague and Rustico also competed in the provincial championship.

Canadian championships on P.E.I.

Some of the best players from the tournament will be competing for P.E.I. at the Canadian Ringette Championships next week on the Island.

The tournament will determine the Canadian champions in the Under-16, Under-19 and National Ringette League categories. Up to 48 teams will be competing.

Games will be played in Charlottetown, Summerside, Cornwall and Pownal.

The opening ceremony will be held in Summerside on April 7 at Credit Union Place, while the closing ceremony will be in Charlottetown on April 13 at the Bell Aliant Centre.