Charlottetown and Summerside will host the Canadian Ringette Championships in 2019.
It will be the second time Prince Edward Island has hosted the event with the championships taking place in 2009 in Charlottetown.
“We were impressed by the bid made by the Charlottetown, Summerside and Ringette P.E.I. hosting committee and are confident they will showcase our sport with a memorable event for our athletes and fans,” said Ringette Canada executive director Natasha Johnston.
The event will be held from April 7-13, 2019, and see between 40 and 48 teams from across the country competing in three divisions – under-16, under-19 and the National Ringette League (NRL) division (19+). It is expected the event will bring in more than 3,000 visitors to the region.
“Strategically, the Ringette P.E.I. board of directors view the 2019 Canadian Ringette Championships as a key initiative to ensure the continued growth of our sport within our province. Since Ringette P.E.I. last hosted the championships, we’ve more than doubled our growth in player registrations,” said Ringette P.E.I. president Mike James. “Hosting the 2019 championships is a cohesive endeavour, and as such will include the participation of all club associations across the province.”
In June 2016, Charlottetown and Summerside formed a partnership and developed strategic priorities to increase the impact of sport tourism, strengthen both cities as sport tourism destinations and leverage the hosting reputations and capacities of each municipality. One of the goals of the partnership was to jointly bid on high-impact signature sport tourism events that the cities don’t have the infrastructure or funding capacity to bid on individually.
While the cities have co-hosted a number of high profile events in the past, the 2019 Canadian Ringette Championships will represent the first joint hosting opportunity under the newly minted partnership.
The 2018 championships will be held in Winnipeg from April 8-14.
