A new initiative by the Nova Central, Harbour City and Halifax Ringette Association is making it easier for kids to get involved in sports.
“RingStart” offers parents the opportunity to register their kids in a six-week introductory program. The $199 registration fee is subsidized by the organizations themselves along with private sponsors, and includes all the equipment they need to get started.
“If you look at sports today, it’s a massive financial contribution to put their child in sports, particularly ice sports where the equipment costs can become quite high,” said Greg Giffin, president of the Nova Central Ringette Association.
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“The idea was to provide a financially affordable opportunity for parents to expose their daughters, and some sons, to the sport of ringette.”
On Sunday, dozens of kids and their parents were at SportsWheels in Lower Sackville to get fitted with everything from girdles to gloves.
Organizers say they were initially expecting between 30 and 40 children to sign up for the program, but were pleasantly surprised when they had to add additional programming to accommodate 110 new athletes between the ages of four and 11.
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“The measurement of success with this program is how many of these young females will come in, try it and sign up for the balance of this year, and more importantly, play this sport for life,” said Giffin.
While the program is already at max capacity for this year, organizers said anyone interested in getting involved in the sport can contact them through the RingStart website.
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