Ottawa, Ontario - August 5, 2009 - The National Ringette League (NRL) and British Columbia Ringette Association (BCRA) announced today that the BC franchise of the NRL has been sold to Fraser Valley businessman Bill Bettles. This transfer of control marks the first time in history that a ringette team will be managed under private ownership.
Mr. Bettles’ involvement in sport and business in the Fraser Valley include bringing the first girls ice hockey association to Langley in 1995, co-founding an elite softball training academy – Westcoast Softball, and working in sport administration with Langley Girls Softball, Aldergrove Ringette and the Langley parks board. Bill plans on bringing strong leadership to the new NRL team using his diverse background in sport, business and specifically ringette to build a stable, competitive program for years to come.
“This is a great day for ringette and for our NRL team,” said Bill Bettles. “There is a wonderful foundation for ringette in this province and we are excited to build on this and look to promote the sport as best we can. Our primary goal is to develop a competitive program and compete for championships on a regular basis. We also look forward to promoting the sport within the Fraser Valley and across the province.”
“We think this is a great opportunity for the BC Reign and the development of ringette in BC” said Glen Ritchie, President of BCRA. “Bill has come forward and presented an excellent proposal that makes an NRL team in BC a viable option for all elite ringette players in the province.”
Also announced today is the appointment of Chris Wakefield as Team Director. Chris previously worked with the Cambridge Turbos, the reigning NRL and World Champions. “I can’t wait to get to work on putting together a strong program and icing a competitive team for the 2009-10 season,” said Wakefield.
The new NRL team will move just down the road into the Fraser Valley where they will play the majority of their home games. The move was made in an effort to situate the team in a more central location in relation to the many ringette associations in the Lower Mainland.
The ownership and management group looks forward to a productive summer, one that will include the announcement of a new team name and a new head coach. The team is also looking forward to announcing the signing of several key current and former players, along with the acquisition of some new players.
The Fraser Valley NRL franchise plays in the Western Conference of the 18-team league. The team will play 30 regular season games, with the top three teams in the Western Conference gaining a berth at the NRL Championships in Saskatoon, SK, in April 2010.
About the National Ringette League
The National Ringette League (NRL) is the showcase league for ringette in Canada and strives to be the premiere women’s sports league in the country. The league has 18 teams participating in two conferences – a Western Conference with six teams and an Eastern Conference with 12 teams. The objectives of the NRL are to move ringette into the mainstream of Canadian sports activity, encourage greater public awareness of ringette, create more and better competitive opportunities for athletes, and achieve positive financial results at both a league and team level. For more information on the NRL, including schedules, team rosters and athlete profiles, please visit our website at www.nationalringetteleague.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Alayne Martell
Media and PR - Ringette Canada/National Ringette League
Office: 902.839.2532
Cell: 902.308.1067
alayne@ringette.ca
www.ringette.ca
www.nationalringetteleague.ca
Shannon Anderson
Media Liaison – NRL Fraser Valley
Telephone: 604-787-4329
shannon@elitecreative.ca
