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Finland

Previous Finland National Ringette Team logo
Nickname(s)	Team Finland
Association	Ringette Finland (Finnish: Suomen Ringetteliitto)
Head coach	Team Finland Sr. POSTPONED (2023) Team Finland Jr. Nina Sundell (2023) Team Finland U18 Heidi Petrell (2023)
Assistants	Team Finland Sr. Marjukka Virta Eevi Kaasinen Team Finland Jr.
Captain	Team Finland Sr. Susanna Tapani Team Finland Jr. Enni Ojala
Team colors
Home colours Away colours
First international
Senior: Finland (Sr.) 1990 (Gloucester, Canada; 1990) Junior: Finland (Jr.) 28–1 Sweden (Sr.) (North Bay, Canada; December 31, 2013)
World Ringette Championships
Appearances	Junior: 6 (first in 2009) Senior: 14 including 1998 Summit Series (first in 1990)
Best result	Senior: 1st 1994, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 Junior: 1st 2009, 2013, 2022, 2023

Medal record
World Ringette Championships
Seniors
	1990 Gloucester	Team
	1992 Helsinki	Team
	1994 Saint Paul	Team
	1996 Stockholm	Team
	1998 Summit Series Turku, Gothenburg, Osnabruck, Colmar	Team
	2000 Espoo and Lahti	Team
	2002 Edmonton	Team
	2004 Stockholm	Team
	2007 Ottawa	Team
	2010 Tampere	Team
	2013 North Bay	Team
	2016 Helsinki	Team
	2017 Mississauga	Team
	2019 Burnaby	Team
	2021 Helsinki	Cancelled
	2022 Espoo	Team
	2023 Calgary, POSTPONED	Team
World Junior Ringette Championships
Juniors
	2009 Prague	Team
	2009 Prague	Team
	2012 London	Team
World Ringette Championships
Juniors
	2013 North Bay	Team
	2016 Tampere	Team
	2017 Mississauga	Team
	2019 Burnaby	Team
	2021 Helsinki	Cancelled
	2022 Espoo	Team
	2023 Calgary	Team
World Ringette Championships
U18 International Development Festival
	2022 Espoo	Team
	2023 Calgary	Team

The Finland national ringette team, (Finnish: Suomen naisten ringettemaajoukkue), more commonly known as "Team Finland", is the ringette team representing Finland internationally. Finland has both a senior national team, Team Finland Senior, and a junior national team, Team Finland Junior. Both national teams compete in the World Ringette Championships (WRC) and are overseen by Ringette Finland, (Finnish: Suomen Ringetteliitto) which is a member of the International Ringette Federation (IRF). Finland's first appearance in international ringette took place at the first World Ringette Championships in 1990.

Team Finland and Team Canada have emerged as ringette's major international rivals at both the senior and junior level. Historically, Team Finland Senior dominates the Senior Pool, while Team Canada Junior dominates the Junior Pool.

Timo Himberg was the head coach of the senior national team from March 2011 to 2020 after which Pasi Kataja was chosen to become the team's next head coach. Kataja was previously the coach of the Finnish senior national ringette team from 2003–2006 and the head coach of the junior national team from 1999–2002.

History

Finland's first appearance in international ringette took place at the 1990 World Ringette Championships which was the inaugural year for the World Ringette Championships (WRC). One Finland senior amateur ringette team represented the country, "Team Finland", while the Canadians sent six different Canadian teams to compete. Since the 1990 WRC, a single amateur national Finland team has served as the country's senior representative, with Team Finland Senior eventually competing against Team Canada Senior in the 1998 Summit Series.

The 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships was the first ringette tournament where an international competition took place specifically for junior players between ringette playing nations. Team Finland Junior (U19) is Finland's junior representative. Today junior national ringette teams compete in the Junior Pool at the World Ringette Championships after the junior tournament merged with the larger senior program in 2013.

World Championship record

Summit Series

The 1998 World Ringette Championships were replaced by a Summit Series between Team Canada and Team Finland, both of which were senior teams. Team Finland finished in first place defeating Team Canada.

Senior Finland

(Seniors) World Ringette Championships
Year	Location	Result	Notes
1990	Gloucester	7th
1992	Helsinki	Bronze
1994	Saint Paul	Gold
1996	Stockholm	Silver
1998 "Summit Series"	Turku Gothenburg Osnabrück Colmar	Gold
2000	Espoo and Lahti	Gold
2002	Edmonton	Silver
2004	Stockholm	Gold
2007	Ottawa	Gold
2010	Tampere	Gold
2013	North Bay	Gold
2016	Helsinki	Gold
2017	Mississauga	Gold
2019	Burnaby	Gold
2021	Helsinki	cancelled
2022	Espoo	Gold
2023	Calgary	postponed
2025	Lahti

Junior Finland

(Juniors) World Ringette Championships
Year	Location	Result	Notes
2009	Prague	Gold
2012	London	Silver
2013	Saint Paul	Gold
2016	Stockholm	Silver
2017	Mississauga	Silver
2019	Burnaby	Silver
2021	Helsinki	cancelled
2022	Espoo	Gold
2023	Calgary	Gold

Team Finland Senior

Team Finland Senior's first appearance in international ringette took place at the first World Ringette Championships in 1990 in Gloucester, Ontario. However, the team was initially known only as "Team Finland" until the addition of the junior level at the World Ringette Championships in 2013, after which it has been known as Team Finland Senior. Having competed at every World Championships since, they have won nine of the fourteen events, marking them as the most successful national ringette side by far.

Team Finland Junior

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The World Junior Ringette Championship tournament was created separately from the major competition between senior national teams (the World Ringette Championships) and was established in 2009 by the International Ringette Federation. At the 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships, Finland was represented by two U19 (Under–19) teams, the Finland White Stars and the Finland Blue Stars.

For the next World Junior Ringette Championships, the 2012 World Junior Ringette Championships, Finland sent only one Finland junior amateur ringette team, Team Finland U19. While Finland had formed its first all-junior Finland national ringette team in 2012, its arch-rival, Canada, did not form its first all-junior Canadian national ringette team until 2013. However, by 2013, the Junior tournament was officially merged with the World Ringette Championship and ceased as a separate event. From WRC 2013 onward, all competing ringette nations with Junior national ringette teams compete in the World Ringette Championships program along with Senior national teams but did so in a separate Junior Pool, currently dominated by Team Canada. Team Finland Junior and Team Canada Junior compete in a best-of-three series with the winner of the world ringette junior title also hoisting the Juuso Wahlsten Trophy.

Notable people

Players

• Salla Kyhälä
• Marjukka Virta
• Anne Pohjola⁣⁣
• Susanna Tapani⁣⁣
• Kristiina Heinonen [fi]
• Katja Kortesoja [fi]
• Petra Ojaranta
• Anna Vanhatalo
• Riikka Häyrinen [fi]
• Kirsi Pukkila [fi]
• Emma-Julia Wood [fi]
• Petra Vaarakallio – Vaarakallio won the 1992 World Ringette Championships bronze. She stopped playing ringette after receiving a six-month suspension for kicking an opponent who was lying on the ice.
• Anna-Kaisa Raesola [fi]
• Elina Raesola [fi]
• Kristiina Siitonen [fi]

Juuso Wahlsten

Juhani Jorma Kalevi Wahlsten, a.k.a. Juuso Wahlsten, is called "The Father of Finnish Ringette" and was responsible for introducing ringette to Finland in 1979. The World Ringette Championships junior trophy has been named in his honour, the Juuso Wahlsten Trophy. Wahlsten also competed in the Winter Olympics as a member of the Finland men's national ice hockey team and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Timo Himberg

Gallery

• Salla Kyhälä
  second from right

See also

• Ringette
• World Ringette Championships
  • Canada national ringette team
  • United States national ringette team
  • Sweden national ringette team
  • Czech Republic national ringette team
• International Ringette Federation
• Sam Jacks
• Juhani "Juuso" Wahlsten

References

1. "Suomen naisten ringettemaajoukkue". facebook.com/ringettemaajoukkue (in Finnish). facebook. 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
2. Niemeläinen, Jonne (5 May 2020). "Pasi Kataja palaa ringettemaajoukkueen ruoriin" [Pasi Kataja returns to the helm of the national team]. Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Yle Urheilu. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
3. Jonne Niemeläinen (5 May 2020). "Pasi Kataja palaa ringettemaajoukkueen ruoriin". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
4. "1990 World Ringette Championship (Gloucester, Ontario, Canada)". ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
5. ^ "Team Finland White Stars win gold at first IRF U-19 Ringette Championship". Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
6. "Ringeten MM 2000-projekti käynnistyy" [Ringete's MM 2000 project starts]. yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. 25 November 1999. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
7. "Finland's First National Ringette Team in 1990". facebook.com. World Ringette Championships. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
8. "HISTORIA | SUOMEN RINGETTELIITTO PERUSTETTIIN 5.5.1983" [HISTORY | RINGETTE FINLAND WAS ESTABLISHED ON MAY 5, 1983]. ringette.fi. Ringette Finland. 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
9. Ismo Huotari (25 August 2022). "Menestyneen ringettepelaajan pelinumero jäädytetään: "Tosi mahtava juttu ja merkitsee minulle paljon"" [A successful ringette player's game number is frozen: "Really great thing and means a lot to me"]. savonsanomat.fi (in Finnish). savonsanomat. Retrieved 25 August 2022.

External links

• International Ringette Federation
• The History of Ringette in Calgary
• Ringette Canada
• (in Finnish) Ringette Finland
• Team USA Ringette
• (in Swedish) Sweden Ringette Association
• (in Czech) Ringette Slovakia
• (in Czech) Czech Ringette (Czech: Česky Svaz Ringetu)

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