Longtime friends bringing ringette to Kuujjuaq this spring
Registration opens for March training camp and exhibition game
Linda Guitard and Louise Duguay are bringing ringette to Nunavik. The pair are former teammates who played ringette together in Montreal as teens in 1984. Guitard, a goalie, is at bottom right and Duguay is fourth from the left in the back row. (Photo courtesy of Linda Guitard)
Updated on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 at 4 p.m. ET.
Ringette is coming to Kuujjuaq this spring, thanks to an initiative launched by a couple of former teammates.
Linda Guitard, who has lived in the North for nine years including the past three in Kuujjuaq, and Montrealer Louise Duguay are inviting girls and boys aged six to 18 years old to register for a free ringette training camp, which is scheduled to run from March 6 to March 9 at the Kuujjuaq Forum.
“Ringette doesn’t exist really in the North and that’s how the project came to fruition,” said Guitard. “We are hoping to spark enough interest to start a ringette league in Kuujjuaq.”
Guitard and Duguay played together back in their teens in Pierrefonds, Que., which is now an amalgamated neighbourhood on the West Island of Montreal.
Duguay has played or coached ringette for more than 50 years. She is bringing nine players and two other coaches from the Pierrefonds Lynx under-19 A-division team with her to Nunavik.
An exhibition game on March 6 will launch the camp, followed by a series of workshops on and off the ice, Guitard said.
What is ringette?

A ringette camp will be held at the Kuujjuaq Forum in March for boys and girls aged six to 18. (File photo by Cedric Gallant)
“Ringette is very similar to hockey, but without body contact. It’s a fast-moving, very athletic sport,” Guitard said.
“It was originally developed for young girls in North Bay, [Ont.,] in 1963 but is now played by girls and boys on ice and in gyms all over Canada, the U.S., Finland, and several other European countries.”
Instead of a puck, ringette players strive to put a rubber or felt ring into the opposing team’s net, hence the sport’s name. Ringette sticks are similar to hockey sticks, but have no blade.
“It takes a lot of hand-eye co-ordination and excellent skating skills,” said Duguay.
The rules for passing and offsides mean teamwork is required to move the ring up the ice, making ringette the ultimate team sport, Duguay said.
“Not one player can go up and down the ice on her own without passing the ring,” she said. “It’s a superb team sport.”
Guitard, who manages the restaurant at the Kuujjuaq Inn, arranged hotel rooms and board for the visiting ringette team. A $2,500 grant from Ringette Canada and discounted airfare from Canadian North made the project possible, she said.
Interested players or parents can contact organizers at info@kuujjuaqinn.com.
Correction: This article has been updated from its original version to provide Linda Guitard’s correct job description.
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