Grace, in the middle of the back row, and her ringette team in 2012
Photo by Rob Sturgess
Adapted from CBC News by Nancy Carson
Level 2
Respect the Ring
Ringette deserves the same attention as hockey.
Grace Kemp is 11 years old.
She lives in Surrey, B.C.
And she plays ringette.
When she was in Grade 2,
she met a player from
the National Ringette League (NRL).
Grace was inspired
and she made a vow.
Grace’s vow
When Grace was little,
she had many questions.
Why isn’t ringette on TV?
Hockey is on TV.
People can watch the Canucks.
But the National Ringette League
is not on TV. Why not?
An important letter
Grace wrote a letter
to Shane Foxman of CBC News.
She asked Foxman to do
a story about her ringette team.
“If more people saw it,
more people would play it.
And then it might be on TV
like the NHL,” says Grace.
Letter gets attention
“…I am eleven years old
and right now I’m on
the Surrey U12A team….
Ever since I started ringette
in grade two, my dream
has been to some day
put ringette on TV,
even just a small report
about my team. It would
mean a great deal to me….”
Not a stupid sport
The last line in Grace’s letter
interested Foxman.
“…Besides it would show
the boys in my class that
ringette isn’t a small stupid sport.”
Grace says people might respect
the game more if it was on TV.
Foxman goes to Grace’s class
Foxman visited Grace’s class.
Then he asked the boys about ringette.
Some boys said hockey is harder
and it takes more skill to play hockey.
Ringette looks easy, one boy said.
Grace is getting into her ringette gear.
Photo courtesy of Jerrilin Spence
Ringette takes skill and teamwork
Grace does not agree.
She played hockey, too.
It was easier to score
her first goal in hockey, she said.
Ringette is a harder game, thinks Grace.
Grace’s lesson
Grace’s mother, Jerrilin Kemp,
is proud. She feels that Grace has learned
an important lesson.
If you want something to happen,
there are steps you take to make it happen.
Others will not do it for you.
You have to take action yourself.
And that is what Grace did!
Vocabulary:
1. NRL: the National Ringette League
The league has 14 teams – a Western Conference with three teams
and an Eastern Conference with 11 teams.
2. inspired: made (someone) want to do something:
gave (someone) an idea about what to do or create.
3. vow: a serious promise to do something in the future.
4. NHL: the National Hockey League
This ice hockey group has 30 member clubs: 23 in the United States
and 7 in Canada.
Links:
1. Watch Shane Foxman’s interview and meet Grace Kemp and her mother.
2. Ringette is 50 years old. Read about its history and find out how to join.
3. Ringette … The Time of Your Life