Team USA  (Click her for Details of the USA National Team Program from Team USA)

The final roster of the United States Women's National Ringette Team is set.    
A final Selection Camp was held in Calgary, Alta the weekend of Aug 5-7, 2000.   A rigorous training camp along with games against a Calgary Area All Star AA team enabled the selectors to pick Team USA.     Click here to see the List of Players Selected to Team USA.

Gloucester Devils' Barb Bautista was one of the players selected to Team USA's National Team that will participate in the Fifth World Championships to be held in Finland in November 2000.   Barb was eligible to tryout for the team as she was born in Butler, Pennsylvannia.     Congratulations Barb!

USA Ringette's President Andrew Irvine recounted:

"We had a solid training camp August 4-6 in Calgary, with two games played against an AA Calgary All Star team. Team USA continues to make improvement in both individual and team skills. Both of the games in Calgary were close, with Team USA coming out ahead. Players are now carrying out individual training plans. We have one more opportunity for team preparation, participation in a tournament against AA teams in Calgary, October 6-8. The Calgary families were great hosts, providing room, board and transportation for the visiting players and making many arrangements for a successful weekend of work."

Along with the final Selection Camp in Calgary, their were two other Training/Selection Camps, plus a long weekend of games in Canada. The selection process began April 30 to May 3 in Stillwater, Minnesota.  After that a developmental Team USA travelled to the Team Canada five day Final Selection Camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba from May 3-7. They competed with two teams of Team Canada Players, Team Finland, and an All Star Team of Players from Manitoba. Click here to see Details, Team List and GAME Scores of the Manitoba Weekend. Results may be found elsewhere on this page. A second selection camp was held 23 to 25 August, near Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Click here to see details of the Dallas camp and a list of participants.

From this camp of talented players a core group was selected. (Click her for Details of Team USA Selection.)

Team USA will participate in the Fifth World Championships to be held in Finland in November 2000. The roster includes players with past experience at the world level, players with college hockey experience, along with several younger players. Several of these players are Canadian citizens who live in the U.S., have dual Canadian/U.S. citizenship or other connections to the U.S.

Team USA General Manager, Andrew Irvine, who is also the President of USA Ringette, reports in his announcement of team selection:

"We are very proud of the group of athletes on Team USA. They range in age from 15 to 39, have differing levels of experience both with ringette and ice hockey, and hail from several different states and three Canadian provinces. Included on our team are several Canadians who meet criteria established by the International Ringette Federation - of working or attending school in the U.S., having dual citizenship, or having a parent or grandparent born in the U.S. Each of our team members have made significant financial and time sacrifices to participate in the training camps and games. They have each paid their own expenses to attend each of the camps, and will be paying a portion of their expenses to make the trip to the World Tournament."

COACHING STAFF

Lorrie Horne, Head Coach. Lorrie has extensive experience coaching both ringette and hockey in Canada and Finland. She is a college instructor in Alberta. Lorrie is a former top ringette player, and was a member of Team Canada at the 1994 Ringette World Championship that was held in Rosemount, MN. She was the team trainer for Team Canada in 1996. Lorrie is very committed to the development of ringette in the U.S. and other countries.

Peter Semonick, Assistant Coach. Peter has many years of experience coaching ringette and other sports in Alberta, and has managed a number of sports events, including the Canadian track championship, and the Canadian golf championship. He is an attorney.

Serge Poissant, Assistant Coach. Serge resides in Texas, and is proud to be the father of one of the Team USA players. He coaches youth and adult hockey (and now ringette) in Texas. He is originally from Montreal, where he coached ringette and hockey for many years. Serge is a product engineer.


The following players have been selected for Team USA
(with their current residence noted):

Heather Barton	(D)	Calgary, Aberta
Barb Bautista	(C)	Gloucester, Ontario
Sue Coggles	(C)	Edmonton, Alberta/Kennesaw State U, Georgia
Suzanne Cribbes	(F)	Flower Mound, Texas
Nicole Fuller	(D/F)	Dallas, Texas
Melanie Hunter	(C/F)	Grand Forks, North Dakota
Shannon Hutchison	(G)	Calgary, Alberta
Jodi Jensen	(C/F)	Calgary, Alberta
Kailee Klemmensen	(C/F)	Calgary, Alberta
Vicki Krone	(G)	Dallas, Texas
Robyn McNeil	(F)	Calgary, Alberta
Karyne Poissant	(D)	North Richland Hills, Texas
Danielle Reid	(F)	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jackie Thurston	(F)	Calgary, Alberta
Sue Weckman	(F)	Dallas, Texas
Karen Wither	(G)	Irving, Texas
Wendy Yoshino	(D)	Nashville, Tennessee

Andrew goes on to explain about the World Tournament Trip:

"We will be departing North America on Saturday, November 4, arriving in Helsinki, Finland the following morning. The team will be spending two full weeks in Finland and Sweden, with both exhibition and world tournament games played. The team returns to North America on Sunday, November 19. The world tournament will include four teams - the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. The tournament will be played in two stages. The first round will involve a European playoff between Sweden and Finland, to be played in Sweden. Team USA will square off in a North American playoff against Team Canada, also in Sweden. This game is set for November 8. Following exhibition games in both Sweden and Finland, the teams will complete the medal games in Finland. The two winners of the first round will play a two game series for the gold medal, the first game on November 15 in Lahti, and the final game on November 18 in Espoo. The bronze medal game will be played immediately prior to the final gold game on November 18 in Espoo."

"Because costs are a significant matter, and players are committed to paying any costs out of their own pocket that are not covered through fundraising, the team will use youth hostels and billeting (home stay) for lodging, with most meals prepared in those settings."

T SHIRTS!

Team USA Ringette does have colorful t-shirts available for sale, with the newly designed Team USA Ringette logo. The cost is $12.00 US, plus $1.50 per shirt for shipping. Proceeds help support Team USA, of course. To order, contact Andrew Ervin at aejervin@earthlink.net, or by phone at: 651-426-3386. and indicate size - S, M, L, XL. (If you have an event - such as a girls ringette or hockey tournament - at which you think you could sell a number of our t-shirts, please let me know and we can discuss terms).

TEAM USA 2002

The 2002 world tournament will be held in Edmonton, Alberta. Girls and women with ringette or hockey experience are encouraged to consider training for the opportunity to play on Team USA. For help in establishing a ringette training program or full ringette program in your community, contact Andrew Ervin. We have found a great deal of interest in ringette in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas this year, and hope to see that replicated in other communities throughout the U.S.

Click here for Team USA's - Team Web Site.

Team USA's Selection Camp At Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
May 3 - 7, 2000


Andrew Ervin, of Team USA Says:

"We are excited to have this outstanding group of athletes working for spots on Team USA." When asked how Gloucester's Barb Bautista did at the Selection Camp, Andrew was quick to say: "Barb Bautista is an outstanding athlete, and certainly made the team....".

He went on to give a report on the training camp and team roster: "The camp was very successful, with 21 players participating. 12 were from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with several having hockey but not ringette experience. We were happy to get some media attention, with two newspaper reporters and a radio reporter interviewing the players on the first day."

"Having this recent camp in Dallas/Fort Worth has helped develop interest in the sport. A Monday evening ringette program for teenage girls and women has just started, and plans are in place for a program for younger girls later this year."

"As mentioned above, our next event is the weekend of games in Calgary, against teams made up of A and AA level players from Alberta. Following that weekend our final, complete roster will be submitted to the IRF.   Team USA is planning a two week trip to Sweden and Finland, starting off with several exhibition games and then leading up to the World Cup games November 15 - 17."