#WEARERINGETTE BLOG POST - GET TO KNOW SARAH ESMAIL

Well, Well, Well - guess who’s back? WE ARE! It’s been a while since we last wrote a blog, but we are excited to get back at it. As you may know, the whole concept behind #WeAreRingette is putting a human connection to ringette because we all know that it is truly more than just the action on the ice. From a coach to a player, we all have a story. We all have a purpose in the ringette community. We are all meant to be who we are.

In today’s blog episode of #WeAreRingette, we introduce you to Sarah Esmail. Sarah has been a part of the ringette community for many years; from playing to coaching & being an Athlete Advisory Committee Member.

Sarah’s journey began back when she was just six years old. At the age of 6, Sarah moved from Stockholm, Sweden to Canada, where she said, “At this point, this is when my parents put me into a ‘Learn to Skate’ program through the Richmond Hill Ringette Association. This is where I was introduced to ringette, and little did I know that I would fall in love with it as much as I did.” Sarah is still playing to this day. It is incredible how the power of trying something can have on one person.

If there is one common aspect we see in all our #WeAreRingette stories, it is that ringette has an abundance of pathways one can take. Sarah has played for multiple associations in Ontario, playing in the AA and AAA programs, competing at the Ontario Winter Games & the Canada Ringette Championships, playing in the NRL as an AP, and participating in the World Ringette Championships for Team Sweden. One may think that is a lot, but Sarah has also coached and officiated between all the playing!

Ringette is what brings our #WeAreRingette community together, but everyone has something in their life that makes them who they are. For example, Sarah mentioned that, “Outside of ringette, I studied engineering at the University of Toronto and am currently a software development manager at IBM.” It’s one of those things when you find an activity that you like, aka ringette, and then move into a career path that is meant for you, you know you are doing something right.

As we moved along in our conversations with Sarah, we wanted to know, ‘When did you know ringette was for you? When did you know that you wanted to continue to play?’ Because in the end, what makes people love the sport could be why someone new joins the sport. Sarah explained, “As I mentioned, I started through a learn to skate program, but I think I knew it was for me when I was called up to play with a team that was missing players. I feel like this was when I knew because it was the first time I could play. This was when I knew this was something I would enjoy and love to do.”

Finding something you love & are so passionate about is why our community is as strong as it is. We have people like Sarah who play, coach, and are full-time employees but always seem to find the time for ringette. So we asked Sarah, knowing she was so busy, ‘What advice do you have for someone who may be in a similar situation as you but is thinking that they just can’t do it or are thinking of dropping something?’ Her advice for any of you out there going through the same thing is:

“It is essential to spend time on things that bring you joy and that energize you. Ringette is my way to stay fit and healthy, but it is also my way of getting my mind off, you know, a long day at work or anything else. If it is becoming too much, the nice thing about ringette is there are so many options available. I think it’s all about figuring out what’s important to you and prioritizing those things.”

We talked about how amazing & supportive the ringette community is and the endless opportunities, but we wanted to know why ringette? Why did Sarah choose ringette over another sport? She responded, “I grew up playing several sports like gymnastics, swimming, soccer & hockey to name a few, but I found ringette to be very special. Ringette is a close community, and the culture makes it so special. Everyone is just so passionate about the sport. It’s not like any other. When you think about another sport and what role models they have, you can see that ringette has those role models too. Still, the biggest difference is that our role models are so accessible.” Sarah remembers looking up to so many players and being like, “Oh wow, they play for team Canada!” She explained that, “Having the ability to train alongside & with these players makes it so much easier to LOVE this sport. Having easy access has so much power because truly you don’t see this too often in other sports.”

As we move forward from what ringette used to be to what it is now, we can see the growth it has had to this day. Still, when you compare it to another sport, we may be considered ‘small.’ We wanted to ask Sarah, ‘As someone heavily involved within ringette, how would you promote ringette to someone who doesn’t know what it is?’ Sarah said, “People need to know that ringette is more than just a sport because it has been way more than I could have expected. It has brought me opportunities to grow in other aspects of my life, like leadership, goal setting, determination and hard work. Being involved in sports is just a powerful thing, and ringette will offer more than one would expect.”

Within ringette, we are all STRONG; we are all UNIQUE; #WeAreRingette. Our community is what it is because of the dedicated, unique & diverse people within it. All of you make up our community, but we will continue to strive to be inclusive & to welcome all.

We will finish it off with a quote, “You can’t be what you can’t see!”