The Finnish Experience in Czech Republic, 2004

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 BGCOLOR="#999999" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="08f005f0ermwup.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>International Ringette Federation (IRF)</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="International Ringette Federation (IRF)"><B>home</B></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=189 style="border-right: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 1"><B>Day 1</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 2"><B>Day 2</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 3"><B>Day 3</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 4"><B>Day 4</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 5"><B>Day 5</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 6"><B>Day 6</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id134.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 7"><B>Day 7</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 8"><B>Day 8</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 9"><B>Day 9</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 10"><B>Day 10</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id138.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 11"><B>Day 11</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id139.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 12"><B>Day 12</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id140.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 13"><B>Day 13</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id142.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Finnish Experience in Czech Republic"><B>The Finnish Experience</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=385 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> The Finnish Experience in Czech Republic, 2004</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="500" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1096 WIDTH="494"><div> Czech Ringette Challenge Cup 2004</div> <div> An international ringette tournament, Czech Ringette Challenge Cup, was arranged in Prague in the middle of August 2004. Four teams, two from Finland and two from Canada, participated in this tournament, and we are sure that every girl enjoyed this international ringette atmosphere both on and off the ice.</div> <bR> <div> Last spring, girls studying in two different sport high schools decided to unite their forces and set up a team for a tournament in Prague. And when it was time to leave for the tournament we were nine enthusiastic ringette players ready to face the “challenge”.</div> <bR> <div> We had really been looking forward to our trip and not very many of us had been to the Czech Republic before. Some of us even travelled abroad for the first time in their life. That made our trip even more exciting, and our stay in Prague was truly filled with new experience.</div> <bR> <div> The ringette tournament itself was great. For us it was little bit different to play with international rules but it was still a lot of fun and good experience. And taking into consideration the fact that it was only August and the beginning of the ringette season we managed to play fairly well. There was definitely some good ringette out there at times. The competition for the gold medals was very even, and the other Canadian team reached their gold after beating our team (Finland select) in overtime…but in this tournament silver medals were lots of fun as well.</div> <bR> <div> The weather was quite nice and warm during our stay, and unfortunately it was “pretty warm” inside the arena as well. So the circumstances at the arena were quite a shock for us at first…we had never played at the arena where the temperature was +20 degrees (Celsius)…but now we have.</div> <bR> <div> In addition to the tournament we also had some time to have a look at the City of Prague. And during the traditional Czechs dinner and the tours to the Castle of Prague, a crystal factory and a beer factory we learned some new things of local history and culture, and the Czechs' way of living.</div> <bR> <div> As the ringette tournament was arranged at the same time as the Hockey Challenge Cup there were many young athletes in town. The day we arrived in Prague we attended players' party where all the participants had gathered for dinner and social evening.</div> <bR> <div> During the tournament we made friends with the players from other teams and after the final we decided with the Canadians to spend our last night in Prague together. Prague by night was a lot of fun!</div> <bR> <div> Our trip to the Prague tournament was awesome and we all had a good time! Memorable experience! Now we are just looking forward to next year's tournament. It would be great to participate again. In our opinion this tournament is a good opportunity for young players to get international experience and get to know players from other countries. We also believe that this tournament is one of the ways we can get more countries involved and improve our wonderful sport of ringette! </div> <bR> <div> Anu Pitkänen / Tiina Packalen</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>