Anniina Tuomola named Ringette Person of the Year by Ringette Finland

Anniina Tuomola started playing ringette inspired by her father in 1998 when she was 5 years old. A rink had been built in her hometown Tikkakoski two years earlier which inspired many to try the sport. According to Anniina the she caught the ringette bug immediately. Today she is a familiar face in rinks across the country because of her many roles in ringette.

Tuomola is currently undertaking coaching qualification, is a coach for the national high school ringette program and also a referee. She has been a Vice President of the International Ringette Federation for the past three years. Tuomola who has been playing ringette since an early age still plays for the Open team in her hometown club Tikkakosken Tikka.

Q: You have held many hats in ringette. What has been the most interesting thing about your role with the IRF?

A: IRF Board comprises of members from all ringette countries. Therefore, the biggest learning curve for me has been working in a multi-cultural environment where there are different ways of working. This is sometimes a challenge but also a great benefit. This role has given me a panoramic view on international and national level ringette.

Q: What motivates you to develop ringette?

A: Ringette is an awesome, entertaining showcase of athletic ability that deserves more recognition both in Finland and worldwide. I also think that because ringette has given me so much in terms of great experiences meeting amazing people that has prompted me to give back to ringette.

Q: What have been the most memorable ringette moments in your life?

A: There are so many memorable moments! From my playing career I cherish a tournament trip to Canada in 2010. Our team flew to Montreal and we played in Thetford Mines tournament and stayed in local host families. A lot of great memories also from Prague in the Czech ringette community during my university student exchange year in 2015-2016 and later in international tournaments. I also have to mention WRC 2017 in Mississauga where I was with the Czech team and also WRC 2019 in Burnaby where I served on the IRF Council.

Q: What is your future outlook on international ringette?

A: It’s clear that the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected and will affect ringette player registrations and operation locally and globally. The pandemic has been especially hard for smaller and developing ringette countries where ringette has been on a hiatus from early 2020. In the near future ringette countries need to put effort into younger age groups on local ringette association level to boost player registrations and revitalizing ringette communities. We at the IRF aspire to see this change and for the next WRC event to go ahead as planned in Finland in 2022.

Translated from Ringette Finland press release into English