Builder : Ringette
Year Inducted: 2018
Born in: Ottawa, Ontario

From being a volunteer helping out with her daughter’s games, to becoming the first international president of the sport, Betty Shields is synonymous with ringette in Canada.

Shields was instrumental in ringette’s entry to the Canada Winter Games, in coordinating the 1982-83 revision of the Ringette Canada Community Policy Manual and writing Let’s play Ringette: an introductory handbook. It was Shields who established the Jeanne Sauvé Cup in 1985, which is presented to the champion of the National Ringette League, Canada’s top women’s competition for this sport.

Her involvement with ringette began when she was volunteering as a timekeeper for her daughter’s games way back in 1975. She took a keen interest in the sport and went on to serve as treasurer, convenor and then the president of the Alta Vista Ringette Association from 1977-79. The next year she was appointed vice-president of the Ontario Ringette Association and Ringette Canada. Two years later she became the president of Ringette Canada. She held this post for four years. In 1987, she became the first president of the International Ringette Federation.

In 1989 she became the Ringette Canada executive. In 1990 she was the Canadian Sports Federation volunteer administrator of the year.

She has been a keen proponent of the sport and her efforts were awarded when she was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame and was the recipient of Canada’s 125th medal in 1992. She has also been honoured with the Agnes Jacks Award of Merit for outstanding contribution to international ringette in 1994.

Apart from sport, she was also the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Trade business person of the year, winning the Bronze Award. She is a co-recipient (along with her brother) of the Canadian Association of Movers’ distinguished service award.