Ringette is a Canadian sport game which was first introduced in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario by Sam Jacks, who worked at the Department of Parks and Recreation. The first ever ringette game was played in Espanola, Ontario in the winter of 1963-1964. Developed originally for girls, ringette is a fast-paced team sport played on a hockey rink in which players use a straight stick to pass, carry, and shoot a rubber ring to scoregoals. Jacks' invention of ringette was one of four sports featured on the Canadian Inventions:Sports series to be issued by Canada Post stamps on August 10, 2009.
Each year, Jacks' wife, Agnes, continued to be a strong supporter of the sport, attending Provincial Championships in many of the Provinces and, of course, the Canadian Ringette Championships each April until she died in April 2005. The Sam Jacks Trophy is awarded to the World Champions. The trophy currently resides with Finland.