Hanover teen excelling at high level in ringette
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Jordan McClement was team captain of Team Ontario’s ringette squad at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island, which ran Feb. 18 to March 5.
The ringette competition was held during the first week of the Winter Games, and Team Ontario played seven games in seven days.
The 19-year-old from Hanover, who played defence for Team Ontario, helped the team achieve a 4-0 record in Pool B.
Team Ontario defeated Saskatchewan 9-1, Nova Scotia 7-5, P.E.I. 8-5 and British Columbia 5-1.
Team Ontario did not fair as well in the playoff round as the team suffered losses to Quebec 8-4 and Manitoba 5-3.
However, Team Ontario rebounded to win their final game of the competition, defeating B.C. 4-2 to finish in seventh place.
Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan took gold, silver and bronze respectively.
McClement said she was proud to represent the province at the Canada Winter Games while playing the game she loves.
“Ringette is my life. I enjoy playing it so much and I love everyone that I get to play with,” McClement said.
“Ringette is also my escape from real life. When I get on the ice and am practicing or playing a game, I forget about all of my stressors and my anxiety. It is a way for me to relax and to focus on something else, like the competition of a game or the fun I am having with my teammates.”
McClement started playing ringette in Hanover before joining Elora-Fergus where she played U-14 A for two years. She then played in Mitchell for her first year of U-16 AA.
In her second year of U-16 AA she played in Waterloo. That team won provincials and went on to nationals as Team Ontario.
“That was the year that I decided I wanted to work really hard and try to play on the highest competitive team of ringette possible,” McClement said.
She continued to play in Waterloo with the U-19 AA team, and also played on United AAA as that team competed at the Ontario Winter Games.
“I have been extremely lucky with all of the teams that I have had the chance to play on and all of the events I have been able to attend, including La Releve, playing with Finland girls, and competing at Ontario Winter Games,” she said.
This season McClement is a rookie playing in the National Ringette League for the Waterloo Wildfire.
“My one piece of advice that I would offer to a future player, coach or parent would be to trust the process,” McClement said. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you want in ringette…Things will always work out if you put the work in.
“I remember feeling like I would never be good enough to play on a high-performance team, or that I would never have the opportunity to make friends from across the country, but all I had to do was trust in myself, my coaches, my team and work hard. It takes time to develop skill and to make connections, which is why you can’t put so much stress on yourself about the future and just focus on the now and have fun during the process.”
Besides playing ringette, McClement is currently in her second year of Kinesiology at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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