Kids from ages four to 15 years old from Brandon and the surrounding area are invited to try out one of Canada’s fastest growing sports for free on Saturday Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m. at Westman Communications Group Place. Come Try Ringette will feature an hour of fun on-ice games and activities led by Ringette Manitoba instructors. No previous ringette experience is necessary. Players must have their own skates and wear a helmet as well as mitts or gloves. Sticks will be provided, and a limited number of helmets will be available for players who don’t have their own. Visit www.cometryringette.ca to register or contact Brandon Come Try Ringette Coordinator Kyla Henderson by emailing kylajmhenderson@gmail.com or calling 204-573-5083. “Ringette is a fast game that is great for developing passing and skating skills as well as teamwork,” Henderson says. “That team spirit really shows itself off the ice as well, as players take part in team cheers and make many life-long friendships.” The ringette season begins in September and runs until March, with players normally playing games or practising twice per week. The Brandon Blizzards ringette teams are looking to build on their historic 2016-17 season when the U12 (ages 10 and 11) and U14 teams (ages 12 and 13) played in the Winnipeg Ringette League for the first time. The U14 Blizzards went on to win the provincial B championship. Amy, a member of the provincial champion U14 Blizzards, has played ringette for six years. “It looked like a fun sport that was different from hockey, and I met a whole team of girls that have been my friends for a long time,” she says. “I went to Come Try Ringette day and really wanted to play after. My mom played it when she was younger and had good memories too.” “The success that we had last season was amazing, and we’re excited to see what our players can accomplish this year as we are hoping that our U10 team will join the older teams the Winnipeg league. We would like to add a new U16 team as well,” Henderson says. “It’s just as important to us to make sure that our youngest and newest players are also learning new skills and realizing the benefits of playing ringette because they are the future of the sport. Come Try Ringette is where we can give new players a look at how much fun ringette can be. ” Representatives from the Brandon Ringette Association will be on hand to answer questions about the sport, and registration forms will be available at the event. Registration forms will also be available at the Shoppers Mall Brandon Clubs for Kids day on Saturday, Aug. 21 or by visiting ww.brandonringette.ca. Registration fees for new players start as low as $170 for the season plus fundraising and jersey deposits that can be earned back.

Hockey Manitoba today announced the roster for the Female U-16 Team Manitoba who will compete at the Central Plains Midget AAA Tournament held in Portage la Prairie, MB from September 22-24, 2017. The tournament will wrap up the first year of the Female U-16 Program of Excellence which is “designed to provide high performance female players with the opportunity to develop advanced skills as well as an introduction to the concepts needed to play at an elite level”.  Among those named to the team were Brandon's Jenna Barcello, Lainie Nichols, and Jillian Szabo. Also announced to the team were Russell's McKiya Mazer, and Shaylee Scraba of Souris. The full roster can be found here.

BRANDON – The Brandon University Bobcats began an exciting new chapter on Wednesday as BU Athletics officially unveiled a revamped visual identity. In 1967-68 the Bobcats era began when Brandon College transitioned to Brandon University. It has been 20 years since the last logo update when the burst logo replaced the traditional Bobcat head logo. The 50th anniversary of the Bobcats in 2017-18 is perfect timing to give the 'Cats a makeover while maintaining the key values instilled in the program from the start. "The rebrand is a highly anticipated step in our long history of representing the campus and community," said BU Athletic Director Russ Paddock. "We are excited incorporate the original Bobcat logo into the new design to pay homage to our proud tradition with the Bobcats and College Caps." The lengthy process for the rebrand started last fall. Project lead and BU Sports Information and Marketing Officer Matt Packwood worked alongside Brandon University's communication and marketing department to finalize the new look over the spring and summer months. "It's a fairly common practice for sports teams, both in the varsity and pro ranks, to update their visual identity every so often," said Packwood. "In the nearly fifty year history of the Bobcats there have been really only two formal logos, the original Bobcat head and the burst logo of the nineties. As such, we felt it was time for an update and we are really happy with what our design team has come up with." BU Athletics teamed up along alongside w/studio to create a new, sleek design that uses clean edges, is modern and is a throw-back to the original Bobcat logo. The Saskatoon based design firm has done prior work with BU as it designed the visual identity system for the entire university. Member of w/studio Ty Johnston has Brandon roots and specifically with the Bobcats. Johnston was proud to play an instrumental role in another significant project for BU. "Designing the Bobcats' logo was pretty special for everyone at w/studio. I know for myself and the other project lead, Ben Myers, it was a unique opportunity to show some local pride as we both grew up in Brandon and took part in summer camps run by the Bobcats," said Johnston. "We are thrilled with the final artwork and are excited to see it all come to life." The new visual identity comes with a complete graphics package with various versions of the logo, a wordmark and specialty font. A thorough BU Bobcat brand identity guide has also been produced.

Smitty's defeated the Precision Toyota Honeybadgers 7-2 tonight to capture the Division 1 crown in the Wendy's Summer Hockey League. For Smitty's Former Wheat King goalie, turned power forward, Tyler Plante picked up 3 points (2g, 1a) as did Jordan Zenk (2g, 1a) and Linden McCorrister (1 g, 2a). Shane Wiebe and Matt Calvert also scored for Smitty's who were missing many key veterans including Mark Derlago, Tristan Grant, Alex Plante and Brock Trotter. Sam Huston and Tyler Jubenvill replied with single markers for the Honeybadgers. Logan Thompson picked up the win in net while Max Paddock suffered the loss. Game Summary

NHL defenseman Joel Edmundson was in the holiday spirit really early this year as he has donated a large quantity of new helmets to the Brandon AAA Midget Wheat Kings program. Edmundson spent two seasons with the AAA Midget Wheat Kings prior to making the transition to the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors in 2010/11. He was drafted 46th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by St. Louis and has spent the last two seasons patrolling the blue line with the Blues. The NHL player, a fan favourite in St. Louis and a huge supporter of the AAA midget program in Brandon, will donate 26 helmets in total.