Editor's note: this is part of a series of features being published over the next few weeks on the various sports which make up the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and the athletes who will be competing in the Games.

David Patterson wants the 2007 Canada Winter Games to be the last Canada Games where the Yukon doesn't have a ringette team in the national competition.

The executive director for Ringette Canada, Patterson sees the 2007 Games as not only an important step in the sporting careers of ringette players across the country, but also as an opportunity for Yukoners to be introduced to the sport.

At other Games, Patterson has seen many people walk out of the rink, shaking their heads in surprise at the fast pace of the sport, he said.

'What, I think, will surprise people is just how fast it is,' he said. 'It really is a finesse game.'

Patterson admits it's tough to avoid the comparison of ringette to hockey. After all they look very similar: both are played on ice with sticks and have the objective of getting a round rubber object (in this case a ring) into a net at the other end of the ice surface.

While the game is similar to hockey physically, Patterson pointed out that from a tactical and strategic point it's a lot more like basketball or lacrosse with the emphasis on speed and finesse.

'You've got a lot more strategy,' he said.

In ringette, he said, skaters can't take the ring from one end of the rink down to the other end. It has to be passed to others at least twice. That can make it very much a team sport, he said.

While Patterson wouldn't speculate on which of the nine teams (the three territories and Newfoundland are not competing in the Games) are looking to fair strongest next month in Whitehorse, he noted that historically Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario have medaled at competitions, with B.C. also recently bringing a strong force to the field.

'It's pretty wide open,' he said.

Even if a team looks good on paper, Patterson suggested, the round-robin format could impact how well a team does. If a team is having a bad day and loses a match in the round-robin, it could put them out of contention for a medal, Patterson explained.

'It's a marathon followed by four sprints in a row,' he said.

For many players the Canada Games marks a significant milestone in their ringette career.

'For us Canada Games is the single most important stepping stone to our national team and national ringette league,' Patterson said.

At least one player could have a short step from the Games to the national team. Jennifer Hartley, an 18-year-old centre and captain for Team Alberta, has already been named to the national team, though that list has yet to be whittled down to members who will actually play.

For now though, Hartley has her sites set on Team Alberta getting the gold medal at the Games, after Alberta placed fourth, one step away from a medal in the 2003 and 1999 Canada Games. Previous to that, Alberta took gold in both the 1995 and 1991 Games.

Ontario won the gold in both the 1999 and 2003 Games.

Although this will mark her first Canada Games, Hartley has returned home four times from ringette nationals with one bronze, one silver and two gold medals.

While team members come from all over the province, Hartley, who's now based in Edmonton where she's studying engineering, said they've been meeting every second weekend to practise since the team was selected last September.

All of the members also play in individual clubs around the province. Hartley, for example, is also the captain of Edmonton's belle AA team.

Hartley got her start in ringette at the age of four, following in her sister's footsteps.

'We're a hockey family,' she said, noting when she started playing there was no girls' hockey in her hometown of Balzac so she and her sister were signed up for ringette.

Though she tried hockey when she got a little older, she soon returned to ringette.

'I really enjoy ringette,' she stated. 'It's a different strategy. You have more control over the ring. It's a way different game.'

Following the 2007 Canada Games, Harley has her sights set on the national team and eventually looking forward to becoming part of the National Ringette League. Even further down the road, Hartley sees herself potentially coaching other players in the sport.

While Hartley focuses on that gold medal for Team Alberta, the team could be up against some stiff competition from Team Ontario, which is seeking a gold medal hat trick at the Whitehorse Games.

'They have some huge shoes to fill,' Sharolyn Wouters, who is one of three coaches for Team Ontario, said of her team members.

A current forward for Team Canada and the Cambridge Turbos, Wouters attended the Canada Winter Games in Grande Prairie in 1995 for Team Ontario.

To go compete in the sport she loves was 'awesome' as well as a great learning experience for the then 15-year-old. It also gave her the opportunity to travel to a more northern area.

'It's basically a mini-Olympics,' she said, though she added she was a little overwhelmed by such a big event when she was only 15.

The experience also saw many friendships formed among team members.

In 2003, Wouters came back to the Canada Games as a coach for Team Ontario. She noted many of the players likely wouldn't have the chance to come to Whitehorse if the Games weren't in town.

For her own team, Wouters is hopeful the players will have a good time as they work towards the gold medal.

Similar to Team Alberta, members of Team Ontario come from all over the province and play for other teams as well. That means having to schedule a training session over one weekend every month where the girls are on the ice five or six times over three days.

There's also a fitness test done at every training camp along with about four tournaments played over the year.

While the team is expected to do their own work-outs and training when they're not at a weekend camp, Wouters will often join team members who are based in Toronto for workouts.

In other areas of the province, there are usually a few members who get together to train.

During the fitness tests, Wouters noted she's been pleased to see the fitness level continually go up in all her players.

Ringette is scheduled to be played at the Canada Games Centre and Takhini Arena during the first week of the Games, with competition happening every day from Feb. 23 to March 1, when the medals will be presented.