The ringette community in Central Alberta is mourning the loss of a passionate player and leader on and off the ice.
In 2020, Dallas Smith turned her dream into reality by founding the Central Alberta Open Ringette League (CABO). Dallas always envisioned ringette being accessible to adults of all skill levels across multiple communities. Starting with just a single team, Dallas expanded the league to over 80 players, who now play approximately 60 games per season.
Karlee Prins grew up playing ringette with Dallas in Lacombe. Karlee now participates in the Central Alberta Open Ringette League.
"Ringette was everything to her," said Karlee. "Her love for the sport began from her mom. Bev Smith is a huge ambassador for the sport in our community and just an incredible advocate for the sport as well. Dallas grew up with that and developed her own love and passion for not just the sport but to empower women and young girls to create a space that's for them to flourish and to have a place to belong. She did that in every aspect of her life, whether she was coaching, being a player, or being a mentor. That's just how she lived. Ringette to her was truly more than just a hobby. It was her passion."
Karlee says before the CABO was created, players had to travel to Edmonton, which wasn't always ideal given the time restraints of everyday life.
"It was Dallas' vision to create something that was a sustainable organization within Central Alberta that women from all walks of life could come and play so that we didn't have to drive so far," explained Karlee, who added the league was great way to get more players to join the sport.
Alongside her full-time job, parenting, and coaching, Dallas juggled all the responsibilities of running CABO, from scheduling games and organizing events to paying bills and managing a variety of personalities.
"It was her at the heart and soul of everything that happened within that organization," remarked Karlee.
The Central Alberta Open Ringette League is operated out of Lacombe with games played on Sundays and Wednesdays. Teams also travel around to surrounding communities such as Olds or Eckville to accommodate players from other parts of the region.
Karlee has a daughter of her own playing at the U19 level. This will be her last year playing in the minor ringette association.
"They will now have somewhere to play," said Karlee. "That's super cool to be able to continue the passion and love that they have developed over the years but knowing that Dallas is at the heart of that too."
Karlee said Dallas was the definition of a leader.
"She made everybody, no matter where they came from, it didn't matter their skill level, she made them feel heard and valued, like they had a place to belong. She was always laughing, smiling, joking...She never took things too seriously. She was just a bright light, always smiling and giving of herself."
The Heart of Ringette Memorial Award has been created in Dallas' memory for the Lacombe Ringette Association. It will be handed out each year to a player that demonstrates the qualities that Dallas was so well known for. Coaches will nominate players for the award.
Stickers with the number 10 (Dallas' number) will also be displayed on all of the players' helmets.
Karlee explained that Dallas' daughter Grace currently plays ringette in the U12 age group.
"It's really important that they still feel her presence on the ice as well," she commented. "That's where we created these stickers so that they can still be thinking of her and knowing that she's kind of yelling into their ear to skate harder and keep going."
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