Team Manager's Guide to Ringette Canada Team Management 2026-27

Ringette Canada's provincial and territorial Members register all athletes, officials and coaches under their jurisdiction with Ringette Canada and pay the registration fees by 15 February of the playing season. Athletes register with only one Member at a time unless they are an affiliate player. Transfers and releases are managed under the Members' own policies and procedures. Athletes registering for international play must register with a Ringette Canada Member.

Source: Ringette Canada Registration and Eligibility Policy (last reviewed March 2020), sections 3 to 6, https://www.ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/policies/Registration-and-Eligibility-Policy.pdf.

Age is counted as of 31 December of the playing season.

• Female teams: U14, U16, U19, Open (18 and over), Masters (30 and over), Seniors (50 and over).
• Male teams: U15, U17, U20, Open (19 and over), Masters (30 and over), Seniors (50 and over).
• Co-Ed teams (at least two gender identities): U9, U10, U12, U14, U16, U19, Open (18 and over), Masters (30 and over), Seniors (50 and over).

Team classification: AAA is Ringette Canada's National Teams in international play; AA is teams eligible for the Canadian Ringette Championships; other categories are set by the provincial or territorial Member.

Source: Ringette Canada Registration and Eligibility Policy (last reviewed March 2020), sections 7 to 11, https://www.ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/policies/Registration-and-Eligibility-Policy.pdf.

The provincial or territorial Member (not the team) applies for entry by 15 December of the competition season (or the first Monday after, if it falls on a weekend). The application must include a written commitment to pay the full entry fee for each team, verification that each team is in good standing and is a registered "AA" level team in that province, and for each team: home city or region, home and away jersey colours, home local association, head coach's name, and bench staff certification as verified by the Provincial Sport Organization.

Ringette Canada tells Members their entry status ("in the competition" or "on the waiting list") within one week after the Entry Date. A team that commits to attend, is allocated a position, and then withdraws after the Intent to Enter deadline is in default: it forfeits its entry fee and receives a $2000 fine payable by its Provincial Territorial Sport Organization to Ringette Canada.

Source: Ringette Canada Competition Policy (PolicyOP-03, 2024), sections 6, 29, 32 and 42, https://ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PolicyOP-03_2024_Competition_EN.pdf.

Under Ringette Canada's Competition Policy for the Canadian Ringette Championships (CRC):

• Rosters: rosters for teams whose Entry Application was received by the Entry Date must be submitted to the Ringette Canada office no later than 31 January of the competition year. Failing to submit by the deadline (or an alternative date arranged with Ringette Canada) results in disqualification.
• Changes: rosters may not be changed after the provincial registration deadline or 31 January, whichever is earlier. After that, athletes may be altered only for injury (with medical documentation that the athlete is not medically fit) and an athlete can be added only if another has been placed on the non-active roster for medical reasons. Athletes added after the deadline may not have appeared on the roster of another team selected to attend the CRC as of 31 January.
• Staff: all team staff must be registered and in good standing with Ringette Canada by the registration deadline for the competition, without exception, and only the number of bench staff permitted in the Technical Package may be on the bench. Staff roster changes can be requested in writing by the Provincial Sport Organization, with valid rationale, 7 days before the championship starts, and all coaches must attend the coaches' meeting.

Source: Ringette Canada Competition Policy (PolicyOP-03, 2024), sections 15, 16, 36 to 41, https://ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PolicyOP-03_2024_Competition_EN.pdf.

Before the game, the team records on the Official Game Report the names and numbers of all players eligible to play, marking which are goaltenders, alternate goaltenders, captains or alternate captains. The names of team staff members must also be recorded. Only people registered on the Official Game Report are permitted to occupy the players' bench.

Players who are late are still allowed to take part if their names were recorded on the report before the game.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 7.3 and 7.3.a.

Under Ringette Canada's Official Rules, a Misconduct penalty is committed if a team staff member:

• uses obscene, profane or abusive language or gestures toward any person;
• persists in disputing, or shows disrespect for, an on-ice official's ruling; or
• steps onto the ice during the game, except for a player injury. A staff member attending an injured player must go directly to that player and may not discuss the play with the officials while on the ice; if they instead dispute the ruling, a Misconduct penalty is assessed.

A team staff member assessed a Misconduct or Match penalty is ejected from the game, and no player serves any penalty because of the staff ejection. The ejected person must leave the enclosed playing and seating area; refusing to do so means the team forfeits the game.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 16.1, 20.10.b(3) and 20.10.c.

• Timeouts: each team has one thirty-second timeout per game, plus one more for each full-length overtime period. A player on the ice or a team staff member asks an on-ice official during a stoppage in play, and the on-ice officials decide whether to grant it. Only one timeout per team is permitted in the same stoppage. No rings are allowed on the ice during timeouts, and team staff, who cannot be on the ice, address the team from the players' bench.
• Equipment measurements: these are carried out only on request by a team through a captain, alternate captain or team staff member at a stoppage in play. The request must name the specific dimension to be measured (for example tip, width or length) or the stick compatibility issue.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 5.11.a and 6.5.

Under Ringette Manitoba's Team Staff Policy, managers must be a certified member of the team staff as stipulated by Ringette Canada and Ringette Manitoba. Managers are not permitted on the ice at any division, and are not permitted on the bench at any level or division above U12.

Source: Ringette Manitoba Team Staff Policy, https://ringettemanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Team-Staff-policy.pdf (section 3.2).

Under Ringette Manitoba's Team Staff Policy:

• 1 October: screening must be completed (no team staff may participate with a team until all required screening documents are done), and the Bench Staff Code of Conduct must be signed off and submitted. Bench staff who miss the deadline are ineligible for further league play until the form is completed, and ineligible for the rest of the season if 15 January passes.
• 15 January: team staff must be certified. Staff who do not meet this deadline are deleted from the official roster and cannot take part in further league play, playoffs or Provincials. No substitutions to bench staff on Ringette Manitoba rosters are allowed after 15 January unless unforeseen circumstances arise, in which case a request may be made to Ringette Manitoba.
• Bench limit: no more than five team staff on the bench at any one time.
• Recognized positions: Head Coach, Assistant Coach, Manager, Trainer, Apprentice Coach, Junior Coach and R4U Squad Support.
• Unlisted staff: if team staff on the bench are not listed on the official Ringette Manitoba team registration form, the game may be forfeited.
• Fees: each team staff member on a Ringette Manitoba roster is charged a Ringette Canada registration fee and a Sport Manitoba insurance fee, unless already paid as a player or official.

Source: Ringette Manitoba Team Staff Policy, https://ringettemanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Team-Staff-policy.pdf (sections 4.3, 5.e, 5.h to 5.l, 5.q and 7).

Under Ringette Manitoba's Team Staff Policy (last reviewed 19 August 2025):

• Trainers: anyone listed as a trainer on an official Ringette Manitoba roster must be 18 or older. Teams in U16 AA, U16 A, U19 AA and U19 A must have one team staff member with standard first aid certification (or active employment in a recognized health care profession), identified to and certified with Ringette Manitoba. Accepted certifications are Medical Doctor/Student, Firefighter, Registered Nurse, Paramedic, Athletic Therapist, or Standard First Aid (a 2 day, 12 to 15 hour course). Emergency First Aid (a 1 day, 7 to 8 hour course) is not accepted. Someone listed only as a trainer is not permitted on the ice unless attending to an injury.
• Rule of two: there must always be two screened (CARF and CRC completed) and NCCP trained or certified coaches with an athlete in a vulnerable situation. One-on-one interaction between a coach and an athlete must take place within earshot and view of a second coach, except in medical emergencies, and one of the coaches must be the same gender as the athlete. If a second coach is unavailable, a screened volunteer, parent or adult can be recruited. Bench staff must notify Ringette Manitoba if they see the rule not being followed.

Source: Ringette Manitoba Team Staff Policy, https://ringettemanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Team-Staff-policy.pdf (sections 3.3 and 5.f, 5.g).