Timekeeper's Guide to Ringette Canada Shot Clock and Scoresheet 2026-27

Before the game: each team records on the Official Game Report the names and numbers of all eligible players, marking goaltenders, alternate goaltenders, captains and alternate captains, and also the names of team staff. Only people registered on the report may occupy the players' bench. The on-ice officials make sure you have obtained and verified each team's lineup.

During the game, you record:

• goals scored, the scorers, and who is credited with assists;
• penalties, the numbers of the penalized players, the times penalties are assessed, started and ended, and the times penalized players return to the ice; and
• the use of team timeouts.

The on-ice officials tell you which player scored and who gets assists, and which player was penalized and for what infraction.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rule 7.3 and Annex A sections 3.e to 3.g and 4.a.

• The timekeeper signs it and returns it to the scorekeeper.
• The shot clock official signs it.
• The on-ice officials check and sign it and return it to the scorekeeper (if applicable).
• The scorekeeper makes sure it has been signed by the timekeeper, the shot clock official and the on-ice officials, signs it, and forwards it to the person responsible for such reports.

The on-ice officials report all Misconduct and Match penalties in detail on the Official Game Report.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, Annex A sections 3.h, 3.i, 4.d, 5.e and 6.c.

The shot clock official is responsible for operating the shot clock. They must be positioned so they can see the rink and follow play while being protected from interference or distraction by spectators or team staff, and the on-ice officials must be able to communicate easily with them. At the end of the game the shot clock official signs the Official Game Report.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, Annex A section 6.

The shot clock is set to thirty seconds at the beginning of each period and counts down only when the game clock counts down. It is started when play is started and stopped when play is stopped.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 24.3.a and 24.3.c.

The shot clock is set to thirty seconds at the start of each period and after a goal is scored. It is also reset to thirty seconds when:

1. the team in possession of the ring takes a shot on goal;
2. control of the ring changes from one team to the other;
3. a delayed penalty is signalled (additional delayed penalties signalled before play is stopped do not reset it again);
4. a penalty causes the non-penalized team to commit a violation and play is stopped as a result;
5. a player on the team not in control of the ring commits a violation and play is stopped as a result;
6. a player on the team not last in control of the ring is injured and play is stopped as a result; or
7. the two shot clocks display different times during a stoppage in play.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 24.3.a, 24.3.b and 24.3.d.

When the shot clock reaches zero seconds, an audible signal should sound and:

1. play is stopped, because the team last in control of the ring has committed a violation;
2. the shot clock is reset to thirty seconds; and
3. the ring is awarded to the non-offending team, in the nearest circle within the zone in which the ring was last contacted or controlled.

A goaltender ring may be awarded in place of a defensive free pass.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rule 24.3.e.

• Audible signal sounds in error: play is stopped, the shot clock is reset to thirty seconds, and the ring is awarded to the team last in control of the ring, in the nearest circle within the zone where the ring was last contacted or controlled. During the delayed calling of a penalty, the ring goes to the non-penalized team instead. A goaltender ring may be awarded in place of a defensive free pass.
• Shot clock reset in error: play continues.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 24.3.f and 24.3.g.

The shot clock display units should be turned off when there is less time remaining in the period than there is on the shot clock. If the display units cannot be turned off, the shot clock should be reset to thirty seconds and stopped.

Two identical display units are required, one in each end zone. If the two displays show different times during a stoppage in play, the shot clock is reset to thirty seconds.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 24.2.a, 24.3.d(7) and 24.3.h.

A shot on goal is taken when the team in possession of the ring legally propels it toward the other team's goal and:

• the ring enters the net;
• the ring contacts a goal post or the crossbar;
• the ring contacts the goaltender or AGK within the goal crease; or
• the ring contacts the goaltender outside the goal crease and that contact prevents the ring from entering the net.

A shot on goal resets the shot clock to thirty seconds.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 24.1 and 24.3.d(1).

• Lengths: a Minor penalty is two minutes; an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty is two minutes, fully served; a Major penalty is four minutes, fully served.
• Timing: penalty time is served in the penalty bench and is actual playing time. If the game is being played running time, the penalty starts when the on-ice official blows the whistle to resume play.
• Limit: a maximum of two players per team can serve penalties at once. Extra penalized players wait in the penalty bench and serve their penalties in the order they were assessed, only after a teammate's penalty expires.
• Release: "first expired, first out". A player who has finished a penalty but cannot be released because the team is at its maximum strength stays in the penalty bench until play is stopped.
• Scorekeeper duties: tell penalized players, on request, the time remaining; tell them when their penalty has expired and release them at the correct time; and, if a player leaves the penalty bench early, note the time and inform an on-ice official.
• Timekeeper duty: if the scoreboard is capable, display the time remaining in penalties being served.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 20.3, 20.5, 21.1 to 21.3 and Annex A sections 4.b, 4.c and 5.a.

• Each team is entitled to one thirty-second timeout per game, plus one additional thirty-second timeout for every full-length overtime period.
• A timeout request is made by a player on the ice or a team staff member to an on-ice official during a stoppage in play. The on-ice officials decide whether to grant it.
• No more than one timeout per team is permitted during the same stoppage. If both teams take a timeout in the same stoppage, they run one after the other for one minute in total, and the second team must ask before the first timeout expires.
• The timekeeper times the thirty seconds of a timeout where that is possible without interrupting the game or penalty time.
• The scorekeeper records each timeout on the Official Game Report.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 6.5.a to 6.5.d and Annex A sections 4.a(3) and 5.d.

A regulation game should consist of:

• U16 and older at the AA level: four ten-minute periods of actual playing time (stop time).
• U16 and older below AA: two twenty-minute periods.
• U14 and younger: two fifteen-minute periods.

If periods of those lengths are not possible, equal-length periods are played. Overtime is at the discretion of the tournament organizers or local governing body, overtime periods should be the same length as regulation periods, and any penalty not expired at the end of regulation time remains in effect.

Source: Ringette Canada Official Rules and Case Book 2025-2027, rules 6.1, 6.2 and 6.4.