Ajax Ringette Association

Some of the Rules...

Ringette is played on any standard rink.
5 skaters and a goalie.
The object is to score goals in the net of your opponent.
A straight stick of wood, fibreglas or aluminum is used to pass, control and shoot an 8" hollow ring between teammates.
Play is started by a free pass similar to the start of a soccer game.
The player "taking the free pass" has five seconds to pass the ring to a teammate...and the game is on!
Any stoppage in play will result in a free pass to re-start the game, usually in the nearest free pass circle.
Some defensive free passes are replaced by a "goaltender ring".
Rules restrict any one player from carrying the ring the full length of the ice (no ring hogs).
The ring must be passed over each blue line to another player, which means more players can be involved in setting up the goals.
Free play lines (see Diagram) define restricted areas in the deep offensive and defensive zones.
Teams are allowed no more than 3 skaters at a time in these areas, so over-crowding is minimal.

Penalties

There is no intentional contact allowed in Ringette, with all rules geared towards safety.
The most common are body contact, tripping and interference.
Most penalties are 2 minutes but a 4 minute major is assessed for actions that are deemed intentional or particularly rough.

Age Divisions

Bunnies 7 yrs. & under
Novice 9 yrs. & under
Petite 11 yrs. & under
Tween 13 yrs. & under
Junior 15 yrs. & under
Belle 18 yrs. & under
Open 19 yrs. & over

Equipment

Mandatory Equipment
- CSA approved Helmet & Face mask
- BNQ Approved Neck Protector
- Elbow Pads
- Protective Gloves
- Hip/Tailbone/Genital Protection
- Shin Guards
- Hockey/Ringette Skates (no picks)
- Uniform Jersey
- Track Pants or "Cooper alls"
- Ringette Stick
- Shoulder Pads (Junior & Under)
Goalie Equipment (Extras or Different)
- Goal Pads
- Chest Protector
- Goal Stick
Optional Equipment
- Skaters: Mouth Guard
- Goalies: Goal Skates, Blocker, Trapper, Arm Pads, Goalie Mask, Plastic Throat Protector (must still have a BNQ Throat Protector on)

The Rink

Teams have 1 goalie, 1 center, 2 forwards, and 2 defense on the ice while full strength. Any Team A Free Pass would be taken from the shaded half of the Free Pass Circle, unless it is a Goalkeeper Ring.

Bylaws

Ice Management Policy - Home Game Ice Procedures
As of now (November 20, 2004) the PRA Exec expect the following to happen:

Time Keepers are to put 3:00 minutes on the clock when the equipment door closes and start it running when all the players are on the ice. That means a timekeeper/scorekeeper needs to be in the box when the flood is finished. Similar to a "time out" it is expected that some small time is allowed for the players to take the ice just as in a "time out" some small time is allowed for the players to get to the bench before the :30 second timeout clock starts to run.
Should the on ice officials not be on the ice with 1:00 minute remaining in the 3:00 minutes the timekeeper/scorekeeper is to go to the Officials room and request that they take the ice.
Similar to tournament play the 3:00 minutes are for warm-up, cheer, etc. and then the game begins.

Some House League situations will make it difficult to institute this policy but we should try, they're learning.

The purpose of this policy is to manage the most costly portion of the PRA budget in a fair and even manner. Additionally it is important to consider teams from outside PRA or Ajax that play on our ice.

Example: Your team drives all the way to Waterloo or Manvers, someplace far, on a Sunday, you start your game late, you get curfewed with 3:00 or 4:00 minutes on the clock, you lose by 1 goal, everyone goes home happy.

Ice Management Policies - Allocation - Game Scheduling and Fines

It is important all coaches understand the commitment Pickering Ringette has towards delivering a quality program. The City of Pickering has allocated 19 hours of ice per week to operate our program at a cost of approximately $70,000, arguably our single highest expense. To ensure all teams benefit, the association has adopted the following policies concerning ice usage by teams:

Teams must disclose their plans to attend tournaments by September 15^th for A/AA teams and October 15^thfor B/C teams. Disclosure prevents excessive e-mails and difficulties related to reaching mutually agreeable dates to reschedule games.

On occasion teams may not be accepted into their tournaments of choice. Teams should disclose to the league as soon as possible tournaments their team will not attend. Failure to do so may result in the team losing valuable practice opportunities.

Teams rescheduled into another tournament must provide a minimum of two weeks notice prior to participation into the tournament to allow for the rescheduling of games and practice ice. Subsequent notification within two weeks of a tournament may result in a $300 fine to be levied at the discretion of the PRA executive.

Games may only be cancelled by weather conditions which compromise the safety of teams traveling to the arena. The coach must declare their intention to cancel a game to their league representative and the coach of the visiting team as soon as possible. Team's forfeiting games on any other reason other than weather conditions may be levied a $300 fine at the discretion of the PRA executive.
A visiting team may only cancel games due to weather conditions. Only games cancelled due to weather conditions will be rescheduled. All other situations will be considered a forfeit by the visiting team. The coach is expected to conduct a practice in lieu of the game unless weather conditions prevent players from safely traveling to the arena. Pickering Ringette will make representation to recover the ice and officiating costs.
The coach, particularly if the team is prevalent with players participating in full time or part time jobs must ensure in advance player participation to ensure the game is not forfeited. Coaches are reminded they may substitute players onto their roster as long as the number of players does not exceed 11. Players may be substituted onto a roster up to 2 times and must have permission from the coach of the player's team. Team contact, practice and game schedules are available on the Pickering Ringette website: http://www.pickeringringette.ca/ to assist coaches with call-ups.

Coaches will be given an opportunity to review and approve their game schedule. Once the team has signed off on the schedule, games cannot be cancelled due to lack of player participation. Team's forfeiting games (home or away) for any reason other than weather conditions may be levied a $300 fine at the discretion of the PRA executive.

The City of Pickering periodically through the season conducts ice audits to ensure the association is utilizing its ice allocation. Teams must consider other associations covet the ice slots allocated to Pickering Ringette. The City of Pickering in future ice meetings could allocate less hours of available ice if the city determines the association is not adequately utilizing allocated ice.

In addition, practice ice is at a premium. Teams unable to place 7 skaters on the ice must cancel the practice 3 days prior to the scheduled practice. The ice scheduler will have an opportunity to reallocate the ice to another team. Teams skating with less than 7 skaters or canceling their practice ice within 3 days of the scheduled practice may be levied the cost of the ice ($145 full ice, $72.50 half ice) at the discretion of the PRA executive.

All fines levied by the PRA executive will result in the loss of all practice ice until the fine is paid.
Teams are encouraged to augment their designated practice times by purchasing additional hours of ice. Teams may source additional ice themselves or request assistance from the ice scheduler.
Helmets must be worn on the ice by all participants (players and coaches). Coaches must notify the league of any individual (not on the bench staff or registered players) regularly assisting on ice. The league must ensure every participant is properly insured prior to the individual stepping onto the ice.
For Contact Information, please see executive section.