What is Children's Ringette?

Children’s Ringette refers to all programs up to and including U10 and U12 programs introducing participants to the sport for the first time.

Ringette Canada and its member provincial ringette organizations have come together to commit to adopting small-area games as a cornerstone of its Children's Ringette initiatives. This commitment comes after more than three years of extensive work reviewing how the system of competition supports the long-term development of athletes, including extensive work with volunteer working groups and provincial ringette associations.

The Children’s Ringette initiative represents a concerted effort to make adjustments to ringette practices and competitions to meet the needs of children, while promoting a fun, safe and healthy environment which supports the development of physical literacy and the long-term development of all players.  

Over the course of the coming seasons, a number of positive changes will be introduced starting with the phasing in of small-area games (cross-ice and half-ice ringette) as the standard of play. This change will be introduced as follows:

• U8 players in 2019/20
• U9 players in 2020/21
• U10 players in 2021/22  

As these changes are phased in, Ringette Canada will be working with provincial ringette associations around other areas of activity, including support resources for coaches, and guidance on team formation and managing player progression.  

What does this mean for ringette on PEI?

During the 2018/19 season, a number of provincial and local associations worked with Ringette Canada to gather feedback from participants (players, parents, coaches and event organizers) on their experiences in order to identify which game formats best suit development.

See the Ringette PEI U8 Jamboree format here

Jamboree dates for this season: Please note: Due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, the normal Jamboree format is not possible. Associations will be working to come up with modified formats so the U8 teams will get to experience half ice games.

• Charlottetown- 
• Summerside- 
• Souris-
• Rustico- 
• Montague- 

Why small-area games?

Small-area games support development by scaling the game to the size of participants. Benefits of small-area games include:

• Each player being able to spend more time with the ring, leading to improved ring control, passing and shooting skills
• More opportunities to apply practiced skills
• More opportunities to accelerate/decelerate and change directions reinforcing fundamental skating skills
• Smaller nets provide an appropriate challenge for skaters and goalies

All of these benefits result in an appropriate level of challenge, a better learning environment, and more fun.

For more information about Ringette Canada's Children's Ringette Initiatives, the benefits of small-area games and to learn about what's happening in your province please visit: https://www.ringette.ca/programs/childrensringette/

Ringette Canada has produced a Jamboree Guide which outlines a number of playing options. This guide is a working document that will form the basis of more formal guidelines to be put in place for the 2019/2020 season.