Policy #6 - Competitive Team Operations - Effective 2024-09-16

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to define the operational parameters for Timmins Ringette Association competitive teams.

PROCEDURE

The Board of Directors will approve the Head Coach for the competitive teams no later than April 15 each year. The Head Coach of a competitive team is responsible and accountable for their team's operations and commitments until May 31 following the competitive season.

IMPLEMENTATION

1. All bench staff must be properly registered on the RAMP registration system by July 1st.
2. Teams must submit their preferred tournament selections pursuant to Ringette Ontario guidelines.
3. The Ice Scheduler, in collaboration with the Head Coach, will allocate a minimum of two hours of tryout time for each competitive team and arrange ice time bookings. Each team will collect fees from each player for each hour of tryout ice time and submit it to the Timmins Ringette Association Treasurer along with duplicate receipts.
4. Coaches and Bench Staff are responsible for collectively completing all required Ringette Ontario courses by the specified due dates for the season, as verified by the Director of Coach Development.
5. Team Managers are responsible for registering their teams for all approved tournaments, paying attention to registration deadlines. Once all registration and acceptance documentation is received from the Team Manager, the Timmins Ringette Association Treasurer will make necessary payments to the tournament organizing committee.
6. Fundraising:
   
   1. All fundraising activities must receive prior approval from the Board.
   2. Any fundraising efforts must be related to the Timmins Ringette Association Competitive Program for team development and not for any individual player.
   3. Individual sponsor Name Bars are not permitted on Timmins Ringette competitive team jerseys or equipment.
   4. The maximum fundraising limit for competitive teams, including sponsorships and bingo, is $9,000 (This does not include money collected from registration fees). Any increase beyond this limit requires approval from the Board of Directors on a case-by-case basis.
   5. Teams will receive four bingo shares per season, with the share value determined by the Board at the first meeting of each fiscal year.
   6. FUNDRAISING AND SPONSORSHIP MONEY CAN ONLY BE USED FOR ICE COSTS AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT.  THE PURCHASE OF PERSONAL ITEMS SUCH AS APPAREL AND NOVELTY ITEMS IS NOT PERMITTED.
7. An initial team fee of $250 will be collected from each player by the team manager at the beginning of the season to cover expenses as outlined in Appendix D.
8. In January, managers may collect additional fees from players/parents if necessary.
9. All collected funds must be submitted to the Association Treasurer, accompanied by a detailed report and duplicate receipts.
10. The acquisition of apparel or novelty items for players or team staff must be coordinated by the Team Manager, who will be responsible for ordering and collecting payment from participating team members.  Funds collected from players / parents for these purchases are separate from those required for team operations.
11. Bench Staff are expected to contribute to the Timmins Ringette Association, either through coaching or assisting a house league team, aiding in Tournament preparations and events, participating in Timmins Ringette Association fundraising, or actively serving on the Board.
12. Timmins Ringette Association is prepared to cover pre-approved coach course costs for coaches in U14 and younger divisions on the condition that those coaches assist with a house league team as either a head coach or assistant coach.   Reimbursement for other coach training may be approved by the Executive Committee and the Coach Development Director on a case by case basis.
13. All competitive team players must:
    
    1. Register with their home association and pay house league registration fees,
    2. Actively participate in 75% of House League activities during the season.
    3. Player’s attendance will be monitored monthly. The Board will review any attendance issues which may result in removal on the competitive program.   
14. Competitive team players are expected to assist with Timmins Ringette Association Season events if required (bunny program, practices, Bring a Friend, Fun Day, Father/Daughter game, challenge cup, etc.).
15. Players must wear the Timmins Ringette Association competitive team uniform when representing the Timmins Ringette Association competitive program.
16. Item #16 ONLY applies to the U12A team.   The U12A team will be supplied with a team set of competitive jerseys and a jersey bag.  The Team Manager will be responsible for distributing the Competitive team’s jerseys allocated to each of that team’s players at the beginning of a tournament and collecting them at the tournament's end with the understanding that they should be returned in a clean state temporarily to the Association upon request if needed for house league tournaments.    All other competitive teams, please refer to Appendix C.
17. In cases where the Association has surplus ice time that could be returned to the city, the opportunity for extra ice will first be offered to a competitive team for their use, even with short notice.
18. Each A team will have a $1,000 allowance to manage minor expenses, like exhibition games and team supplies. The Manager and Head Coach, aided by the Treasurer, will be responsible for setting up an account under Timmins Ringette Association. The Manager must submit associated invoices/receipt to the Treasurer for reconciliation. The Manager must submit an updated monthly budget no later than the 10th day of every month to the Treasurer as well as a budget to the parents/players in October, January, and season end.
19. Timmins Ringette Association will provide a basic first aid kit, practice jerseys and rings at the season's start. Any additional supplies are the team's responsibility.
20. A-Team activities, including practices and team bonding, must not conflict with house league games or practices.
21. The Association's Board of Directors reserves the right to make changes to the competitive team program if such changes are deemed to be in the best interest of the Timmins Ringette Association.
22. All Bench Staff members are mandated to peruse this policy then acknowledge and agree to the terms of the policy by signing Appendix “A” (attached) and returning the completed Appendix “A” to the Secretary at secretary@timminsringette.com no later than October 1st.

APPENDICIES

• Appendix “A”             Bench Staff Acknowledgement
• Appendix “B”             U14A - U19A Try Outs / U12A Evaluations
• Appendix “C”             Competitive Team Jerseys
• Appendix “D”             Typical Expenditure Allocations

APPENDIX “A”

Bench Staff Acknowledgement

We the undersigned have perused this policy and we agree to abide by the terms laid out in the policy.

Team Division:

 
Year
 
           

Bench Staff:

___________________________    ________________________          __________________

Name (signature)                                         Position                                 Date

___________________________    ________________________          _________________ 

Name (signature)                                         Position                                 Date

___________________________    ________________________          __________________

Name (signature                                           Position                                 Date

___________________________    ________________________          __________________

Name (signature)                                         Position                                 Date

___________________________    ________________________          __________________

Name (signature)                                         Position                                 Date

___________________________    ________________________          __________________

Name (signature)                                         Position                                 Date

APPENDIX “B”

U14A - U19A Try Outs / U12A Evaluations

Each player who is trying out or being evaluated for an “A” level competitive team must participate in all scheduled try outs / evaluations.   A fee of $20.00 will be collected per player, per session.

If a player cannot attend a scheduled try out / evaluation they must send an email to secretary@timminsringette.com who will then help schedule other arrangements with the Competitive Director and Head Coach of the respective competitive team to ensure that a fair and equal evaluation is done on all players.   The same fee will be collected as was for the scheduled try out / evaluation.

All fees will be collected by the Timmins Ringette Association and will be used in order as follows:

1. All ice time costs associated with all try outs / evaluations at all levels.
2. Other costs associated with conducting the Try Outs / Evaluations.
3. Any surplus of fees collected will be shared equally amongst each of the “A” level competitive teams with the following qualifications:
   1. Funds must be used for team development (ice, dryland, exhibition costs, training equipment)
   2. Funds will not count against fundraising cap as identified under IMPLEMENTATION item #6(d) in the policy

This will help to ensure that all “A” level competitive teams start each season on an equal footing and allows for the teams to show their appreciation for the time the evaluators take to ensure each and every athlete gets a fair chance.

APPENDIX “C”

Competitive Team Jerseys

1. Timmins Ringette Association does not provide game jerseys for competitive team athletes in the U14, U16 or U19 divisions.
2. Timmins Ringette Association will provide three spare (home/visitor) jerseys and a jersey bag to each competitive team in the U14, U16 and U19 divisions.   There will be 2 sets in player sizes and 1 set in a goalie size.   If any of the jerseys are damaged then they must be replaced by the competitive team.
3. Each athlete is responsible to provide a set of jerseys (home/visitor) for themselves, which can be used in multiple seasons and must be ordered through the Timmins Ringette Association.   Each competitive team must provide a list of required jerseys each season, including jersey number, size and last name, no later than May 15 each year.
4. It is strongly recommended that the jerseys be kept in a garment bag or other protective covering.
5. Jersey numbers can be between 1 and 99 except for 50, 51 or 52 (these are for the Association’s spare sets) and will assigned as follows:
   1. Athlete’s choice of number
      1. In the event of a conflict of choices then the senior long term athlete choice shall prevail.
      2. If an athlete wants a certain jersey number but is being used by senior athlete in an older division then the choice can be accepted.   If the situation ever arises where the two athletes are members of the same competitive team then the junior athlete must provide themselves with a new set of jerseys and jersey number.  (ie: A first year U14A player can have the same jersey number as a first year U16A player but if they should both make the U19A team in the same season then the player who was the U14A player in this example must purchase new jerseys)
6. Individual sponsors for jerseys are not allowed as sponsorships are for player development only.
7. No jerseys will be distributed until payment has been received by the Association

Jersey Order Form

Click Here To Download Form

APPENDIX “D”

Typical Expenditure Allocations

The following are examples of typical competitive team expenditures that may be encountered during a season and against which revenue budget line these expenditures MUST be reflected.

Bingo / Sponsorship / Fundraising Revenues (MAX $9000.00)

** Monies received from Try Out fees and carry overs from prior year do not count towards the $9,000 cap but they must also follow the same restrictions as Bingo / Sponsorship / Fundraising revenues

** Please check with the Competitive Director prior to fundraising to ensure you know the total amount of bingo shares being allocated.

• Ice time costs for practices and exhibition games scheduled
• On-ice and minor officials costs for exhibition games scheduled
• Dryland training / conditioning sessions scheduled
• Equipment for team training (ie: Salamander Ladder, Cones)
• First aid supplies
• Team banners
• Team pictures
• Tournament registration fees

Mandatory Player Fee Revenue ($250.00 / Player)

• Ringette Ontario team registration and bench staff registration fees
• Tournament registration fees
• Team bonding events / Parties (ie: Christmas party / year end event)
• Gifts (ie: players or coaches)
• Swag or Novelty or Apparel items (Only if players / parents are in agreeance)
• Food or Drink Items (ie: Snacks / meals during tournaments or exhibition games)
• Prizes (ie: 1000 shot challenge)

Individual sponsorships are not permitted. This means that a parent/player cannot seek sponsorships from a business to cover their mandatory parent fee, any equipment (pants, stick, etc), fee nor any camp/clinic fee. This also means that a player/parent who gets any amount of money from a sponsorship, cannot allocate part of it to cover any of their personal fees (ei $250.00 mandatory parent/player fee, camps and/or clinics).

The above is not a comprehensive list.  You will note that Tournament Registration Fees can be covered by either revenue budget line.  If there is any doubt about where a proposed expenditure may be charged then the Competitive Director or a member of the Executive should be consulted.   The Treasurer can determine the validity of any expenditure allocation at any time.

APPENDIX “E”

U12 Competitive Teams Selection Matrix

 The following is the matrix that must be used when selecting players for the U12 competitive teams. 

1. The U12 competitive programs must have full rosters, where viable, consisting of 15 skaters and 2 goalies.
2. Priority must be given to age-appropriate players, specifically first- and second-year players within the U12 division.
3. To be selected, underaged players must be ranked as one of the top 5 skaters during the U12 evaluations when there are more than 15 skaters being evaluated.    In the event that there are fewer than 15 skaters being evaluated then underaged players must be ranked in the top one third of skaters being evaluated to be selected.
4. Up to 2 over-aged players may be selected for team viability purposes, but only if necessary to meet the minimum requirement of 10 skaters and 1 goalie on the Team Registration Form (TRF). No age-appropriate players may be cut from a U12 program to accommodate an over-aged player.
5. Evaluators will identify the top 10 skaters, who must be selected for the U12 team. Coaches and evaluators will collaboratively select the final 5 players after the last evaluation.