The Road to Ringette in High School

  1. The first step is to find athletes wanting to be on a ringette team, whether they are currently on a community based ringette team or are new and would like to learn the sport. They must attend the same school as you. A good starting point would be to coordinate a pick-up ringette or intramural game, which would help establish interest within the school.
    • It’s important to remember that ringette is still a relatively new sport. The more students with an interest, the better chance of establishing a school team. Whether it’s grade nine students or grade twelve students, AA level right through to C level- a high school team will eventually get seeded once it gets some momentum.
    • At the onset, it’s important to accept all players and all skaters. If someone is willing to learn, be willing to teach. Start small, along the lines of some Shinny Ringette intramural games. From there, consider a school sport to play against another school.
  2. Approach a member of the school, such as a teacher you know well, to enlist their help in getting started.
  3. Contact other athletes with a common interest in ringette and encourage them to get a team started at their school, too.
  4. The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) – www.offsaa.on.ca is the sports governing body. Check it out.
  5. Each area of the province has a representative that would help tremendously in the quest to get a team started. Find out who the rep is in your area by emailing . This information can also be found through the OFSAA website.
  6. Use the same email address ([email protected]) to request information about  how to start high school ringette and become familiar with regulations surrounding the sport.
  7. OFSAA has eligibility requirements and application forms that need to be completed in order to form school teams. This is normal protocol for all school ringette teams. A teacher or OFSAA representative can offer guidance in completing these forms.
  8. It might seem like there are a lot of steps involved in establishing a high school ringette team, but don’t get discouraged! To continue as a high school sport, ringette needs to get sanctioned and to get sanctioned, ringette needs YOU! Play shinny ringette, intramural ringette, gym ringette and if the interest and registration numbers are there, the next step would be a “High School Ringette” team! This could turn into a league, tournament, provincial high school festival and once sanctioning is achieved, a “Provincial High School Ringette Championship Tournament”!
  9. Once you’ve made progress, let the Athlete Development ORA know! We will post your progress on the ORA website. Other schools can deploy helpful tips and strategies recommended through your experiences, as well! Spread the word!