RO MEMBER NOTICE

April 23, 2026

2026-27 Season: Team Staff Requirements and Deadlines

In an effort to get this information to Clubs and team staff as early as possible, Ringette Ontario is announcing the following changes to team staff requirements for the 2026-2027 season:

• The Bench Staff Qualification Deadline for U14-U19A and AA teams will be September 15, 2026.

This includes:

o Ringette-specific NCCP clinic required for the level of play (Competition-Introduction)

o E-learning modules

o Screening requirements

This excludes Competition-Introduction certification (evaluation) completion and the completion of the competition-development annual module required for the Canadian Ringette Championships. The deadline for these requirements will continue to be January 31, 2027.

Bench staff on U14-U19A and AA teams who register after September 15th will need to meet qualification requirements prior to having their membership activated by Ringette Ontario. This means they cannot participate in any team activities until they meet the current requirements.

Ringette Ontario is committed to offering several in-person and some virtual offerings of the Competition-Introduction clinic required for training at these competition levels throughout the Spring and Summer of 2026.

• The Bench Staff Qualification Deadline for House league, FUN1, FUN2, U10, U12, U14B/C- U19 B/C and 18+AA-Development will be October 31, 2026.

Bench staff registering after October 31st will need to meet qualification requirements prior to having their membership activated by Ringette Ontario. This means they cannot participate in any team activities until they meet the requirements.

Ringette Ontario will offer several in-person and virtual offerings of the Ringette Community Coach clinic throughout the Summer and Fall of 2026 to meet the demand prior to this deadline.

• All screening requirements must be completed prior to the team staff being placed on a TRF and participating in sanctioned team activities.

• Any updates to the coach certification pathways and requirements (to align with Ringette Canada) will be posted and communicated to Club Presidents and Coaching Coordinators no later than June 1, 2026.

These deadline adjustments are being implemented to ensure the safety of our participants and to provide coaches and athletes with the appropriate level of development from the start of the season.

NCCP Make Ethical Decisions – Change Effective April 2026

Making Ethical Decisions (MED) training and evaluation have been combined into one eLearning module available through The Locker. MED training will no longer be offered through facilitated delivery (in person, virtual-synchronous, home study) through the Coaches Association of Ontario. Training and evaluation will be accessed in the same eLearning module available in The Locker.

For more information click here: https://coach.ca/med-partners

This change will allow coaches to complete both the training and evaluation on their own time in the same location that houses other NCCP eLearning. The move to eLearning will also ensure bench staff are able to complete the requirement prior to their deadline as they will not be waiting for in-person dates to become available through the CAO.