Alberta Winter Games

1. Which athletes will be selected for the team:
   1. The top 10 skaters and top 2 goalies per ZONE will advance to the team draft phase. The remaining 40 available positions will be selected from the next top 40 athletes in the province.
   2. You can find the zone for your athlete here – zone limits are set by Alberta Sport. 
   3. Players must try-out in the zone that relates to their address.
2. Athletes born between 2008-2011 are eligible to try out, however 2010 and 2011 athletes will have a chance to compete again in 2026. To make this a positive experience for your athlete we ask that you consider trying out when your player has more game experience.
3. You must be available for tryouts in your zone – dates TBA and to be scheduled by ZONE, not by Ringette Alberta. Anticipated tryouts to take place between mid-October and mid-November. 
4. You should be prepared to attend a training camp that will be held Jan 3-6, in Central Alberta. If you can’t attend, consider leaving the spot available for another athlete. 

The 2024 Alberta Winter Games will take place February 16-19, 2024 in Grande Prairie. More details will be shared when available.

April 20, 2023 MEMO regarding the 2024 Alberta Winter Games

Updated June 1, 2023

All age eligible athletes will have the opportunity for a minimum number of skates in their zone. Lead evaluators will be centrally trained and work with evaluators locally. The same evaluation criteria and ranking system will be applied across the province.

Athletes from ALL zones will be ranked and placed in one list. From there, they will be drafted onto balanced teams and assigned a zone to represent.

1. Each zone will be represented by at least 10 skaters and 2 goaltenders, unless the zone has fewer than 12 skaters try out in which case 75% of skaters will advance to the draft stage.
2. The top 10 skaters from each zone will advance to the draft stage, and top 40+ athletes remaining on the province-wide list will advance as well.
3. All 120 skaters will then be combined into a single spreadsheet and ranked top to bottom prior to the draft stage. The goaltenders will also be ranked and drafted.
4. Each team will have 15 skaters and 2 goaltenders.
5. If a zone does not have 2 goaltenders, then that spot will be filled by the next highest ranked goaltender from the zone that had the most goaltenders try out. Should there be more than one open goaltender spot, they may be filled by goaltenders from more than one zone, depending on the percentage of goaltenders selected from different zones.
6. Athletes are unlikely to be representing the zone in which they reside.

The draft stage will be carried out virtually following the last zone evaluations by our evaluating team, coaching staff, and a RAB representative. 

Ringette Alberta does not support the manipulation of the team formation within zones and will argue doing so violates Ringette Alberta’s Code of Conduct policy.  All eligible players need to be provided the opportunity to participate.  We would be highly disappointed if a local association/club coach, for example, discouraged their athletes from participating in the Games. The Alberta Winter Games offers once in a lifetime developmental (skills and life) experience. Therefore, each zone should be supporting their athletes to compete at the Games from the club and local association level. It is a great privilege to participate in the Alberta Winter Games, and Ringette Alberta encourages all athletes in their pursuit.

Following athlete selection, teams may have a few training opportunities, and all teams will have the same amount of time together prior to the Games. Costs will be kept as low as possible.

Ringette Alberta would like to thank Alberta Sport for their ongoing financial support and commitment to the Alberta Games.

Each zone will be represented by 4 coaches, at least 2 of which must be female. If a zone has fewer than 4 coaches apply/meet minimum requirements, then their spot will be filled by a coach from the zone that had the most coaches apply.

Head Coaches (and possibly assistants as well) will be selected ahead of zone evaluations and will be the main contributors to drafting teams. After the draft, they will be randomly assigned a team/zone. If trades need to be made for a coach’s child to be on their team, it will take place after the draft.

Similar to athletes, coaches will be mixed together and put on a coaching staff with the intention of finding a good balance between skills and mentorship.

Each team will have max 4 coaches. Either 1 Head Coach and 3 Assistants, or 1 Head Coach, 2 Assistants, and 1 Coach in Training. There are 3 roles you can apply for on a Zone Coaching Staff:

1. Head Coach: must be Comp Intro Certified at the time of application (if you were given an extension on completing the CI Certification in 2022-23 due to backlog, we will work something out)
2. Assistant Coach: must be Comp Intro certified by Dec 15th.
3. Coach in Training: must be CSI trained and working towards CI Trained this season.

Coaches will get a brief introduction to the concept of short-term competitions. Coaching at AWG is a requirement for any coaches who hope to go on to coach Team Alberta for Canada Winter Games. We encourage our Local Associations to promote participation in an AWG team staff and consider it as a plus to any coaching resume submitted in the future.

This is a great opportunity for people who are typically assistant coaches to take a shot at being a Head Coach. The time commitment is less than a regular season, and the responsibilities that go along with a typical Head Coach role are far less with this type of competition.

Coaching Application is OPEN! Deadline is August 13th at 11:59pm.

Apply HERE

Athletes for the 2024 Alberta Winter Games (AWG) must be U16A/B/C for the season of the Games (athletes born 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). Athletes born in the eligible birth years playing U14A/B/C would also be eligible.

All eligible athletes must also be registered with Ringette Alberta for the playing season of the Games.

Alberta Sport has changed the age requirements for Alberta Games as of the Winter 2024 cycle. It is now a U17 tournament for ALL sports, and any athlete who turns 17 prior to or during the Games is ineligible to compete. This is in large part why we made the decision to move to a U16 tournament for AWG, to avoid having some athletes from the same birth year eligible while others aren’t. Athletes born in 2007 or earlier are not eligible.

Ringette Alberta hopes that the AWG will provide an opportunity for athlete and coach development across the province.

Teams will be allowed/encouraged to communicate periodically via Zoom (or similar). Teams will also be given a training weekend about 6 weeks prior to the AWG. This training weekend will be located somewhere central, and teams will each get at least 2 practices by themselves and 2 games against other teams, as well as time for team building and strategy/tactics reviews. 

The goal will be to keep costs down, but provide an enriching environment for teams to get to know each other and get on the same page for the Games.