Classic
Classic Ringette is the closest to what most ringette has looked like in the past. Ringette Alberta is working to clarify expectations and season structure for Classic Ringette as part of the changes moving forward.
This option will require a greater commitment of time and effort than Flex Ringette, but less than Excellence Ringette.
Classic Ringette will continue to be offered for U14-U19 and adult players in the 2019/20 season and beyond.
Ringette Today – Why Change?
Most of the ringette people know today looks the same for all divisions and levels and, for youth and adults this is fine however one challenge is people tend to assume that the lower a tier is the less “competitive” the program.
The problem is, there is no universally accepted definition of “competitive” and because people, particularly coaches, treat teams differently based on their own definition of what competitive is, conflicts occur around expectations of time, effort and commitment.
Classic Ringette in the Future
So, we’re introducing Classic Ringette to distinguish it from Flex Ringette. We are choosing not to use the term “competitive” to describe this experience. The athletes told us, “all ringette is competitive” so using competitive to describe just one option in ringette implies there isn’t competition in other options, which we know is incorrect.
As the name implies, Classic ringette, which is available to youth and adults, will look very much like the ringette you know. Most of the youth and adult players in ringette today will continue to have the same experience they’ve always had but with fewer conflicts over time, effort and commitment expectations.