- All associations offering U10, U12 and U14 programs (including U14AA) are required to conduct UAA testing
- The how to video produced by Ringette Alberta in 2015 includes a passing and shooting test. These tests are no longer being used.
- The butterfly drill is to be used for U12 and U14 only. Do not use this for U10
- Associations…
- DO read the FAQs below
- DO conduct all your athlete testing between September 5 and 17
- DO submit testing data for every U10, U12 and U14 player (excluding goaltenders) within your association to the Ringette Alberta office no later than September 20
- DO start to complete the spreadsheet as soon as data is collected.
- DO NOT wait until all data in your association is collected before starting to fill in the spreadsheet.
- DO NOT alter the spreadsheet in any way other than entering the data required
- Enter raw data only.
Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
There were far too many lopsided games between teams that were supposed to be at the same level. There is no developmental benefit for having these meaningless, lopsided games and they were certainly not helping our sport keep players in the game.
This is an assumption however as we haven’t tested this. Perhaps with some experience with the younger groups for a few years we’ll do some research into how UAA may be used for the older groups.
- U10s complete 4 tests. U12s and U14s complete 5 tests.
- Speed test forward with stabbing the ring
- Speed test backward no ring
- Stop and Start no ring
- Agility Weave with ring
- Butterfly (U12 and U14 only) no ring
- The time it takes to compete each test is recorded. There are multiple trials for each drill / test.
- The times for the tests are recorded for each player
- The local association creates teams (see question 27)
- The results for the entire association are submitted to Ringette Alberta
- For each division (U10, U12 and U14), Ringette Alberta examines the total average score for every team. Teams with higher overall average scores will be tiered higher than teams with lower overall average scores.
Ringette Alberta has produced a video that includes seven tests. At the time the video was produced, there were passing and shooting tests included. These are no longer used as part of UAA testing so you can ignore them. The remaining tests are unchanged.
- how to set up each test
- how to run each test properly
- how to perform each test correctly
The video also provides key points for each test explains what happens when players fall, have false starts, etc.
Hand timing was chosen for its simplicity and cost compared to electronic timing systems.
The tests are universal meaning they are the exact same drills for all applicable age groups in every association in Alberta. This means that, in rare circumstances and only with prior alternative arrangements made with your association, your child may attend a different test session within your association or even in a different association if absolutely necessary.
Failing to attend may affect which team your child is placed on (if your association uses UAA results in whole or in part for placing individual players on teams) and depending on how may players miss testing these absences will have significant consequences. Please take attendance seriously.
It is important to note that every test includes multiple trials so that a slow time, based on a fall, will be mitigated. If an athlete falls multiple times, this is an indicator of her level of awareness of the appropriate trade off between control and speed.
If the team falls below this target, the team will automatically be placed in the next highest level within their division. For example, if a team that does not meet the 80% threshold has a team average that would make that team a B team, the team will be required to start the season at A.
If an association does not submit its testing data by the required timeline ALL teams in that association will be prohibited from attending sanctioned tournaments (U10s) or playdowns and provincials (U12, U14, U16, U19, Open)
Please note: testing IS NOT a team responsibility. Ensuring the testing is complete and submitted as required is the responsibility of those at the highest level of management within each association. This means your local association’s Board is responsible for ensuring these requirements are met for the benefit of all of its players.
Additionally, when Ringette Canada’s Athlete Development Matrix is complete, it will provide us a more comprehensive guide on what benchmarks are appropriate to use to place athletes in training groups. Until that time, Ringette Alberta has no requirement that any standardized tests are used for placing individuals on teams.
Check with your association to determine if / how UAA results impact placing individuals on teams.
- Some may use it as their only measure to form teams.
- Others will use it in addition to other data to form teams.
- Still others may not use it at all and rely solely on other measures.
DO NOT go looking for information on how other players have scored in order to compare your child’s results with the idea that this is an indication of your child’s potential.
And definitely, DO NOT use the UAA data to make arguments why one child should be on a particular team vs another. This is not the purpose of UAA.
In fact, to be fair to the players, as per the instructions given in the pilot, players should NOT be tested the first time they step on the ice for the season, especially players who have not completed testing before. Testing too early is problematic.
The less ice time you give your players at the start of the season prior to testing to get their “ice legs” the less reliable the tests will be at measuring their true performance.
The error rate for hand timing has been accounted for; it is not a factor in establishing competitive equity between teams. If your association does not trust individuals who are doing the timing to do it honestly, you can always add one or two impartial and secret timers / recorders to “keep people honest”. This is likely less of a financial burden than hiring an external company.
To ensure even more impartiality and to ensure you have a sufficient number of volunteers, you may wish to use the approach described above with the parents of one level doing the testing for another.
You may also wish to team up with a nearby association where you share volunteers so that each test event has volunteers from both associations – that will keep people honest.
Option 1 – If socially appropriate, place them in Active Start
Option 2 – Place them in U10 and keep in mind if they aren’t tested (if that is your preference) they will be factored into the minimum 80% requirement. Team scores will be calculated and, for those with less than 80% of their athletes tested will be placed in the next highest level within their division.
An association that only has a sufficient number of players in a division to create one team should just go ahead and form that team, complete the UAA testing and then proceed with practicing and other team activities. Ringette Alberta will let the association know what tier the team will be in to start the season.
Two Team Association:
For an association with enough players to form two teams in a division but no more, it should follow this sequence:
- Calculate the average of ALL players in that division in their association. AND…
- Calculate the average of the TOP HALF of the total players in that division in their association. Then…
- Using the two averages, determine which method is preferable for your association. The choices are:
- One at a higher level and one at a lower level, or;
- Two balanced teams
Three or More teams:
For associations with enough players to make three or more teams at an age division follow these steps:
- Take the total number of players at an age division in your association
- Divide by how many players per team you want (recommend 12-15) to determine how many teams you should be forming at that age division. Example: if your association has 65 players in one division, divide by 13 players per team = 5 teams formed.
- To determine the tiering breakdown for your association, sort all players top to bottom based on UAA score.
- Find the average score of the number of players you used in #2. Example: With 13 players per team, determine the average score of the top 13 players, the average score of the top 26 players, top 39 players.
- Using the UAA ranges for each tier, determine which number of teams best fits in each division. Example: Top 13 have UAA score of 9.2, top 26 have UAA score of 8.7, top 36 have a UAA score of 7.7. Therefore, the breakdown should be 2 balanced higher teams and 3 balanced lower teams.
There are strong trends in the cut lines for each tier since UAA started 3 years ago. With that said, Ringette Alberta strongly recommends Associations build teams with prior year UAA cut lines in mind.
Tiering Policy
The tiering policy reflects the use of UAA results. This policy, and all Ringette Alberta policies, may be found here.
Resources
To assist you, the data submission spreadsheet to provide you a tentative or possible team level.
With data entered, the spreadsheet will provide an indication of a “Tentative Level”. You will see…
At U10 | At U12 | At U14 |
1 | ||
1/2 | ||
2 | C | C |
2/3 | B | B |
3 | A | A |
CAUTION: The “Tentative Level” indicated on the spreadsheet is only to be used as one tool to help you with team formation.
Because individual performance changes from season to season, there is no guarantee the tentative level on the spreadsheet will be the same as the final level once all the data has been submitted and assessed. The tentative level is only a guide.