Ringette Manitoba and Local Association (LA) Presidents met on 2022-03-06 to discuss, amongst other things, the status of U14AA. Most of you will be aware that there has been some talk regarding Ringette Canada’s modernizing sport delivery with playground to podium pathways for athlete development. RMB, and other provinces, are in different stages of delivery.
To get a sense of its membership’s interest in AA, Ringette Manitoba developed a survey which was circulated to 2008 to 2010 athletes (U12 major age and U14) at the end of December. The results were compiled and shared with the LA Presidents in January. During the Presidents meeting, the survey results along with 2021/22 player registration data was examined in detail. After presenting the results of the survey in a variety of different formats, the consensus was that the U14AA program should be suspended for the 2022/23 season. This decision was not made lightly and many factors were considered including the fact that a very small number of athletes would be impacted. Local Associations will continue to offer ‘A’ division teams this season, however, the team formation process will change. The focus on this age division will be advancement of their skill development. There will be an opportunity for players to participate in a RMB advanced development program running concurrently with the regular season culminating in an opportunity to participate on teams that will represent Manitoba at the 2023 Western Canadian Ringette Championships which will be held in Winnipeg. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. As more information about the development program becomes available we will pass it along.
Thank you
Shelly Driedger
RERA President
