Tiering Guidelines

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a fair and impartial way of selecting players and coaches for all the tiered teams. The intent is to avoid unbalanced situations where teams either win all or none of their games. It is felt this type of environment is not healthy for players or for ringette itself.
The means of addressing this will be by setting policies in place on issues such as registration dates and deadlines, how teams are chosen and by whom, number of players per team and other aspects of tiering. It must keep in mind that this is for the benefit of the sport in our association with the players’ best interests in mind.
Winning is fun, but winning all of your games in your division could be just as bad as losing all of your games. A good rule of thumb for being tiered properly is the 75/25 rule. If you win more than 75%, or less than 25% of your games, you may be playing either above or below your team’s ability, and should request to move up or down accordingly.

PROCEDURES

Selection of teams:
The Medicine Hat Ringette Association (MHRA) is to select a Coaching/Tiering committee. (Positions for this committee will be open for nominations at the annual general meeting). The coaching director would be expected to sit on this committee, plus an additional 5 people for a total of 6. They would decide how many levels there should be in each division as well as how they would be split. There will be no tiering at the Bunny and Novice levels however, the teams will be split as evenly as possible. The committee’s decision would then be forwarded to the executive for approval. This process would begin by monitoring the number of players in each division starting at registration date. House league teams would be picked before zone teams so the players could start playing games sooner. The number of registered players we have in any particular division will determine the number of teams we have in that division. The ideal number would be to have 11 or 12 per team, but registration numbers will determine the final team sizes. If there is an odd number of players in one division where an “A” and a “B” team are being selected, the numbers will be divided equally until there is only one player number remaining. That extra payer will then go to the “B” team

The coaching/tiering committee would also be responsible for the evaluations of players. It is suggested that the evaluating committee be selected following guidelines in the order listed below.

1 - Use coaches from previous years that would know most of the players involved. If some of these people are not able to assist, perhaps they could be asked to give some input or comments before the final evaluation forms are handed in to the Coach Selection Committee.
2 – Try to find some parents who know most of the players involved and have good knowledge of the game but do not have any immediate family members trying out.
3 - Some of the older players (i.e, Debs, Intermediate or Masters) who know most of the players involved.

This group should consist of approximately 5 people. Evaluations would start as early as possible since Ringette Alberta has moved up the registration date to October 15th. If the MHRA has the final registration date set to be completed at least two to three weeks prior to this (i.e. September 30th), it would hopefully reduce the chance of having late registrants after the “A” teams are selected.

When scheduling ice at the beginning of the season, ample ice time should be allocated in order to conduct a proper assessment of players in the team selection process. Evaluations must also include game type situations therefore, this would have be taken into consideration when scheduling tryouts. (As a rule of thumb, 40 percent of the ice time should be allocated to skating drills and skills, 60 percent of the ice time for scrimmages).

Every effort shall be taken by all players to register at the times set by the MHRA and all players must register in their proper age division. This will make it easier for the committee when deciding the number of teams in each division, and the different levels of play. The league schedules do not start until at least November, and the first available tournament is usually Fort Saskatchewan, which only takes place around the middle of November. Should the movement of players up or down be requested, they will be looked at on a per case basis. The decision will be at the discretion of the tiering committee and with the Medicine Hat Ringette Association approval.

At registration time, all players will be expected to fill out the registration form section which indicates the level and division of play they are interested. All players shall be encouraged to try out for an “A” team by indicating such on the form. This will give the selection committee an idea of how many players will be trying out for the “A” teams.
Any time there are two or more equal teams being picked for any division the following protocol will be used in the selection process.
-The division coordinator will sit in to make sure that every thing is done by set rules (i.e. one for one draft).
-Coaches’ kids should be picked first. If one coaches’ daughter was ranked high in the evaluations, and the second coaches’ daughter was ranked considerably lower, they would be given players to offset this imbalance.
-Tiering committee may assign the first four to six players on each team and the coaches will do the rest. This would depend on the coaches’ knowledge of the players.
-The tiering committee or coordinator may intervene if balance is being compromised.
-Late player movement may be made if balance had not been achieved.

The tiering committee will take every possible effort to ensure that one team does not end up with an extra goaltender, leaving another team without.

Division Coordinators
Each year the tiering committee shall appoint a coordinator for the different divisions. Depending on the number of players in each division you may only require one coordinator to look after two divisions. Until the numbers change it is recommended that they be divided as follows.

Bunny/Novice
Petite
Tween
Junior
Belle/Deb/Int.
The responsibilities of these division coordinators would be as follows:
-Meet once every three weeks until the middle of December and then once per month for the remaining season.
-Check for players in the Junior Division and/or higher who may be willing to assist some of our coaches on a regular basis throughout the season.
-Obtain a list of players in their responsible division from the previous year’s registration and establish verbal contact with each one to remind them of the registration date and stress to them the importance of registering on time.
-Notify all players in their division of their first ice slot.
-Organize evaluation sessions: -Select evaluators.
-Find people to help in writing names and numbers
as the pinnies are handed out.
-Have evaluation sheets available at the rinks.
-Obtain ice slots for their division from the coaching director.
-Submit completed evaluation sheets to the tiering committee.
-Find people to run drills.
-Oversee the draft for their division.
-Select people for the coaching selection sub-committee. These people would consist of at least three parents that have players involved with the team. A minimum of one Tiering committee member, but preferably two, would work with them.

Number of players per team:
Depending on the number of players registered in each division the coaching/tiering committee, along with the MHRA executive, will decide the actual number of players per team. As a guideline, it is recommended that the maximum number of players per team be limited to 14 and the minimum as follows:

Petite - minimum of 10 players per team.
Tween - minimum of 11 players per team.
Junior - minimum of 11 players per team.
Belle - minimum of 11 players per team.

These numbers are only guidelines and may have to be altered slightly from time to time, depending on the number of registered players.
If the number of players on a certain team has been set at 12, the evaluators will select the first group of players totaling to 3 less than the desired number of players for that team as set out by the tiering committee. In this case it would be 9. Then, the appointed coaching staff would pick the last three, thus giving them more ownership of their team.

Evaluation Process:
Tryouts for “A” teams shall consist of players that have indicated such interest on their form at registration time. Some cuts may be made as early as after the first tryout session to reduce numbers, but could be left until at least the second round depending on the number of players. (i.e. if there are 40 players trying out for one team, then cuts may want to be made after the first session so more attention can be directed toward the more highly skilled players).

Players wishing to try out for a tiered team must make every possible effort to attend all of the ice sessions. Some exceptions, such as illness (with a written or verbal explanation from the player or parent), may be taken into consideration. This explanation must be given directly to a member of the tiering committee. The evaluators could then evaluate that particular player independently.

The evaluators will rate the players on basic skating skills, ring handling, and game sense using the following format (specific drills/practice plans are currently being addressed and were not added to this document):

At all levels the players will be graded in two ways.
• Skills - worth 30% of grading mark
• Game Sessions - worth 70% of grading mark

In the skills sessions, players will be graded on speed (timed drills), agility and ringette skills.

In the game sessions they will be graded in 5 basic areas:
• Aggressiveness
• Skating - Forward
- Backward
• Shooting - Forehand
- Backhand
• Passing/Receiving
• Game Sense - Checking
- Defense
- Anticipation

In the event that there may be more than one “A” team in a particular division, the coaches may have to be selected earlier so that they can take part in the evaluation process. The tiering committee along with the MHRA Executive will then have to decide how the teams should be drafted as coaches from both teams should be involved in the drafting.

If there are enough players to make two teams in a division, they shall be divided into one “A” team and one “B” team unless a vote is taken and, a minimum of two thirds of the parents agree to go with two “BB” teams in the Tween and lower divisions. After the “A ”team is picked, in the event that there are only enough players for one more team in a particular division they would probably be designated as a “B” team and therefore all remaining players would then be passed on to the coach of that team. For multiple teams in the “B” or “BB” divisions, coaches should be appointed early enough in order for them to participate in the evaluation process. Should there be enough players for more than one team in the “B” or “BB” divisions, the coaches for those teams would then get together and draft the players for their individual teams. It is recommended that the coaches include their coaching staff during the drafting proceedings.

.Selection of Coaches:
Any persons interested in coaching one of the tiered teams must apply, in writing for the position, before tryouts begin, by filling out the appropriate application form found in the coach’s manual. All coaches and assistant coaches are encouraged to apply. These forms will then be reviewed by the tiering sub-committee for final selection. If deemed necessary, interviews could be held.

All applying coaches before being selected, will be expected to either participate in, or, witness the evaluation process. They may also be asked to serve as an evaluator for another division depending on their knowledge of the players involved. Once selected, the coach will then be allowed to pick his/her co-coaches from the applicant list and select the last three players. At the end of each season, parents and/or players will be asked to complete a “Post Season Evaluation Form” on the coaches. This will serve as a tool to assist in the selection of coaches the following season.

Anyone who has put their name forward to coach will be expected to volunteer during the evaluation process, They will also attend all evaluation sessions and coordinating meetings.

As a guideline, some or all of the following criteria can be used in selecting coaches:
• Former ringette coach based on the following
• A) Motivation skills
• B) Communication skills
• C) Past coaching record and/or performance
• D) Sportsmanship
• E) Coaching attitude and ability to deal with player and game issues
• Former or present ringette player
• Former hockey coach
• Former coach of any other sport
• Involvement with ringette association
• Ringette involvement of any kind
• Coaching certification level
• Years of coaching experience
• Anyone willing to commit the time and effort to help
All coaches must represent themselves according to the policies and procedures listed in chapter 2 of the coaches manual. They will also be expected to review and become familiar with all of the contents outlined in this manual.
The reason for having the evaluating team grade the players is to provide fair and impartial judgment for putting these teams in place. Once the coaches are given the teams, it will be expected of them to demonstrate good leadership qualities, while being as fair as possible to all players. If the coach feels they may have a problem or conflict with any of the chosen players, they will also be expected to deal with it in a fair and professional manner. At this level, it is felt that the coaches should be experienced enough to accept these greater challenges objectively.
When selecting coaches for equal teams, caution must be taken not to put coaches together who may have daughters ranked high in the evaluation, as this could create an imbalance between the teams.

Exceptions:
Should a player move in to Medicine Hat and register after the teams have been selected, they would normally be placed on a “B” team. In the event that such player has played level “A” or above for 2 consecutive years prior to moving here (in the Tween and above divisions), they may be allowed to play on the “A” team. For the Petite division, the player would have had to play one full season of “A” level or above. The evaluation team, (or other independent committee) to ensure the players’ caliber, would evaluate them individually. Before being placed on an “A” team an agreement would have to be made with the coach and parents of that team.

There will be no downward movement of players from a tiered team to accommodate any new players. When the player is placed on a team, the coach will have to be prepared to work with that extra player.

Late registration guidelines
The following rules can be used when placing local late registrants, once the teams have been selected.

• Players must be informed at registration time that the tiering committee will decide where they play.
• Once final team selections have been made, there shall be no movement of players from these teams to accommodate late registrants.
• Should player movement be necessary, the late registrant shall be moved to a higher division instead of being moved down. (i.e. Tween B to Junior B)
• Players must be capable of playing in the higher division.
• Efforts shall be taken to not put one team at a disadvantage by having too many players.
• In some cases a meeting could be held with all involved coaches in order to come up with a fair decision.

The decision of the tiering committee will be final.

Affiliates:
When coaches are selecting affiliates for “A” teams, they must first pick from the remaining group of players that had tried out for that team as noted on the registration tryout sheet. Once these numbers have been exhausted, he/she can then pick anyone from a lower level or division.
Affiliate players may have an unspecified amount of practices with the team in which they are affiliated. The Medicine Hat Ringette Association’s definition of a viable team (not counting the goalies) for both zone play and tournament play is 10 players. In other words, if a team has 10 skaters for any games in zone play or tournament play, they are not allowed to play affiliates. This, however, does not apply to provincial play since its rules and regulations are governed by Ringette Alberta. Before a team can take affiliate players, the coach of that team must consult with the parents of the selected player and the coach of the team concerned.
The intention of affiliates is not to strengthen a team, but rather to replace injured or missing players, and/or bring the number of players up to a viable team. It is expected that all MHRA coaches will abide by this policy.

Note: At the end of each season, all players will be given a “Coaches Evaluation Form” which they will asked to fill out in order to give their personal assessment of the coaches. This may be used as a tool in the selection of coaches for the next season.