U16/19

As the 2022/2023 season quickly approaches, FYRA wanted to send out a special message for all U16/19 aged athletes.

Everyone recognizes that COVID has had a tremendous impact on our day-to-day lives, and community sport in general has been greatly impacted. Last year, we unfortunately could not run our U16/19 program which has left a lot of people questioning its viability in the future. We want to reinforce to all athletes, that playing Ringette for life is a priority of FYRA, and we want to assure you that U16/19 still exists for any athlete that wants to play ringette.

At the U16/19 age there are many challenges that begin to affect athletes; availability of competitive ringette, other sport commitments and work/life balance to name a few. FYRA has committed to coming up with a plan for the upcoming season that will help address all of these challenges.

The timing of this message is mainly to address challenge #1 - availability of competitive ringette. As you have likely seen shared on social media, RNB competitive tryouts are beginning in the near future. Registration for ID camps and Shake off the rust camps is now open. FYRA has successfully adapted our U12 and U14 programs to allow for a competitive stream for the athletes who have been looking for a little more. Community ringette remains our foundation, but this adaptation recognized that we were losing athletes to other sports due to their own personal competitive drive. This has been a success, and our U14 Tier 1 championship last year reinforces that. This becomes more challenging at U16, where Ringette New Brunswick and Ringette Canada officially recognize competitive level ringette, offering U16A, U16AA, U19A, and U19AA.

A team of dedicated volunteers has been working on a plan for the upcoming season regarding U16/19.

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞

- Sign up to participate in the upcoming U16 and U19 ID camps and tryouts - http://RNBHP.rampregistrations.com

- FYRA is working with RNB to properly structure competitive ringette so that there are the right amount of AA level teams and A level teams to serve the current level of talent in NB.

- FYRA believes we have enough talent within our region to have an “A” level team located in the Fredericton area.

- It is imperative that any athlete wanting to play competitive ringette sign up through RNB to ensure that we can show the level of talent and interest.

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦

- Sign up to participate in the upcoming U16 and U19 ID camps and tryouts, if you desire

- Register for FYRA when registration opens on August 1st

- FYRA is putting together a plan for the entire season for a committed team

- Planned tournaments (Approximately 5 tournaments total - in-Province and out-of-Province)

- Potential bus trip to a major tournament

- Organized practices

- Athlete development opportunities

- Identified coaches and managers to ensure a successful season

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐞

- Register for FYRA when registrations open on August 1st

- Potential reduced cost based on planned ice usage

- Team(s) will play in the interlocking RNB schedule

- New FYRA policy to match RNB policy and require an athlete to play in 50% of RNB scheduled games

- Allows flexibility for athletes committed to other sports/work/other to play and be eligible for the Provincial Championship

- Allows FYRA entry of team to Provincial championship

- Allows team to register for any other tournaments as determined by player availability and desire

- Practice times will be determined on athletes desire and availability (not to say we won’t practice, but expectations will better align with other player commitments)

I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions related to U16/19 programming for the upcoming year.

Sincerely,

Mike Walker

President - Fredericton Youth Ringette Association