InfoGuide

U19 3rd year Players & New Adult Players (18 years Plus) CORA League Information Guide

Welcome to the Calgary Open Ringette Association (CORA) League!

 If you’re a 3rd year U19 player who turns 18 years of age prior to Dec 15 this year, you have the option to participate in the CORA league as an adult player. CORA provides younger players ‘graduating’ from their youth ringette program the opportunity to continue playing fun, competitive ringette for many, many more years!

Alternately, if you’re already an Open aged player (18 years or older) you may be considering starting up your own new team, or joining an existing team, to participate in the CORA league.

We suspect you will have many questions as you consider joining CORA. Let’s address a few of them here, with some answers to FAQs!

1)   Where do I play? Which team do I play for?

Open teams are not organized or operated by community or quadrant associations as is typical of youth ringette programs. This is one of the biggest changes for players moving up from youth ringette.

CORA's Open teams are independently run, club teams that typically draw their players from many communities (urban and rural) from around Central and Southern Alberta. The team can register as many or as few players as they decide to carry on their roster each season, but for each CORA league game or tournament game, a maximum of 18 of those players can participate.

You may already know about a CORA Open team that you're interested in joining – that’s great! Reach out to them no later than August (we suggest) to see if they are looking for, or taking on players for the upcoming season which will start approximately at the end of September.

2)   How do I register to play?

Each CORA Open team receives registration information (current season fees, deadlines for registrations) from the CORA Registrar at the beginning of the season. CORA Open teams are now registering their players and team staff directly through Ringette Alberta’s online RAMP system

If you don’t know, or have any contacts on a CORA Open team, you have a few options:

    1. Go to the CORA website’s ‘Classified Ads’ to use the “Players Looking For Teams’ form to post an ad about yourself (position you play, division level previously played/would like to play) and to let Open teams know you are available. You can also look at the “Teams Looking for Players” ads to learn which CORA Open teams may be holding tryouts for the upcoming season or have specific positions they are looking to fill.
    2. You can contact Open team coaches or team contacts directly. Look in the CORA website’s 'Teams' drop down menu for the current coach/team contact info for the various teams listed in a given ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ Division to ask a specific team if they need players.
    3. You can form a new Open team of your This is the more complicated option and you can find more information about that process in Part 2 of this guide/FAQ

3)  How much are the player fees for my team?

Fees will vary from Open team to Open team depending on how many players they carry on their roster, the cost of their ice for CORA League ‘Home’ Games and the number of tournaments the team plans to enter. Reach out to your team’s contact to confirm what their player fee will be for the season.

PART 2

STARTING YOUR OWN OPEN TEAM THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Whether you’re moving up from U19, or you’re an existing Open player who has recently arrived in Southern Alberta, starting up your own Open team is a big job! You should start the process early enough so you are ready to submit a New Team Application Form by August 15th to CORA to enter the upcoming season.

First and foremost, keep in mind CORA is not involved in running or organizing teams. CORA oversees league operations (game scheduling, arranging for referees, interpretation and enforcement of league rules) as a whole. We are always here to help new teams, but primarily from an information perspective only!

There are several factors to consider to get your new Open Team up and running.

1.  Ice Slots

Prior to applying to have your new Open team join CORA, the most challenging requirement is likely acquiring a minimum number of ice slots for your Open team to host ‘Home’ games over the course of the season (late September through early March)

      1. Currently, each CORA Open team has to provide a total of 11 – 12 ice slots for league games; 9-10 ice slots for regular season ‘Home’ games plus 2 playoff ice slots.
          1. The game ice slot must be 75 minutes in length (CORA league games consist of 23 minute halves).
          2. The game ice slot time cannot start any earlier than 6 pm or later than 9:30pm on weekdays. For weekends, day time ice after 9 am is acceptable.
          3. There are geographic limits regarding where ice for CORA league “Home” games can be located. Arenas have to be located inside of the CORA “core” playing region: Calgary City limits and surrounding commuter communities (Cochrane, Airdrie, Okotoks, Chestermere/Indus and Strathmore). While ice for adult games is cheaper outside the city versus inside the CORA “core” playing region, the availability of senior level referees in those areas is greatly diminished which impacts game scheduling.  Check with the CORA Facilities Director before booking any ice outside the “core” playing region.
          4. Adult ice costs in the “core” CORA playing region are currently in the range of $375-$390 / 1.25 hour slot (GST included)
      2. CORA has continued to build a “pooled ice” inventory to assist new team entrants get started and supplement what they can secure on their own from community rinks or general public facilities (City of Calgary, Winsport, YMCA). If you need to pursue this option, contact the CORA Facilities Director (email: facilities@calgaryopenringette.com) during the summer months (June- August) to start discussions about what pooled ice may be available for the upcoming season.

2.  Team Uniforms

CORA requires all teams’ players to wear matching uniforms for games. While CORA prefers that teams have both distinct home and away uniforms, at a minimum each team must have one uniform set for their players. All uniforms must be numbered. Uniform costs vary greatly depending on brand and style. Be prepared to spend anywhere from $500-$2500 for one set of jerseys. Give yourself ample time for your uniform order to arrive before CORA league play starts in September, as they can take several weeks or months to be received.

3.  Team & Player/Staff Fees

Each season, every player on your team is charged a registration fee comprised of fees levied by Ringette Canada, Ringette Alberta, and CORA. Each team staff member is also charged a fee. The CORA Registrar will advise each team’s contacts in September of the current season’s registration fees and process.

For budgeting purposes:

        1. The registration fees are $30/player and $47.50/bench staff (Managers do not pay this fee).  Payments are due on or before October 15th.
        2. Each Open team must also pay a $50 CORA league entry fee each season. In addition, new Open teams are required to pay a one-time $500 league bond, used to offset any financial fines or penalties assessed a team or their players during the course of the season.  The CORA League Rules and Regulations outline fine and penalties. Payments are due on or before October 15th.
        3. The visiting team pays the referee fees for each CORA league ‘Away’ game.  Each Open team is required to make two $550 referee fees advance payments during the season.
          1. The first $550 referee fees advancement payment is due on or before Oct 15th.
          2. The second $550 referee fees advance payment is due on or before Jan 15th
          3. A ‘true-up’ final referee fee (less the $1100 referee advance payments) invoice is sent to each team at the end of the season, based on actual total number of ‘Away’ games scheduled each season.

4.  Tournaments

You can find information for Open tournaments around Western Canada on the Ringette Alberta website under ‘Competitions’ or the specific ringette association’s website that hosts them. CORA hosts the Classic Tournament (the largest Open Tournament in Canada) each January. CORA league teams receive guaranteed entry to the Classic Tournament provided they submit their application by the earlier CORA team entry deadline, and provide the necessary volunteers to assist with tournament operation. All tournament fees including fees for the Ringette Alberta Provincial Championships are the responsibility of each team.

5.  Players on your adult team will have to assume duties

You will need several jobs done on your team, that as an adult team tend to fall to your players to complete. Jobs such as arranging your off-ice officials (timekeeper, scorekeeper & shot clock operator) when your team is the ‘Home’ team for league games, league contact, a person to get shot clocks set up if the arena you play at does not have any installed, bring rings, and many others. You may have a team manager do some of these things as well, but make your players responsible for their team! There are a lot of things to be done over the season, and one person can’t do it all. Spread out the work and make sure it gets done properly. It will make your season run much more smoothly! There are several dates during the season that are very important – final roster submissions, player signing deadlines, provincial commitment to attend and others. Make sure that you have people keeping watch of these things.

PART 3 – NEXT STEPS

League Application Form

Once you have your players set (including a goalie!), and your ice arranged, you can fill out the CORA New Team Application form. This gets submitted to the league for approval.

CORA Board of Directors

Your team is encouraged to have a representative sit on the Board in either an executive role, or directors at large. CORA strives to have a good cross section of representation of the league teams on its Board.

Mandatory League Meetings

All teams are required to have at least one team representative attend the CORA Annual General Meeting (every year in late August / early September), and CORA Coaches / Season Kick Off meeting (every September). Check this website often for announcements including dates and times for these mandatory league meetings.

It may seem like a lot of work and seem daunting, but it’s definitely worth it once your new team takes the ice! During the initial formation process or onboarding as a new player, if you need help or guidance, you can always contact any of the CORA Executive listed on the CORA website!