AAA High Performance Program / Ontario Winter Games
Ringette Ontario High-Performance (AAA) Program
The Ringette Ontario (RO) AAA Program is a bi-annual provincial program that provides high performing athletes with an opportunity to participate in a high-performance environment. The program runs concurrently to the AA competitive season and provides athletes with a next level development experience. The athlete centered program includes an evaluation camp, and for those selected to move forward in the program, two development camps and the 2026 Ontario Winter Games. Each development camp will include on-ice practices, games, classroom sessions, and alumni athlete mentorship. The program also incorporates coach and official development opportunities.
Athletes selected for the 2025-26 AAA Program will form the 2027 Canada Winter Games Team Ontario athlete selection pool. The athletes will be scouted by the Canada Winter Games coaching staff throughout the program and AA season for invitation to the Team Ontario selection camp in the spring of 2026.
Ringette Ontario will:
Fully operate the high performance (AAA) program in Ontario.
Select team staff and event officials.
Evaluate and select athletes for up to five (5) teams of up to seventeen (17) athletes that will compete at the 2026 Ontario Winter Games (OWG) in Orillia, Ontario.
2025-26 Evaluation Camp: July 18-20 in Ajax/Pickering by invitation only.
Athlete Application coming soon!
The 2025-26 Ringette Ontario AAA Program is open to athletes from across Ontario who are in the following standards:
Born between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2011
Be in good standing with their local Club and Ringette Ontario
Athlete must also be one of:
On a U16 or U19 AA roster for the 2025-26 season.
U19 age and has played AA during one of the last 2 seasons (2023-24/2024-25), in areas where the AA selection process has not been completed.
U19 age and plays A where no AA level is offered, with a coach recommendation
Note: The AAA Program may include athletes affiliated to an NRL team or rostered to an 18+ team during the 2025-26 season.
Note: Male athletes may register to attend the evaluation weekend. To run a male program, we require a minimum of 34 (2 teams) players to register and be evaluated to be at the high-performance level. Male athletes do not need to meet the requirement of being rostered to an ‘A’ team, as there are limited opportunities. Male teams will not be eligible to attend the Ontario Winter Games event (it is female only) but would be able to train and compete in their own division at development events.
Program Weekends:
Development Camp - TBC - October 2025
Development Camp - Kitchener - December 19-21, 2025
Ontario Winter Games - Orillia, ON - February 20-22, 2026. Travel will be February 19th and February 22nd.
Virtual development sessions will also be delivered throughout the program
Operations Director Stephanie Laurin will lead Ringette Ontario’s High Performance Program.
About Ontario Winter Games:
The Ontario Winter Games have been held since 1970 and take place every two years. They are the largest multi-sport event in the province and feature over 3,500 athletes, coaches, managers, and major officials. There are over 25 different sporting events, including ringette, which highlight the province’s top athletes involved in winter sports. The games also provide development and competitive opportunities for these young athletes and help to prepare them for national and international competitions.
Coach Callout
Ringette Ontario is seeking up to 15 coaches to be a part of the 2025-26 Ringette Ontario AAA High Performance (HP) Program.
The Ringette Ontario AAA Program focuses on high performance development and creation of a competitive program that provides U16 and U19 aged players with exposure to high level development opportunities as well as the best high-performance coaching in Ontario. The AAA HP Program allows Ringette Ontario selected coaches, including the Team Ontario Canada Winter Games bench staff, to identify and develop Ontario’s most gifted young ringette players, to encourage and motivate them to play for their province, and to provide them with the opportunities to measure and refine their skills at the top-level competitions.
Eligibility
Coaches must have the following qualifications to be considered:
Competition Introduction (CI) Certification
At minimum, one completed multi-sport module required for Competition-Development “in-training” status
Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders and/or CAC Safe Sport Training
Making Head Way in Sport
Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening