EASTERN REGION RINGETTE ASSOCIATION
ERRA AAA TEAM POLICY & PROCEDURES

Administration

Beginning in the Fall prior to every Ontario Winter Games, ERRA will form an Elite Committee who will oversee the selection of the AAA team Head Coach, as well as the organization of the try-out sessions and assist with the selection of the team players.

The Elite Committee will normally be composed of the ERRA Elite Coordinator, ERRA Vice-Chair responsible for the Elite program and one other member of the ERRA executive.

Finances

The Elite Coordinator will develop a budget to ensure that registration fees are sufficient to pay for all expenses associated with the team selection process. The costs of the selection sessions (ice rental, jerseys, referees, etc.) are paid for by the registration fees. Any remaining proceeds after all costs are paid are normally donated to the AAA team to offset their costs.

Team fees are normally set and administered by the team itself based on the number of challenge cups the team is competing at and other associated team costs. The team is responsible to pay the entry fee associated with all challenge cups other than the Ontario Winter Games.

ERRA will normally assume the cost for participants' fees associated with the Ontario Winter Games. If the ERRA elects to change this decision it must be done by majority vote by the executive and ratified at the ERRA AGM just prior to the next Ontario Winter Games.

Funding may be available through the ORA (Quest For Gold) or other similar agencies. In the event that after having exhausted these funding avenues, team fees are still found to be prohibitive to some team members, ERRA will consider subsidizing individual team fees on a case by case basis.

Coach/Staff Selection

As soon as possible after the forming of the Elite Committee, all members associations will be solicited to have potential head coaches and managers submit an e-mail to the ERRA Elite Coordinator expressing their interest. A deadline will be set for submissions.

After the deadline for submissions has passed, the Elite Committee will meet to assess the applications and the merits of each. When there is more than one application, the Elite Committee will meet with each individual applicant to discuss their respective coaching philosophy. Upon completion of the interviews, one head coach will be selected and all applicants will be notified of the Committee's decision.

After their appointment, the head coach, in consultation with the Elite Committee, will normally select the assistant coaches and team manager.

The number of bench staff selected for the team directly impacts the funding for the Ontario Winter Games and should be decided in consultation with the ORA Elite Chair.

Team Selection

The AAA try-out notification will be posted on the ERRA web site and distributed to all member associations a minimum of six weeks prior to the start of the try-out sessions. Member associations are responsible to contact all age eligible players (2nd year U14 and older) within their respective associations and notify them of the AAA try-outs. Interested players will be required to complete a registration form and submit it to the Elite Coordinator along with the pre-determined registration fee a minimum of two weeks before the start of the try-out sessions.

The registration fee shall be reviewed and adjusted as necessary each Ontario Winter Games year based on the cost of ice rentals and the projected number of participants.

ERRA will book a minimum of four ice sessions, totaling ten hours of ice time to be used to select the team.
The number of ice sessions and total hours of ice time may be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to accommodate larger than anticipated registrations.

Try-out jerseys shall be purchased and distributed to the registrants at the start of the first session. These will normally be in four equal groups of different colours to facilitate inter-squad scrimmages. Each registrant may keep their try-out jersey.

A minimum of three qualified assessors will be selected by the head coach in consultation with the Elite Committee to pick the AAA team. These evaluators must have no conflict of interest with any of the players trying out for the team and must be a minimum of 18 years old. The players shall be selected based on the evaluations of the assessment team in consultation with the head coach and bench staff. The final decision on all player selections belongs to the head coach.

No player decisions will be made prior to the completion of the second ice session. All player decisions, including the final selection, are to be made by sealed envelope at the conclusion of the ice session. All registrants must participate in all ice sessions in order to be considered for the team. In the case of injury or other extenuating circumstances, the registrant must advise the Elite Coordinator in writing of their inability to participate in all of the sessions and the reasons why. The Elite Committee, in consultation with the head coach, will make a determination as to whether the registrant should be considered for the team. Full registration fee must be paid
before any player may be selected for the AAA team.

The number of players selected for the team directly impacts the funding for the Ontario Winter Games and should be decided in consultation with the ORA Elite Chair.

Uniforms

ERRA AAA complete uniforms (jerseys and pants, twenty of each) are to be purchased new every six years, starting in 2011.

At the conclusion of an Ontario Winter Games year, the ERRA executive may consider selling the jerseys to that year's team if the team submits a written request. In this case, the jerseys would be sold at the cost to ERRA and only in a full set of twenty. Under no circumstances will ERRA consider selling individual jerseys.

Last Amended October 30, 2010