Riverside South Players Choice Initiative - Background

GCRA Players Choice Initiative - Background

The geographic area referred to as Riverside South is part of the GCRA boundary. The area has been extensively developed with new homes and neighborhoods in recent years. There is commercial infrastructure to support the new communities but the area lacks skating rinks. Some infrastructure budget (approx. $4.5m) is set aside to develop a new recreation facility (estimated 2018) but it is not currently known if the facility will include skating rinks.
Some families in parts of Riverside South travel inconvenient distances to ringette practices even though there may be practice rinks available from other associations nearby. The area in question borders Metcalfe, Ottawa, Nepean and West Ottawa associations. Some stakeholders feel that, in order to promote growth of our sport in these communities, families interested in ringette need options until the location of any new rink(s) is determined and an acceptable ERRA regional boundary assessment supported by the ERRA and stakeholder ringette associations is approved (if required).

Stakeholder associations

Gloucester-Cumberland Ringette Association
Central Ottawa Ringette Association
Nepean Ringette Association
West Ottawa Ringette Association
Clarence-Rockland Ringette Association
Metcalfe & District Ringette Association
Arnprior-McNab Ringette Association

GCRA Riverside South activities

Worked on Welcome Year proposal with CORA, WORA, Nepean, and Metcalfe associations (fall 2015 to Winter 2016)
Secured additional ice at Fred Barrett arena
- To host south end Bunnies and team practices
GCRA Novice teams (16/17) formed geographically rather than balanced
- U8 and U10
Informal GCRA consultation with coaches, teams and families in Riverside South area
Deferral of “Welcome Year” pilot decision for 1 year
- To gain a better understanding of facts, evidence and issues
- Unclear success metrics
Working with City of Ottawa on ice contracts for south end
- Continued tracking of plans for new recreational facilities
- Exploration of options to secure ice in area (AMPED, Albion and Leitrim)
Initiated interim GCRA Boundary proposal for 2 years
- Including metrics on growth of sport during the 2 year period
ERRA endorsement of GCRA Players Choice proposal March 2017

Initiative

GCRA initiates that a GCRA Players’ Choice zone be created for the next two ringette seasons (17-18 and 18-19) that will allow families in the GCRA Players’ zone to register new ringette players with associations that offer more convenient practice rinks. GCRA will sign GCRA Players’ Choice releases for affected candidate players over this two-year period pending the recommendations and approval based on an ERRA sanctioned boundary assessment of the eastern region. The GCRA process will also be used to gather facts and metrics about growth of the sport in the Riverside South area over the two-year period.
At the end of the two-year period, any players that were released to play under the Players’ Choice option will be given the option to remain with their chosen association or return to GCRA. All associations must agree unequivocally to release the players that make a request to rejoin GCRA.
If the ERRA and stakeholder associations are unable to agree upon and approve new boundaries by the end of January 2019, the GCRA Players’ Choice Initiative will be terminated and the boundaries will return to those used in 2016 represented in Figure 1 below.

Qualified candidates

Within the GCRA Players’ Choice zone (see Figure 2 below):

Any new player to the sport of ringette; or
Any ringette player that moved to the GCRA Players’ Choice geographic area (represented in Figure 2 below) after the end of the 2016/2017 ringette season; or
Any player that was registered in Bunnies/Learn to skate that lives in the GCRA Players’ Choice zone in the 2016 /2017 playing year.