Rules

2026 Ringette NS High School Ringette Show Down

Official Tournament Rules

RINGETTE CANADA RULES: The Official Rules of Ringette Canada will apply, except for the Breaking of Ties in Standings, as set out below.

Conduct

Good sportsmanship will be stressed throughout the Tournament.

RNS has a zero-tolerance rule towards abuse of any nature. Any member of a team - players, staff or spectators - will be asked to leave the arena if they are yelling at or otherwise abusing the officials, players, coaches, managers, spectators, volunteers, Ringette NS staff or any other participants. Players and coaches will be assessed the appropriate penalties, and the tournament has the right to ask any spectators to leave the arena should they be abusive towards any participant.

Match penalties will result in suspension from the remainder of the Tournament.

General Rules and Game Administration

All games will consist of two seventeen (17) minute stop-time periods. There will be no overtime in round robin games.

A three (3) minute warm-up will commence when the Zamboni leaves the ice surface.

Game sheets are to be completed by each team and signed at the tournament control desk by the coach or manager of each team (Home and Visitor) a minimum of twenty (20) minutes prior to game time. Teams will indicate the goaltender(s), captains and assistant captains on the game sheet, as well as any affiliate players and injured players.

Electronic game sheets (RAMP GameSheet App) are to be used at all times unless technical issues present difficulties.

All goals scored will be entered on the score sheet, but the maximum difference of goals to be shown on the scoreboard and tournament charts will be seven (7) more than the lower scoring team’s goals. Any goals in excess of the 7-goal spread will not be used for the purposes of determining standings or tie-breaking.

Teams must be ready to go on the ice five (5) minutes before game time. Failure to start play when required will result in automatic default of game (posted score 7-0) unless the following circumstances apply.

team vehicle accident;
proof of transportation breakdown;
cancellation or delay of transport due to weather conditions; and
Schedule change and or error not communicated to the teams by the tournament organizers.

Failure of a team to ice a team in a scheduled tournament game will result in a default of that game, and two (2) points plus a score of 7-0 awarded to the other team provided they ice a team. If both teams fail to ice a team, zero points will be awarded and a score of 7-7 will be posted for each team.

No team shall gain an advantage in the standings by defaulting a game (e. no team shall gain a higher standing by virtue of obtaining a 7-7 tie by defaulting a game).

A team must have seven (7) or more players available to play at the start of a game. If a team starts a game with seven (7) players and one or more become injured or cannot play for any reason, the team may continue that game without forfeit.

Should a game be unable to be played for one of the above reasons, the tournament organizers will make every attempt possible to reschedule that game. However, if the tournament organizers are unable to reschedule that game, the game result will be recorded as a posted score of 3-3.

If in the 2nd period of any game, there is a seven (7) goal difference or greater, the period will be running time rather than stop-time.

During round robin play, teams will receive two (2) points for a win, one (1) point for a tie and zero (0) points for a loss. At the completion of round robin play, teams will be ranked according to total points in all games played. The breaking of ties in the standing at the end of round robin play will be according to Ringette Canada rules for “Breaking of Ties in Team Standings”, below.

No game protest will be accepted. All on-ice decisions and applications of the playing rules will be final.

Player eligibility and all other grievances will be arbitrated by the Tournament Chairperson, whose decisions are final.

2026 Ringette NS High School Ringette Show Down

Tie Breaking Rules

When two or more teams have an equal number of points after completion of the round robin games, Ringette Nova Scotia is responsible for determining the rankings.

Clarification of the Process

For the purpose of the tie breaking procedure, no more than a 7-goal difference will be recognized.
If a team(s) has forfeited a game, that team(s) will be ranked the lowest position(s) amongst the tied teams.
When not all tied teams in a ringette tournament have played each other, tie-breaking procedures shift from head-to-head results to overall performance metrics

Breaking of Ties in Team Standings

The ranking of the tied teams will be determined in the order set out below. As soon as a step is completed and one or more teams are ranked as a result of fully completing that step, go back to the top of the ranking of tied teams process. For example: If 4 teams are tied, a tie between all 4 teams could be broken in step 9. If the tie is only broken between two teams at the end of step 9, then go back to step 1.

If all tied teams have played each other, and one of the tied teams has beaten all other tied teams, in every game played between the tied teams, rank that team highest.
If still tied and all tied teams have not played each other equally go directly to rule 7.
If still tied, rank the teams in order of wins between only the tied teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the plus/minus (goals for minus goals against) only in games between the tied teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the least goals against only in games between the tied teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the most goals for only in games between the tied teams.
If still tied, rank the teams in order of wins between all teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the plus/minus (goals for minus goals against) in games between all teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the least goals against only in games between all teams.
If still tied, rank teams in order of the most goals for in games between all teams.
If still tied, the team having the least total minutes in penalties in all games during the round robin will be declared the highest position.
If still tied, a coin toss will be used to break the tie.

Breaking of Ties in Semi-final or Final Games

If a semi-final or championship game is tied at the end of regulation play, the teams will immediately commence a 5-minute stop-time sudden victory period. Possession of the ring will be determined by the tossing of a coin by an on-ice official. The team winning the coin toss will get the free pass and the other team will get the choice of ends.

If a semi-final or championship game is still tied at the end of the sudden victory period, the teams will immediately proceed to a shoot-out. Five shooters must be identified on the game sheet prior to commencement of the game.

If after the first 5 shooters, the game is still tied, then the shoot-out will proceed through the remainder of the roster, with each team sending one player to shoot until one team has more goals than the other. Teams must rotate through the entire roster before a player can take a second shot.

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Game Summary

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Game Summary

Rules