FAQs about Long-Term Athlete Development What is Long-Term Athlete Development? LTAD is a training, competition and recovery program based on developmental age - the maturation level of an individual - rather than chronological age. It is premised on the explicit value of placing the needs of the athlete first, and considers the physical, mental, emotional and cognitive development of children and adolescents as essential to building physical literacy and long-term health. LTAD offers a holistic approach that places an emphasis on values such as fair play, satefy, fairness, inclusion and fun. LTAD has the potential to touch every element of Canada's complex sport system and to reach into every corner of our country.       Where did the Long-Term Athlete Development model come from, and do we have to follow it? How many sports are doing this? LTAD is an initiative that is being led by Sport Canada. The overall model was developed by a team of experts and researchers who are now working with each National Sports Organization (NSO) to develop models that address the needs and requirements of each specific sport. A large percentage of the funding for all sports now depends on the implementation of LTAD. Sports are at various stages of implementation, with some in the first wave that are now fully implemented, and others in the fourth wave that are just getting started. Ringette is in the third wave of LTAD. All sports are involved with LTAD.       Are the division names changing in Ringette? Yes. Effective the 2009/10 season, the division names in Ringette are changing to the "U" classification system as shown below. The "U" stands for "Under" and many other sports use this system. In this system, the U19 division would be for athletes under the age of 19 (or 18 and below). These new division names alone do not represent a major change to our sport, with the exception of the new overlap between the current Bunnies to Novice stage, and the current Belle to Open stage. Most athletes will fit into the "lowest" age division that they are eligible for, but similar to how athletes have been "moved up" in the past, the new divisions do allow for player movement should it be indicated based on developmental age. For more information check out Moving Players Between Divisions, an article that discusse important considerations when evaluating the developmental age of athletes.     New Division Name Old Division Name LTAD Stage of Development     U9 Bunnies Fundamentals     U10 Novice Learning to Train 1     U12 Petite Learning to Train 2     U14 Tween Training to Train 1     U16 Junior Training to Train 2     U19 Belle Training to Compete     18+ Open Training to Win         Will there be a Nova Scotia Petite AA team this year? Beginning in the 2009/10 season, team selections based on "try-outs" or the "cutting" of players will not begin before the Training to Train stage of development (U14). There will no longer be a Petite AA team in Nova Scotia, and this is consistent with the other provinces. Sport is a venue for children to learn about healthy competition, and LTAD will continue to provide this opportunity. There are no children who have become “worse” athletes by playing with those of a lesser caliber. In addition, by identifying "elite" athletes too early, we expose those players to training and competition programs that they are not yet developmentally ready for, and they miss out on basic skill development which should be the focus in the early stages of athlete development.  Ringette is a late specialization sport, which means that children can not only start late, but they can hit their peak late. There are athletes on Team Canada who did not start playing AA until Junior and even Belle.         Has the age of eligibility for Canada Winter Games changed? The Canada Games ages has been moved up by one year, as the Canada Games Council would like the Games to be for “Next Generation National Team Athletes”. The age group is now U20 for Canada Games. Competing athletes will be in the Learning to Win Stage of their development.         What other age divisions will be affected by LTAD? The implementation of LTAD will eventually mean changes in all Ringette age divisons. Not all changes will be drastic, and since we are undergoing a phased implementation, we can expect a few divisions to be affected in each season. It's important to remember that with the implementation of LTAD will come improved athlete development - this is something that we are very excited about!         We are going to lose our players to Hockey. Is Hockey implementing LTAD? Hockey Canada is very much in support of LTAD, and they had the greatest number of representatives of any sport at the recent Canadian Sport for Life (LTAD) Conference in Ottawa. Ringette Canada had the second highest representation, with over 15 delegates. Like other sports, Hockey Canada is currently working to develop their LTAD program, and its implementation will follow a timeframe that is specific to the size and structure of their sport.         I am a ____________ (coach, official, volunteer, sponsor). What does LTAD have to do with me? The success of LTAD will be determined by each and every ringette player, coach, official, parent, volunteer and supporter across Canada. LTAD is a comprehensive framework and it includes everyone who is part of the system of Ringette in Canada. It is athlete-centred, coach driven, and supported by administration and sponsors. We all can have a role in its success.