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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

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Hockey Alberta puts out call for more on-ice officials

Sep 23, 2021 | 12:01 PM

Hockey Alberta needs more on-ice officials in the Red Deer area.

Cody Huseby, North Central Regional Coordinator, says kids should be 13 as of Dec. 31, 2021.

He explains that being an official is a great way to stay involved in the game if you’re no longer playing.

“There are a number of important life skills such as communication, responsibility and teamwork that are acquired while officiating. It is a very tough job and we understand that, but we try to put people in places where they are successful,” Huseby says.

“We’ve teamed up with Red Deer Minor Hockey and have a mentorship program in place to help develop and instruct our younger officials who are brand new to the job. It is also a great part-time job, the pay is actually quite decent and our online assigning system allows officials to dark out days when they can’t work. So it can still seamlessly fit into the most hectic of schedules.”

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There are upfront costs including approximately $100 to take the one-day clinic and become registered. That covers insurance, the cost of instructors and other operating expenses.

Officials are paid between $20-50 per game, depending on the level.

“We have very rarely, if ever, ran into a situation in our region where the number of officials is too high,” he says. “We are looking for people of all ages and abilities. We seem to really struggle to find and keep officials in that 15-25 demographic, which puts us in a very difficult spot because U15 and U13 hockey just keeps getting faster and harder to officiate.”

Huseby admits officiating hockey can be stressful, and that manifests in the form of abuse by players, coaches and parents. His message to families perhaps turned off by that is Hockey Alberta’s no tolerance stance on abuse of officials.

“We try to best prepare our officials for the situations that they might encounter during our clinics. But we know situations do arise throughout the year and sometimes officials are driven away from the game because of it,” he says.

“Unfortunately, it is present in our game, but it’s something we continue to advocate against and work with our Minor Hockey associations to curb.”

In August, Hockey Canada announced a new maltreatment playing rule for the 2021-22 season. The policy applies to officials and any member of a team involved in a game. In can be read in Section 11 of the official Hockey Canada rulebook.

Registration for on-ice officials is open at officials.hockeyalberta.ca, by clicking the tab in the upper-right corner, and selecting ‘Clinics/Registration.’