Information for those
NEW to Officiating
Read the whole page as we still take many questions that are answered here. Some things will be repeated as we still take many questions that are
answered here.
2010
Hockey Canada Officiating Program (HCOP)
To get started - in our area contact the OMHA (Ontario Minor Hockey Association) office (OMHA) for training details regarding dates, locations, and cost of the new official entry level clinics.The OMHA is the provincial governing body responsible for training and certifying officials in our area for minor hockey. The BHRA is NOT a provincial governing body, we are a local association formed to help local referees.
For persons wanting to become a brand new official looking to start officiating in the 2010/2011
season:
Contact
the Referee-in-Chief (RIC) of the local minor hockey
organization you wish to officiate with, in order to receive
instructions
and information about upcoming local new official entry level clinics. New
official entry level clinics
for new
officials in our area are generally posted on the OMHA’s website during the second week of
September, however clinics that are already full are not posted.
When you
register for a clinic, a fee is payable. Please follow the
hosting
provincial hockey association’s instructions regarding this payment.
This fee includes your membership within that provincial
association, training
you will receive, supervision by the provincial associations’
supervisors, communications, and INSURANCE (Personal Injury and
Liability).
According to the OMHA’s
FAQ section - New officials must be 14 years of age or older in
order to
attend a Junior Referees clinic (new official entry level clinic). New
official entry level clinics
start after the current registered official “Re-Cert”
clinics
finish (beginning of October) which
generally means later on in the month.
Re-Certification
clinics are for previously certified officials
only who are returning each season.
New officials may NOT
attend one of these Re-Certification
clinics.
Please keep checking the OMHA web site ("Development Programs" in
the left column, then "Clinic Listings" under "Referee Program Overview"
at the top of the page).
Once you see clinic listings, you will need to look for "Entry Level
Clinics" because new officials must attend an OMHA new official Entry Level clinic.
See link to OMHA clinic listings here
There will not be an OMHA new official entry level clinic held in Barrie this season, so you will
have to register for one of the new official entry level clinics in another hockey centre close to Barrie. These new official entry level clinics usually
begin near mid-October, after the majority of the Re-Certification
clinics have taken place.
Start your contacting early in the summer. If you wait until the fall (before you start contacting anyone) you run the risk of being too late. Most new official entry level clinics fill early and do not make the list published on the OMHA's website.
New official entry level clinics occur after "Returning official" recertification clinics finish, usually in October. Commencing near the end of October, and into November, new official entry level clinics run throughout the province. If you missed this years fall round of clinics, you will have to wait again until next fall.
Contact the Referee-In-Chief of the Barrie Minor Hockey Association, or the Referee-in-Chief of the local minor hockey organization you wish to officiate with, to find out their procedures for registering with their organization.
Don’t forget to check out
the OMHA Referee
Schools in Guelph, Trenton and Windsor for new officials only.
These
schools run over an entire weekend, usually near the end of
September, and
include class room time as well as on ice sessions with Instructors
from
all levels of hockey (amateur and pro). Also included is hotel, and
meals,
for the weekend but please see the Ontario Minor Hockey Association
for specific details. Apply
in early June or July as registration fees
increase after the beginning of August.
2010 OMHA Referees School
Anouncement
(For NEW Refs only)
September 24-26, 2010
Trenton, Guelph &
Windsor
See OMHA Referee School info here.
______________________________________________________________________________
All new officials
require a Police Record Check
(costs $40 locally) available through your local police department.
The
form is to be completed, sealed and handed in to the OMHA at the clinics.
In our region (because hockey officials are paid) the full fee of
$40 is
normally charged. Allow two to six weeks for this process to be
completed. You cannot begin
officiating in the OMHA without this PRC submission.
All re-certifying
officials have previously submitted a PRC, but they are still
required to
annually hand in a sealed Criminal Offence Declaration form at the
re-cert
clinics.
______________________________________________________________________________
Minor ice hockey officials in Canada are certified under Hockey Canada’s HCOP program, administered through the Provincial
Associations. The Ontario Hockey
Federation governs in Ontario through its member partners (Alliance, OWHA, OMHA, GTHL, and NOHA).
Our local Referees
Association (BHRA) is located in the Barrie, Ontario area. We work mainly through
the OMHA (they govern minor hockey in our region) although we have senior association
members who officiate OHA, OHL, and University hockey.
______________________________________________________________________________
For those who want information
about refereeing, begin at the national level with Hockey Canada. Go to the “How to
Get Started”
section for general referee information.
In Ontario (our province) go to the Ontario
Hockey Federation. The OHF has a section on refereeing as well - Officiating
Development.
Finally, in our region see the Ontario
Minor Hockey Association
where the OMHA has posted information under “Development Programs” –“Referee Program Overview” regarding new official clinics
for 2010.
______________________________________________________________________________
Remember - contact the Referee-in-Chief (RIC) of the local minor hockey
organization you wish to officiate with, in order to receive instructions
and information about upcoming local new official entry level clinics. New official entry level clinics for new
officials in our area are generally posted on the OMHA’s website during the second week of
September, however clinics that are already full are not posted.
When you
register for a clinic, a fee is payable. Please follow the hosting
provincial hockey association’s instructions regarding this payment.
This fee includes your membership within that provincial association, training
you will receive, supervision by the provincial associations’
supervisors, communication items, and INSURANCE (both Personal Injury and
Liability).
According to the OMHA’s
FAQ section - New officials must be 14 years of age or older in order to
attend a Junior Referees clinic (new official entry level clinic). New official entry level clinics
start after the current registered official “Re-Cert” clinics
finish (October 2nd & 3rd in 2010) which
generally means later on in the month.
______________________________________________________________________________
New officials will start
working in the two official system, learning the ropes at lower levels of
hockey. There are rules to follow about being two years older than the age
of the players you are working with, and officials must be 16
years of age or older in order to be promoted to a Level 2R.
You will begin working as a linesman in the three man system after
you are promoted to level 2R, but there are rules about the level of hockey
you are qualified to officiate that must be followed.
Later you will be promoted to 2C, which means you will begin working as the referee in the three official
system. However there is still the “two years older” rule that
may limit assignments of younger officials, and there is always that chart
that specifies your eligibility. No matter how high
a level you reach as an official, there is always a chart that specifies
eligibility to officiate.
Another item to note is this:
the higher the level one reaches as an official, the higher the minimum grade
required in order to pass the annual exams. Most officials who have been
around for a number of years and who have moved up several levels require 80% or higher as the “minimum” mark needed to pass.
Senior
referees at Level 5 & 6 require a 90% minimum grade in order to pass.
______________________________________________________________________________
Please
note – promotion of officials is handled by provincial hockey
governing organizations (in Ontario the OHF’s minor hockey member
partners Alliance, OWHA, OMHA, GTHL, NOHA) through their supervisors’
recommendations.
Promotions are NOT handled through local referee associations, like the BHRA, even though the supervisors in our area belong to our association.
Once you have completed a new
official’s clinic, contact the Referee-in-Chief (RIC) of the local minor hockey organization you want to officiate with in order to get started.
______________________________________________________________________________
You
will not officiate Junior hockey in the OHA without advancing first through
local minor hockey officiating ranks. Junior hockey supervisors look for 18
to 24 year old certified officials with a track record. Others, outside
this general category, have received the opportunity to do junior hockey,
but they are the exception rather than the norm.
Advancement
through the levels is by "merit" obtained only after numerous successful evaluations
and promotions by local provincial minor hockey association supervisors.
Good officials come to the attention of Junior hockey supervisors. Remember,
anybody you see doing higher levels of hockey earned it by paying their
dues at the minor hockey level and improving themselves.
If you want to advance as an official to Junior and professional
hockey – it all starts at the bottom. | 
