Referees

Interested in Refereeing - need to know

Things you should know about Refereeing

A few things you should know before proceeding

Referees are governed by Central Region and have nothing to do with SMHA or Hockey Calgary. You are in essence employed by Central Region – they are the ones who pay you and oversee your game assignments

SMHA provides Central Region with a volunteer called a Community Assignor who is responsible for our U9 & U11 home games only. All other age groups U13 to U18 are assigned by administrators at Central Region.

Taking the referee clinic DOES NOT GUARANTEE you game assignments at SMHA

    • You will be required to inform/register with SMHA’s community assignor of your intent to take the clinic PRIOR to taking any clinics.
      • see the registration button in the getting started section
    • SMHA offers an in-house clinic every October to our returning referees and if you notify the community assignor you can gain access to this private clinic if you are a first-year.

Referees who are assigned to the SMHA referee pool are done so by their home address area code and not necessarily by the association they play for.

    • SMHA’s community assignor only has access to arenas set by Central Region
      • Joe Phillips
      • Red Dutton
      • Edge – Kyle Stuart Memorial
    • If you set your arena preferences outside of the above arenas you need to notify those community assignors of your existence- keep in mind these assignors need to be responsible for their pool first.

SMHA referees will only be assigned U9 and U11 home games, these games are limited and if our referee pool is too large then most of our referees only see one or two game assignments every two weeks.

Other things contributing to low or no assignments are:

    • Have you informed the SMHA community assignor of your intent to referee (see above #3)
    • Are you setting your availability correctly?
      • U9 & U11 games happen early in the mornings on weekends
      • U11 weekday games start at 5:30 pm
    • How reliable are you?
      • U11 home tournaments are the best time to get in your assigned games - we run our U11 tournaments in October
      • how many games have you turned down or not attended
    • Who is in charge of your account?
      • often a parent has set the availability against the referees’ knowledge and then the referee declines the assignment.
      • SMHA assignor has a tracking system for games delined and penalties will arise if declines are habitual

Referees are financially responsible for training and equipment - SMHA does offer reimbursement please visit that section

Getting Started

Registering with SMHA

Taking a referee clinic DOES NOT GUARANTEE you game assignments at SMHA

You are required to register with SMHA’s community assignor PRIOR to taking any clinics - SMHA's referee pool might be full

This registration allows the SMHA assignor to build a contact database.

Failure to register with SMHA will result in NO game assignments

This registration is for internal SMHA use, you are NOT considered certified and eligible to referee until you have completed your training visit the "getting Certified" section

This registration tab opens from August to December of the current season.
All new and returning referees must fill out a registration.

Setting up your Hockey Registry Account (Spordal account)

All referees must have an HCR 3.0 (Spordle) account to register for the referee clinics.

If you are or have been a player then you have an account, the Hockey ID used by your parents at the time of your registration to minor hockey

Referees can choose to make their own HCR account or use their parent's account once their membership profile has been linked to their parent's HCR account.

Instructions on how to do this can be found in this document, HCR 3.0 Spordle Account - Create & Register for Clinic-Course.

Getting Certified

All officials must re-certify every season if they wish to officiate past December 15.

Clinic Types:

  • U15 Level 1 (13 & 14 years old) - Full day with ice session [search under *Official - Level 1]
    • these aged referees will only be ranked as level 1 due to their age and will only be assigned U9 & U11 games through Community assignors
  • U19 Level 1-2 (15-18 years old) - Full day with no ice session [search under *Official - Level 1-2]
    • these aged referees will be ranked as Level 1 and/or 2 due to their age and not necessarily years of service and will be assigned U13 and older games through Central Region

Questions about clinics can be sent to centralclinics@hockeyalberta.ca

NEW REFEREES

  • Minimum of 13 years old.
  • Must have access to their Hockey registry account (Spordal account) - see section above
  • Clinics take place between September 15 and November 30 annually.
  • Register for the "HU-Officiating 1/2" Clinic. You must complete the Hockey University Officiating online course prior to registering for an in-class clinic. The course takes approximately three hours to complete.
  • Once you have completed the online course, register for an in-class clinic.
  • View the instructions below for information on how to register for a clinic
  • All clinics consist of classroom sessions and on-ice sessions. Bring your skates, helmet (with visor), and a Whistle to your on-ice session.
  • IMPORTANT: Central Region will set up and email you with a log-in for the Goalline Referee Management System.

Clinic Registration

Be sure to select HOCKEY ALBERTA and HOCKEY CALGARY at the top by Find Your Clinic to narrow the search results.

  • SMHA offers an in-house clinic(s) every October to our returning referees we co-host these clinics with TW & GL and it is on a first come first served - keep your registration up to date with the SMHA assignor and watch your email for the private link
  • if you notify the SMHA assignor, prior to the in-house clinics, you can gain access as first-year.

IMPORTANT: Please register for a Calgary clinic - taking a clinic outside of Calgary can delay your certification and for new referees, can delay your referee profile setup

  • Returning Referees: ensure your Goalline access is active.
  • New Referees: Central Region will set up and email you with a log-in for the Goalline Referee Management System.
  • Hockey Canada tutorial "How to Register to a Clinic"

Referee Equipment

Required Equipment:

  • Black CSA-certified helmet
  • CSA certified half visor
  • Metal or black plastic whistle
  • Black polished skates with white laces
  • Hockey Canada Rule Book
  • Clean official's black and white sweater with Hockey Alberta crest and Hockey Canada crest (with removable armbands only)
  • Black, pressed pants

Optional Equipment:

  • Elbow pads
  • Athletic support and cup
  • Measuring tape
  • Shin Pads

*** Please note that a black Mesh Under Arm jersey is illegal

Where does the Hockey Alberta Crest go? - Left chest area over your heart
Where does the Hockey Canada Patch go? - Left shoulder
It is not recommended that you iron these on unless you get it done at a sports shop who have the correct equipment. Sewing is the best option. Crests are available at Tuxedo Sports.

Hockey Alberta - Officials - Resources - Equipment

Season Information and Resources

 

Rule Emphasis - Rule 9.2F - verbal taunts, insults, or intimidation based on discriminatory grounds

Community Referee Assignors

Community Referee Assignors assign games according to the arenas they are responsible for.  If you receive a referee assignment at an arena that is not assigned by the SMHA Referee Assignor, you will need to reach out to the Community Referee Assignor responsible for that arena if you are unable to attend the assignment.

Central Region Referee Assignors

Girls hockey and U13 are assigned by Central Region.  Please reach out to the applicable Central Region Assignor if you have any questions concerning those assignments received.

U9 Half-Ice Game Format

All U9 games (community and house league) are on half-ice. There are two Referees (one for each half-ice game). A Central Region Supervisor may be assigned to mentor new referees at these games.

Roles & Responsibilities for Officials for U9 Half-Ice Games (Jan 2019)

Reimbursement

Reimbursement submission deadline - March 31st

**NOTE: the Reimbursement program will be revised for the 2023/24 season

Springbank Minor Hockey Association will reimburse your level 1 clinic fees including the online portion after you referee 10 SMHA Community-assigned games during the year.

  • If you took Level 1-2 you still qualified for reimbursement so long as you fit the above game-assigned criteria
  • Extra supplies, like a rule book, case book, crests, armbands, referee-specific equipment, etc. WILL NOT be covered
  • Both SMHA Treasurer and SMHA Referee Coordinator reserve the right to deny reimbursement.
  • Any emails received after the submission deadline will be disqualified.
  • Missed or past seasons will not be reimbursed

Please submit your receipts along with your name and mailing address to the SMHA referee coordinator by March 31st

referee@springbankhockey.com

All reimbursement requests must come through the SMHA referee coordinator, the coordinator will confirm

  • 10 SMHA community-assigned games
  • verify the receipts
  • verify the mailing address
  • submit the reimbursement to the SMHA Treasurer

All reimbursement cheques will be mailed out by the SMHA Treasurer in a one-time cheque run after the submission deadline - the aim is for May

Rockies Vector Logo - SMHA Social Media - Eric Nicholson-big

Contact

 

32224A Springbank Road,

Calgary, Alberta T3Z 2L9

 

SPRINGBANK MINOR HOCKEY ASSOSCIATION REFEREES