Role of the Referee Scheduler WAHA Association Development Conference August 2, 2014

Role of the Referee Scheduler

WAHA Association Development Conference

August 2, 2014

Presenters

Tim Richter • WHOA Referee-in-Chief and WAHA Section Director• USA Hockey Local Supervisor of Officials• [email protected]

Bill Spohn • WAHA Region 4 Director• USA Hockey Local Supervisor of Officials• [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Agenda

•Background of Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association

•Recruitment

•Retention

•Continuing Education

•Assigning

•Demonstration of the WHOA Supervisors Website

•Questions and Answers

Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association

What is the Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association (WHOA) ?

• WHOA is the officiating arm of WAHA run entirely by volunteers.

• Register and educate approximately 1,500 officials annually through

seminars.

• Supervise officials for performance and offer feedback using trained

USA Hockey Evaluators.

• Provide support to local associations.

• Involved with the assignment and supervision of officials for WAHA

Playoffs and State Tournaments.

• Offer development camps in connection with WAHA player

development festivals.

• Promote safe and fair play for enjoyment by all.


Four Primary Focus Areas of the Referee Scheduler

• Recruitment

• Retention

• Continued Education (Local Senior Official or Referee-in-Chief)

• Assignment


Recruitment“We have all of these games, where are

the officials going to come from?”

Recruitment• Typically begins in August to coincide with USA Hockey and

WHOA registration seasons.

• Send out an email to players in your association aged 12 years and up indicating the need for officials. Note the benefits (getting PAID to be on the ice, exercise, learn the game from another perspective, develop social and diplomacy skills for life). May want to direct them to the WHOA website (www.wihoa.org) for the seminar schedule.

• Many associations help defray the equipment cost by having community officiating sweaters, black helmets and half-shield visors.

• Some associations reimburse USA Hockey and WHOA registration fees depending on number of games worked.

Recruitment• There is a definite need for adult officials at all levels

as well (and, yes, they need to know how to skate, too). 70% of WHOA’s membership falls in the 12-18 age category.

• Additional requirements (SafeSport training and screening) for officials over the age of 18.

• Recruitment is continuous as officials get older (especially the 13-18 age bracket) or through attrition.

By not recruiting, you run the risk of having a lack of officials in your area. This can increase your referee expense as you may need to pay mileage to bring in out of town officials.


Retention“We’ve recruited this bumper

crop of new officials. Now, how do we keep them

around?”

Retention

Pop Quiz

Last year, the Central District Officiating Program surveyed hundreds of former officials and asked them, “Why they decided to not officiate during the 2013-14 season?”

Can you identify the top three reasons?

1) Time Constraints

2) Not assigned to games or enough games

3) Pay not worth the time/Too much time

Retention

•Nationally, we lose 8% of our new officials and 35% of all of our officials annually.

• USA Hockey Officials registration has decreased annually over the last five years.

• In Wisconsin, registration reversed a trend and increased after two years of decline. However, retention and turnover rate is still high.

Retention

Ideas to Help Retain Officials

•Maintaining a supportive environment where abuse from players, coaches and parents is not tolerated.

• Contacting current officials to inform them of seminar dates. Encourage to complete their requirements as early as possible.

• Fairness in assignments and offering opportunities

• Provide continued education and challenge officials to improve (Utilize local Referee-in-Chief or Senior Official)

• Fair compensation


•Similar to a coaches role…

• The recruitment and retention of officials is everyone’s responsibility and critical to the overall success of your association.

• There are areas of the state where games have been cancelled due to lack of officials.


Continuing Education for Officials


•During any given season, officials will receive approximately 8-9 hours of classroom, ice and online instruction through USA Hockey and WHOA.

•With such time constraints in our seminars, it is impossible to cover everything. Local off-ice meetings complement the on-ice training and seminar experience.

• Improves your local officials and their officiating.


MeetingsVeteran official or Association Referee-in-Chief should conducts periodic meetings throughout the season to reinforce material covered in the seminars and from game observations.

A Sample of Topics • USA Hockey Open Book Rules Exam Roundtable • Positioning and Mechanics• Penalties• Rule Knowledge, Rule Interpretations, Video Clips• Reinforcement before State Playoffs and State

Tournaments• Power Skating• On-ice simulation• Other areas of concern


Small reward for officials for participating and

attending meetings:

• Give scheduling preference

• Reimburse registration fees on a gradual scale

• Small prizes (pens, skate laces, riot pads, rule number/penalty

aids)


Assigning

“All of our officials are USA Hockey/WHOA registered and certified,

let’s get them games!”

Assigning

Not An Exact Science

Scheduling officials for games is not about “putting warm bodies on the ice”. As an assigner, you need to assess your resources properly to ensure officials are properly certified and prepared for the level (age and skill) of game they are officiating.

Assigning

Important dates for a Scheduler and Official

• August 1, 2014 – First Day of USA Hockey Officials Registration

• August 2, 2014 – First Day of WHOA Seminar Registration

Registering for a WHOA seminar will also register the official with WHOA

• November 30, 2014 – Last day an official can officiate using the 2013-14 card and crest

IMPORTANT – On December 1, 2014, all officials must possess a 2014-15 card and crest to officiate .

• December 31, 2014 – All Level 2,3 and 4 officials must be completely registered (USAH/WHOA registered, 2014-2015 card and crest in hand and screened (if applicable) to be eligible to officiate 2015 WAHA Playoffs and State Tournaments.

Assigning

WAHA Rules and Screening for Officials

•WAHA rules require all officials to be registered with USA Hockey/WHOA in order to officiate WAHA sanctioned games. (WAHA Guidebook, Rules and Regulations, Art. 1, Sec. L.1)

• In compliance with USA Hockey’s SafeSport Policy, all officials over the age of 18 as of July 31, 2014 MUST be screened by the WHOA Background Screening Program every 2 years.

Assigning

Verification of Officials Registration and Screening

•WHOA offers schedulers a site where they can verify an official’s registration, certification and screening status:

www.offserv.com/whoa/supv• Schedulers can obtain a username and password to access the site. The data on this site is updated nightly directly from USA Hockey and WHOA.

•WAHA does not require that you use it; however, it is highly recommended.

• You are responsible for assigning only properly registered officials. Assigning unregistered or unscreened officials is a violation of both USA Hockey and WAHA rules and regulations.

http://www.offserv.com/whoa/supv

Assigning

Verification of Officials CertificationThere are a couple of groups of officials where you need to exercise caution in the assignment process:

College Students and Out of State Officials

• May have completed their seminar out of state

• Background screening may be incomplete or not through WHOA

• May not be registered with WHOA

• Officials whose USA Hockey registration resides in a non-Central District state (Minnesota or Michigan are the most prevalent) will not have their USA Hockey certification records updated until late December.

• It is the assigners responsibility to verify registration and screening status BEFORE assigning games to these officials.

Assigning

In summary, if an official is unregistered

or unscreenedDO NOT ASSIGN!

Assigning

Assigning Process

• USA Hockey certifies officials from Level 1 (Beginning) through Level 4 (Advanced) and has recommended assignment guidelines to assist you in placing officials in appropriate age level games. The link to the guidelines is:

www.usahockey.com/page/show/902178-assignment-guidelines

• Although the standards are not mandatory, WAHA has sanctioned associations in the past for using underqualified officials.

• USA Hockey discourages officials working games of their same age classification.

Assigning

Assigning Process

There are several methods assigners use to obtain officials for their games.

• Assignment Software - Ref’r’Ranger (used by WAHA), ArbiterSports, HorizonWeb• E-mail Solicitation• Excel Spreadsheet (Google Docs)• Phone Calls• Text

Once you receive your game schedules it is best to solicit official’s availability as soon as possible to avoid conflicts.

Assigning

Assigning ProcessMost associations utilize the Two-Official system (Two Referees), but some use the Three-Official system (1-Referee, 2-Linesmen).

These are the only systems authorized by USA Hockey and WAHA.

Assigning Tips and Best Practices

• Get the game schedules as early as possible and solicit availability.

• Assign upper-level games first utilizing your more qualified officials - then fill in to the lower level games next.

• If possible, pair a younger official with a veteran official to “get their

feet wet”.

• Many associations have adopted scheduling practices where an adult will be partnered with a youth official.

• Be mindful of officials working too many games in one day. Limit them to a maximum of three games. This includes invitational tournaments.

Assigning


• Overexposure to one team is concerning; however, sometimes you don’t have a choice. Prevent if possible.

• Favoritism has no place in assigning. Give everyone a chance.

• Reward officials who are hustling, in position and making an effort (rely on your veteran officials for assistance).

• When an official is assigned a game, it is their responsibility to secure a qualified replacement.

• Consider fines or other punitive measures when officials fail to

show up.

Assigning


•Monitor performance and get to know your staff

•Do not assign an official to a game which is “over their

head.”

•Never assume an official will receive their certification card and crest by the weekend (new officials and November 30)

• As a reminder, officials are independent contractors. You are not obligated to assign them and they are not obligated to officiate for you.

Assigning

WAHA Playoff and State Tournament Assigning

• Assigning officials for WAHA Playoffs and State Tournaments are treated much differently than regular season. Only Level 2,3 and 4 officials who are completely registered (all requirements satisfied by Dec. 31) will be eligible to officiate. Level 2 and 3 officials have game age level restrictions.

• In early January, WHOA will publish a list of all eligible officials and post on the WHOA and WAHA websites (www.wihoa.org & www.wahahockey.com).

• The WHOA Region Director will contact you in advance of these events to ensure you have enough qualified officials in your area. They will ask you to submit a list of officiating assignments for review to determine all officials are eligible.

Assigning


WAHA Playoffs (February 6-8, 2015)• The WHOA Region Director will contact you as soon as the playoff

locations have been confirmed.• If ineligible officials are scheduled, they will require you to change

the assignments.• Officiating assignments must be submitted to the WHOA Region

Director at least 10 days prior to the first game (January 27, 2015).

WAHA State Tournaments (March 14-15 and March 20-22, 2015)• Similar process to WAHA playoffs• Limits the number of games an official can work per day and by

position (Referee or Linesman)• Officiating assignments must be submitted to the WHOA Region

Director at least 10 days prior to the first game (March 4, 2015 or March 10, 2015).

Assigning


• For both events, if enough eligible officials to work games cannot be secured, WAHA will require you to bring in qualified officials at the association’s expense.

• Start planning early for your officiating needs. Contacting the WHOA Director in a panic two weeks prior to the tournament is too late.

• When a WHOA or WAHA Director contacts you, please get back to them. They are here to help you run a successful weekend.

Assigning


One final note on playoffs and state tournaments…

The players, coaches and parents have worked hard throughout the season to get to this point. Your best officials need to be working these events because it is important to these players, coaches and parents!

Assigning

Now, we’re going to show you the WHOA Supervisor’s Site and it’s

capabilities.

Other Resources and Support

•USA Hockey Assigner’s Handbook

http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0042/4260/USAH_Assignor_Handbook.pdf

•WHOA Board of Directors and Region Directors (Contacts on handout)

• If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to help you!

• This presentation is available on the WHOA website



Questions?

Documents

Role of the Referee Scheduler WAHA Association Development Conference August 2, 2014