ShareNOTICE ON ABUSE OF OFFICIALS
2016-09-22
The Gloucester Hockey Association has a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for abuse and harassment of officialsThis message is to serve as a reminder that the Gloucester Hockey Association has a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for abuse and harassment of officials.
To make this clear, here is a quote from rule 9.2 in the Hockey Canada rulebook regarding harassment of official.
“Team officials shall be responsible for their conduct and that of their players at all times. They must endeavor to prevent disorderly conduct before, during or after the game, on or off the ice and any place in the rink. The Referee may assess penalties to any of the above team officials for failure to do so and shall report full details of the incident to the President.”
This rule is crystal clear. Any display of protest for the ruling of an official is strictly prohibited in any Hockey Canada-sanctioned game. If you abuse officials in any manner, you will be subjected to discipline. It is important to remember that many minor hockey officials are teenagers, or new officials. Depending on their age, confidence level and experience, there may be differing results on the ice. Just like the players on the ice, officials are learning every time they step on the ice.
Every year, there are more games within the district since the opening of the Richcraft Sensplex. This positively affects our association by giving players more opportunities to play in meaningful games. However, it puts extra strain on our officiating body as well.
We lose officials due to abuse from parents and coaches at the end of every season. This number is often not offset by new officials entering the district. This means that while the number of games in the district goes up, the number of qualified officials to referee those games goes down.
The only way to reverse this trend is by asking parents, coaches and players to be more respectful to the officials assigned to their games.
Encouragement and support, rather than ridicule and harassment, would be much appreciated as we attempt to improve our officiating body.
Thank you,
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