Minor hockey associations across the province are struggling to attract and retain officials, but Chilliwack is bucking the trend.
Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association’s Referee in Chief, Wade Martz, said CMHA has taken a different approach in recent years and it’s paid off.
“We seemed to always have a wait list for new officials, but by the time their opportunity came into play, most had lost interest or moved on,” he explained. “But over the last few years we have opened up our clinic to training and develop as many new officials as are interested, knowing that there is a high attrition rate.
Twelve is the age at which youths can start refereeing and with more youngsters coming in, Martz said CMHA is better insulated as older refs move on to university/college or a career opportunity pulls them away.
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“Last year we held an open clinic where we had 47 new officials attend, and I would estimate a good 60 to 70 percent will return this year.” he noted. “We have had a lot of interest again for 2022-23, and I estimate having about 40 new officials.”
It’s a major shift from the start of the pandemic back in 2019. As COVID became a thing, Martz said they lost a lot of officials. CMHA only had 40 to 60 officials for 2019-20, and only 70 for 2020-21.
But the numbers bounced back big time in 2021-22, with 120 hitting the ice, and Martz anticipates having a roster of 140 or more this fall.
So while other associations cancel games because they can’t find referees, Chilliwack almost has the opposite problem.
“The biggest challenge will be getting everyone opportunities to officiate that work with their schedule,” Martz said. “With the addition of games in Hope, I hope we will be able to give our new officials a positive experience.
“Last year we even had an 11-year-old official and plan to continue to allow a small number of them to join. We will have many 12-year-olds this year, as they will make up the core officials for U11 games. I hope to develop them early on so they have the confidence, knowledge, and experience when working the higher levels.”
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