AGM and Year End Social 

Monday April 15, 2024 

7:00PM

MLAC Clubhouse - 12133 67 Street NW

The AGM will include 2024 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you. 

50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10.

 

 

This year the North Zone Annual golf tournament will be hosted at Black Bull golf course, near Ma-Me-o beach. Transportation from Edmonton to and from the course will be provided free of charge. Space on the bus is limited to 54 officials,  All players MUST be registered Hockey Alberta Officials. Teams are welcome and encouraged. Prizes for best dressed team, shortest drive onto fairway and others for a fun filled day of golf!

If you are Interested in Joining the annual Golf Tournament, please contact Jeff Howe at [email protected]

 

 

AGM and Year End Social 

Monday April 15, 2024 

7:00PM

MLAC Clubhouse - 12133 67 Street NW

The AGM will include 2024 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you. 

 50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10.

North Region March Newsletter

 

Connect With Us - Social Media

          NZ_Refs            North Region Female            Website

 

Greetings from Herman Costa

Hello everyone:

With the season coming to an end, I would like to thank all officials for all their hard work and commitment to the North Region Officiating program. We registered over 2000 officials in the North Region this season so a big thank you to all the instructors, clinic contacts, RIC’s and Dean Ziegler for doing a great job.  Holding clinics for this many officials takes a lot of work and time to get it all done. With the regular season over and with playoffs more than halfway done it is very important that we know the rules for the leagues that we are officiating in.  Provincials will be starting soon so congratulations to all officials that are selected to work playoffs and provincials.

I would also like to congratulate all North Region officials that received international or national assignments as well as all officials invited to High Performance camps. Your commitment and dedication show with all the hard work, training and personal sacrifice you make to reach the top levels of officiating each season.

We held a general meeting on Nov. 27 but due to issues with securing a facility we were unable to hold a second general meeting.  We have secured a facility for our Annual General Meeting and awards presentation on April 15th, 2024, at MLAC facility 12133-67 St, the meeting will start at 7PM.   We hope all officials will be able to attend and support our award winners. The best way to keep up to date about what’s happening in the officiating program is to keep checking the website, we will post any new information here. North Region - Edmonton, Jasper, Ft McMurray, Wetaskiwin, Whitecourt & Areas | Hockey Alberta | Officials Committee

As this season draws to a close, I want to express my appreciation for your unwavering dedication and hard work to the North Region Executive Committee and all the RIC’s in the region. Your tireless efforts behind the scenes have been instrumental in ensuring the smooth functioning of our officiating program. Thank you for your invaluable contributions.

Herman Costa

North Region Coordinator

 

Clinics - Dean Ziegler

ATTENTION:

There will be referee clinics in August for all returning level 2 officials, no new officials. We will be having clinics each weekend and will add a more if the registration numbers dictate. The clinics will all be public, and the links will be available at a later date. These clinics will be open to anyone who wants to travel to the centers to attend the clinic. Each clinic will have a maximum of 30 officials per class, no exceptions.

REMEMBER:

If you are over the age of 19, you will be required to have a criminal record check before you will be allowed to sign up.

August 17 - Louis St. Laurent Catholic School, 11230 43 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Gary Greenough

August 17 - Louis St. Laurent Catholic School, 11230 43 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Gary Greenough

August 17 - M.E. LaZerte High School, 6804 144 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Alex Becigneul

 

August 18 – Johnny Bright School, 1331 Rutherford Rd SW, Edmonton, AB

Ron Oscroft

August 18 – Johnny Bright School, 1331 Rutherford Rd SW, Edmonton, AB

Ron Oscroft

August 18 - M.E. LaZerte High School, 6804 144 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB

Alex Becigneul

 

August 24 – St. Albert Catholic High School, 33 Malmo Ave, St. Albert. AB

Joe Becigneul

August 24 – St. Albert Catholic High School, 33 Malmo Ave, St. Albert, AB

Joe Becigneul

August 24 – Ardrossan Rec Center, 80 First Ave, Ardrossan, AB

Ray Keller, Kyle Edwards

 

August 25 – Grant Fuhr Arena, 9 Agrena Rd, Spruce Grove, AB

Darcy Carter

August 25 - TBA

Darcy Carter

August 25 - Ardrossan Rec Center, 80 First Ave, Ardrossan, AB

Ray Keller, Kyle Edwards

 

AGM and Year End Social 

Monday April 15, 2024 

7:00PM

MLAC Clubhouse - 12133 67 Street NW

The AGM will include 2024 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you. 

 50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10.

 
Federation - Duncan MacDougall

As this is the first newsletter since December, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteer referees who participated in the 2024 edition of Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week.  This was the 60th anniversary of the tournament that began in 1964.The top ten participating volunteer officials in Edmonton were Jacob Bettio (12), James Dundas (11), Quinn Goplin (11), Keith Gwynne (11), Kaden Bilsky (10), Burke Hughes (10), Isaac Tanouye (10), James Henderson (9), Brandon Webb (9), Jay Crocket (8), David Han (8), and Duncan MacDougall (8).  There were 1,908 volunteer referee assignments with 1,314 of those in Edmonton.

Three officials from Sherwood Park, three officials from Beaumont and nine officials from St. Albert travelled into Edmonton to work games in the finals on January 20th and January 21st.

The QEMHW tournament committee has again provided 150 referee recognition jackets.  Jacket recipients are selected by random draw.  Each volunteer official gets one entry into the draw for each game that they officiate as a volunteer.  All volunteer officials from the EFHL communities that hosted games were entered into the draw.  Jackets should be available for distribution as early as late March but it could be as late as the end of May.

 

Native Provincials - Scott Mah

The Native 2024 Provincial Tournament is in the Edmonton area once again. There are games in all categories of hockey from U 11 to U 21. The tournament runs April 4 - 7 in arenas all over the city with most categories running out of the same arena all day. Most games run the 2 official system and are 1 hour to 1.5 hour time slots depending on the categories. For those who have officiated this tournament we look forward to hearing from you again and if not, this is a great tournament to get some great experience and skate one more time before summer break.  

Please contact me if you have any questions about the tournament.

Scott Mah  780 966 7268
Native Provincial RIC

My assignors for this Tournament are listed. Please contact them if you would like to skate games and they will get back to you when the tournament schedule comes out. Please also be honest and don’t try and skate a category you have not done before.

Sanjeev Bhagrath           [email protected]       U21 and U18 hockey

Scott Mah                        [email protected]                     U18 hockey

Brandon Perri                   [email protected]              U15 hockey

Brett Niawchuk                 [email protected]                            U13 hockey

Travis Stewart                   [email protected]                        U11 hockey

 

Golf - Jeff Howe

 

American Hockey League - Taylor Burzminski

It has been an exciting year for myself with just getting hired by the American Hockey League this past summer. I’ve been fortunate to skate all over North America this season and see lots of new city’s and rinks across the AHL. Working with different officials, players and coaches has been great for my development. We also get coaching from NHL/AHL Officiating Managers which has been very beneficial for myself. Overall I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to officiate in the AHL and I’m hopeful that there is more seasons to come. Looking forward to sharing new tools and tricks of the trade at Hockey Alberta development camp this summer! 

 

Arctic Winter Games - Chiara Knowlton

"I was honored to be selected to skate the Alberta Winter Games and skate the gold medal game. I was excited to skate with new and some familiar faces. I’ve also highly valued opportunities like these to not only compete for my region but getting to bond with my fellow female officials. I enjoyed learning from the supervisors on and off the ice. Experiences like these inspire me to elevate my game to the next level and beyond. 

I wanted to thank both the North Region female program and the St. Albert Referees Association for giving me opportunities to learn, grow, achieve, and give back to the best officiating programs in the province."

-Chiara

 

All of the North Region officials in the tournament did an amazing job! 

 

Female - Darby Readman and Shelley Knowlton

Janine Van der Wekken, Chiara Knowlton, Neve Palmer, Shelby Lazarowich and Alyssa Maier attended the Arctic Winter Games. We had a very strong showing with Chiara, Neve and Alyssa skating the gold medal game. Shelby and Janine skated the bronze.

We are sending a crew to the U18AAA provincials: Megan French, Chiara Knowlton, Neve Palmer, Lauren Fox. Hayley Butz will aid in supervising the tournament.

Hayley Butz was selected to skate the final round of USport Nationals. We also had Shelley Knowlton, Megan French and Kennedy Roblin skate second round.

The following officials have been selected to skate ACAC playoffs: Ashley Castelo, Michelle Gariepy, Cassidy Brand, Chiara Knowlton, Jessica Trombley, Reagan Houweling, Jodie Van Spronsen, Neve Palmer, and Lauren Fox.

We will again be hosting the Beaumont U15AA Showcase. The officials selected for the event are: Kimberlee Young, Harjap Khella, Billie Reimer, Mystery Shaw, Sienna Theoret, Taya Komant, Elizabeth Lyseng, Katrina Gelinas, and Kaitlyn Tremblay.

Congrats to Megan French for skating the gold medal game at the CSSHL Female U18 Prep Western Championships in Penticton!

 

3C’s Female Officials Clinic in Coronation, AB - Ashley Castelo

Carmen Sydor and I had the pleasure of instructing a special all girls officials clinic in Coronation, Alberta on Saturday, January 27 in honour of Female Hockey Day. This was an event in Central Alberta happening in conjunction with Hockey Alberta’s Female Hockey Day across the province on January 27. 

We drove down to the 3C’s, which is a minor hockey association made up of Castor, Coronation, and Consort. With the ingenuity and initiative of Tara from the town of Castor, we had 22 awesome young ladies as clinic attendees, ranging in age from 13 to 17, who came from as far away as Killam and Daysland. 

After a busy day in the classroom (Curling Club) and on the ice, we were fortunate to cap off the clinic with a group game outing to watch the local officials of a girls U13 hockey game. What better way to reinforce all the teachings!

Carmen is a master at getting young referees engaged in the material while sticking to a packed itinerary of activities. For example, I look forward to using the signal game “Head-To-Head” in future clinics. Thanks to Brett Kelly at Hockey Alberta for his work in making this happen, as well as Tara Jenkins from the town of Castor. The future of female hockey came calling, and Carmen and I were so excited to play a part in their officiating journeys.

-Ashley Castelo

Hi everyone, 

 Just a reminder about scholarships. The deadline is Friday March 1.

Please find attached the Scholarship Information. If you qualify, please consider applying!

 

Scholarship Information

Hi everyone, 

 

Please find attached the Scholarship Information. If you qualify, please consider applying!

 

Scholarships 2023-24

Hi everyone, 

 

Due to unforeseen circumstances the General Meeting on January 22 has been postponed to another date. We will let everyone know when we have secured a facility and date. 

 

Thank you.

Hi everyone, 

We still have about 5 spots available for the powerskating session on January 23 - 6:30 Clareview B.

If you would like to attend, please send an email to [email protected]

There is no cost to you. This will also be the last one of the year. 

 

Shelley and Darby

Hi everyone, 

 

There will be a skate in St. Albert on Tuesday December 12 at 6:30pm. It will be held at Troy Murray Arena in Servus Place. It is a great opportunity to meet other officials, brush up on some procedures and learn something new. If you’re able to make it, please consider!

Shelley and Darby

North Region December Newsletter

Greetings from Herman Costa

Hello everyone:

I would like to welcome all new and returning officials to the 2023/24 Officiating season.  With the season well under way, we have seen a lot of changes in the program and a lot of information that needed to be relayed to all officials.  I would like to thank the north region executive members and all the RIC’s for all the hard work at the beginning of the season.  All your help and dedication to the officiating program helps keep things going smoothly.  The clinic season is now completed, and We managed to register over 2000 officials in the north region.  Thanks to Dean Ziegler and the Instructors for all the hard work this past clinic season.

We Held out first general meeting on Nov. 27 and we will be holding our 2nd general meeting on Monday Jan 22.  We hope we can get more officials to attend the next meeting as its always nice to get reacquainted with those that we haven’t seen in a long time.  We are once again planning to have our annual general meeting and awards presentation in April 2023 (exact date to be announced).  We hope all officials will be able to attend and support our award winners.  The best way to keep up to date about what’s happening in the officiating program is to keep checking the website, we will post any new information here. North Region Website

Reclassification applications are now being accepted for the 2023/2024 season.  We are accepting applications for level 3 upgrades as well as MHP/NHP.  More info can be found here.  Upgrades | Hockey Alberta | Officials Committee  Application can be found here. 

Officials Development program applications are now open here is a link to the requirements needed to attend.  https://officials.hockeyalberta.ca/development/officials-development-program/ This program is open to all Male and female officials that meet the criteria.  Contact Colin Watt at [email protected] if you are interested or if you need more information.

Congratulations to the following officials for being selected to officiate at the Circle K Classic Tournament in Calgary on Dec 27 to Jan 1.  Spencer Acheson, Keaton Spirig, Parker Adam, Travis Stewart, Dyson Zukiwsky, Jared Gilbeau, Andrew Hutton, Jarrett Bossert, Kameron Bauer and Jarod Tait.

Congratulations to the following officials who officiated at an International or National tournament this past season.

Hayley Butz national Women’s U18 Championship in Dawson Creek, she skated the Gold medal Game.

Alex Homer World U17 Hockey Challenge in PEI.  He Skated the bronze medal Game.

I’d like to wish all officials and their families a happy holiday season and a great new year.

Herman Costa

North Region Coordinator

 

NHL Heritage Classic Experience

The clinic commenced with a brief introduction of the officials—Garrett Rank, Eric Furlatt, Andrew Smith, and Travis Toomey—followed by a walk down to the ice-level and a group photo. The view was breathtaking, with floodlights illuminating the venue under the night sky. As we entered the facility for the clinic, everyone we encountered greeted us warmly, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

The in-class session kicked off with a comprehensive introduction to the NHL personnel and respective officials, featuring Senior Manager of Officiating Taryn Daneman and our host, the VP and Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom. Following the introductions, we were treated to a delightful dinner before delving into the planned activities.  While enjoying our meal, a captivating video showcasing highlights from the previous NHL season was presented. The video eloquently captured the raw emotions associated with the game at every level of hockey, fostering a profound appreciation for the significance of the clinic. It was a moment of realization, acknowledging the privilege we held in being part of such a noteworthy event.

Much of the clinic focused on a theme the NHL used for its own clinic and will continue to use throughout the season. This theme was called RITHEM, for ‘React In The Moment’. The group was split into breakout groups with one NHL official assigned to each group. We discussed situational and general scenarios for which our objective was to discuss solutions and strategies to effectively manage the game. This gave us younger officials a chance to bounce some ideas off the NHL officials and receive their valuable input. Each group summarized their strategies and shared them with the larger group, all tied back to the overarching theme of RITHEM.

Throughout the clinic, the importance of mental and physical fitness was emphasised, as this is what allows officials to make the best decisions on the ice and shows the accountability an official has to the game of hockey, irrespective of the level.

Later, the group engaged in a game of Kahoot, where questions pertained to video replays of on-ice scenarios and some personal questions about the NHL officials. Participants were given a timed window to select the correct ruling, and the highest scorer won a signed NHL linesperson jersey from all the NHL officials present at the NHL clinic held before the season.

Finally, the group gathered for a Q/A session with the NHL officials. Numerous insightful questions about their experiences and advice were posed. My question was directed at the linespersons, inquiring about the adjustment to the new offside rule change from ‘position of the skates’ to ‘breaking the plane.’ They shared that the transition was challenging considering all the factors of an NHL-pace hockey game, but it helps knowing the call can be corrected with video replay.

As a parting gift, all attendees received a custom Heritage Classic hat and whistle. It was an extraordinary experience to be surrounded by such accomplished officials and talented individuals. Being part of the NHL Heritage Classic Officials Development Clinic was an honor and a genuine privilege.

Jasvinder Dhaliwal

 

2023 World U17 Hockey Challenge - Experience

I was very grateful to be selected to attend the World U17 Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown/Summerside PEI from November 2 to November 11, along with 13 other officials from across Canada.

The tournament was supervised by Todd Robinson (Hockey Canada) and Todd Thomander (Hockey Canada) who both provided very valuable feedback and guidance over the 10-day tournament.

I was fortunate to be able to skate 6 games over the course of the 10 days, where I was able to see every team in the tournament at least once and was extremely grateful to be assigned the Bronze Medal game between Sweden and Czechia.

I always believe that one of the best parts of these tournaments is getting to meet the other officials from the surrounding provinces.  The officiating community is like a second family to me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of officials to spend the 2 weeks with.

Thank-you to Hockey Canada, Hockey Alberta, and the North Region for giving me the opportunity at skating such a world class event.

Alex Homer

 

National Female U18 Championship 2023

I had the opportunity to attend the National Female U18 Championship as a referee in Dawson Creek, BC from November 5-12, 2023. I was fortunate to be selected as one of the 8 referees and 8 linespersons from across Canada. U18 Nationals is a Hockey Canada event where provinces compete against one another for the National title. There were 8 teams present – British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario Blue, Ontario Red, Quebec, and Atlantic. I had the chance to officiate 6 games throughout the week, including my gold medal game assignment between Quebec and Ontario Red. The tournament was supervised by Vanessa Stratton and Heather Richardson, both high performance coaches with Hockey Canada. They provided valuable feedback throughout the tournament.

Meeting other officials from across Canada is a unique opportunity. I was fortunate to be apart of a group of supportive officials at this event and create bonds, as well as friendships that span over the entire country.

Thank you to Hockey Canada, the North Zone female development team and my many mentors for supporting my goals at a national level.   

Hayley Butz 

 

Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week 2024

The Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week tournament will take place from January 12th to January 21st.  This will be the sixtieth edition of the tournament that was first held in 1964.  Last year all members of the Edmonton Federation Hockey League (EFHL) entered teams. Tournament games are played in arenas in most of the participating EFHL communities.  The finals, which usually number around sixty-five games, will be held at Edmonton’s Terwillegar Recreation Centre on January 20th and 21st.  

The officials will again participate as volunteers.  Officials have been part of the large number of tournament volunteers since the tournament’s inception in 1964.  Consider volunteering and please participate in the tournament when asked.  Your participation will result in a successful tournament.

Duncan MacDougall

 

Scholarships

Colin Hackett Scholarship

In November 2016, the North Region lost Colin Hackett, an inspirational mentor and official, after a two-year battle with colon cancer. Colin became an inspiration to many after his diagnosis, as he would officiate games days after undergoing chemotherapy treatment and continued to mentor younger officials. He also refereed for the World’s Longest Hockey Game while wearing his chemotherapy pack and undergoing treatment during the game. Off the ice, Colin gave a motivational speech to more than 2000 people at the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer and then rode for 200 km with the group. During his courageous two-year battle with colon cancer, Colin continued to be a mentor to many officials and volunteered his time as Vice Chair.

Applications for this year’s Colin Hackett Memorial Scholarship are now open. Please go to www.hockeyalberta.ca and click on the North Region Awards for all the requirements and rules for applying. This is open to all officials who are going to be attending post-Secondary education. Applications will taken until March 1, 2024.

 

Hockey Alberta Officials Committee Scholarship

Value:

Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

·       A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.

·       A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.

·       18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.

·       An active official, working games at any level.

·       Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full-time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.

·       Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

 

Deadline:

Application deadline is April 1 of each year.

Applicant could be applying for the year just being completed in order to qualify.

 

Kenneth R. Stiles Scholarship

The Kenneth R. Stiles Memorial Scholarship was established by the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation (formerly Project 75) and Hockey Canada in recognition of Ken Stiles and his tremendous contribution to grassroots hockey in Canada.

Through the vision and leadership of the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation, many Hockey Canada development programs have received their start. The Hockey Canada Officiating Program of Excellence is an excellent example of this support.

The Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation is committed to providing Canadian student athletes and officials with access to financial resources to support their pursuit of post-secondary education.

Scholarships are allocated (one major award of $5,000 and three minor awards of $1,000 each) for both Male and Female officials. Male recipients must have been part of the Hockey Canada OPEO in the past and female officials must be at minimum Level 3 certification.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2022. Full criteria are included in the application form package

 

Edmonton Invitational TOC Scholarship

The Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament of Champions is providing the North Region Officials with a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to an official who officiated at the Bantam level this season. Officiating in the annual Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament (EBIT) of Champions would be a plus. The funds will be held in escrow until the official provides the EBIT Scholarship Committee with an official receipt showing proof of registration or tuition payment to a post-secondary education institution. Should the official not provide such and reach the age of 23 years old, the scholarship will be returned to the EBIT Scholarship Fund.

The criteria for the award is:

1.    Academic accolades (current marks as of March 1). A letter from current registered school will provide information.

2.    Athletic accolades, if any.

3.    Applicant to write an essay (minimum 200 words) outlining why s/he deserves the scholarship and what being an official has done for him or her.

4.    Letters of Reference.

Please apply to the EBIT Scholarship Committee no later than March 1 of the current season. Nominees may be interviewed.

Only the successful candidate will be notified, and the name will be posted on the EBIT and Hockey Alberta Officials website. No individual can win more than one scholarship.

All scholarships can be applied for at www.hockeyalberta.ca under the Officials tab for the North Region.

 

U18AA

U16AA Scotiabank tournament of champions was held Nov 10-13.  Officials did a magnificent job throughout and were highly spoken of from from the visiting teams from Calgary, Okotoks, and area. 

The bronze medal game was officiated by:

Darian Hewson, Mackenzie Way, Zachary Tavares, Jacob Dunn

The gold medal game was officiated by:

Jamal Sakhi Khan, Graham Warner, Ryan Luz, Matthew Zhang

 

Minor Committee

First half of the season has been going well. We had our U16AA and U18AA Tournaments in November and the officiating was excellent throughout both. Looking ahead we have the U15AA Christmas Tournament in December, NAX U15Prep Showcase in January and NAX U17Prep Showcase in February. I’m expecting the outstanding commitment level, hustle and coachability of our officials to continue throughout the second half of the season as we prepare for playoffs.

 

Female Committee

The first half of the season has been great. We have over 150 female officials in the North Region. 

At the beginning of the year we had a supervision experience at a Pandas game where officials could watch the game and sit in on the supervision. WE had some officials from Vegreville join us! We hope to have another supervision experience on January 27 for Female Hockey Day.

Quantum Speed ran power skating sessions for our officials. We had 15 show up. We have two more scheduled for December 18 and January 23. If you’d like to join, please email [email protected].

We had three games this year skated by all female crews!

U18AAA:

Referees: Hayley Butz and Suzanne Moneta

Lines: Megan French and Kennedy Roblin

The same crew above also skated a U18AAA Prep CSSHL Showcase game. 

The following officials skated a U15AAA AEHL game:

Referees: Megan French and Michelle Gariepy

Lines: Haley Brand and Cassidy Brand

Huge congratulations to Hayley Butz who was selected to skate the gold medal game at the National Women’s U18 Championships in Dawson Creek!

 

A reminder that our General Meeting will take place on:

Monday, November 27, 2023 at CAC Arena - 7:30PM

Please be there if you are able!

Our first General Meeting of the year will take place on:

Monday, November 27, 2023 at CAC Arena - 7:30PM

Please be there if you are able!

Hi everyone, please see the following information:

The Hockey Alberta Officials Committee is pleased to announce a very special development opportunity being held in conjunction with the Heritage Classic in Edmonton.

Fifty Hockey Alberta-registered officials, aged 18-25 years, will be selected to participate in this special development evening hosted by the NHL prior to the Heritage Classic in Edmonton. The event is set for Friday, October 27 at Commonwealth Stadium.

Tentative schedule for the event includes:

Brainstorming/Small Group Work followed by a hot stove with the officials working the Heritage Classic. Topics of focus in the brainstorming session include:

·        Sightlines as a Referee in the 4-official system

·        Sightlines as a linesperson in the 4-official system

·        Communication as a Referee with coaches/players and fellow officials

·        Communication as a Linesperson with coaches/players and fellow officials as it relates to key moments (ie; face-offs, scrums, reviews, after a contentious call, etc.)

Officials eligible to apply for this event must be Hockey Alberta-registered and certified for the 2023-24 season, and be between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Selections will be made by the Hockey Alberta Officials Committee.

Application deadline is October 18.

 

Click Here For The Application

Hi again everyone,

Here is the link to access the clinics and begin the registration process.

 

 

Hello everyone, 

Welcome back to a new season! The clinic schedule and contact information is now posted on our website. Please use the following link to access it.

 

https://officials.hockeyalberta.ca/officials-regions/north-region-edmonton-area/

2023 North Region Golf Tournament:

Last chance to register for the 2023 Golf Tournament taking place on June 17 @ Cattail Crossing! Spots are still available and the deadline to register is extended to Monday, May 22! Contact [email protected] to register individually or as a team!

2023 Annual General Meeting & Social
Date: April 24, 2023
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Canadian Athletic Club Arena
14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton AB

The AGM will include 2023 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you as we will have a 50/50 draw with proceeds going to the family of Const. Brett Ryan.

50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! 

North Region Golf Tournament

The 2023 North Region Golf Tournament is coming up right away!

Date: June 17, 2023 @ 12PM

Location: Cattail Crossing Golf Club

Cost: $130+Tax (Driving Range, Golf w/ Cart, Steak Dinner)

Contact Alex Verhaeghe at [email protected] to sign up your team or if you have any questions! Space is limited so sign up soon to reserve your spot! Deadline to register is May 15, 2023.

 

North Region Social

2023 Annual General Meeting & Social
Date: April 24, 2023
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Canadian Athletic Club Arena
14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton AB

The AGM will include 2023 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you as we will have a 50/50 draw with proceeds going to the family of Const. Brett Ryan.

50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Any questions can be directed to Alex Verhaeghe @ 780-265-1024

Please click on the following attachment for information regarding the Kenneth Stiles Officiating Scholarship. The deadline is approaching so please take this opportunity to apply if you’re eligible!

 

Kenneth Stiles Officiating Scholarship Information

2023 Annual General Meeting & Social
Date: April 24, 2023
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Canadian Athletic Club Arena
14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton AB

The AGM will include 2023 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you as we will have a 50/50 draw with proceeds going to the family of Const. Brett Ryan.

50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Any questions can be directed to Alex Verhaeghe @ 780-265-1024

 

Scholarships

Hockey Alberta Officials Committee Scholarship
Value
Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

-A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.
-A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.
-18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.
-An active official, working games at any level.
-Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.
-Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

Deadline:
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO APRIL 15

 

Edmonton Invitational TOC Scholarship

The Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament of Champions is providing the North Region Officials with a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to an official who officiated at the Bantam level this season. Officiating in the annual Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament (EBIT) of Champions would be a plus. The funds will be held in escrow until the official provides the EBIT Scholarship Committee with an official receipt showing proof of registration or tuition payment to a post-secondary education institution. Should the official not provide such and reach the age of 23 years old, the scholarship will be returned to the EBIT Scholarship Fund.

 

The criteria for the award is:

1.    Academic accolades (current marks as of April 1). A letter from current registered school will provide information.

2.    Athletic accolades, if any.

3.    Applicant to write an essay (minimum 200 words) outlining why s/he deserves the scholarship and what being an official has done for him or her.

4.    Letters of Reference.

Please apply to the EBIT Scholarship at [email protected]

Only the successful candidate will be notified, and the name will be posted on the EBIT and Hockey Alberta Officials website. No individual can win more than one scholarship.

2023 Annual General Meeting & Social
Date: April 24, 2023
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Canandian Athletic Club Arena
14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton AB

The AGM will include 2023 Award Presentations and year end reports from Executive Members. Pizza and Beverages will be provided to those that attend with time to hang around and chat with fellow officials following the meeting. Remember to bring cash with you as we will have a 50/50 draw with proceeds going to the family of Const. Brett Ryan.

50/50 tickets are 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Any questions can be directed to Alex Verhaeghe @ 780-265-1024

 

2023 North Region Golf Tournament
This years golf tournament will be on June 17, 2023! Final details and course location TBD! If you have any questions, would like to donate prizes or would like to be informed when the final details are set, you can contact Alex Verhaeghe via [email protected]

 

Scholarships

Hockey Alberta Officials Committee Scholarship
Value
Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

-A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.
-A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.
-18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.
-An active official, working games at any level.
-Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.
-Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

Deadline:
Application deadline is April 1 of each year.

 

Kenneth R. Stiles Scholarship

The Kenneth R. Stiles Memorial Scholarship was established by the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation (formerly Project 75) and Hockey Canada in recognition of Ken Stiles and his tremendous contribution to grassroots hockey in Canada.

Through the vision and leadership of the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation, many Hockey Canada development programs have received their start. The Hockey Canada Officiating Program of Excellence is an excellent example of this support.

The Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation is committed to providing Canadian student athletes and officials with access to financial resources to support their pursuit of post-secondary education.

Scholarships are allocated (one major award of $5,000 and three minor awards of $1,000 each) for both Male and Female officials. Male recipients must have been part of the Hockey Canada OPEO in the past and female officials must be at minimum Level 3 certification.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2022. Full criteria are included in the application form package.

 

Edmonton Invitational TOC Scholarship

The Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament of Champions is providing the North Region Officials with a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to an official who officiated at the Bantam level this season. Officiating in the annual Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament (EBIT) of Champions would be a plus. The funds will be held in escrow until the official provides the EBIT Scholarship Committee with an official receipt showing proof of registration or tuition payment to a post-secondary education institution. Should the official not provide such and reach the age of 23 years old, the scholarship will be returned to the EBIT Scholarship Fund.

 

The criteria for the award is:

1.    Academic accolades (current marks as of April 1). A letter from current registered school will provide information.

2.    Athletic accolades, if any.

3.    Applicant to write an essay (minimum 200 words) outlining why s/he deserves the scholarship and what being an official has done for him or her.

4.    Letters of Reference.

Please apply to the EBIT Scholarship at [email protected]

Only the successful candidate will be notified, and the name will be posted on the EBIT and Hockey Alberta Officials website. No individual can win more than one scholarship.

Hockey Alberta Officials Committee Scholarship

Value:

Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

·       A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.

·       A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.

·       18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.

·       An active official, working games at any level.

·       Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.

Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

Application deadline is April 1 of each year.

Applicant could be applying for the year just being completed in order to qualify.

 

Kenneth R. Stiles Scholarship

The Kenneth R. Stiles Memorial Scholarship was established by the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation (formerly Project 75) and Hockey Canada in recognition of Ken Stiles and his tremendous contribution to grassroots hockey in Canada.

Through the vision and leadership of the Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation, many Hockey Canada development programs have received their start. The Hockey Canada Officiating Program of Excellence is an excellent example of this support.

The Seaman Hotchkiss Hockey Foundation is committed to providing Canadian student athletes and officials with access to financial resources to support their pursuit of post-secondary education.

Scholarships are allocated (one major award of $5,000 and three minor awards of $1,000 each) for both Male and Female officials. Male recipients must have been part of the Hockey Canada OPEO in the past and female officials must be at minimum Level 3 certification.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2022. Full criteria are included in the application form package.

 

Edmonton Invitational TOC Scholarship

The Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament of Champions is providing the North Region Officials with a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to an official who officiated at the Bantam level this season. Officiating in the annual Edmonton Invitational Bantam Tournament (EBIT) of Champions would be a plus. The funds will be held in escrow until the official provides the EBIT Scholarship Committee with an official receipt showing proof of registration or tuition payment to a post-secondary education institution. Should the official not provide such and reach the age of 23 years old, the scholarship will be returned to the EBIT Scholarship Fund.

 

The criteria for the award is:

1.    Academic accolades (current marks as of April 1). A letter from current registered school will provide information.

2.    Athletic accolades, if any.

3.    Applicant to write an essay (minimum 200 words) outlining why s/he deserves the scholarship and what being an official has done for him or her.

4.    Letters of Reference.

Please apply to the EBIT Scholarship Committee no later than April 1. Nominees may be interviewed.

Only the successful candidate will be notified, and the name will be posted on the EBIT and Hockey Alberta Officials website. No individual can win more than one scholarship.

 

Colin Hackett Scholarship

Value:

Annually – Maximum of one award up to $1,000.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The successful applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

· A member in good standing with the North Region and at a minimum a Level 2 official.

· Resident of the Region for the past season and the current season.

· 18 years of age by December 15 of the current season.

· Active official working games in the North Region.

· Attending a post secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis (min. of three classes per semester).

· Volunteer experience you have provided as a mentor/leader on and off the ice.

SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION COMMITTEE

A scholarship committee will select the winner each year. The committee consists of two executive members and one member at large.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

The application period is January 1 to March 1 each year. Applications will not be considered received until all the required information has been received by the committee.

Here is a link to the application: Colin Hackett Scholarship application

 

All scholarships can be applied for at www.hockeyalberta.ca under the Officials tab for the North Region.

Hi everyone,

The next AGM I’ll be held on Monday January 23, 2023 @ 7:30PM

CAC Arena

14645 142 Street NW

T6V 1H8

 

These are a great opportunities to meet executive members, other officials and let your voices be heard. Please attend if you can. 

Hope to see you there!

GREETINGS FROM HERMAN COSTA - North Region Chairman
 
    

Hello everyone:
I would like to welcome all new and returning officials to the 2022/23 Officiating season. With the
season well under way, we have seen a lot of changes in the program and a lot of information that
needed to be relayed to all officials. I would like to thank the north region executive members and all
the RIC’s for all the hard work at the beginning of the season. All your help and dedication to the
officiating program helps keep things going smoothly. The clinic season is now completed and we
managed to register 1750 officials in the north region. Thanks to Dean Ziegler and the Instructors for
all the hard work this past clinic season.

We held out first general meeting on Nov. 21 and we will be holding our 2nd general meeting on
Monday Jan 23. We hope we can get more officials to attend the next meeting as its always nice to
get reacquainted with those that we haven’t seen in a long time. We are once again planning to have
our annual general meeting and awards presentation in April 2023 (exact date to be announced). We
hope all officials will be able to attend and support our award winners. The best way to keep up to
date about what’s happening in the officiating program is to keep checking the website, we will post
any new information here. 

Congratulations to Taylor Burzminski for being selected to officiate at the World Junior A Challenge in
Cornwall Ontario.

Congratulations to Alex Homer, Brody McGrath and Hayley Butz and Kennedy Roblin for being selected to officiate at the
Canada Winter games on Prince Edward Island February 18 th to March 5 th, 2023.

Congratulations to the following officials for being selected to officiate at the Circle K Classic
Tournament in Calgary on Dec 27 to Jan 1. Jared Gilbeau, Keaton Spirig, Brennen Jasonson, Mark
Claffey, Travis Stewart, Grayson Pollok, Aiden Schlesinger, Anthony Beaulieu, Kennedy Roblin, Conor
Filipchuk and Breylan Ottenbriet.

I’d like to wish all officials and their families a happy holiday season and a great new year.
Herman Costa
North Region Coordinator

 

Hockey Alberta Official’s Committee Scholarship

Value

Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

· A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.

· A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.

· 18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.

· An active official, working games at any level.

· Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.

· Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

Deadline

Application deadline is April 1 of each year.

Applicant could be applying for the year just being completed in order to qualify.

 

Colin Hackett Award - Application

Value:

Annually – Maximum of one award up to $1,000.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The successful applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

· A member in good standing with the North Region and at a minimum a Level 2 official.

· Resident of the Region for the past season and the current season.

· 18 years of age by December 15 of the current season.

· Active official working games in the North Region.

· Attending a post secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis (min. of three classes per semester).

· Volunteer experience you have provided as a mentor/leader on and off the ice.

SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION COMMITTEE

A scholarship committee will select the winner each year. The committee consists of two executive members and one member at large.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

The application period is January 1 to March 1 each year. Applications will not be considered received until all the required information has been received by the committee.

Here is a link to the application: Colin Hackett Scholarship application

 

Attention North Region RIC’s

If you are an RIC in the North Region and you think that one of your officials has gone over and above their duties and has done something within your area that you would like recognized with an reward, please feel free to reach out and send an email to [email protected] and nominate them! Tell me your name, the official’s name, your area and why you would like to nominate this official for a reward for their extra work. The official will receive some sort of SWAG sent right to their home. This can be done at any time during the 2022/23 hockey season. If you have any further questions or need any further information, please reach out to me!

 

Female Development Program

The female development program is off to a great start this year. We have 130 registered officials! We ran a supervision clinic at a Pandas game and had eight females show up - two of which were newer officials. They were able to sit in on the supervision and learn new things. The conversations during the game were great as well. It was obvious there was great learning happening. We have another session lined up for the January 14 game at 2:00PM at Clare Drake Arena!

We are also trying to plan a team building activity at the beginning of February that incorporates games, rule knowledge and fitness. 

We met with our female senior committee and talked about ideas on jobs they might want. We have narrowed it down to supervising assigning, a mentorship program, fitness leads, power skating and  social media.

We currently have an Instagram page that will be up and running in no time. If you are a female official and would like a central place to ask questions, see posts from around the region and to be involved with other officials, please follow us: @northregionfemale
We are looking forward to building a positive culture within the female program and establishing mentors that can start working with officials at the U9 level. 

We have had some high profile selections so far this year:

Red Deer: December 3-5
Haley Brand
Cassidy Brand

Arctic Winter Games
Reagan Houweling
Michelle Gariepy
Haley Brand

Canada Winter Games
Hayley Butz
Kennedy Roblin

 We are looking to get as many female officials as we can for the U18AAA showcase in Red Deer the weekend of February 4!
There will be great learning there as well as consistent supervision expectations that will be used at all levels. 

Please reach out to Shelley Knowlton or Darby Readman at [email protected] if you have any questions. 

 

Reagan Houweling - OPOE Experience

Hi, my name is Reagan Houweling. I am grateful to have attended the Officiating Performance of Excellence Regional Program in Surrey, BC. As a young female official, six years ago I could have never imagined experiencing such a well-organized development opportunity. Meeting other females around Western Canada and being able to relate with each other and share past experiences is something I will never get tired of. Competing with talented women and hearing such important feedback is detrimental to my growth as an official. I hope to experience more opportunities like OPOE. Thank you, Hockey Alberta, BC Hockey, and Hockey Canada, for this unreal opportunity.

 

Alex Homer and Brody McGrath - OPOE Experience

The week started out with an early morning flight on Sunday to Abbotsford, BC where we were joined by 3 other officials from Alberta (Ty Elliott (NCZ), Curtis Johanson (NCZ) and Logan Parsons (CZ)).  After arriving in Abbotsford, we quickly met the other 11 officials who were arriving from across Western Canada. From there, we caught a ride to the arena in Chilliwack, where we jumped right into some classroom sessions with Dan Hanoomansingh, Kirk Wood (Hockey Canada), Kevin Muench (WHL), CJ Senkow (Hockey Alberta) and Brad Lazarowich (BCHL).  The classroom sessions were followed by an on-ice skating session later that evening.  

 The next three days were busy, as we were officiating games in the BCHL Showcase, where we all officiated one game each day.  Throughout the camp there were multiple classroom sessions, as well as both on-ice and off-ice fitness testing.  The camp concluded with exit interviews followed by another early morning flight home on Thursday.  

We both agree that one of the best parts of these types of camps is getting to meet new officials from the surrounding provinces, that share the same passion and commitment to officiating that we do.  

 Throughout the weekend, we received valuable feedback from the officiating coaches during our games, to not only help improve our games but it will also allow us to share this knowledge and experience to pass on to the younger officials in the North Region. 

We were proud to represent Hockey Alberta and the North Region, and we are extremely grateful for having the opportunity to attend this camp.  We both agree this experience would not be possible without all the guidance and support we were provided from our peers and mentors along the way.  

Brody McGrath and Alex Homer

 

QUIKCARD EDMONTON MINOR HOCKEY WEEK 2023

The tournament began 59 years ago in 1964 in Edmonton. At that time almost all community
minor hockey in Edmonton was played on outdoor ice and teams in Edmonton only played other
teams in their own organization. The organizations were North West Zone, North East Zone,
South West Zone, South East Zone and Knights of Columbus. The premise for the original
Minor Hockey Week was to permit teams to play teams from outside their organization and
possibly be able to play a game on indoor ice in one of the three ice surfaces owned by the City
of Edmonton (Southside/George Hughes Arena, Coronation Arena and the Edmonton
Gardens). The finals were played in the Edmonton Gardens.

The format has remained unchanged with the tournament played over 10 days starting on a
Friday and ending on a Sunday in January. In the original tournament, all minor hockey teams
from Atom to Junior played in the tournament and included teams from the Athletic clubs as well
as the community teams. The tournament guaranteed all teams two games but after the
second game it is win or go home. Games are played using running or straight time and games
have a forty-five- or sixty-minute length. All games must have a winner making overtime a
definite possibility. The current overtime format is depleting players. The divisions in a category
were much fewer than today’s hockey. Because of the fewer divisions, for an Atom or Peewee
team to reach the final, they often would have to play everyday.

For many players the tournament remains the highlight of the hockey season. In 2003 the
Guinness Book of Records recognized the tournament as the world’s largest hockey
tournament. The tournament is entirely organized by volunteers, and this includes the referees
who volunteer their time as on-ice officials during the tournament. Over the years the
tournament has grown, and participation is now open to all teams in the Edmonton Federation
Hockey League. Hockey Edmonton anticipates about 10,00 players on more than 600 teams to
play in the 2023 tournament. Please consider being part of the tournament as a volunteer
official. Say yes when you are offered an assignment.

 

U18AA

There are 4 locations for the U18AA playoffs: Edmonton, Leduc, Beaumont and Fort McMurray. U18AA will be adopting 4 on 4 for its overtime format in semi finals and finals games. 

We’d like to acknowledge all local zones for their hard work in ensuring as many games as possible have 4-officials. The system has been met with overwhelming positive reviews. 

We are supposed to be having all write ups for U18AA done on a form on the website which is still in development. For now, we still want all write ups submitted via email. 

 

Male Development

Regional camps will be March 31 - April 2 in Calgary, Red Deer and Spruce Grove. Alberta Cup will be April 26-30 in Red Deer. D-Camp will be early July (probably the 5-9). More info and the application form can be found here.

Hi everyone, 

The first General Meeting of the season will be on November 21 7:30pm at CAC Arena. 

14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton, AB

 

 

Hi everyone, 

The first General Meeting of the season will be on November 21 7L30pm at CAC Arena. 

14645 142 Street NW, Edmonton, AB

 

This is a great opportunity to meet the executive and to see some familiar/unfamiliar faces! We hope to see many of you there. 

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Herman Costa or anyone on the Executive. 

 

See you there!

GREETINGS FROM HERMAN COSTA - North Region Chairman
 
 

Hello everyone:

I would like to welcome all new and retuning officials to the 2022 2023 officiating season.  I hope everyone has had a safe and quiet summer and is ready to get on the ice and officiate some Hockey Games. We have started to see some Exhibition games coming in so please make sure you update your availability, Dark days (If using and assigning program) or let your assignor know when you are available.

Everyone must attend a recertification clinic. All NHP, MHP and Level 3 officials must take a Level 3 online clinic.  All Level 1 and 2 officials must take a full day in person clinic that corresponds with your level.  A clinic schedule can be found on the Hockey Alberta Website as well as links for the updated Rule Book. You must register for a clinic using the Hockey Canada registry.  Please make sure you update your HCR profile.  Here is the link to the website. . 

Reclassification applications are now being accepted for the 2022/2023 season.  We are accepting applications for level 3 upgrades as well as MHP/NHP.  More info can be found here.  Please have your application in no later than Jan 31, 2022.

I would like to congratulate all the North region officials that officiated at an international or National event this past season.  Your dedication and commitment as well as countless hours on the ice paid off with a fabulous assignment.

Kennedy Roblin (Linesperson) Esso Cup, Kael Maltais (Referee) Telus Cup, Brayden Arcand (Referee) Centennial Cup, Scott Fulmer (Linesperson) Centennial Cup, Taylor Burzminski (Referee) Hlinka Gretzky cup, Kyle Kowalski (Referee) World Junior Championship, Fraser Lawrence (Referee) World Junior Championship, and the World Championship and Lacey Senuk (Referee) USport Women’s Hockey championship, Women’s Olympic qualifying and the Olympic winter games.

I would like to congratulate all the award winners from the past two seasons.  All the awards were presented at our annual general meeting and social.  All the award winners deserve a big thank you for all their commitment and dedication to the program.  With out the countless hours that our volunteers put in, it would be very difficult to have the successful season that we have each year.

 

I hope everyone has a great officiating season.

 

Thank you and Stay Safe

Herman Costa

North Region Coordinator

 

2022/2023 North Region Executive

Chair: Herman Costa
Vice-Chair: Colin Watt
Secretary: Sanjeev Bhagrath
Treasurer: Alex Homer
U18 AA, Golf, Social: Jeff Howe
Local Referee in Chief Liason: Dennis Arski
Minor Committee, Golf, Social: Alex Verhaeghe
Awards/Rewards, Scholarships: Chris Despot
Discipline Coordinator: Stefan Brown
Match Penalty Coordinator: Ryan Hoffman
Female Committee: Shelley Knowlton and Darby Readman
Clinics: Dean Ziegler
Supervision Coordinator/Shadow: Tim Homeniuk
Federation Rep: Duncan MacDougall
Senior Regional Assignor: Sanjeev Bhagrath
Hockey Edmonton Rep: Chris Rebus
Provincials Coordinator: Ken Dentzien
U18 AAA Liaison: Colin Watt
Development Camp/Alberta Cup: 
League Supervisors: Mike Rebus (AJHL), Lance Hyndman (CJHL), Scott Fulmer (ACAC)
Communications/Social Media:  Darby Readman
Sledge Hockey Coordinator: Mark Claffey

 

Award Winners 2021/2022 - Chris Despot

Ernie Boruk Award: Dean Ziegler

Dean Ziegler attended his first officiating clinic in 1970, which took place in the Vegreville arena with Dave Baron, Willy Walaniuk, Ralph Casher, Zony Cyba and Dean’s father, Dave Ziegler.  The instructor for Dean’s first clinic was Ron Panchyshyn.  While growing up in Vegreville, Dean played and officiated minor hockey games.  Dean completed his playing career with the Vegreville Junior B Rangers.

Dean moved to Edmonton in 1976 to begin a new chapter in his life.  Shortly, thereafter, in 1981 Dean moved to St. Albert to raise a family and this move put a pause on his officiating career.  Dean went back to officiating in 1988 working minor hockey in St. Albert for Tony Chieco and Norm Douzzech. 

In 1998, Dean followed Derek Herman as St. Albert’s Referee-in-Chief, a position that he held until 2003.  Prior to becoming referee-in-chief, Dean designed a website for the St. Albert Referees.  This website displayed everything happening with referees in St. Albert and the website had links to the North Region and to the province.  Dean was also an integral part of the St. Albert supervision program. 

In 2000 Dean was part of a group of Referees-in-Chief from across Canada that designed the Hockey Canada Mentorship and Shadow program under the guidance of Norm Dueck, manger of officiating.  During this time, Dean was instrumental in designing a referee game report form for officials in St. Albert.  This form made it easier for referees to write their game reports.  Hockey Alberta adopted this form for use in minor hockey throughout the Branch.

After his tenure as St. Albert Referee-in-Chief, Dean became the referee assignor for St. Albert Minor Hockey Association and one of his duties was being responsible for the payroll.  Dean found that telephone assigning took a great deal of time and being a forward thinker Dean developed an assigning program that allowed assignments to be made over the internet.  Dean labelled his assigning program RAMP.  It was the genesis of the company known as RAMP which further developed the assigning program.  Dean gave the rights to his program to the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association and their referees.

Throughout his career, Dean worked numerous elite level tournaments, including the 2000 Alberta Winter Games in Sherwood Park and the 1997 St. Albert Bantam AAA Tournament including the Gold Medal game.

For the past twenty years, Dean has been involved the Region executive level and he currently holds the position of Clinic Coordinator.  Coordinating between sixty and seventy clinics each year through the Hockey Canada Registry (HCR) program, Dean creates each individual clinic.  As well he creates a schedule for the clinics in the North Region after consulting with the local referees-in-chief about potential dates.  Dean then assigns instructors to each clinic.  Following each clinic, Dean builds a North Region roster providing everyone in the North Region with a living document.  Dean is also an active instructor.  He does not shy away when asked to help out.

In 2008 Dean became part of the Provincial group responsible for Hockey Alberta referee clinics.  As part of this group Dean was sent to Ottawa to participate in the Master Conductor Clinic by then provincial chairman, Wally Popik which introduced him to the responsibilities of conducting a leadership clinic for instructors.  Dean helped to develop modules and ideas which help our instructors across the province.  The purpose is to have uniform instruction at clinics across the Branch. 

During the first few years, Dean, with assistance from local peers, offered to build the national exam for Hockey Canada.  He suggested that the provincial leadership group use a program called Socrative to conduct the exam at each clinic.  Socrative has many benefits including monitoring exam progress, self marking and identifying problem questions.  Dean, upon receipt of the national exam, inputs the exam into Socrative and distributes the clinic codes to the instructors.

In 2019, Dave Ganley retired, and Dean was asked to become an instructor at Branch supervision clinics.  That year clinics were held in the north and the south part of the Branch.  Dean was an instructor at the clinics in both Edmonton on Saturday and in Calgary on Sunday of the same weekend.

Both Hockey Alberta and the North Region have recognized Dean’s contributions to officiating in Alberta.  Dean received the Hockey Alberta Referee Council Award in 1990 and the Dave Ganley Award in 2013, both from Hockey Alberta.  Dean has been recognized by the North Region with the Supervision Award in 2004, the Chairman’s Award in 2007 and the Ron Panchyshyn Award in 2012.

Official of the Year: Brayden Arcand

Service awards
10 years
Parker Adam, Carlin Baerg, Ron Bay, Dane Britten, Dominic Cutknife, Brandon Geiger, Jordan Hurl, Andrew Hutton, Jacob Kraushaar, Tristen Kremer, Dylan Leaney, Austin Lightning, Blake Martin, Dillon Martin, Zach Martin, Brian Matthews, Brody McGrath, David Schreuder, Peter Sha, Tanner Stefanik, Barry Wiskel

15 years
Daniel Anderson, Brayden Arcand, Taylor Burzminski, Spencer Hayes, Scott Mah, Brett Ryan, Chip Schwartz, Duc Trinh, Devin Wentzell

20 years
Arron Best, Kelly Reid

25 years
Graham Bakay, Ray Keller, Brad Scott

30 years
Robert Boos, Don Buskas

35 years
Ian Martinot

40 years
Monty Wood

45 years
Ernie Boruk, George McCorry, Mike Rebus

 

Supervisions - Tim Homeniuk

The 2022/23 hockey season is upon us and in full swing. Many of us are officiating as many games as we can, while at the same time planning on getting out to the rink on nights-off to supervise our fellow officials.  While we have different reasons for supervising, it is important to remember that supervisions are an integral part of the development of officials. Since it has been a little while since we have been in the rinks full time, I wanted to take this opportunity to go over a few expectations for supervisors.

· Remember that you are there to coach the on-ice officials and help accelerate their development and learning

· Introduce yourself to the officials prior to the start of the game

· Go into each supervision with an open mind and a positive attitude

· Provide the officials with a written supervision, preferably submitted online at Supervision Form - North | Hockey Alberta | Officials Committee and submit completed supervision within 72 hours of the game

· Provide useful information and focus on areas the official can improve. Include feedback on the positive aspects of their game and not just the negative

Officials working hockey assigned by the Senior Assignor are encouraged to read the Supervision Requirements that were distributed earlier this year as they apply to the 2022/23 season. This season, officials will be “assigned” to supervise specific leagues or levels of hockey.

Have a save and enjoyable hockey season,

TIM HOMENIUK

Supervisions Coordinator, North Region

[email protected]

 

Colin Hackett Scholarship - Application

 

Value: Annually – Maximum of one award up to $1,000.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The successful applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

· A member in good standing with the North Region and at a minimum a Level 2 official.

· Resident of the Region for the past season and the current season.

· 18 years of age by December 15 of the current season.

· Active official working games in the North Region.

· Attending a post secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis (min. of three classes per semester).

· Volunteer experience you have provided as a mentor/leader on and off the ice.

SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION COMMITTEE

A scholarship committee will select the winner each year. The committee consists of two executive members and one member at large.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

The application period is January 1 to March 1 each year. Applications will not be considered received until all the required information has been received by the committee.

Here is a link to the application: Colin Hackett Scholarship application

 

Hockey Alberta Official’s Committee Scholarship

Value: Annually – Maximum of three (3) awards of up to $1,500.

Scholarships are presented to applicants who meet the following criteria:

·  A member in good standing with Hockey Alberta in the current season with a minimum of Level 2 certification.

·  A resident of Alberta for at least 2 years.

·  18 years of age by December 15 of the season s/he is applying for scholarship.

·  An active official, working games at any level.

·  Attending a post-secondary institution in a recognized program on a full time basis, including a recognized trade school program. Transcript of class enrolment is required.

·  Other criteria will include, but is not limited to, the applicant’s on-ice ability and off-ice contribution to his/her Region.

Deadline

Application deadline is April 1 of each year.

Applicant could be applying for the year just being completed in order to qualify.

Apply here: Hockey Alberta Official’s Committee Scholarship Application

 

Ramp 2.0 - Duncan MacDougall

For those Edmonton officials who work in the City AA program or in the Edmonton Federation Hockey League (EFHL) you should be aware that we have moved to a new version of RAMP – Version 2.  This move had a genesis about four years ago.  Since then, there have been attempts to move to a newer version but in testing we always found the newer versions wanting.  Most recently we revisited the process in late March 2022.  In June, the process continued on an almost daily basis and by the end of August, it appeared that everything was in order.  NOT.  There continue to be issues that prevent a smooth transition.  Hopefully, by the time you read this article RAMP Version 2 will be fully operational in Edmonton.  The system has idiosyncrasies that must be learned, and the system will continue to require minor tweaks to allow it to provide the best service for Edmonton administrators, assignors and officials.  Should you experience any issues with RAMP Version 2 please contact your local RIC as it is highly unlikely that you are the problem.  All officials who use RAMP in Edmonton should revisit their personal page and update ALL the data including the year that you started officiating.  

 

ACAC - Scott Fulmer

The season is slated to start sometime in October. We are looking forward to a full year of hockey. We are looking to have more 4-official games as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the ice.

 

Female Program - Shelley Knowlton and Darby Readman

This year there will be two co-chairs for the North Region Female Development Program: Shelley Knowlton and Darby Readman. The year is already starting off great as we have females who are very interested in helping out with the committee. Our plan is to begin a supervision program so that there are more consistent supervisions not only with mentor officials but with peers as well. We are excited to have an all female clinic taking place on October 2 at NAIT. Our plan is to also have a supervision coaching session sometime later on in the year. There will be more information to follow.

We had three North Region Officials attend MHP camp from September 10-11:

-Michelle Gariepy

-Megan French

-Hayley Butz

We couldn’t be happier for these three officials. It is a great opportunity to showcase their skill level and to learn from some of the best officials in Alberta. 

We are looking forward to a great year!

If you have any questions please feel free to reach us at: [email protected]

 

Clinic Schedule 2022-2023 - Dean Ziegler

Clinic Schedule 2022-2023

Please click here to begin your registration

HOCKEY ALBERTA OFFICIALS WEBSITE >

CONTACT THE NORTH REGION EXECUTIVE >

Good afternoon everyone!

With the season just around the corner, we would like to invite you again to be part of the All Female Clinic taking place on October 2, 2022 at NAIT. The clinic still has many spots open that we would like to get filled. It will be a fantastic opportunity to meet other officials and to learn more about the female program!

This clinic will be for level 1/2 officials. If anyone knows someone who is interested in starting to officiate this year, this would be the clinic for them!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected]

Use this link to begin your sign-up and registration.

Have a fantastic long weekend!

Shelley Knowlton & Darby Readman

Hello everyone, 

Here is the new casebook for 2022-2024. You can use this as well as the Hockey Canada App!

 

HC22_Rulebook_2022-24_EN

Hello everyone,

We wanted to start off by introducing ourselves - Shelley Knowlton and Darby Readman - as co-chairs for the North Region Female Officials for the upcoming 2022-2023 season. We are both looking forward to working with each and every one of you!

The two of us, along with a team, will be looking to build a program that has opportunities for growth, progression, supervising, coaching and mentoring. Our goal is to be transparent and create a program that is reputable and fair for every female official.

We will be sending out a “Beginning of the Year” introduction letter in mid August outlining league rules, expectations, supervision requirements and any other important information. 

With that being said, we are tentatively planning a female clinic for October 2. We are working on location and logistics. The plan is to have a Junior class and a Senior class. The Junior clinic would run all day and the Senior class would run half a day in the morning. For the Senior class in the afternoon we would like to have a supervision session. We are looking at bringing guest speakers, discussing supervision expectations, determining requirements for the year, practice delivering a supervision and demonstrating the process of how to submit your supervisions for the year. 

In addition to that, we would like to incorporate the Senior class within the Junior class for some portion of the afternoon. This could be quick one-on-one conversations with each other, a rule book scavenger hunt or just time to talk, meet each other and put some faces to names. We believe that this would be extremely beneficial for the Junior officials so they can hear about some wonderful opportunities that officiating has to offer!

We know that there are half day options for the Senior females, however this would be a great opportunity and if you are able to attend this clinic/supervision session on October 2 that would be awesome!

We are looking forward to working with all of you this upcoming season. If you have any questions, please email: [email protected] Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Shelley Knowlton and Darby Readman