North Central Zone Referees Committee Supervision Guidelines

North Central Zone Referees Committee Supervision Guidelines

The North Central Zone Referees Committee takes supervisions and the role of its supervisor’s very seriously. It is widely recognized that the key cog of officiating development is rooted in the Hockey Canada Supervision Program. Thus our zone has a set of guidelines in order to standardize the supervisions done across the zone. These guidelines are here to assist you and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call the NCZRC supervision coordinator at 404-896-8862 or you can email him at .

As a NCZRC supervisor I will always strive to…

Represent myself as professionally as possible. Remember while at the rink in a supervisory position that you are representing the zone as much, if not more than the officials on the ice. Striving to be as professional as you can be at all times needs to be a top priority.

Be supportive to my branch and the CHA.

Endorse and support the CHA playing rules, Officiating program policies and procedures. In order for us to standardize our supervisions across the zone we want to ensure that every supervisor is relaying the same CHA backed messages to the officials they are supervising. Thus we need to ensure as supervisors that we are relaying clear and correct information to the officials being supervised.

Support the philosophy and right of all hockey participants to “Fair Play”. As a supervisor it is essential that we ensure that the officials on the ice are making the playing surface a safe and fair environment for all the participants.

Remember that my role is to “coach” and “assist” the development of officials. As supervisors our number one goal is to work with the official being supervised to help them become a better official. We as a zone want to ensure that we are taking a proactive approach to ensure the proper coaching and assisting is occurring.

Be honest in my comments to officials. In relation to the point above in order to enhance the learning process as a supervisor you need to be honest with the officials you are supervising. No official can ever expect to improve and get better if you as a supervisor are not honest with the things they can improve on.

Be calm and rational, firm but not emotional in my presentation to officials. Honesty can often be misconstrued as criticism. However with the proper presentation to the officials we will ensure it isn’t taken that way. Remember that nobody likes to be yelled at or scorned and all the positives that can be derived from supervisions are often wiped clean with that type of inappropriate behavior. A calm and collected presentation is key. Do not talk down to the official being supervised, our goal is for them to feel as if they are on the same level and we are simply assisting in their development.

Offer both praise and criticism in a constructive manner. With honesty comes criticism. There is nothing wrong with criticizing when done in the proper fashion. Remember that no official is perfect and that NHL officials are supervised and criticized every game. It’s a key cog to your development as an official. However also remember that for every one negative that exists try and find 2 positives to go along with it. That is a good rule of thumb to live by as a supervisor.

Always show respect for my fellow supervisors, officials, the players, coaches and fans. This goes back to the first bullet. Remember when you are at the arena you are representing, the zone, the branch and the CHA officiating program. Any actions that acts as a deterrent to the representation of the CHA officiating program will not be tolerated. As a supervisor we are there to support our officials and if we feel there are actions that need to be taken to support these officials than there exists proper channels for such incidents. However confrontations with fans, coaches and players is highly unacceptable and it is very harmful to the program as a whole.

Contribute to the continued growth of the Officiating Program and its officials within my Branch through support, encouragement and a positive attitude. Our attitude as supervisors is paramount. A good positive attitude, especially with young officials will go a long way in ensuring the quality growth of the officials in this zone that we are striving for.