‘Just not right’: Sask. referees blow whistle on hockey parents’ behaviour

Teen referees say they’re experiencing verbal harassment and abusive from overly-passionate hockey parents. Allison Bamford reports.

Hockey referees in Saskatoon are reminding parents that they can be penalized too if they don’t follow appropriate behaviour during minor hockey games.

At a recent game in Saskatoon, a parent walked onto the ice and addressed the referee.

The Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association (SMHA) says under no circumstances is that acceptable.

“It’s just not right,” said SMHA Referee-in-Chief Clint Joyes.

“He didn’t attack him, but he was still on the ice, which is totally not what anyone should be doing.”

This incident happened to an adult official. But Joyes said there are many times when young refs, under the age of 16, face the heat from parents.

“It makes me sick to my stomach when I see and hear about verbally abusing kids,” Joyes said. “It’s something we’re trying to figure out.”

Under the SMHA Parents’ Code of Conduct, first time offenders must take a three-hour respect in sport course. A second infraction committed by a parent could result in their child being suspended from the hockey team, something the SMHA hasn’t had to do yet.

“Most parents figure it out pretty quickly when they realize that their child could be affected by their behaviour,” said Kelly Boes, SMHA executive director.

Joyes admits there has been immense improvement in the way coaches and players treat youth referees after the SMHA introduced its green arm band policy a few years ago. Green arm bands identify on-ice officials under the age of 16 and suggest abuse won’t be tolerated.

New this season, the SMHA introduced a mission statement for coaches, parents and players to follow.

“It is very simple,” Boes said. “(It says) our team will not yell at officials before the game, during the game or after the game.”

Leagues across the country are dealing with these types of actions and verbal abuse from hockey parents.

Earlier this month, the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) issued a statement, saying inappropriate behaviour from parents “must stop immediately,” following a string of serious incidents during minor hockey games.

The alleged incidents included a parent making a throat-slashing gesture towards an on-ice official and other parents yelling abusive comments directed at opposing players, according to the NOHA statement.

Jason Marchand, NOHA executive director, said the association is piloting a project that has been tracking these incidents since the start of the season. Each reported incident is rated on a severity scale from one to 10.

Poor sportsmanship is rated as a one, which Marchand says most incidents fall under. Violence would receive a 10 on the scale.

“Fortunately, we haven’t made it there. We’ve had threats of violence, but we haven’t made it to the number 10 yet,” Marchand told CTV News.

NOHA says it takes appropriate steps to address these matters, which can include permanent removal from arenas and lifetime bans from NOHA facilities and events.

“We felt that we needed to send a strong message that it’s not going to be accepted,” Marchand said, adding this type of behaviour creates unsafe environments for kids and drives away on-ice officials.

“Ultimately, we want that positive experience in the rink not only for the kids but for their referees.”

In 2023, the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) reported that the Canadian sport system is facing an officiating crisis. The number of Hockey Canada officials dropped from 33,000 to 16,000 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

SIRC says research on officials in Canada is lacking, but surveys from the United States suggest verbal abuse is the primary reason that sport officials quit.

In Saskatoon, the SMHA says coaches and players have improved their behaviour towards referees. The next step is addressing parents.

“We’re not naive enough to think we’re going to nail every single one of them and they’re all going to behave perfectly. But the idea is to reduce this to a bare minimum,” Boes said.

Referee recruitment and retention appear to be improving, according to the SMHA, after efforts were made to support those wearing the stripes.

About 150 refs were registered with the SMHA right after the pandemic. The organization now has close to 425 hockey officials.