Shortage of sports officials could affect an athlete’s ability to play
A shortage of qualified sports officials in Manitoba has the potential to affect an athlete’s ability to play the game they love because, without them, there are no games.
“I have been hearing from provincial sport organizations that it has been tough to get officials to come back,” said Susan Lamboo, manager of Sport Manitoba Coaching. “If it continues on into next summer, especially, it really could affect some of the sports.”
In response to the shortage, Sport Manitoba has launched a campaign to actively recruit and train new officials called #NoRefNoGame.
The situation currently isn’t critical but not all sports are back in full swing following pandemic restrictions. However, as more athletes return to play and more officials are needed, the shortage may become more of an issue.
“People are a little bit hesitant to come back and they have found other things that they very much enjoy doing like spending time with family,” said Lamboo.
She said the sports most at risk are the larger ones like football and athletics that need a large number of officials. Smaller sports act more like families, according to Lamboo, and will be least affected.
One of the larger sports facing some referee-related issues is hockey.
Long-time referee Mark Alward has been officiating for 12 years and he is also the vice president of officials for Hockey Winnipeg.
He said the organization isn’t having a hard time recruiting new officials, the problem is retaining the ones they have.
Through their development arm focused on referees, Hockey Winnipeg has done some research to find out why some officials don’t come back to hockey, specifically. Alward said referee abuse is a factor in about a quarter of the cases of referees leaving the game, but it is not the only consideration.
“The number one aspect is they just don’t really fall in love doing it and they view it as a side gig,” said Alward. “They don’t have a passion for it and so they just leave.”
According to Alward, the solution is to make people fall in love with officiating. This can be achieved by promoting officials into the right level of hockey and personal development.
“They’re not given the opportunity to kind of learn the ins and outs. They’re kept at that grass roots level where they don’t learn the finer aspects,” said Alward.
This perspective comes from his personal experience. Alward began officiating at 15-years-old, but didn’t begin to love it until he started overseeing higher-level games at 19.
“It was more competitive, it was more interesting, it was more fun,” said Alward.
It’s unknown at this point whether the pandemic has affected the number of hockey officials this year as officiating clinics are still ongoing, but Alward said the numbers look OK for recruits.
Both Alward and Lamboo praise the benefits of joining the ranks of the approximate 15,000 sports officials the province needs each year.
“It allows people to see the full sport. The entire sport, not just as a coach, not just as a player. It provides another opportunity to learn the sport better than just being in one of the roles,” said Lamboo.
“Some of my best friends today I’ve met through officiating and I think that’s one of the great things about it,” said Alward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
'It was violent': Police tear down U of A pro-Palestinian encampment Saturday morning
Multiple people at the protest camp torn down at the University of Alberta campus Saturday say police's actions against protesters were "violent" and "disproportionate."
Trucker's body found in trailer in Newfoundland after failed police search in Ontario
Ontario Provincial Police are facing tough questions about their search for a missing Newfoundland trucker whose rig was found two weeks ago in Ontario, then sent back to Newfoundland, where his body was found Monday in the trailer.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
An apartment block collapses in a Russian border city after heavy shelling, injuring over a dozen
An apartment block partially collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod on Sunday, leaving at least 19 injured. Officials blamed Ukrainian shelling and said there were also likely deaths.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.