OFFICIATING

Officials 12-17 years of age (as of Dec 31st of the current year) are eligible to join the program. For the 2026-2027 season, those born in 2014 or earlier are eligible to join the program.

We host a clinic for new officials some time in October depending on instructor and ice time availability. There is only ONE clinic annually. New Officials In-Person clinics are hosted by individual Minor Hockey Associations to recruit and hire their new officials.

Please fill out this google form to be considered for the next new officials clinic invitation list.

The application deadline for the new officials’ program is September 15, 2026.

Registration prior to this deadline does not guarantee a spot in the program. Officials who have been shortlisted to join the program will be contacted within one week of this deadline.

Shortlisted officials will be required to submit a short paragraph to the referee-in-chief explaining why they wish to join the NVMHA officiating program. NVMHA typically hires 25-30 new officials each year.

All new officials must complete an Online Pre-requisite called "Learning Lab". The learning lab content consists of basic rule knowledge and procedures about Hockey.

Students should be able to complete this course in 1.5-2 hours. You can choose to stop and start the course to break it up into segments if required.

Click here for the on-line pre-requisite course.

In-person clinics include two components:
Component 1: In-classroom for theory, rules knowledge and test.
Component 2: On ice for positioning, procedures, and physical skills instruction.

Both components are MANDATORY to successfully complete the course.

What new officials can expect once they complete their course:
New officials aged 12-13 are usually assigned U7-U9 games. These games are typically played weekend mornings from 7 AM – 11 AM depending on the season schedule.

There are occasional evening games on both weekends and weekdays, but not on a regular basis. It is important that new officials, especially those 12-13 years of age, and
their parents have accurate expectations of what to expect in their first 1-2 years of officiating. Officials might only receive a handful of games in their first year due to a higher intake of new officials and less games to officiate at the U7 and U9 levels.

Once officials begin their second year of officiating and/or get assigned U11 games, the number of games officials work each season will increase.

New officials between the ages of 13-16 are usually assigned U11C games to start.

Once they have become comfortable with the basics (Positioning and procedures such as Icings, Offsides, Penalties, etc.), they will then be moved into U11A and/or U13C to gain experience in a more competitive environment.

New officials typically begin their officiating journey as a linesperson. Once they gain experience and confidence, they will be assigned games to referee based on the recommendations of the referee-in-chief and NVMHA’s team of officiating coaches.

New officials between the ages of 17-18 are usually assigned U13C games to get their “feet wet”. These officials normally pick up the basics quickly and move into U15/U18C and lower levels of rep hockey based on recommendations from the referee-in-chief and officiating coaches.

Our goal is to be as transparent as possible when it comes to expectations. Depending on an official’s availability, new officials who are 12-13 years of age can anticipate being assigned 1-2 games per month to start. However, the more you are available, the more likely you will be assigned more games. Officials who have minimal availability and/or are consistently turning back games are less likely to be assigned games later in the
season.

NVMHA hires a large amount of first years because we generally see a 30-50% declinewithin the first two years. It is usually by the third year that officials begin to see their game counts significantly increase, as there is more hockey available to work.

For example, during the 2025-2026 season, we had several 14/15-year-old officials in their 3rd year of officiating who worked 50+ games for us. As a reminder, officials are not guaranteed a certain number of games per season. However, the more you are available, the more games you are likely to work.

Mandatory Equipment:
Helmet and visor - Black with CSA Approved half shield visor (Oakley visors are not CSA approved) – no team stickers can be visible on the helmet.

Skates - Must be player skates. No goaltender skates permitted. Toe spike is a hazard for players that might fall into an official's feet in a puck battle.

Black Pants (suggested waterproof pants) – For example, snow pants or track pants.

Please be mindful that no team logos can be visible if an official chose to wear team track pants.

Jersey: Any vertically striped referee jersey is okay, but I suggest you buy one with snap on armbands. Jersey’s can be found at any local sports store (Larry’s and Timeout usually have a good supply) and sometimes on second platforms such as Marketplace.

Recommended equipment:

Jock/Jill

Small Shin pads (like ball hockey, mountain bike or even soccer shin guards is a great place to start)

Elbow pads: do not need to be playing elbows but something small and light weight is all you need.

Shin tights: helps keep shinpads in place while preventing pants from getting caught in the heel protection portion of the skate – this demonstrates a professional look of the official to all game participants.

Certification is required annually to maintain the official certification. 
Returning Officials clinics are hosted by BC Hockey annually between September and November (known as Clinic Season). To find instructions in later years please refer to the next section.

Returning officials over the age of 18 require a Criminal Record check every 3 years. The registration will prompt you if your CRC is outdated and requires an update.

Link: https://www.bchockey.net/member-info/applications/criminal-record-check

Once registered and clinic is attended and passed, you are good to start working games. Officials that certified the previous year can work assignments prior to their clinic completion. Please see my highlighted note below.

Reminder - Officials certification is 1.5 years in duration. When an official certifies in October of 2023, that certification is active until Dec 31st 2024. 

Returning officials must attend a clinic in the fall to maintain certification to extend the certification beyond the 1.5 year threshold. Annually BC Hockey hosts returning official clinics from Sep through November across the province. 

 

Link to find active BC Hockey courses: https://register.hockeycanada.ca/clinics

Officials that previously Officiated under Hockey Canada in the past (2000 and onwards) require their Hockey Canada Registry number.

Contact BC Hockey Head office at Clinics@bchockey.net, to find out your HCR # from the archives. You need this to register with any previous certification experience. Without this information you will have to start from scratch as a brand new official.

Reminder - Officials certification is 1.5 years in duration. When an official certifies in October of 2023, that certification is active until Dec 31st 2024. 

Returning officials must attend a clinic in the fall to maintain certification to extend the certification beyond the 1.5 year threshold. Annually BC Hockey hosts returning official clinics from Sep through November across the province. 

Link to find active BC Hockey courses: https://register.hockeycanada.ca/clinics

NVMHA Applicants List: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSch55O45UsixU-NEu2n6KxQY84DBvyR9NrG2VQItdKfvzW8Vg/viewform?usp=sharing

BC Hockey: https://www.bchockey.net/officials/getting-started

BC Hockey Criminal Record Check: https://www.bchockey.net/member-info/applications/criminal-record-check

PCAHA: https://www.pcaha.ca/referees/index.php

Hockey Canada Learning Lab: https://page.spordle.com/bch/clinics/1ef42d09-9924-67e2-a0e5-02600a5612ed

Reminder - Officials certification is 1.5 years in duration. When an official certifies in October of 2023, that certification is active until Dec 31st 2024. 

Returning officials must attend a clinic in the fall to maintain certification to extend the certification beyond the 1.5 year threshold. Annually BC Hockey hosts returning official clinics from Sep through November across the province.