If you’ve ever been to a live sporting event, you’ll probably have heard some fans decide to give the officials a piece of their mind.
Some of it can be in fun, but a lot of it ends up being nasty and personal. It can be even worse when you’re a young official just starting out and learning the ropes and cause you to not want to keep on going.
But there’s a new initiative that has slowly been making its way around Canada and Hockey NWT has brought it to the North.
It’s the Green Armband Initiative and it comes with a simple slogan: if you see green, they’re under 18. Hay River Minor Hockey and the Yellowknife Minor Hockey Association are the first organizations taking part this season, which first began in Quebec in 2020 and has been taking hold in leagues and associations across the country ever since.
Rob Gau, Hockey NWT’s referee-in-chief, said the aim is to reduce harassment and abuse of young officials by both spectators and team officials.
“I don’t know why we’re abusing officials in the first place, but it’s a way to tell people that there are youth out on the ice working a game,” he said. “We talked about implementing this program two years ago, but we decided to bring it in for this season and see how it went.”
Gau said 13 youth officials in Yellowknife are wearing the green armband this season along with four in Hay River.
Angela Carter, whose daughter, Kaiah Carter, is one of the Hay River officials, said her daughter jumped at the chance to do something like this.
“She wanted to give back to the game and help out,” she said. “I think it’s great because it gives youth the chance to feel a bit more comfortable out on the ice. I’m proud that Kaiah is doing this and I’m proud of all the kids who do this. Officiating is tough and those adults who do it won’t be around forever.”
Abuse is one of the main causes young officials pack it in. According to an audit done by Hockey Canada in 2019, nearly 80 per cent of those who started officiating before their 18th birthday decided to stop within five years because of it.
Gau said he hopes the armband will help make a difference.
“The thinking is that it shouldn’t matter if you’re wearing an armband or not because abuse is abuse regardless of age,” he said. “It’s become so popular in so many jurisdictions around Canada and we’ve had a really good rollout here so far.”