Hockey continues to be popular in Flin Flon, but a lack of officials could hinder the sport in the coming years.
There are currently about a dozen referees in the community, roughly one-third as many as the late 1990s.
Todd Simms and Alex Willet share the referee in chief position through the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association. The men are hoping to increase the amount of referees in through a clinic.
“Right now we’re looking at between 10 and 11 refs for all of Flin Flon,” said Willet, who was including three senior referees for the Jr A level. “When I first started 15 years ago, there were 30 or 40 here.”
“There were a lot of us,” added Simms, who has started his 31st year of refereeing this year.
At one point in time, the entire referee in chief program for Manitoba was based out of Flin Flon, said Willet.
The number of local referees needs to increase if hockey will continue to be played. Without referees, there would be no hockey.
Clinic
In hopes of producing more referees, Simms and Willet will be hosting a clinic on Nov. 2.
“We’re looking for more young kids to come out,” said Simms.
Simms and Willet hope to see two or three more referees in the area following the four-hour clinic.
“If we can get the two or three this year that would be great,” said Simms. “We need to do something.”
As an added incentive, the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association will be paying the registration fee for all first-year
referees.
“Once [referees] get started and they get hooked, that’s great,” said Willet, “But it’s getting them started that’s the issue.”
Along with the start-up fees being covered, Hockey Manitoba offers a mentorship that allows a new referee to be paired with an experienced ref.
The mentors “will help them develop and help them to be that better official,” said Willet.
Flin Flon isn’t the only community that has seen a drop in numbers for on-ice officials. Hockey Manitoba, and organizations all across Canada, continue to see fewer numbers each year.
Thick skin
It takes thick skin to be a referee, but both Simms and Willet says it’s a rewarding past time.
Simms says refereeing has never been about the money for him. He was an official for 27 years before taking a five-year break.
“I missed it and I enjoyed it,” he said. “I enjoy the game. If you don’t have people like myself and Alex, you wouldn’t have referees and you wouldn’t have
hockey.”
Willet began his 16th year in the stripes this season. He started out in the Atom and Novice divisions, as any new referee would.
“Time and hard work will get you where you deserve to be,” Willet said.
Willet currently officiates at the SJHL, MJHL and minor hockey levels. Simms has officiated in the same leagues as well as three international level games, held in Flin Flon, and the Anavet Cup in OCN.
Simms said it’s important those looking to get into refereeing do so for the right reasons.
“If you’re going to get into it, don’t become bossy on the ice,” he said. ‘These guys want to play and you’ve got to make the rules happen. You’ve got to let them play hockey.”
Both Willet and Simms agreed that the heckling heard from the stands could often get to a
referee.
“You’ve got to be able to forget it and don’t take it home with you,” said Simms. He reminds all sport spectators to “skate a mile in my skates before you criticize me.”
Perspective
As Simms points out, being an on-ice official provides an opportunity to be a part of hockey from a different perspective.
“A lot of kids just don’t want to play hockey [anymore],” said Simms, pointing out that many would prefer to play video games at home. “But this is a way to stay with hockey.”
Those interested in registering for the clinic in November must be 13 years of age by Dec. 31 of this year.
Online registration can be found at Hockeymanitoba.ca. For more information, contact Todd Simms at 204-271-2983, Alex Willet at 204-271-3513 or the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association.
