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Home My WebLink AboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-01-20, Page 3• u a 4tleknow ,Sentinel,'Wednesday, January 20, 1993 - Pagg 3 Those:People :n black and' white stripes are h by Pat Livingston "Are you blind?" "Open your eyes!" "You need glasses!" "Wake-apt.. Walk mto any arena where hockey is being played and the above statements of verbal abuse, along with many others; can be heard being shouted at the people who sport • .the black and white striped shirts. They are the officials, and -unfortunately the abuse seems to be part and parcel of their duties. Lucknow's Dave Black, an offi- cial with 15 years experience, says fanharassment is one of the most difficult aspects of being a hockey official. It is the reason he took a year off early in his career, but much to his surprise he missed what could be called his second career and returned. Dave's introduction to officiating came about accidently. When his hockey team ,was short an official one night, he played fill-in and it was then he decided to explore the avenues of being a referee. ' There are six levels of programs involved in referees' clinics. Level of attainment determines the cat - •egOry of hockey One is qualified to bfficiate, After level I, aorefresher course is taken each year. Dave currently holds a level IV) which allows .him to do games -as --high as Senior, "A" and "B" in'the WOAA, and OMHA playoffs. OMHA Supervisor.. • Presently Dave is an OMHA (supervisor. As such, it is his 'responsibility to appraise the.on-ice • performance of all minor hockey officials, at least twice and prefer- ably three times a year in Lucknow, Ripley, Teeswater and Wingham. The appraisal is completed using a 10 -point checkoff provided by the OM -IA. The referee, OMHA, ref- eree -in -chief of OMHA and Dave each retain a copy of the evalu- ation. The appraisal is a means of assist- ing . younger officials to becom' more efficient and help more experienced ones' break any bad habits developed. Based on the outlook of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the system also aims to make officiating con- sistent across the country. Recruiting Dave said, "Abuse from fans makes it (recruiting) a major prob- List of local officials is rather extensive by Pat Livingston The majority of jobs have a down side to them. .Despite the fact that hockey referees quite often are the subject of verbal abuse, the local referee -in -chief, Greg Nicholson, who is also the Recreation Director, has a fair complement of names to call upon. Greg agrees with comments by Dave `Black, a local OMHA - supervisor- and referee, that recruiting new blood is difficult when young people hear what, is dished out to the officials during their games. The question arises "Why would I want to do that?" Greg believes verbal abuse at referees is a result of • the competitiveness of sports. The thought seems to be - well our player didn't do anything wrong, so it had to be the other team or else it's the referee's fault. . Berating of officials doesn't only take place , on. ice. It is evident in any type of competi- tive sport in. Greg's opinion. Fortunately for this' commun= ity, a relatively large number of people see some positive side to officiating, and it isn't because of extremely high pay. Greg's list of local hockey referees includes Pete Van Sickle, Justin Murray, Russ O'Handley, Lyndon Johnston, Colin Becker, Dave Black, -Russell Sutton, Joel Sutton, Jeff Porter, Jim Cooper, Pete—Chisholm, Steve Porter, Duane Porter, Steve Pritchard, Steve. Smith and Scott Rintoul. In addition to -these he has 10 others from a further distance that can be hired for a game, All of These officials hold a level I to IV referees' certificate which determines the category of hockey they can officiate. Then for ringette he calls upon Joel Sutton, Peter Van Sickle, Russ O'Handley, ' Jennifer MacKinnon, Sam Murray and Tara Chatham. For small communities, and particularly in the minor winter sports games, the cost of referees is one of the major expenses. That is why Greg attempts to use local refs. Those who have to travel get mileage both ways, in addition to the regular pay. , Expenses for out-of-town ref- erees can often be in excess of the gate take if spectator attend- ance is low. Kept busy with deputations William Hayden, representing Northern Cross Resources Limited, attended the January 5 meeting of West Wawanosh Township council. He fielded questions from council regarding a proposed agreement with the company for installation of a gas pipeline along the 6/7th con- cession road allowance, from Lot 16 to County Road 1. Discussion of an agreement for, the upgrading of Sideroad 25/25 from, the site of Donegan's pro- pcised pit to Highway 86iook place. The deputation included , Gerald Donegan, of Donegan's Haulage, and Garth Noecker of K. Smart and Associates. John and Catherine Stevens dis- cussed with council their applica- tion to sever 66 acres from the total acreage, retaining a 100 -acre parcel. Council had no objection to • the severance, but specified that its approval would be giver]„subject to certain provisions. One provision was that the convenance of the .66 acres must be to a person or per- sons prepared to protect and man- age the natural environment. The other proviso was that future level- 'opment on the severed portion (i.e.- building construction) will require rezoning, and in turn rezoning will require an Environmental Impact OUNC1L NEWS West Wawanosh Township Study as required by the Ministry of Natural” Resources prior to com- ment by Maitland Valley Conserva- tion Authority as to its requirements on the proposed development. Vote for Option 4 Having reviewed the 10 options for County Council Voting, Struc- ture, council unanimously recom- mends that Option 4, •a 'cow* council with 27 representatives, One per local municipality except for the Town of Goderich which would have two, be adopted. ' Accepts resignation, Council accepted with regret the resignation of Robert McAllister, as supervisor of the waste management site. Advertisements will be placed to fill the vacancy. , Refutes request Council unanimously refuted the request of Bev Grierson, through her solicitor, asking the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to refer part of Official Plan Amendment No. 62, the West Wawanosh Township Secondary Plan, to the Ontario Municipal Board for a hearing. turn to page 6 lem. "When a young official is on the ice it's almost ..like a young player." During• training, referees are definitely told not to pay atten tion to bbrating fans. "You certainly hear it, yet you have to try and tune it out. No matter how thick your skin is, it's tough to do." • Dave said, "The game is for .the hockey players who are expected to play within the rules. When they don't you (the official) assess the penalties." He readily admits offi- cials can make mistakes saying, "We're human. On a whole the WOAA has some of the better officials in the minor hockey sys- tem." Satisfaction For Dave personally, officiating gives him various forms of satisfac- tion. There's the ,physical sense, because of the exercise. He gave up playing the game six years ago. And there is the "chance to see some exceptional hockey players - kids on their way up. It's great to see people do well," he said. The winter season is particularly busy for this; father of two young boys. In addition to his OMHA supervisory responsibilities Dave continues to referee, travelling anywhere from Lions Head to Tavistock and all points in between, and also coaches a local pre -Tyke team that son Hamish plays on. In any given week during' the winter, Dave will be out four to five nights a . week. Is it worth it? To Dave, who says, "Hockey is fun and 'a great sport!" it certainly is. n too. Dave Black, of Lucknow, has been Involved with refereeing hockey, for 15- years. Dave says fan harastment. is one of the most'difficult aspects of being an official. 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