There is a right way and a wrong way to drop a puck, and a group of B.C. teens now know the difference.
The annual BC Hockey Officiating Summer School held July 31 to Aug. 4, taught 41 students aged 12 to 18 the finer points of refereeing Canada鈥檚 national sport. Kids came from around the province to Salmon Arm鈥檚 Rogers Rink to learn, or get re-certified in, officiating minor hockey.
The class was split into two groups that alternated between on-ice and classroom learning, with Friday鈥檚 ice time including learning the faceoff procedure and how to drop a puck.
鈥淎 lot of these officials don鈥檛 get a lot of on-ice training when they learn how to become a hockey official, so we like to spend some time showing them the proper technique,鈥� said lead instructor Taylor Pearson, who came up from Vancouver. 鈥淎 lot of the young officials, the common mistakes that we see are trying to throw the puck down as hard as they can.鈥�
That, she explained, prevents the puck from landing flat on the ice, which is necessary for a fair faceoff. In that training, they also learn to identify if a player is cheating, if the centres are lined up correctly, where sticks should be, and how to get them in compliance for a fair faceoff.
Refs also learn how to stay out of the action while still observing it all. That includes a zone exit after the puck drop, and end zone positioning. Pearson explained that a lot of times players congregate in corners as they fight for the puck or circling to find an outlet pass, so it鈥檚 important to teach young officials how to move out of the way of a skater.
鈥淥therwise, if they don鈥檛 have the skill and the confidence to move out of the way, they might get taken out by a player, or they might have the puck getting stuck in their skates,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd ideally, we鈥檙e never getting hit with the puck, we鈥檙e never getting hit with the players. We鈥檙e always on the ice and we鈥檙e always present, but we are not getting our bodies involved with the game.鈥�
Given how fast the game moves, that can be hard to do, which is why classroom learning includes anticipation and reading hockey plays so they can foresee what a player might next move might be and move accordingly.
BCHockey 2025 Summer Officiating School Officials are on the ice Friday morning inside Salmon Arm鈥檚 Rogers Rink learning referee endzone positioning, mobility, agility plus referee awareness skills & peripheral vision techniques.
鈥� BC Hockey Officials (@BCHockey_Refs)
Another key factor, particularly given their young ages, is preparing them mentally for any possible abuse they may encounter in their reffing career, such as coaches, players and spectators yelling at or berating them.
鈥淢altreatment is what we call it in the officiating world. Part of what we do in the classroom is we鈥檙e giving the young officials tools and language to use when they鈥檙e in a situation where they have a full grown adult who鈥檚 on the bench and is yelling at them," Pearson said. "How do you approach that type of situation as, say, a 13-year-old kid. So it鈥檚 a lot of how do we give you the tools and the language to feel confident in approaching that parent or that coach.鈥�
That also includes knowledge about the rules and, if communication isn鈥檛 working in a situation like that, what they have the authority to do, such as having someone removed from the arena.
While playing hockey is not a requirement of students attending the school, it does help with the skills needed and a better understanding of the game and rules, but Pearson added 鈥渨e do have some high level officials who鈥檝e never played hockey.鈥�
It鈥檚 also not limited to males, with the number of female students slowly increasing every year as with the number of female players joining the sport.
鈥淔or us, of course there鈥檚 less female officials, just like there鈥檚 less female players overall,鈥� Pearson said. 鈥淏ut every year that I鈥檝e taught at this camp, this is my fourth year teaching here, we鈥檝e always had a group of female officials.鈥�
Pearson herself just worked at her first National Hockey Canada Championship in April and wants to keep progressing through those higher levels.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to continue be awarded those opportunities to go to national events and just keep working my way up in officiating,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to skate the highest levels of hockey that I can.鈥�
The BC Hockey Summer Officiating School started in the '70s, with thousands of refs being trained through the program, and several graduates now current officials in the NHL, Olympics and International Ice Hockey Federation.
"The BC Hockey Summer Officiating goal is to launch up to 100 young teen Officials each summer,鈥� development coordinator Larry Krause said. 鈥淩eleasing them back to their own regions across B.C. and Yukon prepared, equipped and ready to start officiating prior to first puck drop in September.鈥�
Students put in the time to get to that point, starting with breakfast at 7 a.m., then on the ice or in the classroom by 8 a.m., followed by a full day ending around 9 p.m.
鈥淚t鈥檚 full 12-hour days. We just have a lot of material that we鈥檙e trying to fit within the five days, just because there is so much for officiating... that we have to teach them,鈥� Pearson said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 very much an accelerated rate.鈥�
The camp wraps up at 12 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4 with participants having to complete on-ice testing requirements and a written test prior to leaving. More information about the officiating school and registration can be found online at .
