As another season comes to an end, officials are gearing up for Hockey Canada’s spring national championships.

Forty-four officials – 22 referees and 22 linespersons – from across the country have been selected by Hockey Canada for the Esso Cup, Men’s U18 National Club Championship and Centennial Cup.

Officials selected for Esso Cup

The officials chosen for the 2023 Esso Cup in Prince Albert, Sask., are part of the Women’s Officiating Program of Excellence, presented by the Hockey Canada Foundation. As part of this program, they have attended development camps, received ongoing mentorship in their Member programs and been evaluated by national officiating coaches prior to a final selection by Hockey Canada.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for these officials to finish the season with a championship event,” says Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “These officials have shown well at our development events and we are excited to continue working with them at this championship. As always, we are incredibly grateful to the Hockey Canada Foundation for supporting this program and the development of women and girls in officiating through Hockey Is Hers.”

The officiating coaches for the Esso Cup are Hanoomansingh, Theresa Llorente (Edmonton, Alta.) and Kim Sobkowicz (Outlook, Sask.).

Officials selected for Men's U18 National Club Championship

The officials chosen for the 2023 Men’s U18 National Club Championship in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., are part of Hockey Quebec’s program of excellence. They have undergone a lengthy identification and evaluation process by Hockey Quebec during the 2022-23 season, with several attending previous Hockey Canada Officiating Program of Excellence camps and national events.

“The U18 club nationals is an exciting opportunity for the officials of the host Member program,” says Hanoomansingh. “These officials have collaborated and competed all year in their home league, forming a cohesive unit, and earned their selection to the national championship.”

The officiating coaches for the Men’s U18 Club Championship are Serge Carpentier and Doug Hayward.

Officials selected for Centennial Cup

The officials who will officiate the 2023 Centennial Cup in Portage la Prairie, Man., are the top officials in their Junior A leagues from across the country. The referees are drawn from Hockey Canada’s National High Performance Program, while the linespersons are drawn from both the National High Performance Program and their Member high performance programs. Officials were coached and evaluated throughout the season across the Canadian Junior Hockey League, prior to their final selection.

“We have high expectations for our elite officials in every game,” says Hanoomansingh. “Even with the expanded, 10-team tournament, the selections for this tournament were extremely competitive. This is an outstanding group of officials and we are looking forward to seeing them hit the ice in Portage la Prairie.”

Jenn Berezowski always wanted the opportunity to officiate at a top-level IIHF tournament.

With 15 years of experience as an on-ice official, working in numerous leagues and tournaments around Canada, Berezowski finally got the chance when she was chosen as a referee for the 2023 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Sweden.

There was just one small dilemma. Berezowski had recently given birth to her second daughter, Hannah.

“When I got the phone call in October 2022 to do the U18 Women’s Worlds in January, I was about a month postpartum with my second daughter,” Berezowski recalls. “It was going to be tight with the timing, but I couldn’t say no.”

So, a month after Hannah was born, Berezowski resumed officiating games.

“I was back on the ice again and with my daughter attached to my hip,” she says.

When it came time to leave for Sweden, Berezowski, along with her mother and baby Hannah, made the trip from their home in Trenton, Ont., across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, her husband and their eldest daughter, three-year-old Scarlett, remained at home and watched as Berezowski refereed three games, including the gold medal game that saw Canada beat Sweden 10-0 to defend its world title.

Whether it was at home or on the road, Berezowski credits friends, family and colleagues for supporting her and Hannah.

“Everyone has taken turns coming to the arena with me so that I can be away from home and continue to ref but also have her with me there so I can feed her and keep her healthy,” Berezowski says. “My colleagues have been extremely supportive, no one has blinked an eye about me feeding my baby in between periods or having a babysitter hanging around. In doing that, they are helping normalize this path locally, nationally and internationally.”

Since the U18 worlds in Sweden, Berezowski has returned to officiating various leagues across Ontario with her daughter by her side. This week, she is part of the crew working the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship in Montreal.

With the added logistics of travelling with her baby, on top of being a mother of two and a referee, Berezowski is also a chartered professional accountant. She admits that the spring season is one of her busiest times of the year, with provincial championships and playoffs happening at the same time as the Canadian tax season.

“It’s all about the support I receive from everyone, including my bosses who have been very generous with allowing me to have flexible hours,” Berezowski says. “During the spring, tax season and championships come to a peak, so it’s all about giving some and taking some and being one of the hardest workers out there.”

Normalizing newborns at the rink

Since donning the stripes when she was 16 years old, Berezowski says she has only once seen a mom with her newborn at the rink. However, she is optimistic that over time, it will be commonplace.

“We used to have to choose one of the two. I would’ve had to choose between continuing to do this or is it time to have a family,” Berezowski adds. “Now, people have opened their minds to the possibilities and you can do both. I’ve been lucky to be able to pursue everything.”

Berezowski is also in contact with the growing community of women officials. Whether it’s sharing experiences or bouncing thoughts and ideas off each other, the community continues to be very supportive. By sharing her story, Berezowski hopes to serve as a role model for other women, particularly new moms.

“I have a lot of colleagues that are young, and they haven’t started families yet, and through that online group, we’re transparent and showing that we’re in 2023, we can do this stuff if we want to, and I love that I can show that within my province and on the ice,” she says.

At the end of the day, Berezowski is encouraged by the support from the hockey community.

“It’s super rewarding to have a career, be an official on the ice and a mom, too,” she says. “Seeing people like Natalie Spooner and all she’s doing, we’re showing moms what is possible, and that we can do anything that we want to once we set our minds to it.”

Twenty-six officials – 13 referees and 13 linespersons – have been selected by Hockey Canada for the U SPORTS men’s and women’s championships. The tournaments will run concurrently from March 16-19, with the men’s U Cup taking place in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and the Women’s Hockey Championship taking place in Montreal.

“Hockey Canada would like to congratulate all the officials on their selection to the university championships,” said Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “The U SPORTS championships provide some of our best domestic competition, in a challenging, single-elimination tournament. These officials have continued to hone their craft throughout the season to be ready for this event.”

The officiating coach for the Men’s U Cup will Todd Robinson (Sackville, N.S.). The officiating coaches for the Women’s Hockey Championship will be Hanoomansingh and Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie (Laval, Que.).

All selected officials have come through the Officiating Program of Excellence and the Women’s Officiating Program of Excellence, presented by Hockey is Hers and the Hockey Canada Foundation.

“Our program is for anyone who is interested in officiating, from the grassroots to the international game,” says Hanoomansingh. “Hockey Canada's 13 Members provide a path for anyone to participate in officiating, develop a love for the game and achieve their goals.

Officials are integral to the game, enforcing the standard of safe and fair play in arenas from coast to coast to coast. No matter what the level, without officials, there is no game.”

For more information about the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

Forty-eight officials – 24 referees and 24 linespersons – from all 10 provinces have been selected for the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island. The men’s tournament will take place Feb. 19-25, followed by the women’s tournament from Feb. 27-March 3.

“The officials who have been selected for the Canada Winter Games should be very proud of this accomplishment,” said Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “While it only occurs every four years, this is an important development event for our high-performance officials. If you look at many of our current top officials, they were successful at past Canada Winter Games tournaments. We have similarly high expectations for this crop of officials and are excited to see them perform on the ice.”

Officials selected for the Canada Winter Games are part of the Officiating Program of Excellence (OPOE) and attended regional camps across the country prior to their selection. This is the first season of the Women’s OPOE, presented by the Hockey Canada Foundation, which allows officials to receive mentorship and coaching prior to the final selections.

Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie (Laval, Que.), Corey Hayne (Antigonish, N.S.) and Vanessa Stratton (Windsor, Ont.) will join Hanoomansingh as officiating coaches.

All selected officials are leaders in their Member leagues and high-performance programs, and being selected for Canada Winter Games is not only an accomplishment for the official, but also a credit to their Member and local development programs.

“Our program is for anyone who is interested in officiating, from the grassroots to the international game,” says Hanoomansingh. “Hockey Canada's 13 Members provide a path for anyone to participate in officiating, develop a love for the game and achieve their goals.

Officials are integral to the game, enforcing the standard of safe and fair play in arenas from coast to coast to coast. No matter what the level, without officials, there is no game.”

For more information about the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

As Hockey Canada’s fall events return for the first time since 2019, the officials are ready to hit the ice.

Thirty-six officials – 17 referees and 19 linespersons – from across the country have been selected for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, World Junior A Challenge and Para Hockey Cup.

“Our fall events are a great opportunity for individuals participating in our Officiating Program of Excellence,” said Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “These officials have worked hard to sharpen their skills since their last opportunity at one of our camps. We have been tracking their progression and they have earned their opportunity to officiate these exciting events.”

The Officiating Program of Excellence (OPOE) is the pathway through which Canadian officials are selected for top national and international tournaments. The objectives of the OPOE are to provide a clear developmental pathway for aspiring elite officials, provide developmentally appropriate coaching for elite officials, prepare officials for national and international competitions, and assist Hockey Canada in making evidence-based decisions for assignments.

For more information about the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (Langley & Delta, B.C.)

The officiating coaches for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge are Dan Hanoomansingh (Vancouver, B.C.) and Kirk Wood (Stratford, Ont.).

World Junior A Challenge (Cornwall, Ont.)

The officiating coach for the World Junior A Challenge is Hanoomansingh.

Para Hockey Cup (Bridgewater, N.S.)

The officiating coach for the Para Hockey Cup is Paul Boese (Arnprior, Ont.)

As the 2022-23 hockey season gets underway, the Hockey Canada Officiating Program of Excellence (OPOE) is back with a full slate of camps. One hundred officials will be selected for regional identification camps, with a further 30 attending the prestigious National High Performance Selection Camp.

“It was thrilling to re-launch the Officiating Program of Excellence over the summer and these fall camps are the next step,” said Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “Our regional camps provide officials with an introduction to the national level and prepare them to compete for national assignments at the U18 level. It is particularly exciting to be holding our first-ever regional camps for the women’s stream of the OPOE, presented by Hockey is Hers and the Hockey Canada Foundation.”

The OPOE is the pathway through which Canadian officials are selected for top national and international assignments. The objectives are to provide a clear developmental pathway for aspiring elite officials, provide developmentally appropriate coaching for elite officials, prepare officials for national and international competitions, and assist Hockey Canada in making evidence-based decisions for national and international events. Officials enter the OPOE through the regional identification camps, based on nominations from their Member programs.

The 30 officials who will attend the National High Performance Selection Camp will participate in an intensive four-day experience intended to help them develop the tools needed to succeed at this elite level. All of the officials were part of a months-long evaluation process, including input from their respective Member programs, prior to a final selection by Hockey Canada. Upon successful completion of the camp, the officials will join the national high performance program and compete for Junior A and senior national championships, as well as international assignments.

National High Performance Selection Camp (Calgary, Alta. – October 20-23)

The officiating coaches for the National High Performance Selection Camp are Matthew Davey (Ottawa, Ont.), Dan Hanoomansingh (Vancouver, B.C.), Pat Malloy (Ottawa, Ont.), Kyle McDonald (Regina, Sask.), Todd Robinson (Sackville, N.S.) and Vanessa Stratton (Windsor, Ont.).

The officiating coaches for the Men's Central Regional Camp are Hanoomansingh and Greg Kimmerly (Toronto, Ont.).

The officiating coaches for the Women's Pacific Regional Camp are Stratton and Sandra Lowe (Burnaby, B.C.).

The officiating coaches for the Women's Atlantic Regional Camp are Hanoomansingh, David Crane (Bay Roberts, N.L.) and Jacqui Palm (Newmarket, Ont.).

The officiating coaches for the Men's West Regional Camp are Hanoomansingh, C.J. Senkow (Grande Prairie, Alta.) and Kirk Wood (Stratford, Ont.).

The officiating coaches for the Men's East Regional Camp are Hanoomansingh, Christian Gohier (Saint-Jérôme, Que.), Marc Maissonneuve (Gatineau, Que.) and Peter Moraitis (Longueuil, Que.).

The officiating coaches for the Women's Central Regional Camp are Palm, Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie (Montreal, Que.) and Stéphanie Campbell (Montreal, Que.).

The officiating coaches for the Women's West Regional Camp are Hanoomansingh, Palm and Ashley Desjardins (Winnipeg, Man.).

For more information about the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

As women’s para hockey looks to expand its footprint, two Hockey Canada officials are heading south.

This week, World Para Ice Hockey is hosting the first-ever Women’s World Challenge in Green Bay, Wis., and Canadian officials Jane Ogilvie (Truro, N.S.) and Danielle Williams (Aurora, Ont.) will be a part of the inaugural event.

This four-team tournament will see Canada’s Women’s National Para Hockey Team compete alongside Great Britain, the United States and Team World, which comprises athletes from seven different nations. The tournament is intended to continue developing competitive women’s para hockey, with the eventual goal of a women’s world championship and a place in the Paralympic program.

As the popularity of para hockey continues to grow, the Hockey Canada Officiating Program is improving its resources to train and develop officials for the sport.

“The role of the official is to facilitate a safe and fair game and that’s no different in para hockey,” says Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “Officials play a key role, and it is our responsibility as a world sport leader to provide those tools to our officials to benefit the game.”

Ogilvie, the oldest of four children growing up on a dairy farm in the Annapolis Valley, joined the ranks of the Hockey Canada Officiating Program in 2014. Since that time, she has represented Hockey Nova Scotia at the Esso Cup, the Atlantic Challenge Cup and the Atlantic University Sport women’s hockey championship.

“I cannot wait to be a part of growing the women’s side of para hockey,” she says. “This is an opportunity to take my skills as an official and truly contribute to the growth of the game.”

Williams has been involved in the game in a variety of roles for well over a decade, first as an off-ice official and then as an on-ice official, starting in 2009. Her experience in the Greater Toronto Area has taken her to multiple OHF championships and OHL Cup tournaments, as well as becoming more involved as an instructor and mentor for the next generation of officials.

“We’re all passionate about hockey, but the opportunity to build something from scratch is something entirely different,” she says. “I am excited to do my part to bring women’s para hockey to the world stage and bring those experiences back to other officials at home.”

Ogilvie and Williams headed to Green Bay this week for two days of training with the rest of the officiating staff before the tournament starts on Aug. 26.

“We are very grateful to World Para Ice Hockey and USA Hockey for offering us the opportunity to send two officials to this event,” says Hanoomansingh. “Hockey Canada is fortunate to have two world leaders in para hockey officiating in Paul Boese (Nepean, Ont.) and Kevin Webinger (Calgary, Alta.) taking on leadership roles with our program.”

The Hockey Canada Officiating Program is for anyone who is interested in officiating, from the grassroots to the international game. Hockey Canada's 13 Members provide a path for anyone to participate in officiating, develop a love for the game and achieve their goals. For more information on the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

Transitions have been a major part of Ali Beres’ life.

From growing up in British Columbia to moving across the country to Ontario, spending years as a ringette player to transitioning into a hockey player. Then, another transition, from high-level hockey player to high-level official.

All of those transitions, it would seem, have seen Beres carve a path that could lead to her ultimate goal – officiating in the Olympic Winter Games.

“I want to go to the Olympics and that’s been the dream since I started putting on the stripes. It’s a long-term goal and I’m willing to work for it,” says Beres. “Just the hours at the rink, the learning, the games that didn’t go well, the calls that you missed, everything you put in behind the scenes, the preparation, the cardio, the fitness testing – all that you do to prep, it would have paid off, it would have been for a reason.

“It’s a goal, it’s a dream, it’s something I want to get to … the highest level of competition. That atmosphere, that level of competition, that’s something I want to be a part of.”

Beres is from Lions Bay, B.C., a small town about 30 minutes up the coast from Vancouver. As a kid, she played ringette as there was no girls’ hockey in Lions Bay, but transitioned to hockey around the age of 13. For one season, she played both sports but then made hockey her prime passion. She got so good at the sport that Beres played with B.C. at the 2013 National Women’s Under-18 Championship and went on to play varsity hockey at the University of Western Ontario.

During her youth, Beres also took up officiating, thanks in large part to her mom and dad being involved in that side of the game. Ali and younger sister Maegan both hit the ice as officials and enjoyed managing the game of hockey.

“Maegan and I would go out there and we’d be doing the young ages, the 6-8 year-olds, and doing two to three games a day, just getting the experience out on the ice. I remember just falling in love with it, the different side of the game,” says Beres. “Not everyone knows the effort and time and preparation that goes into officiating. The way I looked at it, when I joined hockey, I wasn’t a very good hockey player coming from ringette. Everyone could shoot and stick handle, I could skate, but that was about it.

“Someone was out there on the ice reffing my house league game and it was cool. They were helping mentor and coach us, they were telling me ‘Hey, you need to stand here on the faceoff.’ They were helping me during the game and I was fortunate enough to play university. Refs manage the game but they’re also out there mentoring the players who may not know all of the rules yet. I took a lot from that. I just loved doing it when I was playing.”

Last week, Beres took part in Hockey Canada’s Officials Program of Excellence (OPOE) camp in Calgary, which took place alongside the BFL National Women’s Program Summer Showcase. The (OPOE) is similar to the well-known program on the players’ side – giving officials a performance pathway to reach their objectives, whether they include the Canada Winter Games, Esso Cup, AAA hockey, International Ice Hockey Federation events or even the Olympics.

Vanessa Stratton was one of four coaches at the OPOE camp. Coincidentally, Stratton is the education manager at Western, Beres’ alma mater, and is an IIHF officiating coach and officiating lead at BC Hockey. Stratton also had the honour of working six IIHF world championships.

“We have produced some great officials. We have officials at Olympics, we’ve had officials at varying levels of world championships,” says Stratton. “But I would say that we never had a foundationally strong structure around officiating that clearly articulated a pathway that officials could pursue in order to achieve their goals. We had different parts of the structure but never everything that was brought together with a specific pathway that talked about different goals and objectives at each kind of checkpoint to get the officials to where they needed to be.”

The OPOE program in calgary, presented in partnership with the Hockey Canada Foundation, included on-ice sessions, fitness testing and in-classroom learning. Beres and her seven colleagues also officiated various games during the Summer Showcase, which brought together 142 players competing for spots on the National Women’s Team, National Women’s Development Team and National Women’s Under-18 Team.

“We have our four coaches here and they have been phenomenal with the amount of experience they have, everything they have to share in the classroom and on the ice,” says Beres. “The girls that they have brought together, it’s awesome, it’s fun. We’re an officiating team. It’s not a group of individuals. We’re bonding, connecting, we’re having fun. We’re out there pushing each other, we’re cheering each other on during the games and having a lot of fun on the ice which is a big part of it.”

The goal, according to Stratton, is to continue growing the OPOE, with regional and national camps, and potentially to even become a gold standard that other countries can use in developing and growing their own officials programs.

For more information on the Officials Program of Excellence, or to find out how you can get involved as a hockey referee or linesperson, visit HockeyCanada.ca .

Working a full-time job while officiating can be a tricky balancing act. But what if you also add in being a full-time master’s student into the equation?

Edmonton, Alta., native Kyle Kowalski is a commercial banker by day and is in the middle of completing a master of business administration degree online on top of officiating with the Western Hockey League (WHL). How does he do it?

“I got to be honest, I don’t know how I balance it,” he says with a chuckle.

Although Kowalski didn’t get his start in officiating until he was about 24 years old, he had knowledge about the responsibilities of the position from a family connection.

“My father was an official [with] Hockey Alberta,” he says. “I would follow him along to the hockey games and I would go watch the game that he’d be reffing. But I was always of the mindset of playing. I never ever envisioned this occurring.”

After he was finished playing junior hockey in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and Alberta Junior Hockey League, Kowalski took an opportunity to start his officiating journey while attending Grant MacEwan University so he could stay connected to the sport he loves.

“I wanted to stay involved in the game and it was just a way for me to get back into hockey,” he says. “It’s the greatest game on earth. Let’s be honest, it’s the best… You give back and it’d give you so much more than what you could ever expect.”

In his early days in stripes, he got a lot of advice from a veteran in officiating: his father.

“He would come watch and he would say, ‘try this, do this. Maybe give this a try. Hey, this happened, maybe try this,’” the 36-year-old says. “He was a big influence early on to get me going.”

Kowalski initially started officiating out of the south-east zone in Edmonton, then worked his way into the WHL from there. Although he already was balancing a full-time job with officiating, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, he saw it as an opportunity to continue to develop personally and professionally by returning to school.

“Continuous improvement on the ice as an official is extremely important, however continuous improvement off the ice is extremely important as well,” he says. “Pursing that MBA has equipped me with a range of tools that assist me in becoming a better employee… but it also assists me in being a better person, both on the ice and off the ice.”

The support to pursue further education from both his employer, RBC, and the WHL have also aided in the process of balancing his commitments.

“It’s easy to kind of manage all three when you have that support,” he says.

So, what does managing a full-time job, full-time schooling and an officiating career look like? A typical weekend for Kowalski will start by working a full day for his job. Following the end of his workday, he will travel to the rink to officiate a game and squeeze some school work in between.

If he has to fly to a game on the weekend, his schoolwork comes with him.

“If I’m sitting in the airport, I’m doing schoolwork. If I’m sitting at the hotel, I’ll put out the schoolwork and then I’ll get ready, take some time before I got to go to my game.”

Kowalski will also bring his work phone with him on travel weekends to assist clients while he is on the road. Overall, he says prioritizing and time management are the keys to his success, as well as ensuring you’re having fun and enjoying yourself.

“As crazy as it sounds, I love how hectic this is,” he says. “I mean, sometimes I get worn out, but I love the challenge and that’s what I love about officiating is the challenge. It’s the camaraderie.”

Although there are times where people don’t understand how Kowalski manages his balancing act, he believes he wouldn’t be as successful if he only pursed one of his three responsibilities.

“It drives me when you have to time manage and prioritize,” he says. “It really dials you in and it makes you focus, like, ‘hey, I got to get this done today. I’m not going to procrastinate.’”

With 11 years of officiating under his belt, his experience helped him to earn his spot at the IIHF World Junior Championship for the second year in a row. Although the 2022 tournament in December was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kowalski is excited to be back in his hometown for a third time to officiate the rescheduled event in August.

“It’s an opportunity that I’m extremely grateful for and I’m very privileged,” he says. “I’m very lucky to be in this position.”

Kowalski may have never pictured his hockey journey turning from player to official, but he continues to work hard every day both on and off the ice.

“I never made it this far in my dreams. It’s incredible. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, no question about it.”