Become a Referee
Member Leagues employ over 200 ball hockey officials in Alberta every year! Member Leagues offer certification courses every year to those interested in becoming an official.
Your duty as a ball hockey official is to act as an impartial judge and this duty carries with it an obligation for the official to perform with accuracy, consistency, objectivity, and the highest sense of integrity.
Depending on your experience in the sport, skill in mastering the rules and your confidence to control of the flow of the game, you could find yourself working more hours than you have time for!
How quickly or far you move up the Referee Certification Levels is only limited to your proven skill, attitude and sportsmanship. Start of with Regular Season games and in a few years you may be invited to officiate at Provincials. From there the sky is the limit with Regional, National and World Championships.
Referee Certification Course - Registration is $50.00 per referee. Upon completion of a Referee Certification Course the certified WRBHA Official will receive insurance, (liability, medical and dental), CBHA casebook and the right to officiate in any sanctioned league in AB and across Canada. Certified Officials have the opportunity to be selected to represent at the Provincial Championships and from this provincial tournament the opportunity to be selected to represent at a CBHA Regional or National Tournament.
2018 REFEREE CERTIFICATION CLINICS - more
Ethical Behaviour of Certified Officials
Your duty as a ball hockey official is to act as an impartial judge and this duty carries with it an obligation for the official to perform with accuracy, consistency, objectivity, and the highest sense of integrity. In order to preserve and encourage confidence in the professionalism and integrity of officiating, officials must foster ethical behaviour:
- Place the safety and welfare of the participants above all else
- Accept responsibility for all actions taken
- Be impartial
- Avoid any situation which may lead to a conflict of interest
- Be courteous, respectful and open to discussion and interaction
- Seek continual self improvement through study, performance evaluation, and regular renewing of certifications
- Be a positive role model for both the participants and younger officials in your behavior and personal appearance
- Refrain from any form of personal abuse towards participants
- Refrain from any form of sexual harassment towards participants
- Show concern and caution towards sick and injured participants
BASIC RULESThe object of the game quite simply is to strike the ball with the hockey stick and knock it into the opponent's hockey net (6 feet wide x 4 feet high). Typically, a low-bounce type of ball is used. For added safety, hockey gloves and helmets are recommended, and in fact are mandatory for play in our member leagues.Any size or type of non-slip flooring can be used as a playing field. In Canada, most of our leagues operate in hockey arenas or gymnasiums. All CBHA provincial, regional and national events are held in full sized hockey arenas (generally around 200 feet long x 85 feet wide, 60.96 m x 25.91 m). When played on the surface of a hockey rink, six players, including the goalie, compete against the opposing team's six players. Extra players are usually kept on each bench, outside the playing surface, and interchanged with the six on the floor either during play or at a stoppage of play.When played on smaller surfaces, fewer players can be used during play. In its simplest form, the game can be played without floor markings and few rules. However, in organized competition regular ice hockey floor markings are used, including goal lines, goal creases, blue lines, center line, face-off circles and neutral zone face-off dots.The following are additional rules:Face-offs (players are lined up facing each other in a designated area on the floor), are used at the start of each period of play and after goals, penalties, icing, offside, or when the ball leaves the playing area.Penalties are called when a player commits a foul. The offending player is then removed from playing for a period of time, depending on the severity of the infraction and the team continues play one player short until the penalty has elapsed.When an offside occurs Play is stopped. Before entering an opponent team's zone (the area from behind their net to their blue line) the ball must cross the blue line first before the player or any of his teammates.Icing (or flooring) occurs when a team shoots the ball before the shooting player physically crosses the center line and the ball passes the opponent's goal line before any player, of either team, can touch it. A stoppage of play shall occur with the ensuing faceoff taking place in the end zone of the team that shot the ball. If the goalie touches the ball, or the shot creates a goal, there is no icing on the play.Floating Blue Line: expansion of the offensive zones occurs once a team crosses the opponent's blue line with the ball. The attacking team will then have half of the entire playing surface within which to control the ball, from behind the opponent's goal to the center line of the area. If the defending team sends the ball past center, the zone is reset to the blue line and their opponent must regain it as explained above.To score a legal goal, it cannot be kicked in; nor struck with a stick above the shoulders; nor pushed in using the hand, nor while offside.
