Policies
Policies
[Document Version: 2021-06]
1 Mission Statement
The Capital District Ice Hockey Officials Association, hereafter referred to as CDIHOA, shall exist as a local organization comprised of registered USA Hockey officials, whose main purpose is to provide high-quality officiating services to ice hockey organizations in and around the Capital District. CDIHOA shall achieve this goal by offering its members training through both USA Hockey officiating seminars and periodic local clinics, by providing performance feedback through evaluation and/or mentoring programs, by defining a clear set of policies to encourage professionalism and fairness, by offering its members an adequate level of compensation for their services, and by maintaining open communication with the organizations which we serve in order to address their questions and concerns.
CDIHOA is governed by an Executive Board, and its programs are implemented by an Administrative Staff. Each member of the staff has specific duties and expertise. The composition of all leadership positions within CDIHOA is located at www.cdihoa.com, then, click on Contacts. Please contact the staff member whose function best addresses your concerns.
2 Registration
An ice hockey official must be completely registered with both USA Hockey and with CDIHOA in order to be scheduled to officiate any games sanctioned by USA Hockey in the local area. Officials who were completely registered prior year are eligible to officiate games until November 30, at which time the prior years registration shall expire. All officials are required to pay dues with CDIHOA in-order to receive games with CDIHOA. The cost for a new USA Hockey official (Level 1) is $10.00. Returning USA Hockey officials regardless of coming from a different officiating organization the cost is $20.00. Checks are required to be mailed prior to November 30 to CDIHOA – PO Box 38165 – Albany, NY 12203. How to register is explained is explained in the link marked Become a Referee on www.cdihoa.com.
3 Policies
In order to achieve the goals set forth by CDIHOA in an effective manner, a set of policies has been established which allows us to provide the best possible service to the local ice hockey organizations, while retaining fairness and clarity for CDIHOA members. Please note that when disciplinary action is mentioned in any policy below, this action may include anything from a warning to a full loss of membership in CDIHOA.
3.1 Determination of Eligibility
As outlined in the sections that follow, CDIHOA will utilize only eligible officials for games under its jurisdiction. In order to be considered “eligible” to work a game, an official must meet all of the following criteria:
- The official must be properly registered with both USA Hockey and CDIHOA, as described in section 2, and must have no outstanding fees or fines.
- The official must not be serving a suspension imposed by CDIHOA.
- The official must be currently certified at a USA Hockey referee classification greater than or equal to the level required to officiate the game. CDIHOA follows the guidelines set forth by USA Hockey (contained in “Stripes” magazine) when determining the minimum referee classification necessary to officiate a particular level of hockey.
- USA Hockey highly recommends that the official must be in a higher age group than the age group of the players in the game (senior hockey excluded). However, the CDIHOA Board has the right to waive this requirement.
3.1.1 CDIHOA Approval Policy
An unfortunate circumstance resulting from the ease with which an official can become certified with USA Hockey is that an official may reach a referee classification level greater than his/her current capabilities. The CDIHOA approval policy addresses this concern by providing a more active and rigorous analysis of its officials. This avoids putting any CDIHOA official in the frustrating and potentially dangerous position of working a game that is beyond their capability.
This policy shall be implemented as follows: officials are restricted to a subset of their allowable levels while participating in the Mentoring Program (see section 6), to be determined by the Mentoring Coordinator. Whenever a CDIHOA official receives any type of performance appraisal (mentoring review, USA Hockey evaluation, coach’s questionnaire, feedback from a local organization), the results may be examined by the CDIHOA, which may then conduct further evaluations of the official and/or vote to limit the levels of hockey which the official is approved to work. Further, the CDIHOA will conduct an annual review of all officials with the goal of placing officials at the level most appropriate to them.
Whenever a CDIHOA official has been limited in the levels of hockey which s/he can work, this limitation remains in effect, until the CDIHOA votes to remove the restriction.
3.1.2 Requesting Full Approval
Any CDIHOA official who has been limited in the levels that s/he may officiate (restricted approval) may request a re-evaluation in order to remove the restriction. This request may be made to the CDIHOA Board once per season.
3.2 Receiving Game Assignments
The Scheduler shall use e-mail, as the primary means of communication with officials. CDIHOA members are expected to have a personal e-mail account and access to the Internet. The Scheduler may also utilize the telephone as a secondary means of communication, if necessary.
Officials may only receive games from a CDIHOA Scheduler, either directly, or indirectly as a result of an official “giving up” a game to another official (following the procedures outlined in section 3.3). Under no circumstance should officials receive games from the local ice hockey organizations.
Officials who are found to be working games which were not assigned by a Scheduler may face disciplinary action from the CDIHOA Board. This policy is in place to ensure that only eligible officials are assigned to each game, and that the onus of ensuring this remains with the CDIHOA Schedulers.
Games are typically scheduled on a weekly basis. A CDIHOA Scheduler shall make the weekly schedule available to all CDIHOA members by posting it in a timely manner to Horizonwebref.com. In the event that a Scheduler is unable to post a schedule to the website, it shall be sent to all members via e-mail.
The CDIHOA Schedulers assign officials to games using the Horizon website. The procedure for receiving game assignments is a four-phase process:
- Set availability in the Horizon website
- Assignment selected in the Horizon website
- Confirmation selection in the Horizon website
- Check-in e-mail, from official to his/her partner(s)
The process for steps 1-3 can be found in the Documents section of the Horizon website. It is recommended for step 4 that officials use the email tool in Horizon to email their partners. (Selecting email entire crew under the game detail tab)
3.3 Relinquishing an Assigned Game
Once an official accepts a game assignment from the Scheduler, the game becomes his/her responsibility. If an official cannot work an assigned game, s/he must turn the game back to the Scheduler. The ultimate responsibility is to the initially scheduled official to work the game. If the scheduler cannot find an adequate replacement, the originally scheduled official is required to officiate the game.
3.3.1 Turning Back a Game
If an official is unable or unwilling to work a scheduled game, he/she may request a turn back. Any turned back games are the sole responsibility of the assigned official until a suitable replacement is found. The assigned official should try and find an available and qualified replacement official. The original official will work with the scheduler to verify a replacement. If a replacement is not available, the originally assigned official is responsible for the game.
3.3.2 Finding a Replacement Official
An official assigned to a game is responsible for finding their replacement official to work the game. The replacement official must be eligible to work the game, as defined by the eligibility requirements outlined in section 3.1. The Scheduler will assist as they have access to restricted information not known by general members (Suspensions, fines, etc.)
3.4 Missing an Assigned Game
It is imperative that at least two officials are present at each game. If an official misses one or more assigned games on a given day, that official shall be fined a fee equivalent to the combined fees s/he would have received for all assigned games on that day which s/he missed. The official will be immediately unassigned from any other games, and shall receive no further game assignments until the Treasurer receives the imposed fee. Further, a 2 week suspension will be imposed upon receipt of the fine. A second occurrence during the same season shall follow the same procedures described above, except that the fine and suspension is doubled. A third occurrence in the same season shall result in the termination of that official’s membership in CDIHOA for the remainder of that season, and the assessment of a double fine using the same procedures described above. This loss of CDIHOA membership may be extended further at the discretion of the CDIHOA Board, and the official will not be allowed to rejoin CDIHOA without paying both the outstanding double fine and the CDIHOA membership fee for the next season.
If an official is left to work a game without a partner, s/he should accept only the standard fee of one official for that game, and must report the incident to both the Scheduler and the Treasurer within 24 hours of the assigned game. The solo official will later receive another half-game fee, once the fine is received from the absent official. (The other half-game fee goes into the CDIHOA fund.) However, if the solo official neglected to complete the check-in procedure with his/her partner, the solo official shall not receive any additional payment.
When the Scheduler receives notice that an official missed a game, he will contact the official and inform him/her that s/he is ineligible to work any games until the Treasurer receives his/her payment of the fine, and he will notify the Judiciary Committee of the situation. The Treasurer shall contact the Scheduler when the payment is received, and shall forward half the fine to the official who had worked the game alone.
An official who is left without a partner has the option of refusing to work the game if s/he feels completely incapable of handling the game alone, in which case the official shall receive no compensation. The solo official also has the option of recruiting one player from each team to serve as linesmen, while the official assumes the responsibilities of the referee in a three-man officiating system. However, unless the players are already experienced officials and have brought a minimal set of referee gear with them, this procedure is usually more hassle than the solo official just handling the game alone.
In the event that a game is not played due to lack of officials, or if a game is played with no CDIHOA officials on the ice, the Scheduler shall not receive the standard scheduling fee for that game, and the case will be investigated by the Executive Board.
3.5 Arriving Late to a Game
Officials should strive to arrive at the rink one-half hour before the start of the game. This allows them enough time to get dressed, stretch, talk to their partner(s), and deal with any unforeseen situation, such as a skate-lace breaking. Officials are required to be at the rink a minimum of twenty (20) minutes prior to game time. If an official anticipates being late to a game, his/her partner should be contacted in order to make them aware of the situation. Any official who is consistently late to his/her games may face disciplinary action from the Executive Board.
Five minutes prior to the start of a game, if an official is still without a partner, s/he should call his/her partner to attempt to resolve the situation. If the partner cannot be contacted, the official may contact other officials in the area who would be able to arrive at the rink in a short period of time. Either way, the official should begin the game by him/herself as close to the scheduled start time as possible.
Any time a game is begun without two officials on the ice, the solo official, shall later report the situation to the Scheduler. If the late official eventually shows up, and no substitute has already arrived, the late official should get dressed as quickly as possible and work the remainder of the game. Compensation for a late official is as follows:
- If the late official arrives before the end of the first period, s/he is entitled to the proper game fee.
- If the late official arrives after the end of the first period, s/he shall receive no compensation for the game, but no fine shall be imposed.
If a late official shows up at the rink after a substitute official has already arrived, the late official is ineligible to work that game, but that official should still make his/her presence known, in order to avoid the fine for missing a game. The substitute official is entitled to the standard game fee, independent of when s/he arrived at the rink. If the late official was scheduled to work games immediately following that one, the late official and the substitute official must reach an agreement as to who will work each subsequent game, with the substitute official having preference.
If a substitute official, having been called five minutes (or less) prior to game time by the solo official, arrives at the rink after the late official has arrived, the late official shall work the game, but is required to pay half the game fee to the substitute official, whether or not the late official is actually compensated for that game.
3.6 Cancelled Games
If an official arrives to a rink for his/her game and the game has been cancelled, the official is entitled to receive the fee for that game. In this case (as well as that of game fee discrepancies), the event must be reported to the CDIHOA Treasurer within 72 hours from the scheduled game time.
When an official, having received no notice of a game cancellation, arrives to the rink, s/he may seek out a representative from the local hockey organization. If such a representative is found, and that representative can secure the game fee for the cancelled game, the official may accept the payment immediately. In that case, the official must contact the Scheduler within 24 hours of the assigned game and inform him of the situation. This allows the Scheduler to maintain accurate records of cancelled games. The official is not required to contact the Treasurer, since payment has already been made.
If no payment is made to the official at the rink, the official must contact both the Scheduler and the Treasurer within 24 hours of the assigned game and inform them of the situation. The game fee shall be paid to the official by the Treasurer, and the local hockey organization shall reimburse the Treasurer for an amount equal to the fee paid.
If the official was assigned to work consecutive games, and the first game is cancelled, the official must remain at, or return to the rink for the next game. The official shall be compensated for all cancelled games according to the policy above. However, if the official is not present at an assigned game following a cancelled game, and the subsequent game is played, the official shall be fined according to the provisions outlined in section 3.4.
Officials are strongly encouraged to call the rink prior to departing for a game, especially during inclement weather.
3.7 Relocated Games
When the Scheduler assigns an official to a game, the official is given the date, time, rink, and level of the game. It is CDIHOA policy that an official is assigned to a rink, not to a game. Therefore, if an official arrives to a rink, and the game has been relocated to another rink, the official is not responsible for “following” the game to the other location. However, if another game is being played in its place, the official is required to remain at the rink and officiate that game, unless the game is at a level higher than what s/he is eligible to officiate. If the official chooses to work the game, and another official arrives who is eligible to work the game, the ineligible official must relinquish the game, but will still be paid the half-game fee as described in section 3.6.
3.8 Association Responsibilities
Each participating youth hockey association will be required to have their schedule submitted to the CDIHOA Scheduler 1-2 weekends in advance.
Associations will pay the CDIHOA Scheduler Fee per game scheduled and will be billed on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
3.8.1 Addition of Games to Schedule
If an association adds a game to the schedule, 3 or more days in advance of game day, no penalty is assessed. However, if an association adds a game to their schedule with less than 3 days’ notice, that game will be charged double the scheduler fee.
3.8.2 Changing of Scheduled Games
If an association makes changes to the time, location or age classification of a scheduled game with 3 or more days’ notice and the originally scheduled officials are eligible to work the new game, there will be no penalty. However, if different, more qualified, officials are needed, the association will be subject to an additional scheduler’s fee.
If an association makes changes to the time, location or age classification of a scheduled game with less than 3 days’ notice and the originally scheduled officials are eligible to work the new game, there will be no penalty. However, if different, more qualified, officials are needed, the association will be subject to an additional scheduler’s fee. Additionally, if the originally scheduled officials are unable to be assigned to a new game assignment, each will receive $10 as compensation, paid for by CDIHOA.
3.8.3 Cancellation of Scheduled Games
If an association cancels a game* with 24 hours’ notice, or less, they will be charged 100% of the game fee for each official in addition to the cancellation fee.
*Game cancelations due to inclement weather or facility issues are not subject to this policy
4 Rulebook Addendums
While the USA Hockey rulebook covers most situations which may occur during a hockey game, it also leaves some areas open for interpretation or clarification. The following subsections serve to clarify open-ended parts of the rulebook through CDIHOA policy.
4.1 Time-Outs
Exception: As of 10/1/2012, all games played at Frear Park Arena and Clifton Park Arena Rinks are not curfewed (all games will be played to completion.) Therefore, time-outs are allowed for any game played at Frear Park and Clifton Park Arena Rinks unless otherwise notified.
4.2 Modifying Your Sweater
This subsection serves to clarify Rule 502(b).
Every CDIHOA official is required to wear the current USA Hockey officiating crest when working a USA Hockey sanctioned game. It must be affixed to the left chest of the sweater. An official without the proper crest is ineligible to officiate any games sanctioned by USA Hockey.
The wearing of a nameplate is permitted, provided the nameplate is properly displayed on the sweater.
The wearing of a shoulder patch must be approved by the Executive Board on an individual basis. Any organizational shoulder patch issued by CDIHOA requires no approval, provided the patch is current.
4.3 Officiating Systems
The standard officiating system for games under the jurisdiction of CDIHOA is the two-referee system, or “RR” system. As such, a minimum of two officials will always be assigned to each game.
To provide a training ground for officials to work district & state tournaments at the end of the season, some games during the season will utilize the one-referee, two-linesmen system, or “RLL” system. CDIHOA will negotiate with the local ice hockey associations in order to determine which games will use the RLL system.
4.4 Locker Room Usage
All officials are asked to maintain the locker rooms which they utilize for changing before or after a game. Tape, paper towels, food and beverage containers, and the like should be discarded properly. In general, please try to leave the room in better shape than when you arrived.
Note that smoking, alcoholic beverages, and chewing or spitting tobacco are NOT allowed in any officials’ locker rooms under any circumstances.
5 Evaluation Program
CDIHOA uses the USA Hockey Evaluation program for officials to better themselves as they seek to master the basics of officiating, as well as for veteran officials who are looking to move up to higher levels of officiating. The Evaluation Program enables CDIHOA to ensure that we are providing quality officiating to all the organizations which we serve. The Evaluation Coordinator is in charge of the Evaluation Program in our area, and he commissions a group of veteran officials to act as the Evaluation Committee. Each member of the Evaluation Committee is a capable official, trained specifically to understand the criteria by which an official must be rated. Any member of the Evaluation Committee may conduct an official USA Hockey referee evaluation for any member of CDIHOA. Two types of evaluations may be conducted:
Unannounced Evaluation: This type of evaluation is conducted without the knowledge of the official being evaluated.
Announced Evaluation: This type of evaluation is conducted with the complete knowledge of the official being evaluated.
Please call the Evaluation Coordinator for more information of the Evaluation Program, or to request an evaluation.
6 Mentoring Program
The CDIHOA Mentoring Program exists in order to develop new ice hockey officials in a positive and constructive manner.
6.1 Mentors
Veteran officials who have been registered with USA Hockey at level 3 or higher for at least one year are eligible to become mentors. Such officials will typically be invited to join the program by the Executive Board, but an official may also submit a request to become a mentor. In either case, the Executive Board will approve all candidates, with the Mentoring Coordinator having final jurisdiction.
After each game that a mentor works with a student, the mentor must offer feedback to the student, then proceed to fill out a mentor evaluation record for that student to track the student’s progress. The mentor is responsible for sending the student records to the Mentoring Coordinator on a timely basis.
6.2 Students
All new ice hockey officials shall be automatically signed up for the Mentoring Program. In addition, any CDIHOA official may request admittance into the program, in which case, the Judiciary Committee shall either approve or deny the request. Finally, the Judiciary Committee may require a returning official to enter the Mentoring Program in order for that official to work at higher levels.
Whenever a student works a game with a mentor, the student must allocate some time after the game to allow the mentor to give feedback on his/her performance and offer advice for improvement. Students are expected to retain this information, and to work on those areas of their officiating that are targeted by the mentor. It is suggested that students come prepared with a notebook and pen in order to maintain notes based on the mentor’s post-game advice.
Students are paid a half-game fee, not the standard full game fee. The half-game fee for students is meant to encourage students to work hard at developing their skills and to assess their dedication to the profession of officiating. This helps to avoid situations where new officials perform at substandard levels with compensation being their only motivation. Laziness, indifference, and incompetence are all qualities that are detrimental to the association, as they are easily perceived by coaches, players, and spectators.
A student shall remain in the Mentoring Program until such time that the Mentoring Coordinator “signs off” on the student, at which time the student will exit the program and be granted full membership privileges. The Mentoring Coordinator shall base his decision on the feedback obtained from mentors, in addition to any personal observations conducted.
7 CDIHOA Publications
Each year, CDIHOA makes a set of publications available to each member, such as the List of Game Times/Fees, and Rinks. Due to the large number of officials registered with CDIHOA, it may take some time to get these documents published and distributed. CDIHOA will make every effort to distribute these documents in a timely manner, and to ensure the accuracy of their information. A revision number will be printed at the top of the first page, allowing officials to confirm that they have the most recent copy. Please contact a member of the Executive Board if information contained in any document is outdated, misleading, or otherwise incorrect.
Document distribution is via the Internet. All CDIHOA documents are available from the Horizon website, and members can view and/or download and print each publication.
CDIHOA - Capital District Ice Hockey Officials Association (CDIHOA). 