Heading into the 2025-26 minor hockey season, Hockey Manitoba has announced they will be launching the 'Green Armband Initiative', a program designed for younger officials, starting in the Pembina Valley with plans for it to expand province wide in the future.
For all officials, every level
Dustin Stewart, Manager, Operations for Hockey Manitoba, says that this initiative is designed for all officials 17-years-old and younger, across all ages of hockey, and for both boys and girls. "It will be for basically any officials 17-years or younger, within the Pembina Valley region. Whether they are officials or a linesperson. Because, when it comes down to it, we do have officials that can do multiple things, they can occupy both of those types of positions, especially when we look at the younger ages, like the U11 or the U9 half ice, when you have two officials on the ice, but in those cases, both officials are responsible for calling penalties, offsides or icings, or whatever. All of those officials will be asked to wear the green armband, if they are 17-years or younger, and that will be in both male and female hockey."
Dealing with abuse of officials
When it comes to the procedure of recording abuse of officials, Stewart explains how it works, as well as how the 'Green Armband Initiative' will look out for younger officials. "In the case of any abuse of official incident, there is usually a game report that is filled out. We have an online game reporting system for all of our officials, regardless of age, where they have the opportunity, if there is an incident that occurred in their game that they need to report, they have the opportunity to go on and fill out the report. That report is then sent out to a number of people involved, depending on the infraction, involved with minor hockey association. It will be sent to people involved in the region, and have it to go people involved with our organization within Hockey Manitoba, like our officials coordinator, who all then have the opportunity to review the reports. In the case of infractions for abuse of officials related to officials wearing a green armband, there will be enhanced penalty's for those individuals that are reported for those incidents."
Lots of eyes on games
This pilot project is starting within the Pembina Valley, and Stewart says that there will be more eyes watching things both at games in person and over the season. "I think whenever you have an initiative like this that's being piloted, you're going to have increased presence, increased scrutiny, whatever you may call it, on just how things are going. It's something we'll be paying more attention to, but ultimately, we have a lot of faith in the people that are on the ground within the Pembina Valley, running all the different types of programs, and in this case, within the officiating programs, managing that role out. There will be times when we check in with them, there may be the occasional time where someone involved from higher up in the organization may stop in just to see how things are going, but, the benefit of having great volunteers, is that we have the opportunity to take initiatives like this, roll them out, and know that have great people on the ground that can insure that they go positively."
The end goal
When it comes to what the hope from Hockey Manitoba is regarding the 'Green Armband Initiative', Stewart says there are plans for what comes after the pilot project starting in the Pembina Valley. "Obviously, in an ideal world, we'd like to see the 'Green Armband Initiative' in every single region within our province, within every single minor hockey association, so that we're providing that support to our young officials. Ultimately, the goal is to see a decrease in negative interactions and negative experiences for young officials. We want to keep these individuals involved in the game, officials are an important part of what happens in hockey, and officiating is a great way to stay in the game. For people that may not go as far as an athlete, or not have interest in coaching, it's a great way to stay involved within your community, in your minor hockey association, and within a game that here in Canada, we all know and love. A big part of it is seeing a reduction in negative experiences, and see an increase in retention, and an increase in excitement when it comes to young people getting involved in officiating."
How Hockey Manitoba would view it a success
Stewart says how Hockey Manitoba will view the 'Green Armband Initiative' a success in a few different areas. "There's a combination of things," Stewart says. "There will be some more proven or hard data, when it comes to retention. We do have the benefit while we're piloting, to pay a little more close attention to the numbers specifically for some of the young officials within Pembina Valley, those are things we can track. We can then look at the retention, and determine from a success stand point, if the majority of these young officials continue to officiate in upcoming seasons. Beyond that, we are also looking for general feedback. There will be surveying that happens for the officials in the Pembina Valley that are within the program, and some of that might be the hard date, but more about how they feel within their position after wearing the armband, how they feel from the comfort level when they are out there, and hearing more of that feedback. We hope that that feedback will be positive. It's taking a few different avenues to measure some of the success that we hope to see from this initiative."
Partnership between officials, coaches and parents
At the end of the day, Stewart believes that this initiative will help bring those that really care about the game, and care about those in the game, closer together for the better. "I think there is always a focus on the importance of developing athletes, developing coaches, but when it really comes down to it, if you don't have officials in the game, you don't have a game. We need to ensure that we're taking the approach to focus on all the different components of hockey within our province, to make sure that we are seeing positive experiences across the board. Because that affects so many people, it affects communities, especially within rural Manitoba, where a thriving minor hockey association, and a thriving hockey experience is just a positive thing for those involved."