2008 - 2009

      OFFICIALS - SEMINAR INFORMATION

[New!]www.usahockey.com/michigan_ric   2008 - 2009 MICHIGAN SEMINAR & OFFICIALS INFORMATION

                   

From: Norman Kawaelde 
To: OFFICIALS
Sent: EMAIL LISTING
Subject: Referee information 2008 - 2009
 

Here are the dates for our group Referee Clinics.    

It is strongly recommended that you attend one or all of these sessions.

 

[New!]It is strongly recommended that you attend one or all of these sessions.

Does NOT qualify for USA HOCKEY seminar credit

 

2008 Local Group Clinics

CORRECTED ! ==> MONDAY October 6th @ Lakeland Arena - 5:00pm

(was listed as Oct. 5th...)

MONDAY October 13th @ Lakeland Arena - 5:00pm

 

We were not given ice this year from the KVHA that would fit everyone's schedule.

 

 
Camps / Seminars

 

DISTRICT 4 SEMINAR INFORMATION
 

In order to become a registered USA Hockey official, three steps must be completed.

1. Officials must apply on-line with USAH and pay the annual registration fee.
2. Officials must attend an appropriate level USAH officiating seminar, and if required, pass the closed book test for that level.
3. All officials must pass an on-line open book test.


Once all three of these requirements are satisfied, the official will be mailed a card and crest, and will be considered completely registered.

Registration Process and Frequently Asked Questions 

How do I get an application?
USA Hockey now offers online registration and open book testing for our officials. Simply log onto www.usahockey.com and look for the Register Online icon. Renewal officials (those registered the prior season) will be sent a reminder postcard for the current season in early August. New officials can register online or obtain an application at the seminar they attend or by contacting their Local Supervisor of Officials.

What if I want to use a paper application?
The easiest way is to submit an online application, but, if you do not have internet access, you can obtain a blank application at the seminar you attend or by contacting your Local Supervisor of Officials. When completing a blank application, be sure to include your USA Hockey member number so the application can easily be matched up to your previous registration record.

How do I find out who is my Local Supervisor of Officials?
The Officiating Program Personnel directoryis listed on the USA Hockey website at the Directory button appearing on the Officials page. Simply find the local supervisor, that is listed, who is closest to your home area.

Is there a fee involved with the officials application?
The officials registration fee is collected with the application and must be paid whether application is submitted in order for the application to be processed. The revenue generated from the registration fees is used to operate the officiating program. Volunteer expenses, seminar expenses, educational materials, printing, postage and all other expenses incurred to operate the program are covered by the registration fee. In addition, some districts or affiliates also charge a nominal registration fee in order to fund special programs and local operating expenses. These fees are collected at the district or affiliate level.

How do I get my open book exam?
Your open book exam, and current playing rules book, will be sent to you from the national office upon receipt of your application and fee. For those who register online, an email will be sent with information on how to complete the open book exam online.

How long do I have to take the open book exam?
The open book exam is designed to be completed at your leisure. However, you should be reminded that new officials will not be eligible to work games until they have completed the exam and attended a seminar. Returning officials registration expires on November 30th, so they will also need to complete the exam in a timely manner in order to continue to work games. Generally, USA Hockey will accept open book exams up until the end of May.

Where do I find out about the seminars in my area?
Since seminar attendance is one of the registration requirements, USA Hockey conducts several hundred seminars throughout the country each season. You can obtain seminar information by clicking the seminar button on the officials page of www.usahockey.com or on a district or affiliate website.
Often times, a local area may add a late scheduled seminar in order to accommodate officials who did not attend a pre-scheduled seminar. These seminars may not appear on the schedule or be posted on the website. In this instance, you may wish to contact your Local Supervisor of Officials to inquire about a late scheduled seminar in your area.

How do I get credit for attending the seminar?
Each official who attends a USA Hockey seminar must check-in and register at the seminar they attend. Seminar attendance information is then sent to the national office where your attendance is matched up with your registration record. It is imperative that each official check-in at the seminar and they may be required to sign an attendance form. Officials who do not go through the required seminar check-in process may not be given credit for seminar attendance.

Where do I take the closed book exam?
The closed book exams required for level 2, 3 and 4 applicants will only be administered at the seminar you attend. The exams will be collected at the seminar and forwarded to the national office for grading with the seminar attendance information.

What if I choose not to take a closed book exam?
Provided you have completed and passed the open book exam and have attended a seminar, you will be issued a card and crest for level 1 as you have met the requirements to be a level 1 official.

When will I receive my card and crest?
Once the national office has received your open book exam, closed book exam (for level 2, 3 and 4 officials) and verification of your seminar attendance and you have passed all of the exams, your card and crest will be issued to you and you will be eligible to work games.

There is a lot of stuff going to and from the national office. How long does it take to receive materials?
Generally, we are simply at the mercy of the US Postal Service. Once the material is received here in the office, it will be processed and the appropriate materials will be sent out within 2 business days. The other thing that the national office has little control over is the timeliness of receiving seminar information from our volunteer seminar instructors. They are encouraged to submit the seminar materials within a day of the seminar, but sometimes it takes a little longer to reach the national office. You should also be aware that your exam results, provided you passed, will not be forwarded until we have received verification of your seminar attendance and are issuing your card and crest. So, if you dont receive your exam results within a week or two of submitting your exam, it is because you have passed the exam and we are waiting on your seminar information to complete your record. Of course, submitting your application and open book exam online should speed up this process as we are not counting on the Post Office for obtaining some of the necessary information.

Is there a way I can check my registration status?
Yes! You can check your registration status, including exam results, 24 hours a day and seven days a week by calling USA Hockey and following the menu prompts. Call 719-576-8724 and go into the registration status menu. Follow the voice activated prompts and all aspects of your registration status will be available through this service and will allow you to track your registration status throughout the process.

Now that I have my card and crest and am eligible to officiate, how do I get games?
First off, you should be aware that simply registering with USA Hockey is not a guarantee of game assignments. Although we highly encourage all of our local supervisors and local assignors to involve every eligible official in the assignment process, it is still up to the individual official to solicit game assignments. Contact your local supervisor of officials or assignor and let them know you are now eligible to work games and when you are available. If possible, identify a more experienced official in your local area to serve as a mentor and who can also help you get games. Once you get that first assignment, go out and give 100% to do your best and the rest will take care of itself.

  

 

Once all three steps have been completed you will be sent your credentials and crest - you are now an official ! A tip for

first time officials is to complete these three steps as early as possible since the first year does take a few more weeks to

process than an existing official who was registered the previous season.

 

It is the official's responsibility to seek schedulers for game assignments.  You are not limited to any area.  You are actually

certified to work any USA Hockey game anywhere.

 

We also put on clinics which provide additional training and time on the ice which is NOT part of the USA certification process.

This is ice time provided by the association and time spent by our senior officials to better ourselves as a group.  These dates

will also be posted shortly.  THESE CLINICS ARE OPEN TO ALL PERSONS THAT ARE ALREADY OFFICIALS, THOSE NEW OFFICIALS,

OR ANYONE WHO IS POTENTIALLY THINKING ABOUT BECOMING AN OFFICIAL BUT IS NOT SURE AND WANTS TO SEE WHAT

OFFICIATING IS ALL ABOUT.

 

 

 

2008-09 Michigan District Officiating Seminars
Pre-registration is not needed unless noted.    It is not necessary to contact the organizer unless you have questions.

District             Site                                                      Date                 Time                Level               Contact                        Email


District 2
               Southgate (Civic Arena)                                     8/26/08                  6:00pm                  Level 3                   Bill Gatesy                             ricd2gates@att.net

                                Dearborn (DISC)                                                 9/27/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2                Bill Gatesy                             ricd2gates@att.net

                                Southgate (Civic Arena)                                     10/26/08               8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Bill Gatesy                                ricd2gates@att.net

 

District 3               Hazel Park                                                            7/26/08                  8:00am                  Level 3,4                Matt Triplett                           mtriplettsr@sbcglobal.net

                                St. Clair Shores                                                   8/24/08                  7:45am                  Level 2,3                JP Parmentier                      howardparmentier@wowway.com

                                Macomb (Suburban)                                           9/6/08                    7:45am                  Level 1,2                JP Parmentier                      howardparmentier@wowway.com

                                City Sports Center                                               9/9/08***               5:15pm                  Level 1,2,3            JP Parmentier                            howardparmentier@wowway.com

                                City Sports Center                                               9/10/08***             5:15pm                  Level 1,2,3            JP Parmentier                      howardparmentier@wowway.com
                *** Must attend both nights for credit

                                Mount Clemens                                                   TBA                         7:45am                  Level 4                   JP Parmentier                      howardparmentier@wowway.com

 

District 4               Livonia Pub. Lib. Auditorium (5 Mile Rd.)        8/27/08***             5:00pm                  Level 1, 2               Kevin Hall                              ihlref@yahoo.com

                                Livonia Pub. Lib. Auditorium (5 Mile Rd.)        8/28/08***             5:00pm                  Level 1, 2               Kevin Hall                              ihlref@yahoo.com

                                                *** Must attend both nights for credit

                                Livonia Pub. Lib. Auditorium (5 Mile Rd.)        9/3/08                     5:00pm                  Level 3                   Kevin Hall                              ihlref@yahoo.com

                                Brighton High School                                         9/6/08                     8:00am                  Level 1,2,3             Kevin Hall                              ihlref@yahoo.com                              

                                Note:  All Level 1 (New Officials) must attend a separate ice session.  Dates and times will be posted soon.

 

District 5               Port Huron (McMorran Arena)                           9/7/08                     9:00am                  Level 1,2,3            Steve Emery                         steven.emery@comcast.net

                                Bay City (Civic Arena)                                          9/20/08                  9:00am                  Level 1,2                Steve Emery                         steven.emery@comcast.net

                                Bay City (Civic Arena)                                          9/21/08                  9:00am                  Level 3                   Steve Emery                         steven.emery@comcast.net

                                Gladwin (Community Arena)                             9/27/08                  9:00am                  Level 1,2,3            Steve Emery                         steven.emery@comcast.net

                                Lapeer (Polar Palace)                                        10/4/08                  9:00am                  Level 1,2,3            Steve Emery                         steven.emery@comcast.net

                                 

District 6               Grand Rapids (Southside)                                                8/23/08                  8:30am                  Level 1                   John Philo                                jphilo@sbcglobal.net

                                Grand Rapids (Southside)                                                8/24/08                  8:30am                  Level 2,3                John Philo                                jphilo@sbcglobal.net

                                Jackson (Foote Hospital Anderson Bldg)                      9/7/08                     8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Art Kale                                  artkale@hotmail.com

                                Kalamazoo (Wings Stadium)                                           9/7/08                     8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Paul Rigby                            pabst533@aol.com

                                Adrian (Merillat Sports Center)                                        9/14/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Art Kale                                  artkale@hotmail.com

                                Holland (The Edge)                                                           9/20/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Brent Gawlik                         gawlik4@att.net

                                Ann Arbor (The Cube)***                                                  9/20/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Dan Cobello                         emu10oafh@comcast.net

***Pre-registration required             

Lansing (The Summitt)                                                    9/28/08                  TBA                         Level 1,2,3            Dan Isaac                             isaacdan@msu.edu

Big Rapids (FSU)                                                             TBA                         TBA                         Level 1,2,3            John Philo                                jphilo@sbcglobal.net

 

District 7               Gaylord (University Center)                               9/13/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Mike Fornes                          mfornes@core.com

                                Traverse City (Howe Arena)                              10/5/08                  8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Mike Fornes                          mfornes@core.com

                                Sault Ste. Marie (LSSU) TENTATIVE               10/25/08               8:30am                  Level 1,2,3            Mike Fornes                                mfornes@core.com

 

District 8               Marquette                                                              9/21/08                  9:00am                  Level 1,2,3            George Niemi                      gniemi@chartermi.net

                                Houghton                                                              TBA                         8:00am                  Level 1,2,3            Jason Wickstrom                                jawickst@nmu.edu

                                Calumet                                                                TBA                         8:00am                  Level 1,2,3            Jason Wickstrom                             jawickst@nmu.edu

 

Contact Numbers:

Steve Emery (810) 434-4350,  John Philo (616) 340-3351, Art Kale (517) 206-0871, Paul Rigby (269) 377-9793,  Brent Gawlik (616) 994-2067, Dan Cobello (734) 484-3175, George Niemi (906) 486-8262, Jason Wickstrom (906) 337-0012, J.P. Parmentier (586) 864-6531, Al Pettis (989) 370-0840, Charley Gimpel (906) 635-1365, Eric Ameel (231) 620-2327, Mike Matwyuk (989) 379-2609, Bill Gatesy (313) 388-0151.