REF STRUCTURE:
*Each game has at least 2 refs and sometimes 3 refs. When there are 2
refs, they will both be considered the "Line Refs." A third
ref will be positioned in the middle and will be considered the "Center
Ref."
*Line Refs: The line refs will be keeping a close eye on the goals/nets
to watch for any goalie interference, watching for attackers in the crease
and to make sure that goals are in fact goals, as well as making sure
that the ball is properly re-introduced into play after the goalie freezes
it. Line refs should focus on the goal when an attacking play occurs and
focus on the overall play of game throughout. The line ref should always
be aware of the goalie in case equipment assistance is needed.
*Center Ref: When there is a center ref, he/she will assist the Line Refs
and will try to get a different angled view on play than the other refs.
Refs should move with the play to ensure a clear view of the action.
*Before each game the refs
will decide which ref will keep time and keep score and if there are 3
refs, the chief ref will determine which ref will be in the center of
the court.
*All refs should have several balls in their possession to assure flow
of game. All refs will also be equipped with whistles. There will be a
ref score sheet for each game and a pencil. On the back of the score sheet
is a list of infactions, for refs to use to write up players who break
the rules.
TIPS & KEY RULES
FOR REFS TO REVIEW
As a ref, you have to know the rules by heart. There are only 20 of them,
and they should already be very familiar to you by now as a player. But
if during a game, you’re not sure about a rule, consult with the other
ref(s), and if among you you’re still not sure, consult the rules in the
ref folder.
NEW RULES/UPDATES/CHANGES
FOR 2006
1. NEW GOALIE RESTRICTIONS
- It’s not as complicated as it may sound. Here are the basics of the
new goalie restrictions.
* goalies can’t cover up the ball unless they are in or touching their
crease;
* goalies can’t throw the ball forward - they can throw it laterally (to
the side) and behind them;
* once a goalie has frozen the ball, there must be a whistle - then, once
the goalie is on his/her feet, he/she must play the ball behind
the goal line;
* when re-introducing the ball after a goalie freeze, the team with possession
has 5 seconds to bring the ball over the goal line; once it crosses the
goal line, it is in play; it does not have to be directly behind the net
- it can be played anywhere behind the goal line; the team with possession
can take the ball out - it doesn’t have to be passed in (as in an out
of bounds ball); the goalie can play the ball his/herself, but it must
be played with either the stick or feet - no throwing;
* when outside of their crease, goalies are subject to all the rules regarding
regular players when playing the ball (it can only be played with the
stick and feet);
* the goalie can come out and play the ball with the stick or feet as
far as the half court line.
2. BIGGER CORLEARS CREASES
- we made the size of the creases at Moffo and Corlears the same. The
larger, well marked creases will help refs make interference calls and
give the goalies a little more protection. Because of the new restrictions
on goalies playing the ball, the larger, consistant crease size should
balance things out for them. Remember - attackers can never
be in the crease, even if the ball is in the crease. They can play the
ball in the crease with their stick, but their feet/body
cannot ever be in the crease. If they are in the crease, even just a foot,
and a goal is scored, the goal is waved off.
3. HIGH STICK - The stick cannot
be above the waist ever. Any ball that is played or deflected with a stick
which is above the waist is an illegal play.
3. NO SHOW FORFEIT RULE - This
season if a team is a no-show and forfeits, the score will be 10-0 for
the non-forfeitting team. This is to discourage teams from being no-shows.
If a game is forfeited for some reason other than no-show (or the team
refusing to play) after the game has started, then the score is 0 for
the forfeitting team and one (or as many goals as were actually scored
up until that point in the game) for the winner.
OTHER KEY RULES & TIPS
1. REF HARASSMENT/ABUSE - This
is a problem that we want to eliminate this season, not only because it
interferes with the management of the games, not only because when left
unchecked it encourages more bad behavior, but most importantly because
abuse of the refs causes good refs to quit. We would rather that unruly
players quit (or become good players) rather than lose refs who volunteer
their time and effort to contribute to the league. If a player mouths
off to you and you’ve warned them but they persist, send ‘em home.
In the same token, refs, too,
must be courteous and respectful to the players.
2. DELAYED PENALTY - This is
a tricky one. If a player commits an infraction BUT the opposing team
has control of the ball, you don’t want disadvantage the team that hasn’t
done anything wrong. In this case, you would
NOT blow the whistle, but raise your arm up, remember the player and the
infraction, so that you can address them once his or her team has control
of the ball. For example: if a player makes an illegal hand pass, but
it goes to the other team, instead of stopping the play, you would raise
your arm and see if the non-infracting team gains control of the ball.
If so, you let them play on. If not, you blow the whistle and reverse
possession. You can also say "delayed penalty, hand pass!" so
people know what’s going on.
3. FACE-OFFS - Players will
line up for face-offs throughout the game in the same manner as at the
start of the game, with players from each team on opposite sides of the
ball, closest to their goal. TIP- another thing about face-offs
is that they should not occur near the goals. They should occur near the
places indicated below. TIP- a goal shot in off of a face-off
counts. It’s not the same as a ball shot in directly from out of
bounds.
4. FOOT DEFLECTED GOALS - Goals
scored off of foot deflections count. BUT if there is any kicking motion
- if the ball is kicked in - the goal does NOT count.
5. KEEPING TRACK OF VIOLATORS
- On the back of the score sheet there is a list of common infractions
and space to write the names/teams of violators. You don’t need to write
everything down. Use your good judgement as to when an infraction
merits noting and when it doesn’t. The proceedure for this new addition
is:
- stop the game
- go over to rule violator
- ask them their name and write their name & team next to the infraction
on the sheet
- tell them what they did wrong and that it’s going in the book
- at the end of the game, let their captain know about the infraction
going in to the book
6. IN-BOUNDING
- In-bounders have 5 seconds to bring the ball in (inluding the goalie
when re-introducing a stopped ball into play). If they are taking too
much time, tell them that they have five seconds, then begin counting
down out loud. If they fail to bring the ball in within 5 seconds, you
can reverse possession or call a face-off.
- Players opposing the in-bounder must be no closer than a stick’s length
from the ball.
- After freezing the ball, once the goalie drops the ball behind the goal
line, the in-bounder has 5 seconds to bring the ball over the goal line
and into play.
7. GOALIES/CREASE
- Attackers cannot be in the crease (not even with one foot), but they
can stick handle/shoot loose balls in the crease, so long as they don’t
contact the goalie. If a goal is scored while an attacker is in the crease
at all, the goal is waved off.
- Attackers cannot contact the goalie at all, and if they do contact the
goalie while the goalie is in the crease any resulting goal is waved off.
- Stop the play if there is blatant goalie interference/contact, but DON’T
stop the play if the contact is incidental.
- If the goalie is out of the crease and there is incidental goalie contact
that doesn’t prevent the goalie from moving freely or playing the ball,
any resulting goal counts.
- Non-incidental goalie interference or contact would be pushing, blocking
or holding the goalie, stick checking the goalie, falling into or onto
the goalie, pushing another player into the goalie.
8. DEFLECTIONS
- Defensive hand deflections are o.k., offensive hand deflections are
not o.k. Nobody but the goalie can throw the ball.
9. NUMBER OF PLAYERS
- Every now and then, take a mental count of how many players are on the
court for each team, and note if they each have 2 female players. TIP-
sometimes teams have female goalies, so be aware!
10. STICK SMASHING/THROWING
- At the very least, a player who smashes their stick on the ground or
against anything with other people around has to be seriously warned.
- Any player who throws/chucks a stick, whether near people or not, has
to be written up and possibly suspended from the half or the game.
11. RULE 15
- The "don’t be a dick" rule (rule 15) is basically a bad sportsmanship
rule. It’s a catch all for nasty behavior. Don’t be afraid to enforce
it to keep the game friendly. See "Watching for Misconduct"
below.
12. REPEAT OFFENDERS
- If a player has 2 or more written infractions in one game, you should
consider taking them out of the game, especially if the infractions were
serious (high-sticking, pushing, etc.)
13. FIGHTING
Fighting and aggressive physicallity is not to be tolerated AT ALL. In
ALL such instances, the game is to stop (stopped clock), those involved
should be separated and one of the league officials should be brought
in. If no league officials are available, then take time to write detailed
notes about the incident before resuming the game. Eject any player who
was fighting before resuming.
14. OVERTIME - Overtime is
10 minutes (running clock), 5-on-5. After OT, if the score is tied,
the game is called a tie. There are no shoot-outs until the play-offs.
The OT format for the play-offs is different.
15. LOFTING - The ball cannot
be hit above the level of the goal crossbar. It used to be "no higher
than waist level," but since everybody’s waist level is different,
we are going with a height that is consistant.
16. STICK BLADE - The stick blade cannot rise above the knee, either in
the wind-up to a shot or in the follow-through.
17. WARNINGS - For some infractions
(such as unintentional lofting) it is good to warn players once or twice
before calling the infraction. If an infraction is clearly committed intentionally,
no warning is necessary before calling it.
REFFING THE GAME
1. If possible, find your fellow
ref(s) 5 minutes before the game is scheduled to start and figure out
who will have the stopwatch and who will have the score sheet.more. The
"ref wranglers" might end up finding you first and handing you
your ref materials. But if they don’t, take the initiative. Ref sheets
and pencils are found in the blue notebook, which is usually in the center
of the playing field, near the balls, stop watches, whistles and cooler.
2. Before the game starts,
bring both teams together, introduce the refs, find out who the captains
are, and go over some key rules (provided on the score sheet, as well
as below). Ask if there are any questions.
3. Start the game on time!
4. Pay attention! When the
ball is not in your end of the court, keep an overview of all the players,
and try to position yourself to view a different angle of the goal than
the other ref. Don’t be afraid to move to half-court or closer if necessary.
When the ball is in your end of the court, pay close attention to the
goal crease, the goalie and the goal. You can move closer to the goal
or behind it if your view is being obstructed. Just be careful to stay
out of the way of play.
5. When you want to stop play,
BLOW THE WHISTLE! And blow it loud, so everybody knows to stop playing.
If people continue to play, come out onto the court in their direction
and continue to blow the whistle. If your fellow ref has blown the whistle
but some players continue on, you can also blow the whistle. Times to
blow the whistle/stop play:
- a player is hurt and not getting up
- a serious infraction has occured (especially if you’re going to write
it up)
- the goalie has covered up the ball and is waiting for a stop
- to restart a botched face-off
- there is a problem with the net/goal or goalie equipment (* wait until
the ball goes out of bounds or the ball is in a neutral situation - then
return possession to whomever had the ball prior to the stop to replay
at the location where the ball was when play was stopped; don’t stop the
play when an attack is on)
- at the end of the halves/overtime
- when a goal is scored
TIP- the orange Fox whistles require a "tweet"
rather than simply blowing. Practice it before the game to make sure that
you can get a loud sound out of the whistle.
6.a. You don’t have to blow
the whistle everytime the goalie stops the ball, but if the goalie stops
the ball and is holding on when there are attackers near, then blow the
whistle to give the goalie some room to reintroduce the ball. DO NOT blow
the whistle unless you’re sure that the goalie has the ball. If you’re
not sure, get closer to the situation. The goalie must have possession
of the ball to stop play. If he/she made a stop but the ball dribbles
away from them, then they don’t have possession. Don’t blow the whistle
until and unless you’re sure. Wait a 2-3 seconds to be sure.
6.b. The correct jesture to make when blowing the whistle when a goal
was NOT scored (goalie covering up) is the same as a "safe"
call in baseball. The correct justure to make when indicating a goal is
scored is simply to point at the goal with your arm out-stretched while
blowing the whistle.
7. If you’re not sure about
a situation or how to make a call, stop the play and immediately confer
with your other ref(s). (The correct justure to make to indicate that
the call is pending is to have both hands facing palm-out over your head,
as if to signal "wait/hold up/stop.") Don’t allow any players
to approach you while you confer. Make a quick decision about the matter
and stick to it. If it is a matter of rule uncertainty, consult the rule
book (blue folder) or sb, amy or bob.
8. During overtime, stop the
clock when the ball goes out of bounds and restart it when the ball is
reintroduced. Also, in the last 5 minutes of a close game, do the same.
Keep the game moving - don’t let teams kill the clock with slow line changes
and slow in-bounding.
9. Always have a few balls
nearby or with you to keep the game moving quickly when the ball goes
out of bounds. After your game, check for any balls that might have gone
out of the court.
10. If a face-off is not conducted
correctly, you can:
- retry the face-off with the same pair
- send that pair of players off and them them choose a different pair
- drop the ball yourself
11. In regular season games (NOT play-offs) if the game is tied at the
end of regulation time, there is a 10 minute sudden-death over-time. If
the game is tied after over-time, the game is called as a tie game.
12. If an infraction occurs while the non-violating team has the ball,
the ref MAY delay the call until the violating team contacts the ball
("delayed penalty). It’s not required - it’s entirely at your discretion.
By delaying the penalty, you are not further disadvantaging the non-offending
team by stopping play while they might be on a rush or developing a play.
IF YOU CHOOSE to call a delayed penalty, raise your arm straight up above
your head and hold it there (like you’re hailing a cab) to indicate that
a delayed penalty is forthcoming, then blow the whistle once the offending
team gains control of the ball. Then proceed as usual.
13. Keep an eye on the ball during play and try to call possession when
you can. If you’re not sure who has possession, leave it up to the players
to figure out. If there is disagreement regarding who has possession,
you can call a face-off at the nearest face-off dot.
14. GOALIES TIME OUT FOR WATER
OR EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS - You can allow the goalies to take time to adjust
their equipment or take a water break. Because there can be so few stoppages
and it can be very hot with goalie gear, it’s o.k. to give them a few
seconds to hydrate. Stop the clock if you have a goalie break.
WATCHING FOR MISCONDUCT
*Refs should lean on the captains to keep their own players in line. However,
all refs may call misconduct when necessary. Refs can yell out to players
to “watch the contact” or “watch the pushing” when it is blatant and should
immediately make that captain aware of the situation.
*If players do not heed warnings,
then you should call the infraction officially.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF MISCONDUCT AND SOLUTIONS:
1. Don’t know better - that’s when people who aren’t familiar with the
game and don’t know the rules do things that aren’t allowed.
Solution: let them know “hey, you can’t throw your stick at the ball
to stop it” or whatever the case.
2. Temper - when emotions like anger, frustration, disappointment, etc.
take control and cause people to slash their opponents, hack at them,
push them, trip them or yell, scream and whine at them.
Solution: tell them to cool down; tell their captain to tell the player
to cool down; if it’s serious, have the player sit out a shift; if it’s
very serious have them sit out the game and write them up.
3. I know it’s wrong, but I’m going to try to get away with it - when
somebody knows the rules but sneakily tries to circumvent them for advantage.
Solution: give them a warning, warn their captain, and if they pull
it again, make them sit for a shift or for the game and write them up.
*In all scenarios, if the offense is repeated, remove offending player
from game as seen fit.
PLAYING / REFFING PHILOSOPHY
BTSH is a cooperative effort of like-minded individuals who are out to
have fun, get a little exercise, and be a part of a community. We are
made up of men and women hockey players of all different skill levels.
We cultivate an environment that is safe, enjoyable and downright fun
to be in. We expect that you put as much into this league as you expect
to get out of it, and we expect everyone to have fun. This league does
not have penalty boxes or penalty shots because we don’t anticipate the
need for such measures. If that need arises, that player is simply thrown
out of the half, of the game, or of the league.
