The fans in the stands and the folks who stood around the glass had their eyes riveted on the game between the home team and Terrace during the Quesnel Bantam Rep Hockey Tournament last weekend.
There was another game going on the ice, but only a few people were paying attention to it.
They had their eyes glued on what the guys in the striped shirts were doing and they were evaluating every move they made.
It was part of the Mentorship Weekend put on by BC Hockey during which the referees who have three or four years under their belts and are ready to start officiating in higher levels of hockey are evaluated.
A couple of BC Hockey supervisors are brought in and they watch the games and provide some feedback for those officiating the games.
Quesnel resident Cameron Hender says having the feedback is a “great experience.”
Officiating is an interesting experience for Hender who also plays on Quesnel’s Midget rep team and is a defenceman.
“It’s good to see the game from two different angles.”
Asked how many penalties he picks up in a game, he chuckles and says, “I get my fair share.”
Noting the Bantam teams he was officiating over the weekend were in Tier 2, Hender says they’re fast and well coached.
“Ya, it’s good hockey.”
He says he got into officiating because he always like it since he was little.
“I just thought it would be kind of neat to be a referee and be in charge of the game.”
Once he was old enough, he filled out an application, completed the online information and came to the arena for the meeting.
“I always thought it would be cool and here I am doing it.”
He’s been officiating for four years and has worn the red sleeve stripes for the past two.
“Officiating is a lot of work. There’s no dogging it or dawdling.
“It’s a full 60 minutes of watching what’s happening and not just the puck but all of the players around you.”
One of the skills referees have to learn is skating forward while looking behind them.
“Ya, it’s tough. There’s 10 players out there – 12 if you count the goalies – so it’s a challenge.”
Hender says he knows being a referee is a lot harder that being a hockey player who goes out for a shift and the goes back to the bench to have a breather. So, conditioning is a must.
Then there’s the pressure.
“There’s a lot of pressure on you because you have both teams and the people up in the stands and the game is in your hands pretty much.
“I think it’s fun; it makes it a lot better.”
Hender says he knows he’s being scouted and that’s OK with him. If BC Hockey scouts like him, he’ll get an opportunity to jump up to higher levels of competition.
That’s exactly what he wants to happen.
“If a coach from another team likes him, they might invite him to officiate one of their tournaments if they’re down on officials.
Hender says one of his goals is to be able to ref a Quesnel Kangaroos game.
Noting there is a chance Quesnel might get a team in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL), the Grade 11 Correlieu student he would like to officiate some of those games.
“I would really like to play in the KIJHL and I’ll definitely be going to the camps.
“I’ll try to go as far as can with hockey, but I think reffing is the route I really want to go.”