Back in December we reported that Meg Hishmeh and Leah Wrazidlo would be officiating the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Meg and Leah are both members of the Atlantic District Officiating Program who live in New Jersey. Each of them has officiated several Women's Ice Hockey games in the Olympics so far.

Here is a a roundup of the news reports that mention either or both of them:

• Hockey officials heading from Kinnelon to Vancouver in the Daily Record. The article talks mainly about how each of them learned that they had been selected for the Olympic tournament and recaps their playing and officiating careers to this point.
• NAHL referee to work Winter Olympics on The World of Junior Hockey Blog. This article talks mainly about Wrazidlo, her involvement in the Olympics, and the fact that she officiated a North American Hockey League game that was part of the Paint the Rink Pink Campaign.
• Female referee blazes trail from Duluth to Olympics in the Duluth News Tribune. Leah Wrazidlo is featured in this article. She is of local interest in Duluth, MN because Leah is a native of the area and a University of Minnesota Duluth alumnus.

Box Scores for Leah's games on ESPN.go.com:

• Sweden 3, Switzerland 0 on February 13, 2010.
• Canada 13, Sweden 1 on February 17, 2010.
• Switzerland 6, China 0 on February 20, 2010

Box Scores for Meg's games on ESPN.go.com:

• Canada 18, Slovakia 0 on February 13, 2010.
• Sweden 6, Slovakia 2 on February 15, 2010.
• Russia 2, China 1 on February 18, 2010.
• China 3, Slovakia 1 on February 22, 2010.

If you are aware of an article that isn't in our list, please email Dave Aiello at daiello [at] rinkatlas.com.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Atlantic District Officiating Program has announced that the last USA Hockey officiating seminars for the 2009-2010 season will take place as follows:

• Saturday, March 27th at Protec Ponds in Somerset, NJ at 8:00 AM.
• Sunday, March 28th at Ice Works in Aston, PA at 8:30 AM.

Registration for these seminars will be accepted beginning on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 8:00am Eastern Time at http://www.aaharefs.org/seminar_schedule.php.

Training will be offered for new officials (registering at Level 1) and returning officials (registering at Level 1 or Level 2). Level 3 certification will not be offered at these seminars. Officials who are already completely registered at Level 1 for the 2009-2010 season are not eligible to attend these seminars to advance to Level 2.

Check-in begins at the time indicated for each site. Walk-up registrations will most likely not be accepted. The seminars will conclude around 5:00 pm.

Registration Steps

1. Go online to the USA Hockey website to register as an Official for the 2009-2010 season with USAH and with the Atlantic District. This must be completed first even if you are already registered as a Player or a Coach. Within 24 hours, you will receive a USA Hockey Referee Registration number via email. If you want to reserve your place for this seminar when registration opens on March 3, you must register with USA Hockey on or before March 1.
2. Go to the District Officiating Program website at http://www.aaharefs.org/seminar_schedule.php with your USAH Referee Registration Number and carefully follow the directions. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited and these seminars usually fill up very quickly.

Equipment Required to Participate

If you are a returning official, you will need to bring full officiating gear.

If you are a new official, you will need to bring: hockey helmet, hockey skates (not goalie or figure skates), suitable clothing to go on the ice (ex. warm-up suit) plus a pad and pen to take notes.

Officiating Candidate Conduct Expectations

Officiating candidates are not permitted to arrive late or leave early from these seminars. Candidates acting improperly at the seminar may be dismissed by the Seminar Coordinator with no refund.

Lunch will be available for purchase at the rink.

Registrations Completed Through This Seminar Expire in November

This referee registration will be valid until Nov. 30, 2010. All officials will have to re-register and attend a new seminar for the 2010-11 season starting in August, 2010. Note that there may be limited opportunities for game assignments depending on the amount of Spring and Summer hockey in your area.

Contact Person for Questions

If there are any questions, contact USA Hockey Atlantic District Referee-in-Chief Tony Mariconda at tonyrefx3 [at] aol.com.

Registration Update

Due to a technical issue, the Seminar Registration System opened at approximately 8:50am on March 3, rather than 8:00am as scheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused candidates who were trying to register.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tony Mariconda asked that the following announcement be posted on AAHArefs:

With the help of our Internet Communications Department, the USA Hockey Officiating Department is happy to launch the new Official Status feature at www.usahockey.com. This feature will offer our 28,000 registered officials the opportunity to review their current registration status with USA Hockey.

The feature will replace the automated telephone menu-system. The telephone system will no longer be in service after Friday, February 5, 2010.

If you live in a state that used the USA Hockey Online Seminar Registration Tool this past fall you already have the necessary USAHockey.com profile to access your information. If you do not have a USAHockey.com profile, the process is very simple and will take less than five minutes to complete. To create a profile and access your information:

1. Go to www.usahockey.com and click the "Create Profile" link at the top of the page next to the search engine.
2. Follow the instructions and enter the required data-fields to set-up your profile.
3. After your profile is created and saved, click the "Official Status" link at the top of the website (where the "Create Profile" link previously was) and you will be lead to your USA Hockey Officiating Program Registration information.
4. This webpage will provide valuable information to all our officials as they complete their registration each season. The webpage is designed to display your USA Hockey Officiating Number, Registration History, Seminar Attendance Information, and Exam Results.

This webpage will provide valuable information to all our officials as they complete their registration each season. The webpage is designed to display your USA Hockey Officiating Number, Registration History, Seminar Attendance Information, and Exam Results.

USA Hockey's announcement continues:

If your registration information on the status page is incorrect or does not appear, please verify your personal information (name, zip code, birth date) and make any necessary corrections by clicking the "Update Profile" link above the information box. If your personal information is correct, but you still do not see the correct Officials Status, please contact us at RefHistory@usahockey.org.

Important note: Due to Federal (COPPA) Laws, no USA Hockey member (player or official) who is under 13 years of age is permitted to create a USAHockey.com profile. We're sorry that this feature excludes a small part of our membership, however all Registration inquires for our officials who are 12 or younger may still be answered by contacting your USA Hockey District Referee-in-Chief or the National Office.

Important note: Creating a USAHockey.com profile is not equivalent to registering with USA Hockey. While your USAHockey.com profile will remain active and unchanged year after year, all USA Hockey Officials must complete online registration, attend a seminar, and complete all required examinations annually to renew their membership and remain eligible to work assignments.

Needless to say we're excited about this new feature. The ease of use and accessibility of this feature should allow our membership to keep track of their status as they complete the steps of registration each season. We hope at some point over the next few weeks you will create a USAHockey.com profile and familiarize yourself with the webpage to prepare for next season.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)