Crowds are hurling so much abuse at minor hockey players and referees on Vancouver Island that officials have threatened a temporary ban on spectators.
The Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association said it’s considering a spectator-free weekend to protest an increasing problem with verbal harassment at games.
“This year it’s really peaked, to the point where we’ve had officials cornered in parking lots, we’ve had parents leaning over the glass yelling at them, and abusive language as well,” said Dan Payne, a VIAHA vice-president.
The association acknowledged the majority of parents and fans are supportive, but said the bad apples are actually scaring off referees both young and old.
“Our 14- and 15-year-old officials are also learning the game, so to yell at them because they missed a call – in the spectator’s mind they missed a call – is just unfair,” Payne said.
“We’ve had referees come off the ice crying.”
VIAHA said the threat is a last-ditch effort to encourage parents to police each other, since investigating verbal abuse can be a challenging and time-consuming process for officials.
Hank Aarsen, a referee advisor who’s been calling games for 38 years, said parents need to calm down and understand that even NHL referees slip up sometimes.
“Last year in the playoffs they made tons of mistakes,” Aarsen said. “People are expecting young kids, teenagers to be bang-on perfect, and it’s just not going to happen.”
The VIAHA warned parents the end of the season is fast approaching, and if crowds don’t clean up their act the spectator-free weekend could fall within the playoffs.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s St. John Alexander
