Hockey refs in short supply: A new pandemic normal in Quebec
There have been plenty of shortages during the pandemic – bikes, lumber, new cars – but this is one that few people expected.
A lack of referees has hit Quebec’s recreational sports scene, especially hockey, making it hard for people to pick up their old pastimes the way they were hoping.
“This is going to be probably the hardest season we’ve ever had,” said Robert Hurtubise, the referee-in-chief for the Suroit district hockey league, just southeast of Montreal.
Meanwhile, the pace of rec sports has picked back up to full speed, or maybe even more.
“Kids are doing two or three games in one arena, maybe having time to have a snack, and then are booked in another arena 15 to 20 miles away,” he said.
“Believe me, I’m scared that by Christmas, some of the guys are gonna be burnt.”
Usually, Quebec's referee workforce stands between 4,600 to 4,800. This year, the roster has shrunk by as much as 30 per cent.
What happened? Essentially, a lot of the referees found other work during the long sports hiatus, said another organizer. And they came to see the less pleasant aspects of refereeing.
Organizers told CTV News it's normal for refs to be verbally berrated by people in the stands.
“They found that they could find jobs that maybe paid a bit less, but you know, nobody’s screaming at them, no one’s calling them names,” said Antony Monaco, who runs a league in east-end Montreal with more than 40 teams.
“At the end of the day, we're all human beings.”
There’s no shortage now of players, echoed Monaco, in the adult leagues as well as kids’ ones.
“There were a couple of instances where we had no ref and I had to referee,” he said.
“It happened maybe twice. It’s not the ideal situation, but whatever gets the job done.”
The shortage is a pattern across Quebec, say organizers. It means some leagues will have to put two refs on the ice instead of the usual three in the hopes of avoiding cancelled games.
Leagues are also trying to recruit more refs, but to do that they’ll have to face a bigger question: how to make the job enticing again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.