All-female officiating crew to oversee Summerside hockey jamboree

The officiating crew working the girls hockey jamboree in Summerside, P.E.I., this weekend will be made up entirely of women — a first for Hockey P.E.I.

"I'm really pleased that we're we're able to get all these females together in officiating the tournament," said Paul Matte, manager of officiating.

"We're extremely proud but we're also wanting to use the event as a bit of a platform to kind of spread the word."

A hockey jamboree is used as a tune-up prior to the start of hockey season. Each team plays a series of games and participate in some off-ice bonding, all in an effort to get ready for the season ahead, said Geoff Kowalski, executive director for Hockey P.E.I.

The weekend event will include teams from the atom AA division through midget AAA. 

Encouraging women

Over the past few years Matte said Hockey P.E.I.'s officiating committee has been increasing efforts to encourage women to become referees. 

"We've created a new position on the committee that's solely focused on the female officiating side of the game," he said.

Matte said the association also hopes the jamboree could provide some professional development for the women who are refereeing the games.

"What's even more important is that we'll have some senior officials, boots on the ground and some supervisors and assessors in the stands watching them and then it'll be used as a development opportunity as well," Matte said. 

The officiating committee also plans to use the jamboree to raise awareness of the abuse that officials sometimes face and to discuss how young officials can be negatively affected.

The event will take place at the Credit Union Place in Summerside from Oct. 18 through  Oct. 20. 

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