Player - Referee Protocol at SCRHL Games
Interaction should remain RESPECTFUL and BRIEF between players and referees during all SCRHL games and both should follow the guidelines below at every SCRHL game:
1) Prior to the Game: Each team's captain or designate will identify himself to the referee. This person will be the team's point of contact with the referee and the only person to FURTHER discuss any questions related to past calls, penalty assessments, etc throughout the game DURING THE INTERMISSIONS AND THE GAME. The following statement will be made by the referee to each team captain prior to the start of each game: “I will give one warning to a player to stop challenging a call if it comes to the point that a player (or players) will not let it go. If the challenging continues after this warning, then an unsportsmanlike penalty, delay of game, game ejection, and/or all of the above will be assessed against the player(s) challenging the call. Please advise your teammates.”
2) During the Game: Referees will be required to make their calls via signal (as per normal), but in cases where there may be uncertainty, it should be also done verbally. Referees are NOT required to explain WHY a call was made to the team captains or any other team member on the ice. This conversation can be saved for the one minute allocated for each intermission when the referee is required to talk to both team benches for 30 seconds each.
3) 1st and 2nd Intermissions: Referees will be required to talk to both team captains, identify any problem areas (ie: increase in body contact, high-sticking, cross-checking, verbal abuse, etc), and warn the teams about potential penalty assessments if problems persist. The conversation should be between the team captain / designate (as identified at the beginning of the game) and the referee. One minute per intermission is allocated for discussion (30 seconds per team bench). If the team captains are not approaching the referees during the intermission, then the referees must call one captain from each team to the timekeeper box area to discuss any issues. The conversation is only to occur between the referee and the team captains / designates.
4) End of Game: Referees will be required to talk to each of the team captains/designate at the end of the game regarding any problem areas which may have occurred in the third period. There may be nothing to talk about and, if this is the case, then a conversation is not required. However, the referee should make himself available to the team captain / designate before returning to the dressing room. If required, the referee will send an e-mail to me at [email protected] reporting any game misconducts and/or other potentially serious incident(s) which occured in the game. Details in the report should include team names, jersey numbers, actions which transpired, and the referee's game assessment. I will then handle any required post-game disciplinary action required with input from the referee group.
5) Delay of Game / Player-Referee Disagreements: If a player / captain becomes upset with a referee and continues to delay the continuance of a game after repeated attempts by the referee to briefly address it, then the referee must remain respectful but he has the league's support to assess a delay of game / unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the offending player or game misconduct depending upon the circumstances. Any extensive conversations with the referee need to occur in the intermissions and not during the game.