More Than a Whistle: It's Time to Redesign the Sport Official's Experience

My competitive volleyball career had ended, and while I’d dabbled in coaching, it hadn’t stuck. But I wasn't ready to leave the sport I loved. So, in 2011, I picked up a whistle. I discovered a new, fascinating side of the game, and as a university student, the pay didn't hurt. I fell in love with being an official—with the challenge of ensuring fairness, the thrill of a courtside view, and the joy of sharing the game with a new generation of passionate athletes.

But I also discovered the darker side of officiating. The culture surrounding officials can be relentlessly negative. A single perceived error can unleash a torrent of criticism. Harassment and abuse from coaches, athletes, and spectators are far more common than they should be.

Lately, our sector has been engaged in a critical and long-overdue conversation about safe sport. We talk about making sport safe, welcoming, and inclusive for athletes. But too often, we forget that the person holding the whistle is a participant, too. Officials are majorly overlooked in our safe sport framework.

As a passionate official and a sport professional, I am committed to changing this. I've had the privilege of working on two recent projects that offer a blueprint for how we can begin.

Model 1: Formal Collaboration (Saskatchewan Soccer)

Since April, I’ve been working with four distinct organizations in Regina—Saskatchewan Soccer, FC Regina, QC United, and the Regina Soccer Referees Association—to do something new: formalize a collaborative relationship to systemically develop officiating in the city. We are building a shared development plan with clear targets for recruitment, development, and retention.

This work moves the relationship from a series of informal agreements to a structured partnership where everyone shares responsibility for the health of officiating.

What your organization can learn from this: Stop working in silos. At the club level, this means asking if your relationship with your local officials' association is based on a last-minute phone call or a genuine partnership. At the provincial or national level, this means asking if you are actively facilitating these partnerships across your jurisdiction. Could you create a template MOU to empower your member clubs, or provide funding to incentivize collaboration? Moving from informal agreements to formal, resourced partnerships is how systemic change happens.

Model 2: Deep Listening (Ontario Sport Network)

My second project is part of a larger provincial strategy with the Ontario Sport Network. My role was to plan and facilitate five focus groups with over 90 officials across 29 sports, with one simple goal: to listen. We asked them about the real barriers they face and, crucially, for their ideas to fix them. The insights were powerful, and their ideas—both big and small—now form a robust report that will inform the provincial strategy.

What your organization can learn from this: When was the last time you systematically asked your officials for their solutions? At the club level, this could be a simple town hall or an anonymous survey asking "what is one thing we could do to improve your experience?" At the provincial or national level, this means conducting regular, system-wide research and—most importantly—sharing those findings and best practices back to your members. The act of asking is a powerful first step, but the act of listening and responding is what builds trust.

What You Can Do Now

These projects reveal a clear path forward. To build a better experience for officials, we must:

1. Value their contribution, and invest accordingly: Officials are not just service providers; they are essential participants in the sport experience. Like athletes, they require development, support, mentorship, and protection.
2. Build formal partnerships: Move beyond informal agreements to create shared, accountable systems for official development.
3. Co-design solutions with them: Ask officials for their ideas and give them a central role in designing the programs that affect them.
4. Take a stand on abuse: Enforce a zero-tolerance policy for the harassment of officials. This is a non-negotiable part of safe sport.

In 2019, I stepped away from the referee stand. After working with all of these passionate officials, I admit I miss the whistle. But for now, my contribution will be to continue this work—to help build a sport system where the official's experience is valued, protected, and celebrated.

Changing the culture of officiating is complex work that requires skilled facilitation and a strategic approach.

If your organization is ready to move beyond complaining about the official shortage and start building a sustainable and respectful environment for your referees, umpires, and judges, I can help. Let's talk.