Three Lake Cowichan kids took part in the B.C. Hockey Officiating School at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena this past week. The camp began on Monday and ended Friday afternoon.
Tanner Cummings, Parker Bergstrom, and Nelson Wagner play baseball, but say that hockey is the sport they truly love.
Each year B.C. Hockey offers summer officiating camps in August in both Lake Cowichan and Osoyoos.
“Kids come from all over the province to attend these camps, choosing the one that is closest/easiest for them,” said Stacie Couch, B.C. Hockey assistant, communications.
Students between the age of 12 and 18-years-old are welcome to participate.
“However, in many cases the students have been selected because of their outstanding commitment last season and awarded attendance at the Summer Officiating School by their Minor Hockey Association,” said Couch.
This year, 50 hockey loving kids converged on the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena to learn all about the art of refereeing hockey.
The kids spend time on the ice as well as in a classroom setting where they learn about technicalities and rules. They also go through conditioning exercises and fitness tests. At the end of the week they write a test, and if they pass, it allows them to referee games in the coming season for their age group and level.
“Today we did the fitness test,” said Cummings. “We did the beat test; how many push-ups you can do without stopping, and how many sit-ups you can do in a minute.”
But the school is not all about exercises and tests, the kids also get some down time with activities such as going to Cowichan Lake for a swim.
Cummings, Bergstrom, and Wagner are in their second year of refereeing, and all three play hockey as well.