Edmonton football officials hike up efforts to grow association membership

Matt Spetter foresees a wave of increased registrations in Edmonton minor football — and a corresponding need for more referees.

"Our numbers in our association had been relatively consistent for the last number of years, but in the leagues, particularly in minor football, we're seeing literally hundreds of more kids each year," Spetter, the president of the Edmonton Football Officials Association, told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

"It's growing year by year, so each year, it becomes that much more work that we have officials."

More than 3,000 football players took to city fields last year, forming 142 teams.

The association staffs about 600 football games each season for several levels and age groups, from the four levels of the Capital Minor District Football Association, and high school junior and senior teams, to senior men's and women's leagues, junior and university teams, as well as supports the pro Canadian Football League.

Spetter says his group is changing its recruiting methods to address the demand.

Before, the group relied on word of mouth and passive recruiting — "friends of friends or somebody who reaches out to us," Spetter said.

Usually, it recruits four to six new officials a year. This year, however, it wants more.

"That passive recruiting method is not getting us the numbers that we need any more, so we're trying to take a more active approach and reach out via media or via socials, working with the leagues, reaching out to leagues and teams within the city and seeing really whatever we can do to get in touch with different organizations and different groups of people, and bring in anybody who might be interested," Spetter said.

Laura Hoehn was one of those recruits recently. The local law student is heading into her second year as a football referee.

She says she enjoys refereeing partly because she "loves rules" — which lines up with her choice of schooling — but also because she enjoys the game.

"I think that, particularly for people who already love the game, it is the most fundamental way to give back to the game. People tend to go into a coaching track, which is also very much needed, but you cannot play the game without referees," Hoehn told CTV News Edmonton.

"It is just so much fun. It's just so interesting to learn the game from a completely different perspective. I didn't know some of the small rules that really led the game forward."

A part of the reason why the association is seeking more referees is how many are needed for games, Spetter says.

"With football, it's a case of volume," he said.

"We put generally more officials on the field for a game than you would in most other sports. About 90 per cent of the games that we do, we've got five or more people on the field, whereas you can do basketball or hockey or baseball with one or two."

The association trains its officials several times over the year both in classroom settings and on the field, and provides ongoing support for them.

Spetter said the association will, in the coming weeks, hold in-person information sessions about joining, training and development processes, and how the organization works.

"As soon as there are games, we'll get people on field starting usually with minor football games, get them paired up with a mentor who can follow them up and down the sidelines, help teach them the ins and outs of the game, walk them through the basics and get them comfortable with being on the field," he said.

People interested in the Edmonton Football Officials Association can access its website and contact it via email and on Instagram.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach