Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association

Since 1980, the Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association (WHOA) has been registering, educating, and developing USA Hockey officials with the highest standards for the betterment of hockey in Wisconsin. As a proud partner with the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA), our 1,500 members strive to make the sport of hockey safe and enjoyable for everyone. Our association's members serve the various levels of USA Hockey (youth and adult) and the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).

WHOA Scholarship Application

WHOA is pleased to announce the offering of two $1,500 scholarships intended to encourage high school/college aged students who are current WHOA members to continue their USA Hockey officiating career while pursuing a post-secondary education or enlisted for active duty in the military. The Scholastic Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating high school student or college student. The Glen Bostedt Foundation Scholarship will be awarded to a student pursuing post-secondary education or serving in the military. The Glen Bostedt scholarship is named in honor of the late Glen Bostedt, a long-time Dane County Hockey Officials Association (DCHOA), WHOA, and USA Hockey volunteer who spent countless hours training and mentoring young ice hockey officials throughout Wisconsin. This scholarship has previously been granted by DCHOA and has now been transferred to WHOA to continue honoring Bostedt's legacy. The deadline for submitting the scholarship application is June 1, 2025.

2025-26 Registration Information

USA Hockey Officials Registration Update.

Registration for 2025-26 begins May 1, 2025.
Registration for 2025-26 ends October 31, 2025.
All requirements must be complete by December 31, 2025.

Important Updates

NECK LACERATION PROTECTOR GUIDELINES FOR OFFICIALS

The following guidelines should be used for only the 2024-25 hockey season starting on 8/1/24 to determine if a neck laceration protector is acceptable to wear in a USA Hockey sanctioned game.
All neck laceration protectors must be commercially manufactured for the purpose of neck protection of skaters during a game. They must be worn in the manner for which they were designed and cannot be altered in any way.
Further:

The common foam neck-loop, turtleneck shirt or dickey-collar neck protector are acceptable.
Hanging goalkeeper throat protectors do not serve as a substitute for a neck laceration protector.
If a player (including goalkeeper) loses their neck laceration protector during play it is treated the same as a mouthpiece. Play shall be allowed to continue until the next stoppage. At which point the player must replace the equipment or be substituted for by a teammate.
If a player enters the game (during a stoppage) while missing a neck laceration protector they will be ordered back to their team bench and substituted for. Furthermore, the team will be issued an equipment violation warning, and any further equipment violation by a player on that team will result in a misconduct penalty.
A head sweatband or common turtleneck shirt will not satisfy this rule. Game officials are instructed to use good judgement while determining if the equipment is legal, and to always err on the side of protecting the player.

Please refer any questions to either BJ Ringrose or Dave LaBuda.

WAHA Specific Officiating Guidelines

In addition to USA Hockey guidelines, WAHA requires all participants to observe additional guidelines for officials:

Any player or coach who enters the officials' dressing room at any time shall be assessed a game misconduct penalty which shall be reported using the WHOA Game Reporting system. The report is submitted to the WAHA Disciplinary Committee for review and further action.
Any team manager or spectator (fan) who enters the officials' dressing room at any time shall be reported to the WAHA Discipline Committee via the WHOA Incident Reporting system. WAHA Region Directors are notified and MUST hold a MANDATORY hearing with the team's coach and a representative of the association's board to discuss disciplinary action.
All teams registered with WAHA/USA Hockey must properly registered USA Hockey/WAHA/WHOA registered officials for all games. To be "properly registered" an official must be in possession of their current USA Hockey card/crest (as defined by USA Hockey registration guidelines) and must hold a current season's registration with WHOA.
Officials wishing to officiate during WAHA play-offs or state tournaments must be completely registered with USA Hockey (all applicable requirements) and WHOA (paid the current season's WHOA registration fee) by 11:59 PM December 31 of the current season. In addition, officials must be Level 2, Level 3, or Level 4. Level 2 officials may officiate Bantam level and lower games only. Level 1 officials are not eligible for state play-off and tournament games.
The official method for officiating games in Wisconsin is one referee and two linespersons. However, local associations may use the two-referee system at their discretion. The two-referee and two-linesperson system may be used at the Youth 16U, Youth 18U, High School, Girls 16U, and Girls 19U only after receiving approval from the appropriate WAHA Vice-President.

Covid Resources

WHOA Covid Directive (Effective 8/20/21)
The Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association (WHOA) recognizes the seriousness of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the impact on ice hockey participants and spectators. The WHOA requires all USA Hockey/WAHA/WHOA officials to fully comply with all state and local COVID‐19 orders and requirements.
The enforcement of any state or local orders or requirements is the responsibility of the government agency issuing the order or requirement or the facility management (i.e. ice rink or classroom). Enforcement of any state or local orders or requirements are NOT the responsibility of any on‐ice game official.
On‐Ice game officials shall not be required to enforce any COVID‐19 mask mandate for any player, coach, off‐ice official or spectator. Complaints of COVID‐ 19 mask non‐compliance directed to WHOA officials shall be referred to the government agency issuing the order or requirement or the facility management.
On‐ice game officials may report observed COVID‐19 mask violations through the Incident Reporting System.
This Directive was adopted unanimously by the WHOA Board of Directors on August 20, 2021.

USA Hockey maintains a Covid Information page that can be accessed by clicking: USA Hockey Covid-19 Information