Wisconsin Hockey Officials Association

WHOA Board of Directors Changes


At the WHOA Annual meeting, an expansion of the board was approved by the general membership. Each region will now have two Directors resulting in an expansion of three overall directors. Our three current At-Large Directors are now Directors within their respective regions.

We also have two new directors in Region 1, Taylor Willert and Dan Heldt. These two will replace Travis Ahlberg on the board. We would like to thank Travis for his number of years of service to the board while welcoming our newly appointed directors. We have also added Patrick McMahon in Region 5 as part of the expansion.

Last, we are still  actively seeking an additional Director in Region 2. If you or someone you may know are interested in joining our organization, please email our president Dan VanAdestine. 

2017-18 USA & WHOA Registration


WHOA Seminar Registration is now open. The Seminar Schedule has been published and will have seminar specific information as it becomes available. Detailed instructions are included on the Registration page and any questions should be sent to your WHOA Director.

Pre-registration is required for all seminars. Seminar registration closes at 12:00 AM four days prior to prepare staffing and send materials. For example, Saturday seminars close at 12:00 AM on Tuesday morning. Registration after closing is considered late and will only be on-site, provided space is available. Late registrations will incur additional fees.

Those officials who are or will be 18 and older will need to ensure their Background Screening is up to date or completed prior to registration. See below for more information on Background Screening.

Don't forget, after registering for your WHOA seminar, you will also need to register with USA Hockey.

USA Hockey Playing Rule Change Summaries


The up-to-date rules summary and other pertinent information that will go into the Playing Rules Book is listed below.

*NEW* USA Hockey has published some rule clarifications in this FAQ Memo on the 2017-21 Playing Rule.

Background Screening


All officials who are 18 years old are required to have a background screening done through WHOA. If an official does not have a current screen, he/she may not officiate any USA Hockey games in the state of Wisconsin. Any person turning 18 during the season will also need to complete a background screening or they will not be eligible to officiate.

The WHOA has partnered with WAHA’s screening vendor, Protect Youth Sports, with the goal of providing timely and accurate service for officials and administrators. Effective immediately, Verified Volunteers is now replaced with Protect Youth Sports.

We have created instructions for navigating their website.

You can also view your screening date in the WHOA Screening Database.

Please feel free to view the Background Screening Policy.

SafeSport Education Program


*NEW* The SafeSport Refresher course (which is approximately 35 minutes long) will only be available until approximately September 18th, after which the training will transition to the Center for SafeSport’s platform and all persons taking training will be required to complete the new, full course (which will be approximately 90 minutes long).

As part of USA Hockey's continued effort to create a safe playing environment for all participants, those officials who are 18 years of age or older (as of August 1 of the current registration season) are required to complete an online SafeSport Education Program every two seasons. The online program is free of charge.

You will need your current USA Hockey Membership Registration Confirmation Number (not your Officials Number) to complete training. Registration confirmation numbers can be obtained at the main USA Hockey Registration page.

WAHA Development Conference


At the WAHA Annual Meeting, WHOA gave a presentation pertaining to the recruitment, retention, continued education and assignment of officials.