Canadian Para ice hockey referee Kevin Webinger to work at 17th world championships

(IPC) When the Para ice hockey world championships get underway May 25 in Buffalo, N.Y., the most experienced person on the ice won’t likely be one of the players but Canadian referee Kevin Webinger.

It will be a 17^th worlds for the Calgary resident introduced to the sport at a development camp in Alberta in 2008. Since then, he has worked at Winter Paralympics, World Championships, Four-Nation tournaments, and more.

“I fell in love with the sport and its athletes right after my first game,” Webinger told IPC.org. “I was hooked after that first puck drop. The sport’s talent, speed, and physicality were unlike anything I had ever seen. At that moment, I knew I wanted to stay involved in any capacity possible.

‘’This opportunity got me on the radar.”

When switching to officiating Para ice hockey, officials have had to step out of their comfort zones and break habits they’d developed over the years officiating stand-up hockey.

They’ve had to adjust sight lines to consider players’ lower positions on the ice, learn various rule differences with athletes skating much closer to the ice, and practice being right on top of the play to allow for better visibility of the puck and athlete actions.

“Officiating Para Ice Hockey demands more mental and physical effort in skating and edge work than in stand-up hockey,” Webinger said. “While we still use the three-official system in Para ice hockey, most stand-up hockey utilises a four-official system.

‘’A key rule difference is related to ‘teeing,’ which is not present in stand-up hockey. If a player charges an opposing player or goalie using any part of the front radius of their sled, it’s called for teeing, which has a specific signal we use and the fact that the players are in a sled with two sticks.”

Off the ice, anyone who has attended a World Para Ice Hockey event knows the officiating crew is like a second family during tournament time — with the venues being their home away from home for days and weeks at a time in the sport.

“What I am most looking forward to is being around my officiating brothers,” Webinger said. “I only get to see these guys once or twice a year, as they come from all over the world for these events.

‘’ It’s always a fantastic opportunity to catch up with my second family. Of course, the main reason we gather is to witness great competition; every year, the teams improve, becoming faster and more skilled, which makes our jobs more challenging, but that’s something we eagerly anticipate and look forward to.”

In Buffalo, five of the world’s most experienced referees and nine of the most qualified linespersons — who combined have 99 World Para Ice Hockey international tournament appearances between them — will officiate 20 games across the week.

Other Canadian officials scheduled to work at the worlds include: referees Matt Fergenbaum of Thornhill, Ont. and Pat Myers of St. Catharines, Ont. and linesman Dylan Dauphinee of Kentville, N.S.

Webinger and Fergenbaum, both worked at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

Photos IPC and Hockey Canada; additional files, edits by CPC