Whether you're running a minor hockey association, coordinating regional tournaments, or managing ice time for multiple leagues, assigning referees in hockey comes with a unique set of challenges. Between scheduling around ice availability, balancing referee tiers, handling turnbacks, and keeping officials up to date across game changes and locations, managing officials can feel like its own full-time job.
That’s why having the right referee management software isn’t a nice-to-have anymore. It’s essential.
Here’s what to look for in referee assigning and management tools for hockey in 2025 — and why Refr Sports has become a go-to platform for organizations that need flexibility, structure, and scalability across seasons.
Assigning hockey games isn’t like assigning other sports. The pace is faster. The environment is louder. And the logistics — ice rental, rink rotations, and weekend-heavy schedules — are more compressed. Your software needs to keep up with that.
Key features hockey organizations look for:
Refr Sports was designed with these priorities in mind — not as a generic tool, but as a solution that works at the league, club, or association level.
Refr Sports is used by assignors across multiple sports, but its flexibility and structure make it particularly useful for hockey. Here’s how:
Hockey organizations often assign games across various divisions and skill levels, each with its own crew requirements. Refr makes it easy to:
Whether you’re managing Atom house league or AAA bantam playoffs, Refr adapts to the structure you already use.
Every assignor has chased down officials who were “available” but didn’t check the schedule. Refr solves that with real-time availability tracking, so you know who’s truly free and ready to work.
Officials can update their own availability, block out days, set preferences, and avoid locations they can’t reach. As an assignor, you can filter instantly by role, region, or readiness.
With back-to-back game blocks and rotating rinks, hockey assignors don’t have time to micromanage every assignment. Refr simplifies the process:
This means less time spent chasing confirmations and more time building strong, reliable crews.
Refr makes it easy to swap officials in real time, whether due to illness, travel issues, or weather delays. You can instantly view who’s available, eligible, and nearby — and reassign games on the spot without creating confusion for the rest of the crew.
No need for last-minute phone trees or group chats. Everything updates in one place.
From per-game rates to travel stipends, hockey associations often pay officials based on varying formats. Refr allows:
No more spreadsheets or mismatched data. Just clean, ready-to-use reports.
Refr isn’t a repurposed team management tool. It was built for assignors, by people who understand the unique challenges of coordinating officials across hundreds of games and multiple venues.
Every feature is built around what assignors need to do their job faster, cleaner, and with fewer headaches.
Referee assigning in hockey is a high-pressure role. One missed assignment can throw off an entire rink schedule. One miscommunication can lead to game delays, unhappy teams, and frustrated officials.
The right software doesn’t just help you assign games. It gives you structure, consistency, and a clearer picture of what’s happening — before, during, and after game day.
In 2025, hockey organizations are moving away from spreadsheets and scattered communication. They’re choosing systems that scale with them. Refr Sports is proud to be part of that shift.
