Over the last five years, there has been a massive increase in the amount of resources available for officiating development in British Columbia. This process has ebbed and flowed over time but recently, there has been marked improvement. Not only have associations begun to recognize that officiating is integral to the game but they understand their own roles in improving the quality of their officials. While investment at the association level is limited by the means of their membership, the improvement has been noticeable across the board.
This new reality has led to a need to measure and quantify the success of officiating development programs. An association’s board is accountable to its members for all expenditures.
ABOUT ME
My mission is to partner with people to build themselves and their communities into something greater.
Dan Hanoomansingh
B.A, B.Ed
HCOP Level 5
NCCP HP1, Competition Development
I am the grandson of teachers who immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago in 1955 and settled in the Maritimes. I am also the grandson of a carpenter from Northern Ontario and a social worker from Manitoba. I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. Throughout my life, I have sought out opportunities to mentor and coach as well as create systems to support individuals and encourage excellence.
After coaching in children's sport during my teenaged years, I had the opportunity to take on a leadership role with the Vancouver Thunderbird Minor Hockey Association. From 2011 to 2017, I managed the day-to-day operations of their officiating development program in the role of Assistant Referee-in-Chief, serving Sport for Life and Learn to Train athletes. Our most critical success during my time with the VTMHA was the implementation of an officiating coach training and development program in 2015, which is still the only program of it's kind in British Columbia. The success of the VTMHA Officiating Program is evidenced by our retention numbers. During time with the program, we retained 67% of our new athletes from their first to second years. The provincial average during this time was 61% retention. More significantly, our retention from our new athletes' first to fifth years was 37%. The provincial average over that span was 20%. The combination of our coach training and the associated increase in mentorship had led to the VTMHA Officiating Program's continued success.
In 2013, I had the opportunity to begin working with BC Hockey as a minor officiating coach and mentor. During this time, I worked closely to train and develop officials who were under-served by their local programs. In this role, I had the opportunity to travel the province and partner with Minor Hockey Associations as well as supervise six Provincial Championships. From 2016-2019, I also served as the Lower Mainland zone lead mentor for the "Elite Minor" stream, working with Train to Train athletes and preparing them for the High Performance Program and the Train to Compete and Train to Win phases of LTAD.
In 2013, I also joined BC Hockey's instructional team and took a leading role in the program's clinic instruction, which I am continuing today. In this role, I have instructed over 100 clinics also had the pleasure of instructing the BC Hockey Summer Officiating School in 2012 and 2013 and served as lead instructor in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019. I helped to lead major revisions of the instructional curriculum in 2015 and 2018, and am currently developing new curriculum, which will undergo limited roll-out in 2019. Our areas of focus include devising meaningful mechanisms for evaluating rule knowledge, implementing effective teaching strategies for young officials, as well as instructor training and mentorship.
In 2017, I left the VTMHA's program and joined BC Hockey as a Program Facilitator and High Performance Officiating Coach. My role was to reinvigorate the Female High Performance program and provide our Train to Train and Train to Compete officials with the tools to become Train to Win officials in the National program. So far, highlights of this program include annual program-wide seminars, an annual Program of Excellence camp focused on transitioning athletes into the Train to Compete phase, a stream for elite officials looking to transition into the Train to Win phase, and improved connections to the grassroots levels of the game.
My playing career concluded in 2011 with the Vancouver U18AA Thunderbirds. Later that same year, I was selected to attend the BC Hockey Officiating Program of Excellence and join the BC Hockey High Performance Officiating Program. I achieved my Level 4 certification in 2013 and my Level 5 certification in 2018. Since 2011, I have officiated at the Midget AAA, Intercollegiate, Junior B, and Junior A levels. My career highlights include pre-competition assignments for the 2015 Women's World Championship and the 2018 Male World Junior (U20) Championship, 2018 Vancouver Canucks training camp, the 2011 Western Branch Challenge Cup, the 2018 Pacific Regional Midget AAA Championship, and the 2018 Cyclone Taylor Cup - Provincial Junior B Championship.
In 2018, I returned to UBC to complete my Bachelor of Education degree in Secondary Teaching with a focus on English Language Arts and Social Studies. From 2018 to 2021, I worked with the Vancouver School Board, teaching English Language Arts, English Language Learners, Social Studies, and Career Life Education.
In 2021, I had the opportunity to join Hockey Canada in the role of Manager, Officiating, overseeing Hockey Canada's programming from coast to coast to coast.